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Originally Posted by mburbank
Then we should dismiss ALL scripture references from this conversation, there are a lot of biblical scholars who think the entire Bible is bullshit, so we probably shouldn't be citing the Bible to support or dismiss Christians using their 1st Amendment rights, right? "
Don't be abdsurd. I understand you're irritated. I assure you I do not equate Christianity since the creed with Pat Robertson. But there is a point here, and to me it's this. A lot of Christians of all denominations focus so much attention on Salvation and damnation, much to the disservice of the bulk of what Jesus had to say about how God wants us to behave.
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Damnation is mentioned more often in the New Testament than it is the Old (no offense with the Old and New stuff, I'm just a goy
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Jesus did talk about a lot of stuff that we should do, but don't be mistaken in thinking that it was in order to make this planet a better, nicer, safer, and happier place. He told us how to behave, because he was interested in our souls, not the planet earth. For example, see Matthew 25:41-46. We don't exhibit charity simply for the poor, but rather, we exhinit charity for ourselves. It's not just right to feed a hungry man because he's hungry, it's also right because our very life depends on it. So say what you want about salvation and damnation, but it's all tied in there.
I realize you aren't a Christian, so frankly, you have the luxury to pick and choose whatever you like from the New Testament.
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As for baptism, John the Baptist and Jesus were both Jews. Todays evangelism seems to me awfully far removed from their reform movements.
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See the Paulists, the Franciscans, as well as other great Christian missionary groups. Again, I'm not here to defend Pat Robertson. I think you'd have difficulty in doing that. Perhaps my anger is misdirected. Rather than getting upset with critics b.c. they react to Robertson, perhaps all of my blame should go on Robertson for giving Christianity such a bad rep. I have met some great evangelicals in my day, very caring, loving, and spiritual people. It's unfortunate that cynical Americans see Pat Robertson's face when they often think of American Christians (which is
really what we're talking about, isn't it?).