- CNN Documentary excerpt on a Christian preacher...
The teachings of Jesus make it clear that love comes first so these hate filled policy stances are NOT Christian (see video above)...
New Testament
Matthew 5:17: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (ex. thou shalt not kill)
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
As the preacher in the above video explains, Christianity (the teachings of Jesus as opposed to the Old testament) has been perverted to serve the needs of warmongerers.
Side by side comparison:
New Testament
Matthew 5:17: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (ex. thou shalt not kill)
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
What the GOP is following is rather some of the worst of the Old Testament...
Hosea 13:16 (King James) Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
Numbers 31: 17-18
17. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Deuteronomy 20:16
However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.
1 Samuel 15:2-4
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
Psalm 137:8-9
8 O daughter of Babylon, O destroyed one, O the happiness of him who repayeth to thee thy deed, That thou hast done to us.
9 O the happiness of him who doth seize, And hath dashed thy sucklings on the rock!
Related Blog Posts:
Proven: GOP-Republicans Support Rapists & War (Includes Scriptural Proofs)http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/proven-gop-republicans-support-rape-war.html
Overview Of The GOP - Comedy, Satire, Politics & Wealth http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/the-colbert-report-get-more-colbert.html
Paul Ryan Defends His Abortion Record In The General Elections
http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/paul-ryan-defends-his-abortion-record.html
Mitt Romney's Stance On Abortion Conflicts With the GOP Platform That Doesn't Exempt Rape http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/mitt-romneys-stance-on-abortion.html
Mitt Romney On Abortions (For and Against!) http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/mitt-romney-on-abortions-for-and-against.html
Proofs Of Mitt Romney Taking Bailouts http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/proofs-of-mitt-romney-taking-bailouts.html
Doctors debunk Rep. Todd Akin's comments on rape and pregnancyhttp://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/doctors-debunk-rep-todd-akins-comments.html
The source of the "legitimate rape" rumors which have become GOP party policyhttp://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/the-source-of-legitimate-rape-rumors.html
Rick Santorum on abortion: A child conceived through rape should be accepted as a 'gift from God'http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/rick-santorum-on-abortion-child.html
Arizona lawmakers declare that pregnancy begins two weeks before conception http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/arizona-lawmakers-declare-that.html
Paul Ryan's Record Looks Alot Like Todd Akins http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/paul-ryans-record-looks-alot-like-todd.html
A GOP Woman Caught Lying Or She Thought USA Is India! http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/a-gop-woman-caught-lying-or-she-thought.html
Miscellaneuos New & Old Testament verses and links to deal with people with Islamophobia.
"Definitions of marriage in Deuteronomy (An Old Testament Book)"... http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-july-23-2012/gaywatch---holdouts-edition
i.e. “If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives” (Deuteronomy 22:28–29).
Related in the #US
News Report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2128217/Strict-new-Arizona-abortion-laws-decree-pregnancy-begins-TWO-WEEKS-conception.html#ixzz2142DoLv2
Extract: "Arizona lawmakers have drawn up strict new abortion laws... that decree pregnancy begins two weeks before conception. Final legislative approval was given to a bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, handing Republicans their latest win in ongoing national efforts to impose greater restrictions on abortion. But the bill defines a foetus' gestational age 'as calculated from the first day of the last [mother's] menstrual period'. This would mean, given that a woman does not produce eggs until a fortnight after her period, a baby can be terminated two weeks before it was conceived."
From Colbert Report: Pheromone parties encourage premarital smelling, and Arizona lawmakers declare that pregnancy begins two weeks before conception. (04:22)... http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/413072/april-23-2012/tip-wag--pheromone-parties----pre-life--laws
More scriptural proofs:
1. Leviticus 19:27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
2. Leviticus 5:2 "'Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean--whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the ground--even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty
3. Leviticus 11:7 And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
4. Leviticus 11:9 "'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales.
5. Deuteronomy 22:9 Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled
6. Deuteronomy 22:11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
7. Leviticus 19:19 "'Keep my decrees. "'Do not mate different kinds of animals. "'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
YOU ARE NOT CHRISTIAN IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THE FIRST AND SECOND COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS i.e.
1. Love God body mind and soul and 2. Love thy neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40)
"Let the record show that on January 16, 2012, the good people of South Carolina booed the Golden Rule."
― Jon Stewart... [Note: Golden Rule = ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'. Matthew 22:39]
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-17-2012/indecision-2012---southern-discomfort
__________________________________-
Another interesting scriptural challenge...
