Cherry Picking and Holy Books

[Philip Lu]

Do you kill heathens who talk to you about their religions or lack thereof?

The writers thought of everything!

[NoJingoLingo]

The writers thought of everything!

Well, at least everything that made sense in 325 AD.

[Philip Lu]

Well, at least everything that made sense in 325 AD.

yea... I guess no one is really crazy enough to do that, at least these days. But if there were such fanatics, it'd be a good way to keep them fanatics right? If someone tries to show you you're a retard, kill them.

[ZNFYRH]

So to plainly answer your Q ZNFYRH, its the people who claim that they do claim to follow their scripture in its entirety that I take issue with. They are hypocrites.

But in the opening post, you write as though the cherry pickers are the hypocrites. Which, to you, is the greater evil?

Someone like me, who takes the moral lessons from The Bible, or the people who take it literally?

[Nightwriter]

We choose what we want to believe and we find ways to justify it.

Sounds like this is about divine authority. Can there be such a thing as divine authority when man dictates when it does or does not apply?

Answer: no. There cannot.

[Grogybear]

But in the opening post, you write as though the cherry pickers are the hypocrites. Which, to you, is the greater evil?

Someone like me, who takes the moral lessons from The Bible, or the people who take it literally?

My point is the fundies are also cherry pickers. They neither follow the bible to the letter nor do they use rationality to cherry pick. They get the worst of both worlds.

[ZNFYRH]

That's not cherry picking. That's hypocrisy. They pick and choose when to follow certain parts, and when to ignore those same ones, but follow others they've ignored before.

[Philip Lu]

That's not cherry picking. That's hypocrisy. They pick and choose when to follow certain parts, and when to ignore those same ones, but follow others they've ignored before.

Sounds like cherry picking when they "pick and choose", might also be called hypocrisy I guess, i.e banning gay marriages while eating pork.

[ZNFYRH]

Philip Lu

The difference, at least in my mind, is that if you cherry pick, but adhere to the things you've chosen, you aren't a hypocrite.

[Philip Lu]

Philip Lu

The difference, at least in my mind, is that if you cherry pick, but adhere to the things you've chosen, you aren't a hypocrite.

So they cherry pick and don't follow their pick?

[RickSp]

Philip Lu

The difference, at least in my mind, is that if you cherry pick, but adhere to the things you've chosen, you aren't a hypocrite.

I have no problem with those like Jefferson who literally took a pair of scissors tot he Bible and cut out that which he didn't believe. That isn't cherry picking. It is editing.

Cherry picking is when the believers claim that the entire holy book is true, good and sacred and then decide which parts they will follow and which they will ignore.

Editing is fine. Cherry picking is hypocritical;

[ZNFYRH]

Philip Lu and RickSp

I'm a cherry picker. There are parts that I choose and parts that I don't. But the difference is that the parts I pick, I follow. It's simple.

The religious hypocrites I'm referring to pick one thing and use it, but then go against it later, as it serves their purposes.

So according to RickSp, by his terms I'm an editor, not a cherry picker.