Far North wrote:
Unfortunately one can't believe most of what the news media says. The purpose of the media is to sell stories and build numbers in order to retain their existence. Honesty in reporting has a very small place in today's news.
As to what Christians do, or don't do, as opposed to others, let me say this: Yes, Christians do kill people, sometimes for a good reason (self-defense) or a not good reason--out and our murder, or simply by accident, as in a car crash, for example.
What occurred in the Medieval times and during the Inquisition, many atrocities were committed, not by Christians, but by those who felt they were acting in the best interests of the Catholic Church which, at the time, ruled most countries. I don't mean to denigrate the Catholic Church, but that is the way it was. It wasn't until the Reformation, started by Martin Luther that there was a move away from the Catholic Church by some, and so the so-called Protestant denominations and churches came into being. Don't confuse Christians with religion and religiosity. Going to church doesn't make one a Christian anymore than attending the movies makes one a movie actor.
So what does Jesus have to do with all of this? His message was plain and simple, as it merely called for the individual to form a personal relationship with God, through Him. And to pave the way to salvation He gave up his own life so that we don't have to. It remains a personal choice.
It also amazes me that people decry the Bible as a collection of myths and the figures mentioned in the Bible as fictional characters, when there is historical documentation regarding the Bible, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and others, which are the foundation for validating the Bible as true. Furthermore, it has been stated that people such as Josephus couldn't have had all the "facts" in place because Jesus died before he was born. I rather imagine that, being the scholar that Josephus was, he went about gathering his fact carefully before writing them down to become permanent. And what about the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Those four men knew Jesus personally, so I'd guess they did have their facts in order. It doesn't matter that none of them wrote their books until a few years after Jesus' death and resurrection. It remains that they were eye witnesses and felt it necessary to communicate to others what they had seen and experienced.
So it amazes me that people of today can write opinion and for some reason it's regarded as fact, when, in fact, their information is based on writings hundreds or thousands of years old! I fail to see how that can be any more relevant than documents written at the time the events occurred.
Unfortunately one can't believe most of what the n... (
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Almost verything written has flaws, as all written texts, including the Bible, were written by fallible men.