tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post4007912920083865324..comments2024-02-16T07:42:10.015-06:00Comments on SKEPTIC REFLECTIONS: A FEW NOTES ON THE EVOLUTION OF RELIGIONJOHN PHILLIPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357524637192990158noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-49847333515687868462014-09-16T17:16:00.244-05:002014-09-16T17:16:00.244-05:00John, The culture certainly did change and what ch...John, The culture certainly did change and what changed it? I believe that Christ came to be born of a Virgin and was sent from God and that is what changed people. I know that Christ in my life has made an enormous change. Call it fantasy or Faith, but I am a changed person. Fran was a different man when he met Jesus. I am fully aware that this doesn't answer your question, but Faith is all I have.Wandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-31153877979936204632014-09-16T08:47:30.673-05:002014-09-16T08:47:30.673-05:00Wanda, I'm afraid it's hopeless since your...Wanda, I'm afraid it's hopeless since your answers are essentially nonresponsive. You admit that but state that you can't help it because of your faith. Essentially, you don't have any answers. But, of course, there are alternatives to simply admitting that you don't have any answers, and that is that scripture is simply a collection of writings of those who were struggling to create a theology and that as their culture evolved, so did their conception of God. It's not that God changed or that he changed his strategy or that the writers were imperfect amanuenses. No, it was simply because the culture changed and the writings reflect those changes.JOHN PHILLIPShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357524637192990158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-44034478718014097212014-09-16T07:23:35.079-05:002014-09-16T07:23:35.079-05:00I agree with you in your first statement.. My God ...I agree with you in your first statement.. My God is real and love the Scriptures. So many ministers "cherry Pick" the Scriptures, but God is so real to me and lives in my heart.I rely upon Him for my life. I am sure this is not the answer you want, but the only one I can give you because of my faith.Wandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-45418618266718612322014-09-14T08:17:03.566-05:002014-09-14T08:17:03.566-05:00So how do you feel about my premise that religion ...So how do you feel about my premise that religion follows culture rather than the other way around, that conceptions of God have changed to keep up with cultural changes, and that cherry picking of scripture occurs as a way of keeping up with such cultural changes? This is the same as what has been happening on the scientific knowledge front as well.JOHN PHILLIPShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357524637192990158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-21955424588371894632014-09-14T06:30:50.536-05:002014-09-14T06:30:50.536-05:00I so agree about how so many Christians "cher...I so agree about how so many Christians "cherry pick" Scriptures to fit their needs. I will give you an example of Paul in the New Testament says that woman should not speak in church but go home and ask their husbands what they wanted to say in the church. In the same book Paul tells the women that they should not cut their hair but cover their heads. The only thing said by Paul that is taken by our church was for the wome not to speak from the pulpit or teach men in a class under the church roof. My church is no exception. Wandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-81064470582869774592014-09-13T09:19:12.475-05:002014-09-13T09:19:12.475-05:00I know your comments and beliefs are heartfelt, Wa...I know your comments and beliefs are heartfelt, Wanda. Unfortunately, however, they don't relate to the concerns I expressed in my essay: that Christians cherry pick scriptural references to support whatever their views are; that the loving God of Paul and other NT writers, as well as of more contemporary Christian apologists, are completely inconsistent with the OT God of murder and mayhem; and that our conceptions of God are driven by and modified by cultural evolution rather than the other way around.JOHN PHILLIPShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357524637192990158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251693339364322895.post-11202771111031322302014-09-13T06:59:59.045-05:002014-09-13T06:59:59.045-05:00Very well written.The only thing that I can say is...Very well written.The only thing that I can say is Christ is my life. He made the difference in history. Even our calendars are marked by His birth. I have no argument in your writtings. I guess I can't live without Him in my life. This is my faith that Christ made the difference in everything and everyone who accepts Him by faith.Wandanoreply@blogger.com