Page 357 … the entire Word(s) of God
“Scaughdt, I have not addressed all your comments and feel no need to do so, because we are of different beliefs … I believe in all 66 books of the Word … I don’t leave Paul out, or some of Peter, or any of Revelation.”
(sigh) … But don’t you see, Lucy? You DO only believe in a very small portion of the Bible. Indeed, that is precisely what my comments in this thread prove without a shadow of a doubt! If you would just read them with an open-Heart (Heck, if you would just read them at all) then you would see this quite clearly … And yet you have chosen the path of destruction instead – the “broader path” (Matthew 7:13-14) of the “hardened heart” (Jeremiah 18:12 & Isaiah 6:10) – the path that condemns the dirty chalices of others without cleaning your own cup first (Matthew 23:25-26) – the path of those who arrogantly judge others to be “mortal sinners” and thereby prevent themselves from entering Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3-4) – the path of those who condemn the ways others and therefore cannot ever truly Love them the way that Jesus wants us to (John 13:15-17 + John 13:34).
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own? … You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to identify the speck in your neighbor’s … And yet this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they will not look with their eyes, or listen with their ears, or understand with their hearts – and thereby turn, and [be healed by my Way].” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:1-5 & Matthew 13:15)
Next, you follow up by stating that, “I believe [that the entire Bible is the] authoritative Word of God.” … Lucy – my dear Friend – if that were truly the case, then you would have already listened to, and would have already heeded, the literally thousands of verses of Scripture I have already provided you!!! … And then there is the additional problem of your claim: that whereas my all-inclusive theology provides a moral explanation for all the immoral (if not downright evil) verses in the Bible, yours does not. As such, if you truly believe in the sanctity of the entire Bible, Lucy – if you truly believe that every single verse is in & of itself valid; that later verses do not amend earlier ones, and that later authors & later prophets do not transcend the ones that came before them, then how do you justify the contents of the image that follows?
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 7:15-20)
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