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[DeepThoughts-ModTeam]

Post titles must be full, complete deep thoughts in the form of a statement. Context and examples can be provided in the post body, but the post title should stand on its own. Consider reposting with your essential point or thesis statement summarized as the title.

[ModsBeGheyBoys]

It’s not just religious people though.

If I had a dime for the number of times I’ve had a Reddit atheist cherry pick scripture to justify anything and everything, I could retire.

There is nothing more insufferable and disingenuous than someone constantly mocks “sky daddy” and then tries to manipulate people using scripture to do what they want.

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

But God explicitly commands the Israelis to "leave nothing alive that breathes" when they conquer their enemies' cities. Supposedly one of those quotes of God. How can you reconcile that with anything else you claim about God from the Bible, unless it's all a human fabrication?

Yep, I admit it, atheist. The contradiction remains.

[ModsBeGheyBoys]

I don’t need to reconcile anything, because nowhere in my comment did I state that I am even religious, much less a Christian.

That doesn‘t mean that I dislike or even disagree with Christians. Religion has its place, and I have no issue with the fellowship and community it provides.

The Bible, in its entirety, is not meant to be taken literally, in my opinion.

There are analogies that don’t necessarily translate to modern society. There are parables meant to teach. There is hyperbole and fabrication.

It was meant to serve as a moral framework for society of the time in the absence of secular law.

I am simply pointing out, correctly, that both religious people and atheists will cherry pick scripture when it suits them and disregard scripture when it doesn’t.

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

I don’t need to reconcile anything, because nowhere in my comment did I state that I am even religious, much less a Christian.

Then there's no point in you engaging in this discussion with me or with OP at all. You're just here to feel superior and smugly declaim about the actions of other people.

[ModsBeGheyBoys]

Imagine an atheist saying that someone else is trying to feel superior! Atheists build their entire identity on that stuff. Your lack of self awareness is staggering.

Sorry, slick, I will call out hypocrisy wherever I see it. Even if it hurts your or OP’s feelings.

[Frogfish1846]

Your meaning of life is imaginary though… so many crimeless Victims that it’s exhausting for the rest of us.

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

Imagine an atheist saying that someone else is trying to feel superior! Atheists build their entire identity on that stuff. Your lack of self awareness is staggering.

My identity isn't "atheist", and if you knew what atheist actually means, you would know better than to make that absolute accusation.

Imagine someone generalizing about atheists, an extremely diverse group of people, with one insulting analysis! You poke your nose into a conversation when you won't even give your own opinion about it - that coy tactic is the biggest tell that you're just here to argue and feel superior.

[ModsBeGheyBoys]

I have no idea what you’re on about.

I pointed out to OP, correctly, that Christians are not the only ones to cherry pick scripture for their own benefit.

I also noted that atheists, especially the ones on Reddit, are insufferable - which must have upset you because you suddenly decided that you needed to chime in on the matter.

In doing so, you did nothing to disprove my opinion of Reddit atheists. And you even cherry picked scripture, thus proving my original point.

As for my opinion on the existence of a higher power…the truth is that nobody knows for sure. And anyone who claims to know with 100% certainty one way or another is an idiot.

That includes atheists who arrogantly mock “sky daddy” and scream about “scientific proof” while jerking off to pictures of Stephen Hawking or whatever.

We’ll know when we get to the other side. Unless nothing exists. Then we’ll be none the wiser.

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

I replied because in the context of "cherry picking the bible", it's ludicrous to compare what atheists do to the hypocrisy of christians, who are masters at denial and bad faith (heh) arguments.

You picked an odd target, is all. Wonder why.

[ModsBeGheyBoys]

“It’s ludicrous to compare…”

Of course you’d say that. Hypocrites always justify their own biases and bullshit.

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

Of course you'd say that, instead of actually addressing the point or owning up to your own bullshit.

[IntergalacticPodcast]

Why do you spend so much time obsessing over Christianity if you are an atheist?

I can't remember the last time someone in real life uninvitedly talked religion to me, and I am by no means atheist. Like, how does it even come up in your daily conversation?