The Creationist Argument for dating the earth at 4004 B.C.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/388586/june-06-2011/werner-herzog
Question by Colbert: 'How can the caves be 32,000 years old when the world is only 6,000 years old?'
Answer: Colbert is referring to the dating system derived from the Gregorian calander and the Genesis version of creation (i.e. everything was created in 6 days and the 7th day God rested).
The problem here can be solved from the New Testament...
"2 Peter 3:8 (KJV 1900) 8 - But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
I.e. To say the earth was created in a 'day' is a metaphor. Someone who wants to cause problems can focus on the old testament reading rather than the new testament one.
Those who believe that the Apostle Peter is wrong (i.e. about Genesis being a metaphor on "days of creation") are obviously NOT Christian.
Old college paper going into more detail:
The Old Testament has been Spliced Together from Different Ancient Writers!
This paper looks at some differences between the Yahwist (J) and Priestly (P) sources in the Book of Genesis. The theory of Yahwist and Priestly sources of writing for the Hebrew Bible comes from the Documentary Hypothesis.
The Yahwist vs. The Priest (in the Book of Genesis)
The passages in question, Genesis 1 and 2 (The story of creation) and Genesis 6:5-8:22 (The flood story, or the story of destruction), are accepted to be written by two distinct authors. The first is considered to be earlier of the ‘Yahwist’ tradition (i.e. when Yahweh was the most popular name for the divine) and is said to come from the time of the ‘United monarchy’, it is given the symbol J. Genesis 2:4b-2:25 is considered to be written by J. The second is considered to come from a priestly source from the exilic or post exilic period in Hebrew history and is given the symbol P. Genesis 1-2:3 is accepted as written by P. The flood story is a splicing between both P and J.
That both versions were revered is not argued because, though they have been spliced together quite artistically, there are major contradictions in the text…it follows that the texts from these two sources were spliced together a while after they were written which would give them time to become revered so that the person splicing them together would not want to mess with what the texts say though once spliced they contradict each other quite obviously.
I, however, am not interested in the contradictions but the difference in the mind set (i.e. way of seeing the world/perception.) between the J and P versions of the creation and flood stories. After showing in what way J’s mind set can be contrasted from P’s mind set using the creation story, I will trace these different strains of perception through the flood story and possibly indicate a couple of lines which may have been wrongly attributed to J.
Comparing Genesis 1, where the author uses the phrase ‘heaven and earth’, to Genesis 4b, ‘earth and heaven, reveals the first clue as to the difference in perception. P’s was centered around heaven and J’s around earth. At a glance this does not seem to be a big difference but the implications of this are. P being a priest was in exile or just got over exile he lived in Babylon(probably) his mission was most likely to preserve the Hebrew tradition so the Babylonian culture does not wipe it out. The system of priests was adopted from its Babylonian hosts and the creation story seems like an explanation to the Hebrews of how the ONE god created the cosmos, since they were living in the Babylonian culture the Enuma elish was the accepted order of creation, however, this tradition had many deities so the priests redefined it in terms of one god to fit their beliefs. The Babylonians believed in gods who were indifferent to mankind- this was the perception inherited by the Hebrew priests.
J’s version is centered around man. This was written at a time of the united monarchy when the Hebrews most probably believed that their divine destiny was being fulfilled. This was a time when the common man felt more blessed by god and the relationship between them was imagined to be more intimate. Feeling blessed man equated the divine more with himself, this can be seen in the way J portrays god in the image of a man which can be seen in the Adam and Eve story in the garden of Eden.
P places man as one of the last to be made in creation, on day six (Gen. 1:26), while J places man right after the earth and heaven were created before even vegetation was created (Gen. 2:4b-5), even though a garden had been planted in Eden for man which presupposes vegetation, but the point of J’s account is that man was a necessary component to “till the soil’(indicating its agrarian source) and the rest of creation was created for man(Gen. 2:18-20). This is another indication of the split between J’s and P’s accounts of creation based on their perception. P saw man as relatively unimportant in the order of creation (creating him on the sixth day), while J saw man as the purpose of creation. However P does not see man as unimportant saying man was created in the image of god and that he has dominion over the rest of creation(Gen. 1:26-27). What this does show is the separation that had come between the Hebrews and their God. Before, in the time of J, they were close and everything was created for them, God was portrayed in the image of a father. By P’s time God had become impersonal and distant, a king that was to be obeyed.
This difference will become more apparent as I compared J’s and P’s account of the flood.
