Who needs an education?
However, those sons that were taught about the bible eventually decided that woman should learn too, and now we have a whole world of "misguided" individuals who are legally allowed to spawn "misguided" children. Now, I've made it this far without having to tell you about what I mean when I say "misguided" and I intend to keep it that way for a few more seconds while I gather my thoughts. So here is a picture that explains nothing of what I'm going to get into!
I was raised Catholic, and for the most part, I've remained Catholic. I do like to play around with interesting ideas of God and all that because nobody on earth can ever really know what life after death is like or exactly how God functions, and so it's entertaining and helpful to play around with different ideas of God and those sort of things. I try to be accepting of various faiths and I usually succeed because, after all, a person's faith is just one aspect of them. Even if I can't agree with their beliefs I can still find some traits and quirks that I can get along with. However, what I can't stand is people who label themselves as one thing while functioning as an entirely different thing.
This is where my term "misguided" comes in. I am referring to Christians, who call themselves Christians, but are actually people who follow in the (paper?)trail of the bible and not the footsteps of Christ, the being they are named after. Freedictionary.com defines Christian as, "Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teaching of Jesus." I have never been taught that man's word is above God's word but there seems to be a trend of Christians who put every single ounce of faith they can muster into believing that the bible is the path to God. What these same people seem to be forgetting is that Jesus clearly states that He is the way.
Pictured: The Way
I can understand some of the issue being that the bible is one of the few records we have of Jesus and his life and therefore saying it is imperfect means that our knowledge of Jesus and his life could be highly inaccurate. But would our lives and identities as Christians really be all that different if Jesus had never turned water into wine (something he most likely didn't do anyway. Even though party Jesus would have been totally cool and capable of some crazy, shall we say "divine" keggers)? What I can't agree with are the people who against all evidence remain ignorant. These are the same people that say everything comes from God but are convinced that science is trying to dupe them and destroy their faith. As an example let's look back at when Bill Nye was booed in Waco, Texas for stating that Moon reflects the Sun's light. Apparently some people took issue with Nye when he told them the Moon reflects light. One woman is reported to have said, "We believe in God!" and then stormed out with her children.
Let's take a look at that for a moment. I think it is safe to assume that that woman would call herself a Christian. Christians are supposed to follow in the life and teachings of Jesus. When does Jesus say that the moon produces its own light source? He doesn't, that is a bit in Genesis. So why do so-called Christians take that stuff so to heart? I'm not quite sure because its clearly not a first hand account documented by Adam or Eve as it was happening, which means it was passed down through generations of people. Therefore its more than likely that mistakes were made and details were left out before the story was written down. The story is most likely inaccurate but that is besides the point. If these people believe that everything comes from God, then what separates a scientific finding stating the Moon reflects light and the bible quoting God? Answer: Several thousand years. If God gave man science then science is really just an extension of religion and faith meant to update our ancestors' understanding of the functions of the world. Many of the world's first scientists were men (and women) of great faith. I just can't understand why people lock into these trends. These same people who glorify the bible will admit that man is imperfect and that his creations can never match God's. The fact they seem to overlook is that the bible was written by MEN!
Also, its been edited by men
The second issue I take with these people is that they are so non-adaptive. One change of opinion or difference in facts sets these people to war mode. Why does knowing that the Moon reflects light have to shake your faith in God? Can't it increase your wonder in the divine? Why is it so destructive to discover that God's creations can be incredible complex? If anything it should make God MORE impressive. This really marks science as a way to learn about God and not a way to refute people's faith. If science proves something in the bible as false, then it shouldn't be an act of war, it should be an evolution of what we once knew, to what we now know and each step can take us closer to God. God created all of these complex processes, humans had to discover them in order to even know that they existed.
A whole lot of "we don't know...yet" My final issue is that literally none of the above stuff should even matter. If Jesus didn't turn water into wine, (again, sweet parties) if Jesus didn't cure the sick (which he totally could have done) it doesn't matter. He was still a revolutionary thinker. Love your enemy? Turn the other cheek? In a world where violence was routine and expected here was a guy who was teaching people how to make things better. His advice for these people? Follow in his footsteps because he is the way. Why have people seemed to forget that? I had a woman tell a friend of mine the other week that she couldn't quote the bible because she didn't believe in the bible. Since when has that applied...ever?
My final thoughts on the subject is that all of those people who claim to be Christians but only believe unflinchingly in the bible either need to stop being labelled as Christians, because they make the rest of the Christians look bad; or they need to have some separate denomination given to them so that others know exactly what they are dealing with, like Mormons, or Lutherans, or Catholics. If someone says I'm a Christian and I believe in the bible that sends a totally different message than saying, "If you don't believe in the bible you are going to hell." Which sadly, is something I've had a Christian say to me. Let's get away from all of the hate that the bible can inspire and get back on track with love. Its tough, but if we just follow Jesus's teachings we can get a little closer.
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