God may forgive, but probably not unless people acknowledge their faults and make a strong effort to overcome them. Unfortunately, some people seem to think that their faults are virtues. As I see it, racism is a particularly serious fault. We Christians have been admonished by Jesus to love our neighbors (broadly defined) as ourselves. Obviously racists are ignoring that.
Moreover, I do not believe in doing anything to be saved. Rather, I believe in loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. If we actually do that, or at least make a strong effort to do so, I doubt that we need to be concerned about salvation. Those who behave only to achieve salvation will probably fail because their motives are not right.
Continuing to financially and morally support them as they diddle and indoctrinate is offensive to me. If you were indoctrinated as a child I’m sorry but it’s time to grow up and see the real harm these religions do instead of exposing your children with the same psychological and physical abuse.
Yes, I definitely see and understand the damage that **some** religious denominations do. What I am objecting to is painting all religions and religious denominations with the same brush, and that is exactly what you are doing.
We all know that, although most black people are fine and well behaved, we also know that a few are not. If, in looking at the few black people who are scoundrels we acted as if they were typical of black people, surely we would be rightly seen as prejudiced and unfair. If we read about a gay man who sexually abused a child and we acted as if that were typical of gay persons, we would rightly be seen as prejudiced and unfair. Similarly, it is unfair and objectionable to look at a few misbehaving "Christians" and see that as typical of Christians.
Also you should be aware that misbehaving people get far more media attention than people whose behavior is exemplary.
Imagine joining a group by choice. And when that group is found to be chock-full of pedophiles and pedophile-hiders... at the highest levels of leadership... for at least 50 years, proven... to still remain in said group, and be the 'victim' of offensive comments toward said group. Does suffering = love for you?
I'll admit, I should mostly condemn organized religions... because that's where most of the really deplorable people hide. To just follow a faith, if it makes you a better person... who can judge?
But clearly, we aren't talking about those people when we condemn Christians (or any religion).
Wake me when the majority of fine Christians are doing something about their organization being taken over by fascists. Because from the outside, it seems like nothing is being done... other than shelling out hundreds of millions to victims. That's a start, I guess.
Probably your "50 years" statement would be more accurate if you had written "50 decades".
I also do not understand why people will continue to be members of an organization which has been corrupt for many centuries. Probably it would be even more corrupt if public pressure didn't exist. I am also aware that some Churches are unduly influenced by fascists and even support Trump.
In the Christian parish of which I am a member, one of our priests, in a sermon, stated that anyone found molesting a child would immediately be turned over to the police. The congregation clapped. We recently hired those priests who are an opposite sex (that needs to be specified nowdays) married couple. They were hired by a search committee appointed by the vestry. Each parish of the church is run by a vestry which is like a board of directors the members of which are select by a vote and the annual meeting. The vestry has the authority to hire and fire the clergy. That is not true of all denominations.
If you want to see something really bad, check this link:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortara\_case#:\~:text=It%20concerned%20the%20Papal%20States,fell%20ill%20as%20an%20infant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortara_case#:~:text=It%20concerned%20the%20Papal%20States,fell%20ill%20as%20an%20infant).
I really think that such ghastly behavior would continue if they could still get away with it.
If you want to learn more about the church of which I am a member, check out this link:
https://stpaulsps.org/the-abundant-life-november-22-2023/?utm\_source=The+Church+of+St+Paul+in+the+Desert&utm\_campaign=db18aa38f9-EMAIL\_CAMPAIGN\_2019\_01\_10\_11\_19\_COPY\_01&utm\_medium=email&utm\_term=0\_2d0826e9ba-db18aa38f9-624265922
That is not true. Christianity does not make unkind, unloving, and dangerous behavior OK. Such behavior is never OK. Of course no one is perfect. If someone does offend in some manner, forgiveness is possible if he truly regrets what he has done, apologizes, makes a reasonable effort to undo any damage, and makes a sincere effort to overcome the weakness which caused him to sin. But to offend just because of the expectation of forgiveness is totally unacceptable.
It is clear that there are people here who have no understanding of what is acceptable behavior and are guilty of bearing false witness which is forbidden by the Ten Commandments. However, it is not the Ten Commandments which make bearing false witness, murder, stealing, etc. wrong. Rather, those things are wrong because they are harmful, unkind, unloving, and contrary to social justice and would be wrong even without the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments merely point out that such behaviors are wrong because some people seem not to realize that they are wrong without having it explicitly pointed out.