J - ‘it grieved him to his heart.’(Gen. 6:7), P - ‘I am going to destroy them’(Gen. 6:13); when man became ‘wicked’(J) and ‘violent’(P) the time came for the creation to be ‘blotted out’(J) or ‘destroyed’(P). For J’s God this caused grief, God was close to his creation -Man. P’s God is indifferent he notices man is corrupted so he decides to destroy him, and that is that. Another aspect is the difference in the usage of words. J uses wicked in contrast to P’s use of violent. Wicked is a bad state of mind, violence is something the priestly class would be familiar with since it is violence that took them out of Israel and put them in Babylon, so it is at the forefront of their minds. J just talks of a bad state of mind and not an aspect of it(i.e. violence is an aspect of wickedness, as is corruption). J’s use of blot is softer than P’s use of ‘destroy’…in fact the only time J uses the image of destruction is when God is feeling sorry for what he did to man (Gen. 6:21).
One example from the creation story of the separation that existed between P and god, which didn’t exist between J and god comes from comparing Gen. 1:30”-everything that has the breath of life-“ with Gen. 2:7 “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”. J gives man the privileged of being given the divine breath, P however, gives every creation the divine breath or breath of life make man more of a part of creation and therefore separate from the divine. Following this line of thought in the flood story we see in Gen. 7:15(and 6:17) that P continues to use ‘the breath of life’ for all creation; however, J’s use of the ‘breath of life’ in Gen. 7:22 could be interpreted as meaning man and animals, but it seems from the sentence that he is speaking of man being destroyed in somewhat poetic terms of awe since the verses before it (Gen. 7:19-20) talk of the mountains being covered with water in a sense of awe. J, seeing man as center of creation, would first seem to speak of the destruction of man poetically, then continue by explaining that everything was blotted out…”human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air”(Gen. 7:23) so that those reading would understand that just those in “whose nostrils was the breath of life” were not the only ones who perished, as the only time he used this phrase before was when he described the creation of man.
Another example is in Gen 6:8 “but Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord” compared to Gen 6:9 “Noah was a righteous man…walked with God”. J keeps man’s personal relationship with the divine by talking of Noah finding ‘favor’ with god…exactly as one would describe a relationship between father and son. P on the other hand separated Noah from the rest of man, made him perfect and side by side with god, making him not a son of god but another person for the Hebrews to stand in awe of, something a priest had to do to justify himself being the connection between the common man and the divine.
A sense of seperation can also be felt from P’s “the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed” which sounds distant and mechanical while J’s “the rain from the heavens was retrained” makes god sound more ‘humanlike’ since he has to retrain it which makes it sound like he put some effort into it while closed is just closed.
Finally, in J’s version, Noah examines the outside and when he deems it dry he comes out of the ark himself, on his own volition(Gen. 8:12-13) which shows man having a freer will than in P’s version where Noah does not come out till he is commanded to(Gen.8:15-16), again signifying mans higher status in creation and closer relationship to the divine.
In the end J shows that God is sorry for the destruction(Gen8:21) which again portrays God as more human and caring rather than distant and uncaring as shown in P’s version(Gen. 8:11-13).
I think I have adequately shown the difference in perception between P and J. P comes from a time of strict religious hierarchy, where priests are the connection between the common man and the divine which by itself signifies that times perception of God as being distant and uncaring. This most probably stems from the Hebrews feeling a sense of abandonment, where till then they had been blessed by God and were under his care…they were the people of the covenant. When they were defeated and put in exile it must have felt like God had abandoned them and they began to see him as distant and uncaring. In contrast, during J’s time the Hebrews had a kingdom and seemed to be fulfilling their destiny as Gods ‘chosen people’. This was a time of prosperity where it was felt that the people were directly under Gods benevolent care. So J’s portrayal of God is fatherlike, a carting father that creates man as the center and basis for creation, looks over his creation and feels its sorrow and happiness, like they were his children.
"God's Muslim Warriors: Iran" & The Results of Bad Foreign Policy
"God's Jewish Warriors" & The Future Of Israel
"God's Christian Warriors" & The Beginning Of The End For Christianity?
A Selection Of Quranic Verses
"Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness."
Islam. Qur'an 39.10
"God enjoins justice, kindness, and charity to one's kindred, and forbids indecency, abomination, and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed."
Islam. Qur'an 16.90
"If you efface and overlook and forgive, then lo! God is forgiving, merciful."
Islam. Qur'an 64.14
"Happy is the person who finds fault with himself instead of finding fault with others."
