Page 995 … Truth #6: Evangelicals do NOT follow “the whole Bible”
While quite commonly used by conservatives to justify many of their more primitive (&/or judgmental, &/or violent) religious beliefs, “believing in the whole Bible” is not a valid claim in & of itself. And this is true for the patently simple reason that the Bible, when taken literally as a whole, is literally riddled with literally hundreds of contradictions – both those factual as well as those moral. In truth, anyone who has followed even a significant portion of this thread has seen very clearly that this is indeed the case – has seen how Lucy & Dan have repeatedly (& incorrectly) accused me of ignoring verses of Scripture that seemingly support their bigoted condemnations of the “sin” of homosexuality, while simultaneously themselves looking away from the thousands of Bible verses that I provided proving an opposing, far more compassionate alternative; one upheld by the teachings of Christ in the Gospels, and one supported by a very different, far more Loving God.
And as such it is actually the case – at least in this thread, that it is the conservative Christians here who are not following “the whole Bible”; that it is the “evangelicals” in this discussion who are the ones rejecting verse after verse and ignoring passage after passage. For if it were indeed true that they honored “the whole Bible”, then they would not only embrace the outdated & highly immoral edicts found in Leviticus 20:13 & Jude 1:7, but they would also include Matthew 5:48 in their theology – and make God’s LOVE non-judgmentally perfect … and they would openly consider John 5:22 – and make God’s wrath soft & smooth … and they would fully embrace 1 John 4:18 – and make God’s Justice gentle … and they would support Jeremiah 17:10 (and Luke 6:38, and Galatians 6:7-8, and Revelation 20:12-13) – and thereby uphold the bold fairness of us all reaping only what we have sown … and they would honor Luke 6:36 & Matthew 18:21-22 – and make God’s Mercy complete … and they would publicly proclaim the Parables of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) & The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) to include homosexuals in their God’s now-infinite Grace!
Amen — Let it be one day be so!
P.S. By the way, if conservatives are going to worship “the whole Bible”, they need to remember that the Bible also says THIS:
“Why do you judge the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own? How can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the beam is in your own? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your neighbor’s … Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this young child is the greatest in the Kingdom … “I now give you a new Commandment: that you Love one another. Just as I have Loved you, so you should also show one another Love. Indeed, by this everyone will know that you are my disciples: when you show Love for one another … Be perfect [in LOVE] therefore, just as [the LOVE] of your Father in Heaven is perfect … Show mercy to others, just as your heavenly Father shows them mercy.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 7:3-5 + Matthew 18:3-4 + John 13:34-35 + Matthew 5:48 + Luke 6:36)
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