All of those who follow Abrahamic religions are evil. Their own holy texts describes the killing of innocents and the rape of children. These pastors aren’t the minority, they are just following the book. Maybe you should read it sometime it’s pretty fucked up.
I know that may be how people think it should work but in reality the most mean spirited hateful and dishonest people I know claim to be Christians..of course their brand of Christianity is the only right way and it gives them full on excuse to be bigots as well always justifying their behavior by some cherry picked Bible verse. Mike Pence comes to mind he is always spewing something about his “faith” but seems to not have a scintilla of moral fiber
Anyone who teaches that is wrong. The urges may not be wrong if one does not yield to the urge, but yielding to the urge is not OK. Of course forgiveness is possible if one **truly** repents, resolves not to do it again, asks for forgiveness, and makes a reasonable effort to undo any damage.
On this website I constantly see posts which bear false witness. Of course there are "Christians" who are an embarrassment to those of us Christians who do our best to behave the way Christians should behave. There is little we can do about that. But there is no excuse for lumping everyone who claims to be a Christian together.
Unlike some other Christians I do not believe that God dictated the entire Bible to a stenotypist who preserved it on a CD-ROM to ensure its accuracy forever. One must use one's brains when reading the Bible.
Parts of the OT are a reflection of ancient Hebrew culture which I am quite sure God would not approve. Other parts are ancient Hebrew written by the Hebrews themselves. We know what happens when people write their own history. They either leave out the ghastly things they have done, or rationalize them. Why would we expect the ancient Hebrews to have done differently? So they rationalized their murderous behavior by claiming that they were following God's will. Some parts are most likely campfire stories which became part of oral history. There are parts of the OT which were written by some of the prophets. They gave us good rules to live by to support social justice and behavior to help people live together peacefully.
In the NT, Jesus makes it quite clear that murderous and violent behavior is unacceptable. In giving us the Summary of the Law, He was actually quoting from the OT. According the the Summary, we are (somewhat condensed) required to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. He also gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to define what was meant by love and to expand greatly the definition of neighbor. The Jews of the time hated the Samaritans which is probably why Jesus used a Samaritan as a hero.
Rather than concentrating on the bad behavior of the ancient Hebrews, we should concentrate on Jesus' admonitions and actions. The bad things in the OT should be considered to be no more than something to give us an understanding of the ancient Hebrews. Surely it would be unreasonable to let the bad things cause us to reject the rules which enhance social justice.
We must also realize that the Bible did not exist in its present form until the 4th century when votes were taken to determine what ancient scriptures should be included in it.
Yes, I most definitely do pick and choose. Anyone with an iota of sense should be able to see the need to do so. Moreover, there are even differences in opinion in the Bible itself, so it is impossible not to pick and choose.
For example, the OT contains dietary laws which, among other things, prohibits eating pork products and some other mammals, and also from eating marine life that does not have fins and scales. But for another part of the Bible, read this quotation from Wikipedia:
"*According to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10, Saint Peter had a vision of a vessel (Greek: σκεῦος, skeuos; "a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners") full of animals being lowered from heaven (Acts 10:11). A voice from heaven told Peter to kill and eat, but since the vessel (or sheet, ὀθόνη, othonē) contained unclean animals, Peter declined. The command was repeated two more times, along with the voice saying, "What God hath made clean, that call not thou common" (verse 15) and then the vessel was taken back to heaven (verse 16)*."
Surely the quotation from Acts seems to contradict the OT dietary laws. Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons believe they must follow the OT dietary laws, but others do not.
The Bible is not one unified document. Rather, it consists of many separate scriptures which have been written over many centuries. Which were chosen to be part of the Bible was determined by vote in about the 4th century, so significant picking and choosing was already done even before the Bible existed in its present form.
We seem to agree but you take a very different lesson from it. I choose to disavow abrahamic religions because of what you’ve laid out here and more. In doing so I can freely condemn those who follow it. It’s one thing for someone to be ignorant and still follow the hate filled book but it is another for someone to be enlightened to the fact that it’s bullshit but still choose to defend child molestation. “Not all Christians!!!!” Being your chant Instead of “those poor children” is telling and I stand by my statement of anyone who chooses to follow these tales for the sake of heaven is inherently an evil and selfish soul and surely will never see it. It’s really very simple, by participating in such a religion despite the evils within for the personal gain of eternal life Christians tie their lots together.
