This is a thread for those who admire christianity for good teachings intrinsic within its scriptures, namely the bible. Please post any title of a story from bible or other christian documents and a positive teaching that it provides us with. 1) The good samaritan story. It shows that any human being is capable of goodness, kindness and generosity. The samaritan , who is from an enemy clan of the jews, helps a jewish man in this story. The story emphasizes that compassion should be universal and to all human beings and enemity between groups is unnecessary, because we are all God's children.
Thr repentant thief, who acknowledged that he was being justly punished for his wrongdoings and begged the mercy of Christ in the last hour of his life. This story is very similar to that of Ajamila in the Bhagavatam. Thanks for starting a positive thread here , Jedi. To understand the Bible, you first have to understand Vedic knowledge; particularly, theistic Dvaita-vedanta.
I think that rule should be changed. Skip if you read this then hear my plea: How are we to discuss Christianity without using quotes from the most influential book to the religion? I agree a whole basis of an arguement shouldn't be on quotes from the Bible, but in some cases it is very relevant. To ban quotes is very one-sided against Christianity and I thought this was a free speech forum. It hurts no one and banning it limits open discussions. Can we at least say things like, "you can find the reference to my arguement in Psalms: 5,10"? Also, thanks for the thread! The Story of Moses shows courage and how oppression ends up leading to disaster. It ties into the idea of karma. Of course the means to ending the oppression I don't agree with. Not the best story though lol I'll be sure to post something better tomorrow when I have more time.
Wish that super-idiot Hitler had read this story, instead of talking of Jesus and praising the church. It would have saved a lot of jews. ( 'A lot' is an understatement.)
When the children of Isreal were in wilderness, they were so hungry. God in his all mighty power made manna (special bread) fall from the sky. The story is symbolic in that it shows that we are completely dependent on God for all our needs. One who believes in God is free from all worry.
Yes , we all worry, I worry too. It is not hypocrisy, but a condition of human meekness, we derive our strength however from our belief that God is there looking after us. You have to understand that we are all human, pointing the finger at things that seem contradictory and yelling hypocrisy does little to help in many practical situations- because the truth is much deeper than what it seems on the surface to you. It is tough to gain an ideal relationship with God right away, it is easier if we develop faith slowly and finally gain so much faith that we can derive unlimited strength from that faith and move on in life. I was here talking about the ideal situation, we truly believe in God , we really don't have to worry about anything.
Thank you for blatantly ripping off Anselm's argument for God. In response, I just imagined an infinite mug of beer that tastes more delicious than any other beer. It is superior in all ways. Therefore, according to your logic, it must exist. Sadly, I see no mug of beer in front of me... I really wanted a good mug of beer too... Anyways, I could point out more flaws in Anselm's argument, but the "godlike mug of beer" should be sufficient to prove my point.
come on, can't we all live together in peace? Let's stop attacking each other, let's try to focus on the valuable things that are being said. For example, it's a very good thing to point out the importance of thinking for ourselves and avoiding brainwash (thanks Fedup), it is also very important to be generous and compassionate with everyone (thanks Jedi) and so on...
For what I've been reading, there is no constructive criticism, it's more an aggressive criticism, but, ok, if you think otherwise, just ignore my proposal
So what if it is just a story? That certainly doesn't mean a good lesson can't be learned from it. So why not try to better ourselves from stories like this one? To be fair you did kind of attack him in this quote. You are accusing him of copying someone elses work (which may be true, but it still is an attack) and you call him "junior" which could be considered you looking down upon him as your lesser (or a child). Don't worry I totally agree with you.
I agree with you too. constructive criticism is needed, but something like that to happen, one needs to show an open mind for all views, especially in religion, things that may seem too supernatural actually hold very powerful teachings. To have an open mind, he needs to let go of his aggression and past prejudices.
Man that's exactly what I've been trying to say forever! lol Except I never get the point across. Thanks for putting it in understandable words. BTW, he is open minded, he just doesn't appear to be in most cases.
Time to make this thread live again! "A lost brother found": This shows how people can change from their past ways and reform to be better and good. Joseph's brothers are willing to sacrifice their own freedom to save their youngest brother and their father from heart ache. It also shows the bond between family and how we should forgive for past wrong doings.
