@Jennifer1984 Said
I think your logic is credible.... you display a very 21st century line of thinking.
The Holy Bible displays the thinking of its time... that is, post Bronze Age.... this is because it was written by men, not by God himself. OK, I know the religionists will say that the men who wrote the bible did so "with the Holy Spirit upon them", which, they say, as good as makes it the word of God.
How convenient.
But... and here's the rub.... don't you think that if God were really using human beings merely as a conduit for his own doctrine, then shouldn't he have prompted them to display a more compassionate, more intellectually advanced line of thinking...?
The Prophets wrote of God's wrath because the use of violence, threats and intimidation were what they knew within the realms of their experience.... their LIFE experience.
I find it difficult to believe that a supreme entity, having prompted humans to do his bidding, would not then ensure that what they wrote on his behalf would be what he intended to say. If he had intended to convey his love, then you would think his message would be one of enlightenment, affection and devotion rather than domination by fear.
The Bible reads as if it is written by dominant, forceful personalities attempting to indoctrinate the people by a form of "carrot and stick". Follow me and do as I say, and it is all pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die. Go your own way and you'll burn in hell for all eternity.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is an all too human tactic.
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Yea, the early RCC really screwed it up, didn't they?
They had the monopoly on Christianity, and everyone who disagreed with them was branded as a heretic and burned at the stake...bastards.