In article 3KJDc.106741$Hg2.55952@attbi_s04,
John Watson wrote:

"Bill Oliver" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Vox Humana wrote:


How do you account for so many denominations each having so large a
difference with fellow Christians that they can't abide belonging to the
same organization?


The second is that there is great ambiguity in most aspects of
Christianity. Jesus noted that there were really only two rules to
being a Christian: loving God above all else, and loving your neighbor
as yourself.

Yeah right!

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his followers (Matthew 5:43)

"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate

you." This might have been a fine lesson if Jesus himself lived up to it.

But when it came to his own enemies, Jesus declared (Luke 19:27), "Take my

enemies, who would not have me rule over them, bring them here, and kill

them before me."



Ah, I see. You do not comprehend what a parable is. You see, a
parable is when someone tells a fictional story in order to illustrate
a point. In parables, sometimes magic happens, sometimes people can
fly, sometimes things that just don't make sense in a nonfictional
world abound. That's because the story is not supposed to be taken
literally, but instead illustrates a point. In the case of the parable
Luke, contrary to your assertion, Jesus was not giving instruction to
kill; he was telling a story about a stern master. Here's a hint.
When Jesus starts a story with "A man of noble birth went to a distant
country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called
ten of his servants and gave them ten minas..." that didn't *really*
happen see. It's a *parable.*


Everything else falls from those two. Most of the things
that people think of when they think of Christian orthodoxy are not
things that Jesus particularly cared about.

Godfrey's conquest of Jerusalem?known as the "First Crusade:"

At the Council of Clermont in 1095 CE, Pope Urban II

Oddly enough, in spite of your contention, Pope Urban II is
not Jesus Christ. Reread my statement.


Other religious nonsense snipped...


And what is your point? That cruel people will do cruel things
under any given flag? Certainly. Do you want a litany of things
done under the flag of atheism and anti-Christian activism? Are
you going to accept the blame for the murder of kulaks under Stalin,
the killing fields of Cambodia, etc. Certainly in the past couple
hundred years, millions more people have been murdered in the name
of atheism than in the name of any deist religion.