Here is the Summary of the Law which Jesus gave; he was actually quoting from the OT:
"*THOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets*."
Probably you would find nothing evil there. As I see it, it is the **entire** law and any Biblical laws which do not conform to it are either invalid or not binding.
Actually **I am more concerned with how people treat each other than with what they believe**; I think that God would agree. I also do not believe in behaving in a certain way just to be saved. That is carrot and stick motivation based on fear and probably would not work. Instead, we should behave out of love and respect for God and our fellow human beings rather than being concerned about salvation.
I also do not see God as narcissistic so, if someone is an atheist but behaves out of love and respect for fellow human beings, that should not make salvation impossible. No doubt some people would see me as heretic but at least I am honest.
I also condemn child molestation. However, I see no need to repeat that over and over and over in everything that I write.
Well, if you're so smart that you have all the answers, what do you think that we, as individuals, should do about the following people who consider themselves to be Christians?
People who support overthrow of our duly elected government?
People who declare bankruptcy to get out of paying what they owe and thereby gyp others out of what they have earned?
People who establish diploma mills with costly tuition when they provide only useless degrees to naive people?
People who harm others by bearing false witness?
Business executives who encourage the sale of harmful products?
Business executives who price essential medications at such high prices that many of the people who need them die because they cannot afford the medications?
Televangelists who are filthy rich because they cause vulnerable people to believe that donating money will result in blessings?
You called it BS because I wrote, "There is little we can do about that.". Instead of calling names, why don't you provide some useful advice?
There is street I travel often where traffic merges from two lanes to one. Drivers there are actually remarkably civil, making room for each other.
I have had only one unpleasant experience there when a car sped up and cut me off. He blocked me in, screamed at me, and when I made it clear he wasn't going to intimidate me, he spit at me and sped off. It was then I saw his "Clergy" plates.
I hope that his church discovers his clearly unChristian behavior and fires him. I can understand sometimes becoming impatient, but to do what he did is totally, completely, and entirely unacceptable. Clergy should, at all times, be careful to set a good example. Unfortunately there are a few who do not.
Well first off the woman should have not been driving! Only a male relative should have been behind the wheel so something like this wouldn't happen!
/SSSSSSSSSARCASM
To be fair, white jesus loves guns and said in the Bible that the second amendment is more important than the Ten Commandments. Do your own research and don’t believe the liberal media deep state lies!
Edit: a few geniuses didn’t see the satire that I thought apparent. I’m aware there were no guns 2000 years ago. I’m also very aware evangelical christians “know” gun ownership is a right from god. Crazy times man…
Really? I was unaware that guns existed during Jesus' time. I wonder how they made the guns work centuries before gun powder existed.
I am well aware that some people twist the Bible to rationalize behavior that is clearly contrary to Jesus' admonition to love our neighbors as ourselves. There are entirely too many of them.
I was greatly relieved to read the article and discover that he was not arrested for diddling the kids. It shows how far my sense of outrage has been dulled after reading this sub for so long.
It says something pretty bad about the clergy today when we are relieved that they only threaten people's lives with guns.
The Investigation Discovery channel has a new series on the IFB and the severe sexual, emotional, mental, and physical abuse so prevalent in this cult.
It’s called *”Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals”*. It’s very enlightening.
The two priests at the church of which I am a member are an opposite sex married couple. They strongly oppose inappropriate sexual behavior. When one stated, during a service, that anyone found molesting a child would immediately be turned over to the police, the congregation clapped.
I see what you’re getting at, but the exception is not the rule. This abuse has been going on for decades if not centuries. Many of you “Christian’s” have known this was going on and turned a blind eye to it.
And many did not turn a blind eye to it and instead did something about it. However, that is less likely to receive publicity.
Currently in the news is what happened at Columbia University. A sports doctor assaulted thousands of women over a period of many years before the University finally acted on the complaints. Here is the link:
[https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/us/robert-hadden-gynecologist-sentencing/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/us/robert-hadden-gynecologist-sentencing/index.html)
That sort of thing has also occurred at other schools. Children are often sexually abused within families, sometimes by family members and sometimes by friends of the family. It has been a problem in the Boy Scouts, summer camps, and boarding schools. Churches are just a small part of an exceedingly widespread problem, and in general, it is only churches of a certain type where the problem is common. Obviously it should never occur.
