Donny

Wow, dude... you really left the door open for me to write a novel. LOL.

I read the Bible for what it is. Many times it bores me. I hate the Old Testament for the most part. Fortunately, the events of the New Testament completely replace the retarded laws of the Old. "Testament" means "covenant". A covenant is good until Death. Jesus brought the old covenant to a close by dying on the cross. He then gave people a new covenant by which to live, and that new one is a lot more loving than the old one. It makes much more sense.

I also think most people don't take the time to interpret the Bible right. It wasn't written in English (duh) and the people who translated it into English were just regular people like you and me. While others think they got it perfect, I'm willing to concede they were human and may have screwed up the interpretation.

I also think many Bible thumpers use scripture to be selfish. I blogged about that here. The only time you see Jesus being judgmental is when he told other "Christians" (the Pharisees) that they were full of it. He had all the patience and grace in the world for those who weren't "religious". And since the word "Christian" is supposed to mean "like Christ", that means I am supposed to do the same. It's not my job to judge others. I have a hard enough time taking care of myself.

I'd also like to mention that Jesus' own words about salvation were "whoever believes in me will have eternal life". He didn't say, "Whoever believes in me and then lives a perfect life and never screws up will have eternal life". He approached the "rules" more as a way to make your life a little better, and less as a requirement for salvation. His message wasn't "turn or burn" like so many Christians of today. His message was, "You're a mess without me. Let my sacrifice cover your sins. Just accept it and I'll save you". The rest of it was advice on how to live a more spiritually successful life.

My son is a great kid. He's very well behaved. I've never once raised my voice to him, and I've only spanked him once in his life (and regretted that). Instead of yelling or saying "because I said so" I get down on my knees and his level and explain to him "why". If he messes up in public I pick him up and give him a big hug and whisper in his ear so that I don't embarrass him. In return he loves his daddy and mommy so much that we rarely have problems with him. He does what we ask out of love, instead of obligation. The point is that nobody wants to be told what they HAVE to do in order to avoid punishment. I think that's the same way Jesus meant Christianity to be. If you love him all of the other parts will fall into place. You won't have to be bashed over the head. And then when you screw up he'll pick you up and hug you and tell you to do better next time, not send you to some everlasting place of torment.

See, I told ya I was going to write a novel.