Let us pray.

'Nam and eight padres, (feelie-spirit too), thanked us.

How cute and ironic that there is currently a big black and blue cross to the right of the screen, with an advert for an online Christian dating service, LOL.

When I get home tonight I will pore through the notes in my Bible and leave a comment showing you where great chunks of a First Testament chapter are duplicated word for word in another chapter. I love using that in an argument with someone who tells me to take the Bible literally, since it is inspired by God alone, yada yada yada. I always ask whether God suffered hiccups.

"Unfortunately - it's clear that each religious group simply bends the bible to fit the way of life they have chosen to live."

I don't think this is at all true.

Many, perhaps even most, Christians do use the Bible to justify the life they've chosen to live. But I know that many who are Christians (I would call them "liberal" Christians) choose to live their life in a way that fits their interpretation of what the Bible teaches and all of it is very positive, very uplifting, and has nothing to do with the fundamentalists you obviously despise.

Critics of moronic fundamentalist Christianity, it's leaders and it's drive-thrus often make the mistake of using the label "Christian" so broadly and indiscriminately that they demonstrate only that they know they don't like fundamentalists, but don't know enough about the wide spectrum of belief to understand how foolish and bigoted they too look in the eyes of those who know this simply isn't true.

I'll never defend a religious bigot or a fundamentalists beliefs or the actions of the charlatans who use the label "Christian" to milk millions out of a fearful ignorant population. But it just isn't right to smear the millions who call themselves Christian, who lead lives much (if not exactly) like yours crazedandconfused and whose beliefs are identical or nearly identical in every other respect. So please, don't use so broad a brush.

PS: The Bible was never intended to be read as "literally true" or as an historic record. No Jewish scholar would ever attempt to characterize the entire Bible as the literal word of God. Likewise for any legitimate, Christian scholar. That is now and has always been an utterly preposterous position.

Organized religion is a broader issue than Biblical interpretation and the root of the problem. Humans seem programmed to function collectively. Religion is a manifestation of this programming. Everyone wants to play for a team, be a part of something.
Intellectual laziness and/or fear is what keeps people from breaking the chains of religious mentality. I mean this in the personal intellectual honest sense (not trapped by the taliban - fear for your life sense). This recognition is where it has to begin if we are to evolve.
Faith is another matter altogether. Religion and faith are mutually exclusive but conveniently converged to control the so called masses. This leads to factions which can be conveniently used to leverage an agenda. A metaphorical Trojan horse of sorts, e.g. the GOP's embrace of religious fundamentalist.

One of my favorite questions to pose is not who wrote the bible but who put it together? This is followed up with - which version are you referring too? What language was it in? etc.....

Your post presents a false choice based on your own adopted lack of context for your conclusion.

You adopt fundamentalist assertions because like them, you do not care to really do your homework on the Old Testament or the New. If you did, you would see much there with an understanding of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek literary devices, word choices, and story usage. From there, many may disagree, however, I don't think those disagreements can be characterized as monolithic as you have done, and your intellectual honesty or rigor remain intact.

In your bullet points you state some talking points I've seen before here and which have been dealt with in several threads. Most are strawman arguments stacked on top of over-generalizations.

If you're interested in a historical critical discussion of this issue, I recommend: Jesus Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them) by Bart Ehrman.

Its also pretty handy if you just want to play mind games with anyone who interprets the bible literally.

(And, yes, if anyone wonders I know about the book only because I saw the author on the Colbert Report.)

Well the part that I like to take literally is where Jesus lays out the Lord's Prayer and tells everyone to pray silently and in private.

Well Mike7 - honestly you have proven my point with your justification and interpretation of Luke 7 something I don't care.

You say I am just misinterpreting it - but you can interpret it anyway you see fit. As with so many other passages.

Bottom line - it's a book of fiction dude - just treat it like literature and everyone wins. Nothing changes - except the Christian and their "we're going to heaven - you're all going to hell" mentality goes away and they can join the real world.