Christianity is fundamentally immoral.

First, let me thank you for your well thought out and organized rebuttals. ==================================================================================== >>Initial Reaction<< I see an overarching theme in most of your contending points; human interpretation and concession. Nearly everyone I have ever spoken to about the Bible inevitably veers towards double-standards and contradictions concerning the Bible: - 'It is the literal word of God' ; 'but it is also metaphorical, liquid, and open to interpretation'. - 'God knows everything in the past and future' ; 'but a lot of the stuff in the Bible is just the result of the time period'. - 'God gave us free will' ; 'but he also has a plan for us'. Accepting one part of these double standards ultimately renders the opposite statement false. The Bible, and religion, are not a buffet line - you cannot just pick and choose the items which you like and which you do not. ==================================================================================== The Bible clearly and directly states that God is omnipotent and constantly steps in for assistance when asked through prayer: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8 NAB) If God is able to intervene at his slightest whim, the he is either apathetic, powerless, or cruel. Christianity tells people to pray for divine intervention, rather than implementing a proactive attitude; why? Because 'Jesus has got you covered'. Inaction and complacency are two immensely immoral activities/mindsets. ===================================================================================== >>Main Point Reactions<< 1 and 2. I am very encouraged to find out that there are indeed Christians out there who believe that people from other religious can qualify for Heaven. I, however, have never met one of these people. I have gone to numerous Bible camps, attended religious debates, and have talked to countless Clergymen who are friends with my grandfather. The unanimous consensus among them; "Unfortunately, the only way to Heaven is through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is why it's so important for us to spread the good word." This has been, verbatim, the response to 90% of the people I have spoken to - and this includes Clergy of the Church. I admire your more modern and accepting take on the Bible, but the sad fact of the Bible is that even the isolated, mentally-deficient, ignorant, and the young face damnation if they do not accept Jesus. So, for instance, let's take Gandhi - undeniably one of the most moral and righteous men of recent history. Sure he may have had sinful thoughts (who hasn't), or other minuscule infractions, but let's say 99% of his being was peaceful and for the freedom of his people. The one major flaw (in God's eyes) is that he has not accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, even when he was aware of Christianity. In purgatory, his "cleansing of sins" would take about .5 seconds. If he saw the grandeur and divinity of Heaven, I have no doubt he would convert immediately and accept Jesus. But the Bible does not give him this chance. Just because he did not grow up in the United States of Western Europe, where Christianity is indoctrinated, he is damned. ==================================================================================== 3. Again, John Paul II is in no way warranted to change the interpretation. The Bible states there is no other way but through Christ. Anonymous Christian is merely a concession, compromise, and appeasement to those who point out the mass injustice, which is salvation through Christ. ==================================================================================== 4. Again, I applaud your modern approach to homosexual relations, but once more, it is the sad reality that the vast majority of Christians still see it as an abomination, a sin, and immoral - Because the Bible says so... Love is the purest and most important force/feeling/emotion in all the world, yet it is regulated and deprived through the Bible. And it does not end in this life; homosexuality is a sin, and in your view, people go to purgatory to cleanse their sins. But you can't "cleanse" homosexuality. You cannot change the inherent nature and sexual orientation of someone. Thus, homosexuals are indeed damned. ==================================================================================== 5. Pro-life and Anti-Death Penalty are incredibly minuscule issues on the injustice spectrum. How about ending war, or genocide, or famine? Where is the Christian movement to end the unjust war in Iraq? Where is the Christian movement to stop funding the terrorist state of Israel? And, I hate to go back to the OT God again, but he orchestrated mass genocides, plagues, floods, fires, burning sulfur rain, and destruction of, honestly, millions of people. I took the time to add up the death toll caused by God in the OT, and it is quite staggering. Where is the reverence for human life there? ==================================================================================== 6 and 7. Again, why is relativity of time in allowed in creation, but not in the 150 days Noah stayed on his Ark, or in the 900 years that the earliest descendants of Adam and Eve lived. Another immortality stems from the blind acceptance of Biblical script as the means for explaining the universe. This causes close-mindedness and blind acceptance, which are two very scary things that often translate to other aspects of their lives. And, are you saying that in this seventh day that God has abandoned us and plays no role in the state of current affairs. If so, I would classify you more as a deist. (Also, on an unrelated note, why would God create the 'Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad' knowing full well they would violate the agreement. And blaming it on Eve is another example of the misogynistic nature of the Bible. Also, God lied; he told them they would die if they ate from the tree, and the Serpent (Satan) told the truth by stating that God was lying about them dying. Seems to me that this creation story was just a poor attempt by man, to discourage people from free and intellectual thought.) ==================================================================================== 8. I thought the Bible was the word of God? Why did God not possess the foresight to tell Abraham and the countless other's he spoke to that slavery was bad? In my opinion; simply put, because man faked it. And that is why the Bible is immoral. Because it was created to serve the interests of man, not God. Shellfish as an abomination? Really? I think God would have known that shellfish would be safe for consumption in a few hundred years, rather than just declaring them an outright abomination. The NT is just an attempt to water down what is the true nature of God in the OT. ===================================================================================== 9. Two years ago, my best friend's family went to Africa, through YoungLife, to set up Churches. I asked his father, 'why?'. His response: "Because they need to know the word of Jesus Christ. Sure, we could send food or medicine, but that only helps them in this life. We offer them eternal salvation through Christ".... Enough said. ============================================================ I hate to turn this conversation towards the merits and legitimacy of the Bible, but I feel it is inevitable. The scripture versus modern practice of Christianity may differ, but I reiterate again that there is no question about the original statements of damnation in the Bible. I applaud your efforts for a more modern view, but the fundamentals of the Bible are indeed immoral. Finally, complacency and blind acceptance make it immoral and dangerous.