Black and White

[floo]

Anger and punishment can often be signs of love. Most children get punished. Being liberal is not always love....it can be indifference and could result in the degeneration of the child.

You are not comparing like with like. The punishments supposedly handed down by the Biblical, psychopathic god are way beyond anything, which would be considered reasonable, especially as death, like Noah's flood, was one of them! In the UK nothing more than a mild slap is permitted where physical punishment for a child is concerned. If you leave a mark you could be prosecuted.

[Brownie]

Hmmmmmmm. I reckon the guy was imbibing a substance, which would be illegal in this day and age, when he wrote the book, which nearly wasn't included in the NT. It is a great pity it is part of the Bible, because it has been used by some Christian extremists as a tool with which to scare vulnerable people into seeing religion in their unpleasant way.

You are correct that Revelation/Apocalypse was nearly left out of the Bible because it was considered highly dangerous.  However, it was far less 'potentially dangerous' than other apocalyptic works, which were rejected, and it was put in right at the end.

Certainly it is dangerous in the wrong hands, we can see that!

However, if we understand the context in which John wrote it and the fact that it contains coded messages, it's less difficult.

(Apparently,  Psilocybin mushrooms grow wild on Parmos and John would have been hungry.)

[Nearly Sane]

You are correct that Revelation/Apocalypse was nearly left out of the Bible because it was considered highly dangerous.  However, it was far less 'potentially dangerous' than other apocalyptic works, which were rejected, and it was put in right at the end.

Certainly it is dangerous in the wrong hands, we can see that!

However, if we understand the context in which John wrote it and the fact that it contains coded messages, it's less difficult.

(Apparently,  Psilocybin mushrooms grow wild on Parmos and John would have been hungry.)

I didn't think it was a fact that it is coded, merely the preterist interpretation?

[Brownie]

NS, as we were not there we cannot know for certain.   

The preterist interpretation seems to me a reasonable explanation and makes sense of Rev,  however others have come to different conclusions, each of which they argue is the right one - hence prophecies of things to come. 

[Hope]

As has been asked time and time again and never answered is:- WHAT IS LOVING ABOUT THE BIBLICAL VERSION OF GOD?

Like your claim on another thread, this question as been addressed by several people on a number of occasions, Floo - contrary to the claim that it has 'never been answered'.  I accept that you don't like the answer that has been given as it contradicts your opinion, but does that allow you to claim that it hasn't been answered?  Of course it doesn't.  To name just a few aspects - he treats wrongdoing as unacceptable; he protects his people when they follow his instructions (and when they don't, on a number of occasions); he forgives both their wilfill and unintentional disobedience; he includes the whole of humanity in his offer of forgiveness; he created each one of us as individuals; ...

[Hope]

NS, as we were not there we cannot know for certain.   

The preterist interpretation seems to me a reasonable explanation and makes sense of Rev,  however others have come to different conclusions, each of which they argue is the right one - hence prophecies of things to come.

I think the problem with some aspects of preterism is that they assume that a prophecy can only be fulfilled once.  I'm not convinced that such things are that simple.

[Brownie]

You may be right, Hope.  However some of the interpretations that pop up, with emphasis, quite often are so off the wall, I play safe and if something new is shown to be credible, I'll take that on board.

When I was a 'small' kid, aged up to eleven, I did a lot of scripture study (I suppose we all did then), both at school and at Sunday school, and the final book of the Bible was never studied!  If anyone asked why we were told, "You don't have to think about that now".  , quite funny really but I can't help thinking there was some common sense at work.

[Sebastian Toe]

Certainly it is dangerous in the wrong hands, we can see that!

Too right. All you have to do is look at Nick's posts to see it !

[Brownie]

He's far from being the only one to read dire warnings into Revelation, Seb, he believes he has the 'knowledge' (nothing to do with black cabs, but Latin word translated to 'Science'), and wants everyone to be alert.
I don't believe he is right but he is so not dangerous himself or in the way he puts it over.