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I'm not a literalist, newcats. But I do believe that the people who wrote the books of the Bible were inspired in some way by God. And I do believe that the Bible contains, in strong terms, God's will for us (and for our behavior). This isn't because God wants to boss us around, but because he knows what's good for us and he loves us. I put a lot of stock in the Gospels, who were written by people who were close to Jesus or his disciples. You can get bogged down in the literalist thing, but miss the great truth and wisdom the Bible has to offer. A matter of the forest and the trees...

I agree...I am not a literalist by any stretch of the imagination (though have been known to play that part as a devil's advocate)...I do believe (like you) that all the answers are in the Bible. The problem I have is with people who put way too much of their own opinion into the passages. An ex-friend of mine once added to the Beatitude "The meek shall enherit the earth" "in 4x6 foot plots. That ticked me off a bit. I have yet found anyplace in the NT where Jesus advocates killing.