yes and sometimes the patronising BS in your posts reflect what is really going on in yours Doulos. to wit...Sometimes the 'prayers' you make when joking reflect what is really going on in your heart.
oh i never thought of that uncle Doulos, geez in decades of bible study i never noticed, but now you've pointed it out to me in your kindness and niceness why the whole bible will be like a new book. of course i'll have to take it more literally which will probably lead to guilt followed by anguish and an endless cycle of falling short and repenting until i'm some kind of psychological quasimodo but with the sweet fellowship of Doulos ant and Stahwre it will all be worth it. (not to mention historical jesus, cant wait to talk sandals and togas)The Bible never says there are things wrong with having questions, doubts or even anger. If you read the Psalms, many begin with very honest cries addressed to God.
ok, i'm sick to death of patronising halfwits who think there miniscule ill-informed outlook is a vision splendid, who think that their pathetic literalised monstrosity of a deity could be anything more than the distilled puerility of a retarded 12 year old. it never occurs to them that they may have misinterpreted their own experience. it never occurs to them to read other religions and other mythologies so they can see for themselves the striking similarities and obvious metaphors. no they are smug and secure in the conviction that historical jesus can save them and if that means some people burn in hell forever well thats ok cause they didn't repent of their sins and trust in my jesus. (even though they were born in a hindu village and never heard of jesus so when they had their tremendous experience they naturally thought it was krishna)God already knows our hearts. There's nothing wrong with being honest with Him. Or each other.
look Doulos, it's not you personally, you seem like a swell guy, but i've been around a while, and the older i get the more i feel like screaming "f*ck off you literalist morons, come back when you get a clue" "i dont want your literalist jesus, i already tried him for two decades and he is a total failure - a monstrous perversion of sublime allegory"
here is an old buddhist story about a disciple - see any similarities to the story of simon peter?
IT'S A METAPHORComing to the river where the water was deep and the current strong, he said to himself: "This stream shall not prevent me. I shall go and see the Blessed One, and he stepped upon the water which was as firm under his feet as a slab of granite. When he arrived at a place in the middle of the stream where the waves were high, Sariputta's heart gave way, and he began to sink. But rousing his faith and renewing his mental effort, he proceeded as before and reached the other bank.
The people of the village were astonished to see Sariputta, and they asked how he could cross the stream where there was neither a bridge nor a ferry. Sariputta replied: "I lived in ignorance until I heard the voice of the Buddha. As I was anxious to hear the doctrine of salvation, I crossed the river and I walked over its troubled waters because I had faith. Faith. nothing else, enabled me to do so, and now I am here in the bliss of the Master's presence."
The World-honored One added: "Sariputta, thou hast spoken well. Faith like thine alone can save the world from the yawning gulf of migration and enable men to walk dryshod to the other shore."
Wherever that truth may lead...