thanks for the reply flip...
about agnostics... agnostics are generally noncommittal about the idea of an all-powerful god/entity. of course there are variations of agnosticism. the only agnostic-esque beliefs that i do have is that no human can truly understand god - yet i firmly believe that god is real. and, i don't believe that attempting to understand god is a worthwhile endeavor. we can, however, understand jesus and understand his lessons. even jesus did not understand god. in matthew 27:46, he asks god why he has been forsaken. if jesus couldn't understand god, then none of us can - and that need not be an agnostic belief, but rather, a rational interpretation of jesus's story.
i believe his lessons and sacrifice lead us to salvation, but regardless of that, they are good lessons to live by - if everyone followed his message the world would be a utopia.
with baptism and other religious rituals... i happen to believe they are largely worthless. in my case, i was raised catholic and was baptized before i could even walk/speak.. just having some water poured on one's head doesn't make someone a christian - there are many self-proclaimed atheists who've been baptized.
and for my criticism of the bible... the only lessons i give value to are those relavent to jesus's teachings. the entire old testament could be discarded as far as i'm concerned, and there are many parts of the new testament that are equally useless. i'll give some examples of why i don't believe that the bible completely represents the word of god.. i'll use the most unacceptable examples to prove my point..
Quote:
"…If however the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death..." Deuteronomy 22:13-21.
"For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head;" 1 Corinthians 11:9, 10.
"…women should remain silent in churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission..." 1 Corinthians 14:34
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chapter 19 of genesis includes some hot incest where Lot has drunken sex with both of his daughters.
chapter 19 of judges includes a gang rape of a concubine who is then murdered, cut up into 12 pieces and sent to the coasts of israel...
etc....
now, if the bible truly is the word/command of god, then we are all damned - at least those who treat women like fellow human beings. i look at these verses as being historical vestiges of the stone age, rather than anything commanded by god. plus, jesus showed mercy to mary magdalene - to the contrary of the aforementioned verses... (and mary was an active follower of jesus and considered as the 13th apostle by some)
my rejection of god/jesus/the holy spirit being one and the same can be supported by john 20:17:
Quote:
Jesus saith to her, Touch me
not; for I am not yet ascended
to my Father; but go to my
brethren, and say to them,
I ascend to my Father and your
Father, and to my God and your God.
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if jesus was the same as god, then he would not have said "my God".
i can also look at jesus's teachings and find examples of tolerance and freedom of thought. while other authors in the bible readily condemn homosexuals, adulterers, etc, jesus says in luke 12:57: why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? he says nothing whatsoever about homosexuality, yet other christians readily condemn it - using the same books from the bible as the ones that say women should be stoned to death. i don't know how to judge homosexuals. i think the act is pretty disguisting, but do i believe that they're doomed to hell? jesus definitely wasn't a fan of injustice or hypocrisy, as many christians today seem to be. the only way to prevent the formation of unjust/hypocritical views in christianity, imo, is to focus solely on jesus's teachings. he is the messiah, and none other. he took a woman prostitute into his fold - when the bible says that she should be stoned to death.