the jesus "freely gave Himself to die for you and me" myth, if it were true, is nothing more than a cheap parlor trick. if jesus were devine he would know that he was going to rise again. how much scarifice is it to die when you know you will not really die? your writings indicate a calvinistic leaning in your thinking. men deserve to die and be tortured for eternity ect. calvinists are on the lunatic fringe of christianity. calvinism states that it's God's choice who is saved, not Man's, thus making salvation unattainable by any effort of our own. All nice and well, until you acknowledge that there are people who are not saved, in spite of being just as (un)deserving as the ones who receive the Spirit. At that point, this theology starts to go down the drain, as it effectively turns God into a demonic entity, a fickle monster who delights in hearing the screams of the tormented - for he would be capable of saving all and yet chooses not to. do you people ever think logically?
so what do you do when your logic and reason based on all of the best evidence accumulated throughout decades of scientific inquiry tell you its just not true? do you reject what your logic and reason show you? on what basis?
Those things will not convince people that what they've experienced is untrue, particularly if they're aware that formal "true", nothing more than a definition (however useful) is a subset of the scientific worldview and not the other way around. They will seek other means to integrate, or they may just "let it be". All your efforts will not convince anyone with what I call the instinct otherwise.
I will wholeheartedly and vehemently agree with you that Calvinsim is a false doctrine. I think if you go back and re-read each, or most of my previous posts, you will find that I stated, in one form or another, that it's man's choice. It is not God's will for any to perish... ...it IS His will for all to be saved... 2 Peter3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ...and God encourages us to reason... Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
For every verse of Bible you thump there is another to make it untrue or contradict it. You only notice what you think sound like nice bits do you? Shifting the blame onto everyone else - because god as described in the Bible is a schizophrenic lying cheating killer, suffering with a love hate psychosis - is cheap. Seeing as you mentioned justice, real justice for oneself, in my view, would be found in overcoming thoughts , should one ever be gripped by them, which condone religious depravity manifested in the god concept, by refusing to succumb to their absurd, contradictory, immoral standards and demands.
isnt that the very definition of superstition? Dictionary: su·per·sti·tion (sû'pər-stĭsh'ən) Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionaryn. 1.An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome. 2. a.A belief, practice, or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance.