What makes you religious? [Spirituality & Religion]

@hippyjoe1955 You mean it is reviewed and edited regularly? What was the last bit to be removed or added? Who takes these decisions and based on what?

@SW-User No. What I mean is the book is like an onion. It has so many layers of meaning that you can read it every day for your entire life and find new meaning every day.

@hippyjoe1955 That's definitely true! So it's only an inspiration, but decisions should be based on our abilities?

@SW-User I don't think we have abilities that were not given to us. We work all things out in cooperation with the ONE who gave us the abilities.

@hippyjoe1955 No question about non-given abilities, but what do you do when given abilities tell you the complete opposite of what is written in the Bible? Which do you follow and what do you use to justify your actions? A lot of people quote Bible versus rather than their morality, which seems odd to me. That's all.

@SW-User Examples please. I can't respond based on what you just said. I have no idea what abilities you think is opposite the Bible.

@hippyjoe1955 People generally feel that killing is wrong, but the Bible is clear that homosexuals and people who curse at their parents, among many other people, should be put to death.

@SW-User Maybe you should read the Bible first instead of relying on the internet to provide you with anti Christian information.

@hippyjoe1955 Fair enough, I found these by looking up controversial topics, but I didn't take it blindly. I went to a Christian school and still have a Bible, so I was able to check if this is true. These instructions are really in there.

@SW-User Never said it wasn't true. What I do say is that if read with the wrong spirit you will soon be led astray. First of all does it say that homosexuals should be killed in the New Testament?

@hippyjoe1955 I admit that I'm not sure about that, but many people follow both the Old and New Testaments. I agree that reading the Bible in the wrong spirit leads people astray, which was really the entire point of my question.

Obviously there is good advice in there, but not everything applies to modern life. Following the entire Bible is impossible, and following the bad parts leads you astray. So it seems to me like our morality is the only way to go by, and though parts of the Bible can be used as inspiration, something being in there does not mean it's true or good. Therefore I wonder why people quote it as advice or justification.

@SW-User It is not in the New Testament. In fact the New Testament doesn't advocate killing anyone for any reason. It does say that gays will not inherit the Kingdom but that applies to all kinds of sinners. IOW give up the sin to inherit the Kingdom. Don't want to give up the sin - don't expect to inherit the Kingdom. It throws the choice back at you.

@SW-User Correct. I've studied scripture as well, since the early 90s, and came across the verses you mention:

Leviticus 20:13 - "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

Leviticus 20:9 - "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him."

When I have questions I go straight to the concordance in the back of the Bible, or my copy of "Who's Who in the Bible." Useful commentary found in many places is also a good place to find answers. I'm still a bit vague though on what your actual question is.

@SW-User Jesus said you don't patch an old cloth with new cloth. The same applies to the Bible. The Old Testament can give you background on the New Testament but the New Testament is the only one you follow if you are a Christian. The killing of gays is part of the law and Christians are told not to follow the law since we have faith which takes away the law.

@hippyjoe1955 That's a whole different message and a good update to the Bible if you consider the New Testament to be that. Still, the Bible is presented as the ultimate guideline, including the Old and New testament.

A few questions remain though:
- Why would God let people add new instructions without removing the instructions they replace, thus introducing contradictions?
- Why is the Bible still used as guidance and justification as a whole, including outdated instructions?

@SW-User If you understood the intent of the Law in the first place you would understand why it was never removed. The purpose of the Law was to show you that you can not become righteous by trying to keep a Law you can never keep.

@hippyjoe1955 That actually makes sense. Thanks for this insight!
I would have gone with a bigger rewrite, marking old information more clearly as a reference in the context of new information, rather than keeping everything and adding new information hundreds of pages further, but you have honestly convinced me about the intend.