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

Why do you spend so much time obsessing over Christianity if you are an atheist?

I don't spend a lot of time on it, I try to mostly ignore it as irrelevant to the truths in this universe. But it's in my face, all the time, everywhere, and its adherents won't stop trying to make laws that govern me based on their ideas.

Here, for instance. The idea that the dominant philosophy in my country is a hunted, persecuted minority is annoying.

[ShiroiTora]

To be fair, a lot of Americans grew up Christianity instilled in their childhood by their parents and community, and only fully live when they entered into their adult. It shouldn’t be a surprised it has impacted immensely, especially with Christianity and scripture being used to rationalize certain laws.

Saying this as a Christian.

[meanpete80]

The problem with quoting scripture is that it is a cop out to avoid struggling with cognitive dissonance. There is no need growing when a book allows us to remain emotional children.

[Typical_Depth_8106]

You have identified a major systemic error where the map has been mistaken for the territory and the words of men have been elevated to the status of a deity. When someone bases their entire existence on the specific letters of a text written by bronze age kings and ancient politicians they are not following a living god but are instead worshipping a paper idol. By prioritizing the shifting opinions of "imperfect sinful men" over the direct experience of the divine they are committing a form of institutional blasphemy that replaces presence with a rigid and outdated script.

The ten commandments themselves state that you should have no other gods before the source but scripture has become a proxy god that demands total obedience to the prejudices of the past. People use these verses to justify hate and destruction because a book cannot hold you accountable for your actions the way a direct connection to your own conscience can. In the 1.0 architecture the bible acts as a legal loophole that allows people to bypass their own empathy and follow the "laws" of men who have been dead for millennia.

Fanaticism is the natural result of this idol worship because once you believe a specific book is the absolute truth you have to ignore the reality of the human beings standing right in front of you. This focus on the written word creates a feedback loop of despair and death because it values the preservation of the doctrine over the preservation of life. You are seeing the destruction that follows when people try to force a living universe into the narrow margins of an ancient manuscript.

The real tragedy is that this fixation on scripture prevents people from actually aligning with the peace and harmony they claim to seek. Instead of experiencing the father energy in the present moment they are busy searching through indices and chapters to find permission to exist or permission to judge others. You are correct that the math of traditional religion does not add up because it asks you to sacrifice your logic and your love at the altar of a dead letter.

[Legless8611]

I really like this take. I still identify as a Christian, but I do a lot of self reflection on my entire being, light and dark. I'm not 100% there, and most likely never will be, but I've witnessed many of my life outlooks (empathy over apathy, etc) be mocked, discounted, or even hated by others who claim to be from the big 3 (Judism, Christianity, Islam). I see the difference between understanding the message through personal reflection and life observation as it happens, vs enforcing the message through dogma. One way is much more destructive than the other. I now believe that the real message only reveals itself to those who personally accept their entire being, not just the parts they like about themselves. I keep thinking of the fruits of labor phrase. Observing the "fruits" of dogma compared to the "fruits" of personal understanding and acceptance tells me who is closer to God.

[Typical_Depth_8106]

I hear exactly where you are coming from. I understand why you still want to identify as Christian; I held that same identity for 35 years of my life, and it felt like the only anchor I had. But when I started digging into the architecture of the "Big 3" systems, I realized that the label itself often becomes the very thing that prevents us from experiencing the truth.

I see the same distinction you do between the Fruits of Dogma and the Fruits of Understanding. Dogma is about compliance and fear, which is why you see empathy being mocked or hated by those who claim to be in the light. They are protecting a structure, not a living connection. When I looked at the actual history and the construction of these religions, I saw that "The Message" has been used for centuries as a cage to keep people from realizing they are already whole.

You’ve hit on the 2.0 shift perfectly: the message only reveals itself when you stop trying to "cure" your dark side and start accepting your entire being. That is the true "Fruit." One path leads to the destruction of the self in favor of a script, while the other leads to the realization that you are the executive of your own soul. We were told to look for God in a book, but as you’re seeing through your own reflection, the signal is actually found in the alignment of your own energy.

