General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMatthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers
Do Republicans even read their own bible?
Would Jesus want to bomb the shit out of Iran?
These people are not Christians.
City Lights
(25,171 posts)They are nothing if not hypocrites.
atreides1
(16,079 posts)Because it seems that they pick and choose which portions of the Bible that they want the rest of us to obey...while they ignore most of it!
City Lights
(25,171 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)Amazing that I know that line. I've never seen The Life of Brian.
That's soon to be rectified. It's next in my NetFlicks queue.
Regards.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)they are Christians.
I think Republicans read the Bible the same way they read the Constitution.
To confirm their own hatred and prejudice. So they only read those parts that do so.
pansypoo53219
(20,981 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)they would still be hypocrites.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Old Testament and revelations. Plus fantasy. The "left behind" series is an example of their fantasy porn.
Initech
(100,081 posts)Exhibit A:
That's a t-shirt that is for sale.
progressoid
(49,991 posts)"A time to kill"
That's it.
riversedge
(70,242 posts)Blessed be the peacemakers who work to ensure your children won't be sent to war @TheObamaDiary #p2
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)move to the admonition not to divorce...stated specifically by Jesus. That's glassy eyes territory.
By no means is it a New Testament/Old Testament thing. A quick perusal of the entire New Testament Beatitudes...of which OP has named one...disqualifies most but Pacifists. (The 10 Commandments still stand, as per Jesus)
The 8 Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)move to the admonition not to divorce...stated specifically by Jesus. That's glassy eyes territory.
By no means is it a New Testament/Old Testament thing. A quick perusal of the entire New Testament Beatitudes...of which OP has named one...disqualifies most but Pacifists. (The 10 Commandments still stand, as per Jesus)
The 8 Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
iandhr
(6,852 posts)Sorry couldn't resist.
RadiationTherapy
(5,818 posts)iandhr
(6,852 posts)if you hadn't been going on we would have heard that big nose.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Avalux
(35,015 posts)Their lives are so steeped in polarity that they are compelled to act in ways that impose dominance over other human beings. They cannot stand the idea of peace, and those who work for it.
greyl
(22,990 posts)Why not use an unimpeachable argument instead?
Matthew
Those who bear bad fruit will be cut down and burned "with unquenchable fire." 3:10, 12
Jesus strongly approves of the law and the prophets. He hasn't the slightest objection to the cruelties of the Old Testament. 5:17
Jesus recommends that to avoid sin we cut off our hands and pluck out our eyes. This advice is given immediately after he says that anyone who looks with lust at any women commits adultery. 5:29-30
Jesus says that most people will go to hell. 7:13-14
Those who fail to bear "good fruit" will be "hewn down, and cast into the fire." 7:19
"The children of the kingdom [the Jews] shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 8:12
Etc. http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/cruelty/nt_list.html
1) There is no explicit or categorical textual proof from the New Testament that supports the idea that the Old Testament (or the Law) doesnt count. For every verse cited to prove such a claim, there is another that can be cited for the opposite view. In fact, it seems that the textual proof for the opposite view is greater, even overwhelming. For example, Jesus says in the Gospels:
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.
5:18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
5:19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
And Jesus also said:
Luke 16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one dot of the Law to become void.
http://www.loonwatch.com/2011/05/the-but-thats-just-the-old-testament-cop-out/
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)'ell of a time"
mcar
(42,334 posts)The point needs to be stressed regularly.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)No True Scotsman is a logical fallacy by which an individual attempts to avoid being associated with an unpleasant act by asserting that no true member of the group they belong to would do such a thing; this fallacy also applies to defining a term or criteria biasedly as to defend it from counterargument which can be identified as a biased, persuasive, or rhetorical definition. Instead of acknowledging that some members of a group have undesirable characteristics, the fallacy tries to redefine the group to exclude them. Sentences such as "all members of X have desirable trait Y" then become tautologies, because Y becomes a requirement of membership in X.
The fallacy does not occur in defining a group or label narrowly to begin with, but in narrowing it by excluding evidence that contradicts an initially broad definition.
...
With respect to religion, the fallacy is well used, often even overused. Religious apologists will repeatedly try to use the No True Scotsman argument to distance themselves from more extreme or fundamentalist groups, but this does not prevent such extremists actually being religious - they themselves would certainly argue otherwise. Moderate Muslim leaders, for example, are well known for declaring Islamic extremists as "not true Muslims" as Islam is a "religion of peace." Similarly, moderate Christians, such as those in Europe, are sometimes aghast when viewing their fundamentalist counterparts in the US, immediately declaring them "not true Christians," even though they believe in the same God and get their belief system from the same book. Many of these statements stating that the extremists are not true believers are often used as a reaction against Guilt by Association. The No True Scotsman fallacy can also run the other way when it comes to extremism. Extremists will make a religious statement and when someone points out that there are many believers who don't believe the extremist's viewpoint, the moderates are deemed to be not true believers (ie: Christians who support gay marriage are not "real Christians" or Muslims who support women's rights are not "real Muslims" .
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/No_True_Scotsman
Christians are not morally superior to non-christians.