seems to me that there's a decent balance between libs and cons, but representation within each individual thread might be skewed based on the topic/user availability/interest.

i wonder who our moderates are.

Basically just me, maybe Fruit whenever she enters Serious by mistake.

I'm sorta conservative but not Far-right

Quote from: Rocketman287 on December 29, 2015, 01:36:20 AM

I'm sorta conservative but not Far-right

A practicing Christian really has no choice but to be somewhat conservative by today's standards.

Of course. Though I differ with the church on some issues, which moves me off that far-right side.

Quote from: BerzerkCommando on December 24, 2015, 06:16:57 AM

I'm surprised Verb and the other people who are making lists don't have PSU on it.

Memes don't have political allegiances.

Har har Har.

Quote from: Нестор Іванович Махно on December 29, 2015, 01:49:06 AM

Quote from: Rocketman287 on December 29, 2015, 01:36:20 AM

I'm sorta conservative but not Far-right

A practicing Christian really has no choice but to be somewhat conservative by today's standards.

This simply isn't true. The vast majority of Christians I'm close to are much more liberal than just about anyone on this site.

I have to question the degree to which they can accurately be called Christians. Sure, they might believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ and a deity--maybe even one that is personal. They probably believe that Jesus was also resurrected.

We hold Islam and the Qur'an to account for its obvious proclivity in fostering violence. I consider myself to be a cultural Christian, in the sense that it's almost impossible to disentangle many of the historical values of Christendom which persist in modern, secular Western culture. And many other Christians, particularly Anglicans, take a similarly nominal view towards the faith. I also can't understand the dissonance between believing both the Old and New Testaments, while claiming Jesus essentially supersedes or revised the former.

No doubt the modern, less aggressive, version of Christianity is superior to the old one. And a modern, less aggressive, version of Islam would be superior to the current one. Yet we criticise Islam on the basis of certain scriptural flaws being honestly and directly implemented by fundamentalists. If we left a tribe with nothing but the Qur'an, and came back to something like ISIS we really oughtn't be surprised. Similarly, if we gave nothing but the Bible to a tribe we oughtn't be surprised if we came back to find something approaching the Westboro Baptist Church.

Certainly the Bible has some structural advantages over the Qur'an; it's longer, has (as I see it) greater room to impose your own moral proclivities on it by choosing better passages to adhere to and--at least in the NT--less obviously barbaric. Would you be surprised if a tribe with nothing but the Bible for guidance turned out to be a society like an oversized WBC, or some other fundamentalist application?

Quote from: Auld Lang Turkey on December 29, 2015, 12:04:09 PM

Quote from: Нестор Іванович Махно on December 29, 2015, 01:49:06 AM

Quote from: Rocketman287 on December 29, 2015, 01:36:20 AM

I'm sorta conservative but not Far-right

A practicing Christian really has no choice but to be somewhat conservative by today's standards.

This simply isn't true. The vast majority of Christians I'm close to are much more liberal than just about anyone on this site.

But you're Lutheran, right? Marty's church is into all kinds of neoprogressive bullshit. The Lutheran church takes a lot of stances that seem, to me, to run counter to Christian teachings.
It would be cool for the various theists on sep7 to have a crossfaith discussion.

Protestant, but I like Lutherans. I'm not sure what specific part of their statement of faith you take issue with, but in general most people think denominations other than their own are in some way deviant from 'true' Christianity.

take a typical example of biblical isolation -- monks, the priesthood, nuns, etc. --  and you see wellsprings of charity, sacrifice, peace, and scholarship.

Hadn't even considered that.

I think that extends to Islam, as well. So what a hypothetical tribe would do with the Bible, or the Quran, doesn't really matter.

Do you not think Islam and its scripture/theology has a greater propensity to foster violence than other religions?

Quote from: Auld Lang Turkey on December 29, 2015, 01:55:05 PM

most people think denominations other than their own are in some way deviant from 'true' Christianity.

I don't dislike most denominations, but I feel that denominations weren't meant to exist.

If denominations weren't meant to exist, half of the New Testament wouldn't be epistles to the various churches addressing their various needs and failings.

Quote

I think that extends to Islam, as well. So what a hypothetical tribe would do with the Bible, or the Quran, doesn't really matter.

Do you not think Islam and its scripture/theology has a greater propensity to foster violence than other religions?

I do, but I'm not certain that necessitates a 'true' sect of Islam. Some are definitely more correct than others, and some may just be irreparably corrupted, though.

Quote from: Rocketman287 on December 29, 2015, 04:01:33 PM

Quote from: Auld Lang Turkey on December 29, 2015, 01:55:05 PM

most people think denominations other than their own are in some way deviant from 'true' Christianity.

I don't dislike most denominations, but I feel that denominations weren't meant to exist.

If denominations weren't meant to exist, half of the New Testament wouldn't be epistles to the various churches addressing their various needs and failings.

Quote

Quote

I think that extends to Islam, as well. So what a hypothetical tribe would do with the Bible, or the Quran, doesn't really matter.

Do you not think Islam and its scripture/theology has a greater propensity to foster violence than other religions?

I do, but I'm not certain that necessitates a 'true' sect of Islam. Some are definitely more correct than others, and some may just be irreparably corrupted, though.

Different churches, but they should all follow the same teaching. Hence why Paul would tell this church to change how they are doing this or that.

Denominations tend to have their own spin on things and some are far different from others.

Different churches, but they should all follow the same teaching. Hence why Paul would tell this church to change how they are doing this or that.

Let's get right on that as soon as we have a unified set of teachings, then. There are three distinct variations of Christianity that claim to have apostolic authority heralding back to Peter, with traditions and liturgies to boot. They've turned tradition and sacrament into a security blanket against change, doubt, and self-reflection. And on the other end of the spectrum there's Protestants ranging from Baptists in denial of their Catholicism to non-denominational mega-churches who burned down the cathedrals and are sitting in the ashes wondering what they they meant to build in its place.

There is no The Church. Any church founded on the principles of Jesus, most importantly the sacrifice and redemption of Christ, is the church. A critical point in a Christian's spiritual growth is the realization that the building, the sermon, the preacher, and all the Sunday goings-on are the least important part of the religion.

most centrist users?