Re: I'm confused
Before I start, interests of disclosure etc etc etc.. Fairly "fundamentalist" Christian here - but in a different sense to most - I prefer to get right back to the basic Biblical roots of my faith, rather than the "Westboro" et al brands of fundamentalism.
I'm also probably more correctly ID's as "bisexual" but I am pretty much gay, certainly find guys much more attractive than gals. And yes, I did spend some of my life with a rather nasty view of "gay" people - there were many mistakes made in the church back then. Still many today, but things are getting better - and largely because people are coming to understand the concepts of grace and forgiveness over the "law" - things like that you talk about below.
Creation story? Let's have two in Genesis within a few lines.
I've heard people talk about this often but.. I've never been able to read it. I read the Bible cover-cover in a repeating sequence, ie I start at page 1 and read a small amount each day until I get to the end then start again, and also read other bits as desired whether for study, fact-checking, or pleasure (yes, some of it is quite pleasureable to read - other bits I dislike but still read). I have read Genesis 1 & 2 many times over the years, in different translations (english translations covering some 400-odd years), and do not see 1&2 as different stories. It's like reading many manuals and other texts, including newspaper articles. The first part gives a basic run-down (whether first paragraph in a newspaper article or introduction/first chapter in a computer manual) and the next chapter gives more detail on a specific subject. I am yet to see the conflict.
Commandments? Yes, ten please. Although there's more than one list and they're not exactly the same. And there's more than ten, too.
You should look into that a little more. There's only one key set of 10, which relate to how to treat God and how to treat other people (the ones like not murdering, not stealing, not cheating on your spouse and so on).
There are other laws, that's true. But there's ceremonial laws, and health laws, things like that. Not all apply outside of the people they're directed to. Those commonly called "The 10 commandments" are global. The rest aren't.
Don't like gay people? Justify that nonsense on the old testament. And ignore lots of other stuff that's just as explicitly prohibited but less convenient. (Gay: no; shellfish: don't care; mixed fabrics: don't care; blatant hypocrisy: don't care, obviously.).
Yeah, that sort of stuff has been a problem for a while. Still is for some people as well. Sadly only in the last couple of months I had someone giving me a bit of hassle for being gay, quoting a certain passage from the Bible. I asked him about the clothes he was wearing, and pointed out that the same section of laws cover clothes and other things as well. I also love to point out the other stuff in those passages at times.
Change is coming, and people are getting to see that grace, forgiveness, and most of all love, kindness and mercy are the important things. In many places in the Bible God says that He prefers kindness and mercy over sacrifice and judgement.
What many in the church has spouted for a long time does not line up with the Bible. It is a slow process, but things are improving. And if you want to know what the Bible says for itself, read it carefully yourself. Forget about what other people have to say, read it and let it interpret itself.
Hope this helps someone...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
