[thechat] Mythology was comics

[Norman Bunn]

>
> > Ever heard of the Eastern Orthodox Church?
>
> no, can you give me some background?
>

In the early years of Christianity, there was division within the church
(physical) that resulted in two main bodies.  The Roman Catholic Church
based in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church based in what is now Istanbul
(Constantinople).

> > No, you're not reading it wrong. But, just as those following
> > Moses needed a material representation of their faith, so do we today.
>
> so nearly every church is breaking a commandment? and that is acceptable
for
> what reason?!
>

It is more a spiritual command than a literal one.  Who among us can say
that we do not have any gods, whether it be things, philosophies, work,
fetishes...

> is there a hierachy of commandments? is any more important than the other?
>

Jesus said there was one "first and great" commandment.
Matthew 22:37 : "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul and with all your mind." (from Deuteronomy 6:5)
Matthew 22:39: "And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself."

> if murder enabled people to better understand their faith, would that be
ok
> in churches too?
>
Not really, see the two commandments above.

> > God is perfect.  We are not. But, in Christianity, we keep trying.
>
> belief in a god is unnecessary in achieving good and fair actions to
> others...
>

If there is no source of good, who determines what is good?  Us, humanity?
Sorry, but our track record is not too great.   Pick your example:

Nazi Germany (8 million dead)
US Deep South (1800s)
Sierra Leone (countless slaughtered in the past decade)
Sudan (recent atrocities)
Indonesia (recent atrocities)

I prefer to believe in God as the author of what is good and to aspire to
that goal, not mankind's often flawed one.

Norman