Isn’t it true that if you examined christian practices and beliefs every century for the last 1000s years that it would be different at each one? Stoning OK. Stoning bad.
Stoning was a practice of the theocracy of ancient Israel...which more or less ceased as an entity before the time of Christ. It was never practiced by Christians--as Christianity has not been political entity or kingdom. In AD 50, the original Apostles decided that Kosher law (dietary) regulations were not required of gentile Christians, along with other essentially pre-Christ Jewish religious practices.
Woman are subservant, woman are equal. Slavery is OK. Slavery is not OK. Black and whites shouldn’t interbreed. Blacks and whites can be married.
All these are cultural practices by nations which adopted Christianity--change for the better didn't occur all at once. Do you really think 2000 years of progress is arbitrary?
Divorce is a horrible sin. Divorce should be avoided. Divorce is sometimes necessary.
Ancient Judaism and Jesus Christ Himself took the latter two positions--medieval Roman Catholicism made up a stricter standard--not well defensible from the Bible.
Women must not talk in church. Women can talk but can’t preach. Women can sorta preach. Women can preach on sista!
This has been an issue in virtually all churches for less than 100 years--5% in the time Christianity has existed.
Give away your belongings and follow jesus. Keep your belongings, gain wealth and still follow jesus.
The church has never required full communalism--but has at times been infected by a health and wealth "gospel" unfortunately. Private property though has always been assumed--along with care for the poor.
Jonah was in a big fish. Story of Jonah is a parable.
Only since the Enlightenment a priori denial of the supernatural (200 years) has Jonah been called a parable. Naturalism and Englightenment thought is just an excuse for people not to reconcile themselves to the claims of Christ.
Crusades a good idea. Crusades a bad idea.
Again, a product of medieval thinking--a full thousand years ago. Besides, given our troubles with Islam today, don't you find the Crusades all the more understandable???
Earth is center of universe. Earth not in center. Jews won’t get to heaven. Jews do get to go to heaven.
Other than those who don't really believe in Jesus and the scriptures no Christian will say those who reject Jesus go to heaven, period.
I mean, come on. Look how different your christian beliefs are from those in the dark ages or even in the 1600s, 1700, 1800s or even early 1900s.
If you will really study the 1600s to today, you'd find many Christians, with a few minor details excepted, believe the same things Luther or Calvin believed then (in the 1500s) with development in some cultural areas (a rejection of forced servititude for example). My essential beliefs are not all that different than say, of St. Augustine of approx AD 400. Most conservative Christians, if they knew what Augustine taught, would say the same thing....
One thing that hasn't changed at all, and is common to all traditional Christians, from Egypt to Greece to Rome to Wittenberg, or Geneva, no matter what issues of theology they differed on, are sexual morals. Yes Roman Catholics don't permit divorce (though anullment comes pretty close...) but sex outside of marriage is, and always has been, considered wrong, and, relevant to this debate, homosexual practice, like incest or bestiality, has always been known as very wrong.
Only since the 1960s, or really the '70s for most, has there been confusion on issues of sexuality--and then, only among those who long before abandoned the bible as their highest authority.
ANalogReingns,
I think your answers to my post prove my point that the religion has evolved and that each successive generation (which, by definition is further removed from Jesus in time) believes they know the rules better than the one before.
One era Kosher law is good, over time, no big deal. Early on most churches preached that women were subserviant or didn’t allow them to preach, later they changed their mind. No where in the bible does it condemn slavery or rape or stoning explicitely and it implicitly supports these things in places. Regardless, each generation thinks they’ve figured it out better than the last and then they get mad when the younger generation starts changing what they just stated as true. Every generation does this.
Now it’s your turn to poo-poo the past errors, rules, beliefs, interpretations, of all the generations that came before you and while also poo-pooing the changes being made by the next generation.
If you go back and read your responses, you should see how they are all arguable (and are argued by many denominations). So, its not surprising that christians will now become more accepting of homosexuality until it goes the way of slavery and supression of women.
I believe Jesus said divorce on grounds of adultery is acceptable.