What do 25% of male British travelers bring with them on business trips?

[Al B. Sure!]

1) so how are you right and Imran wrong?
2) Yes, it quite clearly warns against the dangers associated with drinking alcohol. Much like I could warn a child to not get hit by a car without being anti-car.

It's bigger than this, gribbler. Imran has stated stuff like he believes, contrary to repeated passages in the Bible, that someone can have salvation through other means besides accepting Jesus Christ. That's ****ing blasphemy. that's NOT Christianity! That's Imranism!

[giblets]

It's bigger than this, gribbler. Imran has stated stuff like he believes, contrary to repeated passages in the Bible, that someone can have salvation through other means besides accepting Jesus Christ. That's ****ing blasphemy. that's NOT Christianity! That's Imranism!

Okay, but your alcohol example is still wrong.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Communion has always been celebrated with Irn-Bru. Not wine, because that is unChristianly.

[Barnabas]

In christianity there is nothing wrong about drinking alcohol, now I see why you can't get women, you are an irate puritan crypto muslim Albie

[Imran Siddiqui]

Albert, you are a tool. Those passages quite clearly speak about alcoholism and prevention of getting drunk. I'll quote the NIV to demonstrate (though if you wanted to know my preferred translation you could just check my signature, but that would require reading):

The Gospel of John, Chapter 2

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

As for your constant desire to define what Christianity should mean, regardless of your lack of faith, you should learn the humility that Jesus taught so much about. Especially in accusations of blasphemy by someone who doesn't even accept the divinity of Jesus Christ!!

After all universalism has been around as long as there was a Church. Saint Pantaenus and Saint Clement of Alexandria (and perhaps Origen) are prominent early Christians who it seems believed in universal reconcilation (with a form of purgatorial cleansing after death).

[Boris Godunov]

It's bigger than this, gribbler. Imran has stated stuff like he believes, contrary to repeated passages in the Bible, that someone can have salvation through other means besides accepting Jesus Christ. That's ****ing blasphemy. that's NOT Christianity! That's Imranism!

Given your mind-boggling inept and incorrect interpretation of what the Bible says about alcohol, I don't see why anyone should accept your interpretation about salvation and why you think Imran or any other self-identified Christian is somehow "wrong" in their interpretation. The issue of what is required for salvation has been debated quite hotly among Christians since the religion first appeared, after all. If it were just a simple matter of a straight-forward reading of Biblical passages, there never would have been a debate.

[MOBIUS]

I don't think I had a Teddy Bear. Ever.

Perhaps I should buy one to take travelling?

[DaShi]

I had a teddy bear with me during my last trip to China. I gave it away though.

[Al B. Sure!]

Whatever you all say, I still win... a religion like Christianity is whatever you want it to be. Either you take things literally or you admit it's whatever is most convenient for you. If you open things up to interpretation, my interpretation of Scripture is no more wrong that Imran's; no more right than Imran's, or anyone else's.

I can cite Scripture as evidence to prove whatever I want, just as Imran can. I can cite a crapload of verses which say that salvation can only be reached through acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, whereas Imran (vaguely, too, I might add with no use of literalism) says Christianity is universalist.

Once you make mentions of 'context' and opening things up to interpretation, you immediately undermine the faith's ability to be both coherent and universally-applicable. Whether it's how to attain salvation or if drinking alcohol is wrong, once you get beyond literalism, you're opening things up to virtually anything and turning the religion into subjective hogwash.

[Riesstiu IV]

I had a teddy bear with me during my last trip to China. I gave it away though.

Communist.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Interpretation of scripture has ALWAYS been contextually based. And there have always been points of contention in interpretation of the Word (hence the number of Christian denominations out there today) and the Faith has been coherant and universally applicable. You know why? Because the core is accepted and acknowledged by all denominations: that God so loved the world that he sent his own Son to suffer and die for our sins and be resurrected on the third day to conquer sin and death. Everything else is just dressing and, frankly, not all that important.

And no, I won't allow you to say that if Jews and Christians do not deny evolution they are making it into subjective hogwash.

One of my favorite blogs actually dealt with this today:

http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2010/12/02/protestants-and-the-bible-rjs/#more-11084

Pete’s right, or so it seems to me, when we sing hymns in church about the bible it is indicative of the problem. I’ve posted on this before, but it bears repeating. In the reformation view authority is vested in scripture and our faith is founded on scripture. In the context of modernist thought this foundation is only secure if scripture is inerrant. If any piece of scripture is questioned and found wanting – all is open to question and we start down the slippery slope … Our belief in the historicity of the resurrection depends on the historicity of Noah or Exodus. Many feel that no distinction is possible.

This is something of a caricature I admit, but the image I am left with is a house of cards faith. We have a construct built by taking the pages of scripture and assembling an understanding of the faith and church. If any page, any card, is removed the whole structure is shaky and may collapse, some would say will collapse. The foundation of faith is Scripture – but more than this, the foundation of faith is every jot and tittle of scripture.

We need to realize that our faith is founded on God alone. God is the center of our faith. The rock on which we stand is God alone – and his work in this world, including the atoning work of Christ. Scripture illuminates God, his nature and his interaction with his creation. It does this through a variety of forms including the failings and struggles of his people as they wrestle with truth. The purpose is not to provide the right answers for a rather tricky multiple choice exam. If scripture provides answers for a test, the test is an always changing open-ended essay test with practicum. To meet this kind of challenge we need to enter into dialog with the text we have, and wrestle with the whole text – the easy passages and the hard ones. After all, the call is to discipleship not book knowledge.

[N35t0r]

If you open things up to interpretation, my interpretation of Scripture is no more wrong that Imran's; no more right than Imran's, or anyone else's.

The Council of Nicaea begs to differ.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Whatever you all say, I still win...

No, I'm pretty sure you're still an unemployable virgin.

[Cort Haus]

Hang on, not only does Moby's religious troll thread turn into an earnest theistical discussion, but now Asher's teddy bear thread does as well.

The Plompster is clearly secretly plotting to turn this place into a Divinity Discussion Group.

[Provost Harrison]

I don't travel with a teddy bear, I don't take tea of any weird variety or name and I certainly don't drink tomato juice with clam broth...I'm sorry but I am kind of with Albert on this one...too many of you are so far up your own arses you wouldn't believe