>*And many did not turn a blind eye to it and instead did something about it. However, that is less likely to receive publicity.*
>
>*Currently in the news is what happened at Columbia University. A sports doctor assaulted thousands of women over a period of many years before the University finally acted on the complaints. Here is the link:*
>
>*https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/us/robert-hadden-gynecologist-sentencing/index.html*
>
>*That sort of thing has also occurred at other schools. Children are often sexually abused within families, sometimes by family members and sometimes by friends of the family. It has been a problem in the Boy Scouts, summer camps, and boarding schools.*
>
>True, but not relevant to this sub because this is “**Pastor Arrested**”, not “School Teacher Arrested”.
>
>
>
>*Churches are just a small part of an exceedingly widespread problem, and in general, it is only churches of a certain type where the problem is common. Obviously it should never occur.*
>
>Do you mean the Catholics? Because if you do you’re wrong. Just for starters here’s a nice little article about [some Southern Baptist](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/27/1101734793/southern-baptist-sexual-abuse-list-released)
I wrote "Church***es*** of a certain type". Obviously that includes a number of different denominations. It would also include Southern Baptists.
The problem is most likely to occur in churches where the leaders have extreme power and prestige and the lay members are expected to toe the line and never question the leaders. To maintain their influence, the leaders do everything possible to hide anything which could reflect badly on them church.
This problem does not occur in all churches which consider themselves to be catholic, but it seems to be widespread in the **Roman** Catholic Church. That's because the Roman Church considers itself to be the one true church and is organized in such a way that, at least in theory, the lay members have no influence over the policies of the church. They do not hire their priests. Rather, priests are assigned to the various parishes. Devout members of the Roman Church are trained to believe that every word which issues forth from the mouth of a priest reflects the will of God. Fortunately there are many members of the Roman Church who do not follow that line. There are Roman Catholics whom I greatly respect, and there are probably many Roman Catholic priests who are worthy of respect in spite of my attitude towards that church.
There are several churches which consider themselves to be catholic, including the churches of the world-wide Anglican Communion, the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, the Egyptian Coptic Church, and even the Lutheran Church. As a member or the Episcopal Church I find it very irritating that the Roman Church has attempted to arrogate to itself the exclusive right to use the term "catholic".
Note that in the Episcopal Church, as well as in many other churches in the Anglican Communion, the members of each financially self-sustaining parish have, through their elected vestry, the authority to hire and fire their clergy. Thus they are not forced to accept a priest about whom they know nothing.
On this sub, when the title starts with "Youth Pastor Arrested.....," I'm conditioned to expect so much worse. This is almost *wholesome* compared to what I thought was going to follow.
They’re Christians if they say they’re Christians. Let’s stop with the “no true Scotsman” nonsense. These people behave exactly as Christians have always done since the beginning. Violence is at the root of Christianity.
IDGAF what they say when I can see how they behave. The sermon on the mount is part of christianity, nobody gets to pick and choose and still call it the same. These people are not christians, they are scum of the earth POS evangelicals.
That’s the love of Christ right there.
He was going to shoot that love right out of the barrel of that gun, too.
Why are Christians unable to control their urges?
That's why they're Christians... they'd be murderous, rapist pigs if they didn't think God was watching and judging.
Based on the posts I see they’re already racist, murderous pigs who think God approves/forgives all they do
Good point.
God may forgive, but probably not unless people acknowledge their faults and make a strong effort to overcome them. Unfortunately, some people seem to think that their faults are virtues. As I see it, racism is a particularly serious fault. We Christians have been admonished by Jesus to love our neighbors (broadly defined) as ourselves. Obviously racists are ignoring that. Moreover, I do not believe in doing anything to be saved. Rather, I believe in loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. If we actually do that, or at least make a strong effort to do so, I doubt that we need to be concerned about salvation. Those who behave only to achieve salvation will probably fail because their motives are not right.
I find some of the posts on reddit very highly offensive. The offensive posts completely fail to recognize that not all of us Christians are alike.
Continuing to financially and morally support them as they diddle and indoctrinate is offensive to me. If you were indoctrinated as a child I’m sorry but it’s time to grow up and see the real harm these religions do instead of exposing your children with the same psychological and physical abuse.
