No, not everyone inbred in ancient times, mind you.Originally Posted by walterick
Well, Rick, the truth is your opinion here finds no basis in the teachings of either Jesus or his apostles. Jesus taught the unity of believers (John 17), not a unity of mankind like some philosophers and religious sages have taught. There is no hiding the fact that the God of the Bible clearly distinguishes mankind into two classes: the righteous/just and the unrighteous/wicked, believers in/followers of Jesus Christ and those who disbelieve him and refuse to follow him, those who inherit eternal life and those who are sentenced to eternal perdition. So I don't understand how you arrived at the conclusion you did about what Jesus would or would not teach.And I still don't think Jesus wanted us to see ourselves as separate from each other. Every major spiritual/philosophical/religious system in the world preaches unity, harmony, togetherness, oneness. Jesus was no different
Who said anything about raising ourselves above others? It is God who determines who is holy and who is not, and he has determined that whosoever should believe in Christ may be sanctified, made holy, or set apart unto God by the sacrifice of Christ himself (Heb. 10:10; 1 Pet. 1:2). We live holily because we have been made holy through faith in the Son of God.To raise yourself above others is to appear "holier than thou" and that is one thing that not a single human being can stand.
Rick, I have to stop here and ask you what I asked Paul. Who is this "god" you speak of? I speak of the biblical God, but the god you speak of contradicts my God. So who is this god of yours? What is his name, if he has one, and how did he reveal the above "truth" to you, if indeed he reveals anything to man? What are his other "truths" or principles, and how did you come to learn them? You know how I get my information, so how do you get yours?It is natural - ie, built into our nature by god - to destroy that which is holier, higher, bigger than us. Why? Because being "holier" is a lie. Each and every one of us is holy, sacred, and sanctified in the eyes of god. There is no "better" way of living. God loves each of us no matter what choices we make in life (no matter how destructive those choices have become) and part of that love is not to judge us or interfere with our free will! If you sit your children down to play a game, do you tell them they can play it whichever way they please (free will) and then give them 10 Commandments to tell them to behave a certain way? No, of course not. That would be lunacy.
**warning: the following response may contain intense sarcasm intented to maximize the effect of the bad/good rationale contrast. read at your own risk of being enlightened**The end is guarateed. We all return home, to the Source, God, Oneness, whatever. The universe will fold in upon itself in a few millenia and life will go to sleep. It is inevitable. What matters is how you play the game while you're here. Were you playing the Life game well? Poorly? In the end it doesn't matter. We're all going home. It's a matter of are you happy with your choices?!
Why would it matter how you play the game if in the end it doesn't really matter and we all return to the same state of being or whatever it is you believe? With that kind of logic, one may as well pursue whatever evil it is he/she desires in life, even if it means aspiring to be a Hitler or Son of Sam or some other degenerate. I guess I could brutally murder the one closest to you so long as it makes me happy, and hey, it's okay, because in the end it won't matter anyway. We're ALL going home together. Yippee ay-yay! We've discovered the truth at last.
Uh-oh. Now I'VE gone and done it.