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The ultimate cherry picker

A while back, I was engaged in heated on-line conversation with a theist who was gloating about his unique form of religious belief .... ridiculous, but unique. This guy was against churches and group worship, but called himself a Christian and fervently praised the virtues of Jesus. Most notably, he claimed that the entire bible could be disregarded with the exception of MMLJ, because those are about Jesus and Jesus is all about love.

I responded that his opinion is the equivalent of declaring Schindler's List a lovely movie, if you just cut out the parts where Jews are being spit on, raped, tortured and murdered. Anyone else ever run into such a glaring bastardization of Christianity? I mean, what is the point of calling yourself a Christian when you so willingly wave off the vast majority of the doctrine? Can't you just be a good person for the sake of being a good person?

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Permalink Reply by Pat on January 31, 2013 at 8:46am

I'm really not surprised by this guy's take on his particular brand of ju-ju magic. He's not doing anything more, or less, than all the other devotees of any particular sky spirit that claim to have a holy book.

Ask a devout Jew to eat a cheeseburger with a shrimp cocktail appetizer, and see the shocked look you get. Yet, that same devout Jew wouldn't dream of stoning his daughter to death if she weren't a virgin on her wedding night, or killing his wife if she wears a garment woven of two different cloths.

Ask a Christian to have the same meal, and they'll gladly do it, with a side order of pork ribs, even though JC said he was not here to change the law, but only fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

This morning, I was listening to a Muslim on the radio talk about how it is a duty in Islam to protect the weak and defend the innocent. Yeah. Right! Apostasy is punished by death, but the intentional murder of an infidel is not. "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them" (Quran 8:12) Or,"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." (Quran 9:29) In other words, fight and conquer those who are not Muslims, and tax the survivors who don't convert.

Why should this cherry picking believer be any different from the rest of the bat-shit crazy crowd?

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Permalink Reply by Future on February 1, 2013 at 7:52am

Ask a devout Jew to eat a cheeseburger with a shrimp cocktail appetizer, and see the shocked look you get. Yet, that same devout Jew wouldn't dream of stoning his daughter to death if she weren't a virgin on her wedding night, or killing his wife if she wears a garment woven of two different cloths.

Better yet, ask Newt Gingrich for his opinion on gays, and when he is done berating them with a spittle soaked biblical diatribe, ask him for his opinion on divorce.

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Permalink Reply by Humble Pie on February 1, 2013 at 10:44am

Or better yet, cheating on your wife before you divorce her.

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Permalink Reply by Future on February 1, 2013 at 11:22am

... while she is on her death bed.

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Permalink Reply by Humble Pie on February 1, 2013 at 10:46am

It's pretty amusing, actually. I was at a Jewish house back in November where they offered traditional Jewish prayers over the Friday night meal, then brought out an entree made of shrimp. :)

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Permalink Reply by Pat on February 1, 2013 at 11:34am

My first wife was Jewish. I recall her mother, who insisted on having a Kosher kitchen, would order Chinese BBQ pork ribs and eat them on the back porch from a paper plate with plastic forks. Guess it was OK to pollute her body, but not the dinnerware.