You complain Christians impose their views on you, so STFU about your political views

Quote from Epiphany:

You are guilty just the same

No one cares what you think
think is the operative word. do people who believe there was once a talking snake think?
 
Quote from vhehn:

think is the operative word. do people who believe there was once a talking snake think?

haha yet another well said and thoughtful argument. :confused:
 
do people who believe there was once a talking snake think?

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It is truly amazing how "they" took that teensy weeny concept of a talking snake and ran with it.
 
You have to remember that less than 1/1000th of the population in biblical times could read and write (only high priests and the ruling class were taught these rare skills). The bible is a collection of stories that would allow those who could read to explain relatively complicated and abstract concepts to the illiterate and uneducated masses in ways they could digest, grasp and understand.

Hence, the collection of metaphorical stories known now as the 'bible' was developed, written by many different authors, and slung together for mass consumption.

By the way, why do you think the 'stained glass window' (prevalent in cathedrals all over Europe) came to be?

Same reason. The masses were still illiterate in middle Europe. Stained glass windows are literally 'comic books' with pictograms so that those who can't read can follow along.
 
This should not be about believing in the bible or whether you are a Christian, but rather about political figures who would wrap themselves around the flag or their religion - all for the sake of political, ideological and personal gains. There are many examples of this with G W Bush, but more importantly for the coming election, it is what McCain has done.

For example, the story and advertisement that McCain ran on his experience with a Hanoi Christian prison guard appeared to be embellished at the minimum or total fabrication at its worst:

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/sullivan-on-mcc.html
Mon Aug 18, 1:34 PM Pacific
Sullivan on McCain, Solzhenitsyn, and "Cross in the Dirt"

Andrew Sullivan's been on top of this story in a big way today. Here's a brief guide to his posts on the topic:
McCain's "Cross in the Dirt" Story
Did McCain's story come from Jesse Helms?
A 1995 book discussed about three of McCain's Christmases in captivity and failed to note the story (h/t: hilzoy)
McCain's Story Changed in His "Character of Destiny" Book
What was the role of McCain's co-author/speechwriter Mark Salter? And is the story oft-credited to Solzhenitsyn a fabrication by evangelicals (like Helms)?
Why did McCain tell the story in the third person in 1999?

Aside from the fact that McCain is favorably disposed towards embellishing his record, here's what I think are the most compelling pieces of evidence that his story is a fabrication:
In 1973, McCain said there was only one guarad who he felt was human. He recounts a story in 1969 of how that guard had helped him. The particulars don't match with the guard in his 1999 retelling. Moreover, in 1999 he said the "Cross in the Dirt" story happened in the first Christmas after meeting the guard, but in 1973 he said that between meeting the guard in 1969 and Christmas of 1969, he had been moved to a different prison.
There is no record of McCain telling the story before 1999, even though he discussed his religious experiences generally and Christmas specifically many times between 1973 and 1999.
The story McCain tells appears to have been falsely attributed to Solzhenitsyn by evangelicals starting with Jesse Helms in the 1970s. McCain could have easily overheard it and created a false memory, or Mark Salter would have decided to apply it to McCain.
 
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