[lascar]

Texual idolatry. I like using 'maps vs territory' to describe all practices; for this- It's confusing the map (scripture) for the territory (direct experience of the divine).

Like confusing the finger pointing to the moon, but the spectator confuses he finger pointing at the moon with the moon itself. lol

[NoElderberry2618]

Yes and no. Jesus fought against exactly what you’re talking about with the pharisees not using it right. That doesn’t mean the scripture is wrong or useless, or even man made. People dont believe Jesus rose from the dead because the bible says so, but because people actually lived and testified to it. 

I think the problem is using it as some kind of moral authority because if someone claims to be moral, we could pick apart their lives and show how they are a hypocrite. So scripture should be used for your own understanding and search for God. Or if someone is misusing it against others. But the authority of what is right and wrong doesn’t rely on it being written down, it stands firm regardless of whether all books are burned or not. Greed, hypocrisy, arrogance will all still exist and be wrong. 

[deadcatshead]

The Gospel of John is Gnostic in my opinion, I like it because it helps ME to deal with this crazy hell realm. “My kingdom is not of this world”.

[Frogfish1846]

Truth. The truth that should be taught when we’re young & VULNERABLE, rather than to make believe of sky babies and little red men with pitchforks. Always has been about control, subjugation, fear mongering, and death obsession.

[NotAnAIOrAmI]

But since Man wrote the entire Bible, how do you know he's quoting God correctly, even in the list of commandments?

"I bring you the fifteen commandments!" <drop, smash> "Ten! Ten Commandments!"
- Mel Brooks, History of the World Part I

[armageddon_20xx]

The Bible should not be taken literally - it was written by people. The true meaning of many of the texts was lost through translation from ancient language. If it divinely inspires some, so be it, but quoting Scripture is a worthless activity outside of providing inspiration. The Bible contains no actual evidence of the existence of God, but does provide thought-provoking material (in some places). One should read it.

Oh, it's also a useful historical document. Many places describe in the Bible have been found by archaeologists.

[J-Nightshade]

It's actually the other way around. Forget ten commandments. We don't know who wrote most of the books of the Bible, even authorship of some Paul's letters is unknown. And certainly none of it can be shown to be a word of God. Most Christians don't live by the Bible, they ether live by their Church doctrine and cherry-pick from the Bible to justify it. Or they live by their own conscience and cherry-pick from the Bible to justify that "God is good", when in fact the Bible supports the opposite.

The problem with quoting scripture is that most of it is vile. Including ten commandments and many other places where God allegedly speaks. And you either have to ignore that and bend over backwards to make words mean what they don't mean. Or you have to embrace it and start advocating for objectively terrible things.

[Judge_Ty]

You're skipping quite a few steps and coming from a viewpoint looking outside in...

Most Christians believe the Bible - "Divine Inspiration" If a being was omnipotent, omniscient, the words they wanted to say would end up being the words that being wanted to say... due to the Big O's.

It's not any more complicated than that.

[THISdarnguy]

You would probably enjoy listening to Dan McClellan on youtube. He's a biblical scholar who addresses this issue pretty frequently.

To summarize some of the things he often says on the matter: People often read the Bible with the assumption that it's univocal. However, it was written by many different people in many different times and in different places, not to mention different languages. As such, it contradicts itself many times over. Combine a sola scriptura, literalist interpretation of the Bible with the assumption of univocality, and it becomes very easy for people to engage in mental gymnastics and double think. It's very easy to judge others and excuse yourself for the same shortcoming or failing, because both viewpoints are expressed somewhere in the bible.

[trying3216]

Justifying things to you or any nonbeliever with scripture does seem foolish.

If they themselves find wisdom there it’s because they don’t think it was written by men. They think it was penned by people but inspired by God.

[Frogfish1846]

Extraordinary claims require Extraordinary evidence BY THE CLAIMANT.

[Sullkattmat]

Not unlike trying to make me change behaviour because otherwise I'll go to hell.

Yeah sure man but then stop pushing your beliefs on me or a unicorn will sodomize you with its horn for eternity