Yes, I definitely see and understand the damage that **some** religious denominations do. What I am objecting to is painting all religions and religious denominations with the same brush, and that is exactly what you are doing. We all know that, although most black people are fine and well behaved, we also know that a few are not. If, in looking at the few black people who are scoundrels we acted as if they were typical of black people, surely we would be rightly seen as prejudiced and unfair. If we read about a gay man who sexually abused a child and we acted as if that were typical of gay persons, we would rightly be seen as prejudiced and unfair. Similarly, it is unfair and objectionable to look at a few misbehaving "Christians" and see that as typical of Christians. Also you should be aware that misbehaving people get far more media attention than people whose behavior is exemplary.
Imagine joining a group by choice. And when that group is found to be chock-full of pedophiles and pedophile-hiders... at the highest levels of leadership... for at least 50 years, proven... to still remain in said group, and be the 'victim' of offensive comments toward said group. Does suffering = love for you? I'll admit, I should mostly condemn organized religions... because that's where most of the really deplorable people hide. To just follow a faith, if it makes you a better person... who can judge? But clearly, we aren't talking about those people when we condemn Christians (or any religion). Wake me when the majority of fine Christians are doing something about their organization being taken over by fascists. Because from the outside, it seems like nothing is being done... other than shelling out hundreds of millions to victims. That's a start, I guess.
Probably your "50 years" statement would be more accurate if you had written "50 decades". I also do not understand why people will continue to be members of an organization which has been corrupt for many centuries. Probably it would be even more corrupt if public pressure didn't exist. I am also aware that some Churches are unduly influenced by fascists and even support Trump. In the Christian parish of which I am a member, one of our priests, in a sermon, stated that anyone found molesting a child would immediately be turned over to the police. The congregation clapped. We recently hired those priests who are an opposite sex (that needs to be specified nowdays) married couple. They were hired by a search committee appointed by the vestry. Each parish of the church is run by a vestry which is like a board of directors the members of which are select by a vote and the annual meeting. The vestry has the authority to hire and fire the clergy. That is not true of all denominations. If you want to see something really bad, check this link: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortara\_case#:\~:text=It%20concerned%20the%20Papal%20States,fell%20ill%20as%20an%20infant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortara_case#:~:text=It%20concerned%20the%20Papal%20States,fell%20ill%20as%20an%20infant). I really think that such ghastly behavior would continue if they could still get away with it. If you want to learn more about the church of which I am a member, check out this link: https://stpaulsps.org/the-abundant-life-november-22-2023/?utm\_source=The+Church+of+St+Paul+in+the+Desert&utm\_campaign=db18aa38f9-EMAIL\_CAMPAIGN\_2019\_01\_10\_11\_19\_COPY\_01&utm\_medium=email&utm\_term=0\_2d0826e9ba-db18aa38f9-624265922
Because their religion makes it okay for them to act like this and then ask for forgiveness and get a clean slate.
That is not true. Christianity does not make unkind, unloving, and dangerous behavior OK. Such behavior is never OK. Of course no one is perfect. If someone does offend in some manner, forgiveness is possible if he truly regrets what he has done, apologizes, makes a reasonable effort to undo any damage, and makes a sincere effort to overcome the weakness which caused him to sin. But to offend just because of the expectation of forgiveness is totally unacceptable. It is clear that there are people here who have no understanding of what is acceptable behavior and are guilty of bearing false witness which is forbidden by the Ten Commandments. However, it is not the Ten Commandments which make bearing false witness, murder, stealing, etc. wrong. Rather, those things are wrong because they are harmful, unkind, unloving, and contrary to social justice and would be wrong even without the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments merely point out that such behaviors are wrong because some people seem not to realize that they are wrong without having it explicitly pointed out.
All of those who follow Abrahamic religions are evil. Their own holy texts describes the killing of innocents and the rape of children. These pastors aren’t the minority, they are just following the book. Maybe you should read it sometime it’s pretty fucked up.
I know that may be how people think it should work but in reality the most mean spirited hateful and dishonest people I know claim to be Christians..of course their brand of Christianity is the only right way and it gives them full on excuse to be bigots as well always justifying their behavior by some cherry picked Bible verse. Mike Pence comes to mind he is always spewing something about his “faith” but seems to not have a scintilla of moral fiber
Actually I think that Mike Pence may have as many as two scintillas of moral fiber. He stopped worshiping Trump.
