Thank you, everyone, for your recent contributions.
I realize this forum is not a venue for arguing the merits of any specific ideology, but primarily for highlighting abuses relating to such. Not only were we reminded in TLW of the consequences of our own ‘Holy Jim Canyon’ experience, which set the tone for the entire culture (and why it still has a subliminal hold on the faithful), but we were regularly warned of the dangers in pursuing any seminary education for fear we would lose our faith in the process.
One of my first endeavors following my exit was to engage in my own early church history and biblical scholarship studies, primarily to understand why what I had believed for so long now felt so badly to miss the mark. Not only was it as rude of an awakening as my exit, but it did much to explain why Christianity has racked up such a high body count for the last 2000+ years. Where LOVE fosters no harm, religion is infamous for it.
It is interesting to note that Paul has surfaced in recent discussions. There is a segment within Christianity that firmly believes Paul completely hijacked the teachings of Jesus, and established an ideology that barely reflects the tone of the message. As A.D. pointed out, the epistles make issues of things Jesus never addressed--something that should give cause to pause.
The most foundational tenet in the official establishment of Christianity in 325 AD was the ‘infallibility of the scriptures’, a crime punishable by death if you were ever caught with any ‘unauthorized’ texts, and, was the reason why many cherished documents were buried. That has a suspiciously familiar tone to TLW, except this time, it would not be the Romans who would kill us, but the ‘loving lord’ himself.
For those who earnestly want to follow what Jesus actually taught, and not swallow hook, line and sinker the entire baggage of Christianity, I encourage you to do your own homework (against the advice of JRS) and discover that the GOSPEL of LOVE bears little or no resemblance to the trainwreck Christianity has become.
I know many may find this hard to accept, but the Bible did not float down out of the sky shrink-wrapped with a TLW bookcover already in place. Questioning the ‘doctrine of infallibility’ and the GOSPEL of LOVE are not the same thing.
I realize this forum is not a venue for arguing the merits of any specific ideology, but primarily for highlighting abuses relating to such. Not only were we reminded in TLW of the consequences of our own ‘Holy Jim Canyon’ experience, which set the tone for the entire culture (and why it still has a subliminal hold on the faithful), but we were regularly warned of the dangers in pursuing any seminary education for fear we would lose our faith in the process.
One of my first endeavors following my exit was to engage in my own early church history and biblical scholarship studies, primarily to understand why what I had believed for so long now felt so badly to miss the mark. Not only was it as rude of an awakening as my exit, but it did much to explain why Christianity has racked up such a high body count for the last 2000+ years. Where LOVE fosters no harm, religion is infamous for it.
It is interesting to note that Paul has surfaced in recent discussions. There is a segment within Christianity that firmly believes Paul completely hijacked the teachings of Jesus, and established an ideology that barely reflects the tone of the message. As A.D. pointed out, the epistles make issues of things Jesus never addressed--something that should give cause to pause.
The most foundational tenet in the official establishment of Christianity in 325 AD was the ‘infallibility of the scriptures’, a crime punishable by death if you were ever caught with any ‘unauthorized’ texts, and, was the reason why many cherished documents were buried. That has a suspiciously familiar tone to TLW, except this time, it would not be the Romans who would kill us, but the ‘loving lord’ himself.
For those who earnestly want to follow what Jesus actually taught, and not swallow hook, line and sinker the entire baggage of Christianity, I encourage you to do your own homework (against the advice of JRS) and discover that the GOSPEL of LOVE bears little or no resemblance to the trainwreck Christianity has become.
I know many may find this hard to accept, but the Bible did not float down out of the sky shrink-wrapped with a TLW bookcover already in place. Questioning the ‘doctrine of infallibility’ and the GOSPEL of LOVE are not the same thing.