From: Delvieron@aol.com
Date: Fri Mar 19 1999 - 16:47:38 MST
A personal comment on Christianity.
I no longer call myself a Christian. I was a Christian, and interestingly
enough it was Bible study in the company of devote Christians which eventually
led me to no longer call myself Christian. It was not that these people were
blind, or stupid, or oppressive. In fact, it had nothing to do with
Christians, but rather with the Bible. I finally found the inconsistencies
and the seeming attrocities commited by and for "God" too much to accept.
Most of those occurred in the Old Testament, so that is the part that I have
the most trouble accepting as the work of what we would in contemporary times
refer to as God. My problems with the New Testament were less, but still
present. First, the Gospels base their legitimacy in the Old Testament, and
Jesus as depicted there seems to echo this view. There are also some comments
attributed to Jesus which I find too small to credit to a person of his
supposed origin. Now, some apologists might claim some of this was added, or
misinterpreted, but then that means that it is impossible to say precisely
what the original intent of Jesus was.
Having said that, I would also like to say that my earliest introductions
to the memes of Tolerance, Improvement, Immortality, and Goodness were through
the New Testament's depiction of Jesus. I feel much of value in me had its
origins in the stories of the Man from Galilee. Granted, I have taken that
start and continued on my own, found other teachers and mentors as well, but I
will always acknowledge where my journey began, and say proudly that the meme
complex represented by Jesus of Nazareth has been a great part of my life.
Glen Finney
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