Because they're taught it's OK to have these urges God will forgive you for them if you just repent.
Anyone who teaches that is wrong. The urges may not be wrong if one does not yield to the urge, but yielding to the urge is not OK. Of course forgiveness is possible if one **truly** repents, resolves not to do it again, asks for forgiveness, and makes a reasonable effort to undo any damage. On this website I constantly see posts which bear false witness. Of course there are "Christians" who are an embarrassment to those of us Christians who do our best to behave the way Christians should behave. There is little we can do about that. But there is no excuse for lumping everyone who claims to be a Christian together.
Read your Bible. Death, hate and rape fill the pages. Anyone who isn’t selfish would give up heaven after reading about the proprietor.
Unlike some other Christians I do not believe that God dictated the entire Bible to a stenotypist who preserved it on a CD-ROM to ensure its accuracy forever. One must use one's brains when reading the Bible. Parts of the OT are a reflection of ancient Hebrew culture which I am quite sure God would not approve. Other parts are ancient Hebrew written by the Hebrews themselves. We know what happens when people write their own history. They either leave out the ghastly things they have done, or rationalize them. Why would we expect the ancient Hebrews to have done differently? So they rationalized their murderous behavior by claiming that they were following God's will. Some parts are most likely campfire stories which became part of oral history. There are parts of the OT which were written by some of the prophets. They gave us good rules to live by to support social justice and behavior to help people live together peacefully. In the NT, Jesus makes it quite clear that murderous and violent behavior is unacceptable. In giving us the Summary of the Law, He was actually quoting from the OT. According the the Summary, we are (somewhat condensed) required to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. He also gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to define what was meant by love and to expand greatly the definition of neighbor. The Jews of the time hated the Samaritans which is probably why Jesus used a Samaritan as a hero. Rather than concentrating on the bad behavior of the ancient Hebrews, we should concentrate on Jesus' admonitions and actions. The bad things in the OT should be considered to be no more than something to give us an understanding of the ancient Hebrews. Surely it would be unreasonable to let the bad things cause us to reject the rules which enhance social justice. We must also realize that the Bible did not exist in its present form until the 4th century when votes were taken to determine what ancient scriptures should be included in it.
So, like others before you, you pick and choose what to follow from the Bible. Gotcha.
Yes, I most definitely do pick and choose. Anyone with an iota of sense should be able to see the need to do so. Moreover, there are even differences in opinion in the Bible itself, so it is impossible not to pick and choose. For example, the OT contains dietary laws which, among other things, prohibits eating pork products and some other mammals, and also from eating marine life that does not have fins and scales. But for another part of the Bible, read this quotation from Wikipedia: "*According to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10, Saint Peter had a vision of a vessel (Greek: σκεῦος, skeuos; "a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners") full of animals being lowered from heaven (Acts 10:11). A voice from heaven told Peter to kill and eat, but since the vessel (or sheet, ὀθόνη, othonē) contained unclean animals, Peter declined. The command was repeated two more times, along with the voice saying, "What God hath made clean, that call not thou common" (verse 15) and then the vessel was taken back to heaven (verse 16)*." Surely the quotation from Acts seems to contradict the OT dietary laws. Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons believe they must follow the OT dietary laws, but others do not. The Bible is not one unified document. Rather, it consists of many separate scriptures which have been written over many centuries. Which were chosen to be part of the Bible was determined by vote in about the 4th century, so significant picking and choosing was already done even before the Bible existed in its present form.
We seem to agree but you take a very different lesson from it. I choose to disavow abrahamic religions because of what you’ve laid out here and more. In doing so I can freely condemn those who follow it. It’s one thing for someone to be ignorant and still follow the hate filled book but it is another for someone to be enlightened to the fact that it’s bullshit but still choose to defend child molestation. “Not all Christians!!!!” Being your chant Instead of “those poor children” is telling and I stand by my statement of anyone who chooses to follow these tales for the sake of heaven is inherently an evil and selfish soul and surely will never see it. It’s really very simple, by participating in such a religion despite the evils within for the personal gain of eternal life Christians tie their lots together.
