Christianity ruins families.

[Kidlicious]

By the same reasoning hasn't God created every holy book?

And he created Satan, and Hell...

[giblets]

You can understand how God created the trees, but you don't understand how God created your house.

By the same reasoning hasn't God created every holy book?

[Kidlicious]

"God created the Bible and every word in it" -Kidicious

You can understand how God created the trees, but you don't understand how God created your house.

[Nikolai]

More correctly, God inspired the Bible. Everything there is His Word. It's written by several authors. As such, everything written there is correct, but it is written by people with limitations of their time, and with the limitation of being human. God is always bigger than us. Take the gospels: They are eyewitness reports. Everyone knows eyewitnesses stress different details. They all still are under God's "survilance", He wouldn't let anything in there that is reflecting Him in a false way.

[giblets]

Who said there's a single author, or that it's their original form? What I meant is that the scriptures read so that you can read them and know that God loves you, and build a relationship with Him.

God only knows how you got everything else.

"God created the Bible and every word in it" -Kidicious

[Kidlicious]

This isn't a matter of pride. The Bible is internally inconsistent so there's no reason to think it has a single author. And even if the scriptures were originally written by a divine author, there's no reason to assume the version you have is their original form.

Who said there's a single author, or that it's their original form? What I meant is that the scriptures read so that you can read them and know that God loves you, and build a relationship with Him.

God only knows how you got everything else.

[giblets]

What I said went right over your head, because of your pride.

This isn't a matter of pride. The Bible is internally inconsistent so there's no reason to think it has a single author. And even if the scriptures were originally written by a divine author, there's no reason to assume the version you have is their original form.

[Zevico]

So if Purgatory was only in the NT, does that mean it didn't exist before the NT per Catholic theology?

[Kidlicious]

What Imran felt was not a God, but the sense of community in Church, which has largely disappeared from our culture. Church is one of the few places you can still get it in our crass, consumerist culture, where no one has any connections to each other than cold cash payment. TV, and now the interwebs, have really made it hard for people to have community, as we have the community, without the necessary visual cues and smiles we need.

I work hard in my socialist/anarchist study groups to create that sense of community and good feeling. A couple of weeks ago, one person told me he wanted to give the group a hug. We're hard wired to need community, since without it you die.

Yes, we are hard wired to seek community. That's how God created us. But you don't really know how to love people until you learn to love God.

[Kidlicious]

What do you all mean by God created the Bible?

He created the Bible. He created you and I. He created everything.

And I don't know when the Scriptures were first written, but it wasn't with the Catholic Church. And before that the Word was passed down orally.

If you read the Bible it will tell you that the authority of the Church isn't absolute authority. If it were Jesus would never have came, since he rebelled against the Church.

[Kidlicious]

What a fantastic cop out. You're saying it's okay for God to disseminate false information because we can't understand him. Well, if you want to worship a liar, I guess that's your problem.

What I said went right over your head, because of your pride.

[Straybow]

What's going on here with Kid and Imran talking about the Holy Spirit? Wonder of wonders...

[Asher]

From what I heard, what happened in Toronto was typical, police attack crowds, media blames crowds for violence kind of BS.

Errrrrr

I was watching it live on TV. The "police attack crowds" stuff came on Sunday because the police were heavily criticized for not doing anything on Saturday.

On Saturday, anarchists using Black Bloc tactics vandalized dozens of stores for no apparent reason. They threw bricks threw windows, firebombed cop cars, etc. You CANNOT blame this on the police, because there was not a cop in sight when this happened.

After heavy public criticism for not interfering, they cracked down (perhaps a bit too much) on Sunday by being far more proactive.

[chequita guevara]

I'm just immensely amused at the thought of anarchists organizing study groups.

What do you study?

The ones vandalizing small, immigrant-owned, independent shops in Toronto last weekend could sure use some more knowledge.

From what I heard, what happened in Toronto was typical, police attack crowds, media blames crowds for violence kind of BS.

As for what we study, the stuff we read is basically to try and move them away from inserectos and life-style-ism and more towards class struggle anarchism, more about organizing the worker class, less about bricks through bank windows.

@Imran, I've felt it, so I know what you're describing. I also know I can't convince you otherwise. As far as I'm concerned, if you're happy, enjoy yourself.

[Imran Siddiqui]

While I'm glad to see Che chime in (and the community part of Church is true), I'm pretty sure I felt the presence of God. It wasn't just a warm feeling of community, but the Holy Spirit flowing down upon me during praise and worship. It felt like an icy chill down my back, resulting in a feeling of peace and calm.

YMMV, but it was far different than just being happy in a community.