Islam. Hadith
"Let there be no compulsion in religion"
Islam Qur'an 2:256
"Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13
"If you efface and overlook and forgive, then lo! God is forgiving, merciful."
Islam. Qur'an 64.14
"Better and more rewarding is God's reward to those who believe and put their trust in Him: who avoid gross sins and indecencies and, when angered, are willing to forgive... Let evil be rewarded by like evil, but he who forgives and seeks reconciliation shall be rewarded by God. He does not love the wrongdoers.... True constancy lies in forgiveness and patient forbearance."
Islam. Qur'an 42.36-43
On Honesty:
"O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it concerns rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts of your hearts lest you swerve, and if you distort justice or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that you do."
Islam. Qur'an 4.135
"Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness." Qur'an 39.10
Hadith: “One day (at the time of the Prophet) a woman left her house to go and pray at the Mosque. On her way she was met by a man who forced her to have sexual intercourse. The woman screamed while the man raped her. After he raped her the man ran away. A group of men (who accompanied the Prophet on his flight form Mecca to Medina) passed by the girl and she said to them (pointing in the direction of the man running) “that man just raped me”. They then ran after him and caught him and when face to face with the woman she said “yes that was the person”. They went to the Prophet and the man said “Yes Prophet it was me who did this”. The Prophet said to the girl “go now, God has already pardoned you”. The Prophet then said to the man (while appreciating his confession) “stone him”. He then said “Actually, he has already learnt his lesson and if someone learns their lesson all the people of Median will understand”.Ibn al-Atsir, Jami al-Ushul, IV/270, no 1823
Hadith: During the time of the Prophet (saw) punishment was inflicted on the rapist on the solitary evidence of the woman who was raped by him. Wa'il ibn Hujr reports of an incident when a woman was raped. Later, when some people came by, she identified and accused the man of raping her. They seized him and brought him to Allah's messenger, who said to the woman, "Go away, for Allâh has forgiven you," but of the man who had raped her, he said, "Stone him to death." (Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud)
Sûrah al Baqarah 2.223
'Your wives are your tilth; go then unto your tilth as you may desire, but first provide something for your souls*, and remain conscious of God, and know that your are destined to meet Him...'
* Note in Muhammad Asad's translation: 'a spiritual relationship between man and woman is postulated as the indispensable basis of sexual relations.'
Sûrah ar Rum 30.21
"And among His wonders is this: He creates for you mates out of your own kind, so that your might incline towards then, and He engenders love and tenderness between you: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think!
Sûrah al Baqarah 2.187
"... They are as a garment for you, and you are as a garment for them."
Sûrah al Nisa 4.19
"... And consort with your wives in a goodly manner, for if you dislike them, it may well be that you dislike something which God might yet make a source of abundant good."
Sûrah an Nâs 4.119
'O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will...'
Sûrah al An'am 6.120
”Abandon all harm (ithm), whether committed openly or in secret.”
(Check Sûrah al A`raf 7:33)
Related Blog Posts:
Proven: GOP-Republicans Support Rapists & War (Includes Scriptural Proofs) http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/proven-gop-republicans-support-rape-war.html
Overview Of The GOP - Comedy, Satire, Politics & Wealth http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/the-colbert-report-get-more-colbert.html
Paul Ryan Defends His Abortion Record In The General Elections
http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/paul-ryan-defends-his-abortion-record.html
Mitt Romney's Stance On Abortion Conflicts With the GOP Platform That Doesn't Exempt Rape http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/mitt-romneys-stance-on-abortion.html
Mitt Romney On Abortions (For and Against!) http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/mitt-romney-on-abortions-for-and-against.html
Proofs Of Mitt Romney Taking Bailouts http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/proofs-of-mitt-romney-taking-bailouts.html
Doctors debunk Rep. Todd Akin's comments on rape and pregnancyhttp://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/doctors-debunk-rep-todd-akins-comments.html
The source of the "legitimate rape" rumors which have become GOP party policyhttp://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/the-source-of-legitimate-rape-rumors.html
Rick Santorum on abortion: A child conceived through rape should be accepted as a 'gift from God'http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/rick-santorum-on-abortion-child.html
Arizona lawmakers declare that pregnancy begins two weeks before conception http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/arizona-lawmakers-declare-that.html
Paul Ryan's Record Looks Alot Like Todd Akins http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/paul-ryans-record-looks-alot-like-todd.html
A GOP Woman Caught Lying Or She Thought USA Is India! http://www.culturesocietyblog.com/2013/03/a-gop-woman-caught-lying-or-she-thought.html
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