05-22-2011, 07:16 AM
Christianity has matured, and its rough edges have been scraped off by solid, moral development in society. Most Christians today (outside of, say, Uganda) no longer accept the Bible as a whole for moral instruction, choosing instead a set of verses more in line with society's values. The shift is usually reactive, not proactive.
In fifty (thirty? twenty?) years, only 'whack-job' Christians will condemn homosexuality as immoral.
Of course, 40% of Americans believe the world will end within their lifetime (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...09152.html), so the only real reason these guys are considered so whacky and crazy is because they actually stuck a date to it. Lest we forget, Christianity was a doomsday cult from the start.
Mark 8:39-9:1 (KJV) - Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV) - For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Both Jesus and Paul, as recorded, apparently believed that the world would end within the first century CE. The firm emphasis upon the end of the world, and a rapidly approaching judgment, has been fixed in Christianity ever since. It is here that it is at its most dangerous (particularly in a world where one human with access to one set of nuclear weaponry can effectively destroy the planet).
Islam, as a whole, is still extremely dangerous. It hasn't yet been neutered in the same way Christianity has. Hopefully, with general education and the empowerment of women, this can change, and Islam can become more along the lines of what Rob Bell is for Christianity.
As another of course, Christianity is still a sufficient ground for extremist terrorism, as per the death of George Tiller, and the general inability for any doctor to provide abortions in the state of Kansas or South Dakota, without serious threats upon their life (and, sometimes, a fulfillment of those threats).
In fifty (thirty? twenty?) years, only 'whack-job' Christians will condemn homosexuality as immoral.
Of course, 40% of Americans believe the world will end within their lifetime (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...09152.html), so the only real reason these guys are considered so whacky and crazy is because they actually stuck a date to it. Lest we forget, Christianity was a doomsday cult from the start.
Mark 8:39-9:1 (KJV) - Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV) - For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Both Jesus and Paul, as recorded, apparently believed that the world would end within the first century CE. The firm emphasis upon the end of the world, and a rapidly approaching judgment, has been fixed in Christianity ever since. It is here that it is at its most dangerous (particularly in a world where one human with access to one set of nuclear weaponry can effectively destroy the planet).
Islam, as a whole, is still extremely dangerous. It hasn't yet been neutered in the same way Christianity has. Hopefully, with general education and the empowerment of women, this can change, and Islam can become more along the lines of what Rob Bell is for Christianity.
As another of course, Christianity is still a sufficient ground for extremist terrorism, as per the death of George Tiller, and the general inability for any doctor to provide abortions in the state of Kansas or South Dakota, without serious threats upon their life (and, sometimes, a fulfillment of those threats).
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