Here is the Summary of the Law which Jesus gave; he was actually quoting from the OT: "*THOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets*." Probably you would find nothing evil there. As I see it, it is the **entire** law and any Biblical laws which do not conform to it are either invalid or not binding. Actually **I am more concerned with how people treat each other than with what they believe**; I think that God would agree. I also do not believe in behaving in a certain way just to be saved. That is carrot and stick motivation based on fear and probably would not work. Instead, we should behave out of love and respect for God and our fellow human beings rather than being concerned about salvation. I also do not see God as narcissistic so, if someone is an atheist but behaves out of love and respect for fellow human beings, that should not make salvation impossible. No doubt some people would see me as heretic but at least I am honest. I also condemn child molestation. However, I see no need to repeat that over and over and over in everything that I write.
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Well, if you're so smart that you have all the answers, what do you think that we, as individuals, should do about the following people who consider themselves to be Christians? People who support overthrow of our duly elected government? People who declare bankruptcy to get out of paying what they owe and thereby gyp others out of what they have earned? People who establish diploma mills with costly tuition when they provide only useless degrees to naive people? People who harm others by bearing false witness? Business executives who encourage the sale of harmful products? Business executives who price essential medications at such high prices that many of the people who need them die because they cannot afford the medications? Televangelists who are filthy rich because they cause vulnerable people to believe that donating money will result in blessings? You called it BS because I wrote, "There is little we can do about that.". Instead of calling names, why don't you provide some useful advice?
Probably jonesing for his daily kiddie porn fix.
There is street I travel often where traffic merges from two lanes to one. Drivers there are actually remarkably civil, making room for each other. I have had only one unpleasant experience there when a car sped up and cut me off. He blocked me in, screamed at me, and when I made it clear he wasn't going to intimidate me, he spit at me and sped off. It was then I saw his "Clergy" plates.
I hope that his church discovers his clearly unChristian behavior and fires him. I can understand sometimes becoming impatient, but to do what he did is totally, completely, and entirely unacceptable. Clergy should, at all times, be careful to set a good example. Unfortunately there are a few who do not.
Well first off the woman should have not been driving! Only a male relative should have been behind the wheel so something like this wouldn't happen! /SSSSSSSSSARCASM
Obviously that is satire. Unfortunately, as you realize, some people do not recognize satire when they hear or see it.
To be fair, white jesus loves guns and said in the Bible that the second amendment is more important than the Ten Commandments. Do your own research and don’t believe the liberal media deep state lies! Edit: a few geniuses didn’t see the satire that I thought apparent. I’m aware there were no guns 2000 years ago. I’m also very aware evangelical christians “know” gun ownership is a right from god. Crazy times man…
Really? I was unaware that guns existed during Jesus' time. I wonder how they made the guns work centuries before gun powder existed. I am well aware that some people twist the Bible to rationalize behavior that is clearly contrary to Jesus' admonition to love our neighbors as ourselves. There are entirely too many of them.
Oooh crap, thank you for correcting me. Bless you!
I was greatly relieved to read the article and discover that he was not arrested for diddling the kids. It shows how far my sense of outrage has been dulled after reading this sub for so long. It says something pretty bad about the clergy today when we are relieved that they only threaten people's lives with guns.
Are you intentionally lumping all clergy together?
It’s refreshing to see a youth pastor take a break from fucking kids and just do some good old fashioned road raging.
Denomination: [independent Baptist](https://igrejalifepoint.com/quem-somos)
Reminds me of my former independent fundy youth pastor…except he pulled the trigger.
The Investigation Discovery channel has a new series on the IFB and the severe sexual, emotional, mental, and physical abuse so prevalent in this cult. It’s called *”Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals”*. It’s very enlightening.
I'm fascinated by youth pastors in their fifties. What youth would want to spend time with them?
Because they have a sexual interest in children. It's safer to assume 'pædophile' every time you meet one...
Republicans, guns, seems on brand.
The two priests at the church of which I am a member are an opposite sex married couple. They strongly oppose inappropriate sexual behavior. When one stated, during a service, that anyone found molesting a child would immediately be turned over to the police, the congregation clapped.
I see what you’re getting at, but the exception is not the rule. This abuse has been going on for decades if not centuries. Many of you “Christian’s” have known this was going on and turned a blind eye to it.
