Texas parents don't like nude sculpture

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

All denominations of Christianity have changed from the original.

Right. It's was called reformation, something the Muslims never had. But even after that, it evolved and continues to do so.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

But there is no standardized set of guidelines.

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

If there were guidelines, guidelines are not rules.
If there were rules, rules are not laws.
If there were laws, a lot of people would treat them like guidelines.

Call them guidelines, rules, laws, or insert the word of your choice...

What are the Ten Commandments? What is The Bible? What is "Christianity" ??? (Do you just make it up as you go along?)

[BigV]

Hey Flint, you make a big, fundamental mistake. By insisting to draw conclusions, to make connections, to assign a causal relationship between the actions of an individual and concept as large and varied and intangible as Christianity, your arguments are weak and unsupportable. When you make unfounded assumptions, use unfair and irrelevant stereotypes, people are likely to react to the inflammatory speech and not to the facts of your point of view. That's great if you're trying to "energize your base" or whatever, but it's not a valid foundation for a fruitful discussion of factual events.

Saying "why" somebody did something is a difficult exercise at best, and the difficulty is multiplied when the somebody is a group of people, like a school board. It's rarely, effectively never, because of "X", and almost always the sum, or better the net effect of many forces.

xoB nailed it when he described Joe Blow, the asshole. Generalizations like yours are as useful as they are specific. You want to say something about a group, fine. It may have some traction. But the harder you try to apply that concept to a specific target, the less traction it has. You just can't persuade reasonable thinking people that someone's

Originally Posted by Flint

opposition to nude art is probably based on an a person's attempt to adhere to the confused teachings of their religious institution (IE, sex is bad, the human body is dirty). That, I base on two points: #1 this is the teaching of these institutions (is it not?) and #2 I can't think of any other possible reason for someone to be opposed to nude art.

because the conclusions you're jumping to are just too far from the facts we're all using as the same takeoff point.

btw, xoB, that guy, JB...it was the Navy.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by BigV

But the harder you try to apply that concept to a specific target, the less traction it has.

I never tried to apply my theory to a specific target. I purposefully stated it as a generalization:

Originally Posted by Flint

Whatever religion attempts to repress only festers beneath the surface, becoming something worse.

Originally Posted by Flint

My theory is that when the attempt to regulate morality comes into conflict with biological instincts, the inevitable drive of nature will find one way or another to assert it's dominance, in one possible scenario through the development of undesiarable deviant behavior.

__________________

Originally Posted by BigV

Hey Flint, you are a big, fundamental mistake.

Did you mean I made a "big, fundamental mistake" ??? (I hope so!) ha ha ha

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Flint

Quote:
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Often not always. I mentioned the Roman Catholics do this.
I've never heard any religion define the purpose of the universe.

Call them guidelines, rules, laws, or insert the word of your choice...

Each of those words have different meanings...it would make your life simpler to learn the difference.

What are the Ten Commandments? What is The Bible? What is "Christianity" ??? (Do you just make it up as you go along?)

The Ten Commandments were the rules of a covenant between God and the JEWS.
The Bible is a quasi-historical record of a time span ending thousands of years ago.
Christianity is name given to a vast group of religions that believe Jesus Christ was the son and agent of God.

[Flint]

Christianity must necesarily have a basic premise. Otherwise, the word describes something that doesn't exist. (Christianity does exsist...)

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The Ten Commandments were the rules of a covenant between God and the JEWS.

Do Christians not read the Old Testament?

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The Bible is a quasi-historical record of a time span ending thousands of years ago.

#1 Is the Bible an optional text, as a Christian? #2 Does The Bible contain moral guidelines (albeit interpretable)?

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Christianity is name given to a vast group of religions that believe Jesus Christ was the son and agent of God.

Is that the entirety of the similarities between various forms of Christianity?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Flint

I never tried to apply my theory to a specific target. I purposefully stated it as a generalization:
__________________

Did you mean I made a "big, fundamental mistake" ??? (I hope so!) ha ha ha

Yes. That is an embarassing and unfortunate typographical error. I apologize for the unintended insult. I have corrected my original post, but you certainly may keep your evidence of my mistake in yours. I am very sorry, please forgive me.

[Flint]

Clearly, I am deeply and irrevocably offended. I often remark "ha ha ha" to denote dead-seriousness.

[Flint]

[/sarcasm] now we arm-wrestle . . . to the death

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Flint

Christianity must necesarily have a basic premise. Otherwise, the word describes something that doesn't exist. (Christianity does exsist...)
Do Christians not read the Old Testament?
#1 Is the Bible an optional text, as a Christian? #2 Does The Bible contain moral guidelines (albeit interpretable)?

Is that the entirety of the similarities between various forms of Christianity?

I think Wolf mentioned the Roman Catholics don't use the Bible, they use Catechism texts. Most Christians don't read the Bible other than select passages assigned to them in (usually youth) studies. The big question is, does it say in the translations what it said in the original texts.

Mother Goose contains interpretable moral guidelines. The Bible, covering thousands of years and multiple societies, contains many conflicting morality lessons. There's a passage in the bible that can be quoted to cover just about any behavior imaginable.

There are many similarities between many Christian religions, but that's the one that's common to all of them.

[Flint]

I often ask people why they feel the need to define themselves as Christian. I ask people what is gained by attributing the classification of Christian to themselves. Now, more than ever, I ask this question, considering that we have just exhaustively established that the word Christian has no demonstrable meaning whatsoever.

[morethanpretty]

Originally Posted by Flint

I often ask people why they feel the need to define themselves as Christian. I ask people what is gained by attributing the classification of Christian to themselves. Now, more than ever, I ask this question, considering that we have just exhaustively established that the word Christian has no demonstrable meaning whatsoever.

The Egyptian Pharohs, Roman Ceasers, Mystery cults, and the followers of various gods (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, ect) no longer have living representatives on this earth but we still study them and know what their basic beliefs were, how they practiced ect ect. Just because Christianity doesn't have that many genuine followers in this country doesn't mean we can't understand who they are supposed to be and how they are supposed to act. We even have histories of them outside the Bible, which is the most complete definition or representation of what Christianity is. Why do say that the word Christian has no demonstrable meaning? There are authentic Christians you just have to turn over a few rocks. I know a few I can give you their phone number...:-)

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Flint

I often ask people why they feel the need to define themselves as Christian. I ask people what is gained by attributing the classification of Christian to themselves. Now, more than ever, I ask this question, considering that we have just exhaustively established that the word Christian has no demonstrable meaning whatsoever.

The best thing about being a Christian is not having to explain it to other Christians because they already know and not having to explain it to non-Christians because they'll never understand.
You only have to know that you can't attribute any behavior by someone to them being a Christian. Even if it's fervent religious activity, it's personal choice on their part, not an attribute of Christianity alone.

Disclaimer....may not apply to Texas.

Having studied religion for as long as I have, I am constantly amazed at how readily people who have not read their Bible in ... years (or not all of it at ALL), never read a concordance, or studied the history of the times from the
Roman perspective, readily get into a disagreement with me on finer points of dogma or just historical aspects of Cannon Law or just what happened and how... it is sad.
99% of that "Religion" is pulpit here-say and most of those guys have little to no real training.
When I point this out I always get "but its about faith".... how can you have faith in something you don't even know the basics of. Sure, if you really know what you are CHOOSING to believe in, warts and all... that I can see.
But, just saying you have faith and not knowing what you are talking about... cult.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Nor do they know that the concept of papal infallibility and dogma of Immaculate Conception, didn't exist before the mid 1800s.