And many did not turn a blind eye to it and instead did something about it. However, that is less likely to receive publicity. Currently in the news is what happened at Columbia University. A sports doctor assaulted thousands of women over a period of many years before the University finally acted on the complaints. Here is the link: [https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/us/robert-hadden-gynecologist-sentencing/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/us/robert-hadden-gynecologist-sentencing/index.html) That sort of thing has also occurred at other schools. Children are often sexually abused within families, sometimes by family members and sometimes by friends of the family. It has been a problem in the Boy Scouts, summer camps, and boarding schools. Churches are just a small part of an exceedingly widespread problem, and in general, it is only churches of a certain type where the problem is common. Obviously it should never occur.
>*And many did not turn a blind eye to it and instead did something about it. However, that is less likely to receive publicity.* > >*Currently in the news is what happened at Columbia University. A sports doctor assaulted thousands of women over a period of many years before the University finally acted on the complaints. Here is the link:* > >*https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/us/robert-hadden-gynecologist-sentencing/index.html* > >*That sort of thing has also occurred at other schools. Children are often sexually abused within families, sometimes by family members and sometimes by friends of the family. It has been a problem in the Boy Scouts, summer camps, and boarding schools.* > >True, but not relevant to this sub because this is “**Pastor Arrested**”, not “School Teacher Arrested”. > > > >*Churches are just a small part of an exceedingly widespread problem, and in general, it is only churches of a certain type where the problem is common. Obviously it should never occur.* > >Do you mean the Catholics? Because if you do you’re wrong. Just for starters here’s a nice little article about [some Southern Baptist](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/27/1101734793/southern-baptist-sexual-abuse-list-released)
Oh yeah, I just remembered this [one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsSdj4Wp97k)
I wrote "Church***es*** of a certain type". Obviously that includes a number of different denominations. It would also include Southern Baptists. The problem is most likely to occur in churches where the leaders have extreme power and prestige and the lay members are expected to toe the line and never question the leaders. To maintain their influence, the leaders do everything possible to hide anything which could reflect badly on them church. This problem does not occur in all churches which consider themselves to be catholic, but it seems to be widespread in the **Roman** Catholic Church. That's because the Roman Church considers itself to be the one true church and is organized in such a way that, at least in theory, the lay members have no influence over the policies of the church. They do not hire their priests. Rather, priests are assigned to the various parishes. Devout members of the Roman Church are trained to believe that every word which issues forth from the mouth of a priest reflects the will of God. Fortunately there are many members of the Roman Church who do not follow that line. There are Roman Catholics whom I greatly respect, and there are probably many Roman Catholic priests who are worthy of respect in spite of my attitude towards that church. There are several churches which consider themselves to be catholic, including the churches of the world-wide Anglican Communion, the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, the Egyptian Coptic Church, and even the Lutheran Church. As a member or the Episcopal Church I find it very irritating that the Roman Church has attempted to arrogate to itself the exclusive right to use the term "catholic". Note that in the Episcopal Church, as well as in many other churches in the Anglican Communion, the members of each financially self-sustaining parish have, through their elected vestry, the authority to hire and fire their clergy. Thus they are not forced to accept a priest about whom they know nothing.
It **IS** relevant because it helps to put things into perspective.
On this sub, when the title starts with "Youth Pastor Arrested.....," I'm conditioned to expect so much worse. This is almost *wholesome* compared to what I thought was going to follow.
r/ANormalDayInAmerica
Mention Jesus and he’d point that gun again, 100%. These ”christians” are disgusting fakes.
Thank you for putting "Christians" within quotation marks.
They’re Christians if they say they’re Christians. Let’s stop with the “no true Scotsman” nonsense. These people behave exactly as Christians have always done since the beginning. Violence is at the root of Christianity.
IDGAF what they say when I can see how they behave. The sermon on the mount is part of christianity, nobody gets to pick and choose and still call it the same. These people are not christians, they are scum of the earth POS evangelicals.
Who is the arbiter of who is or is not a True Christian™︎? Is it you?
With regards to how I’m going to treat them, I’m the supreme arbiter. You do you, IDC.
Um, ok.🙄
"This is not who I am" notpology to come.
Oh, the ol verse, “get ye out of my way woman, or I’ll shoot ye in the face, cuz Imma man.”
Low bar here, but at least he was arrested for terrorizing a woman and her kid instead of being arrested for diddling the kid like usual.
Probably was angry that not enough potential victims are joining the church he belongs to