We have a new Pope!!!!!!

Ok, I stay out of these religious threads (ok actually I come in just don't usually post). I'm one of those that doesn't believe everything I read . I have not seen anyone say this anywhere but this is where my questions about religions begins.....This is just an opinon...I'm not here to knock down anyone's beliefs whether I understand them or not. But to me the Bible is a book....written by Man......with a Man's interpretation....really....who is to say what is truth and what is .........not sure of the right word here I'm looking for here......for example we can all see the same event and all come up with completely different takes on that event....who's to say which one is right or wrong. Everyone please keep in mind I'm not here to argue....I'm actually quite curious......yes, I know .....you're supposed to have faith....but how do you have faith in a book written by Man.....and rewritten..... Where is the proof.......

Except....I really dont get why its okay to treat the Pope as such an important figure. To me it flies in the face of one of the 10 commandments...the one that says "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". All this hoopla and the way some people have been acting appears to be worshipping to me and it just dont seem right. Couldn't have said it any better. The Pope is still just a man.

Ok, I stay out of these religious threads (ok actually I come in just don't usually post). I'm one of those that doesn't believe everything I read . I have not seen anyone say this anywhere but this is where my questions about religions begins.....This is just an opinon...I'm not here to knock down anyone's beliefs whether I understand them or not. But to me the Bible is a book....written by Man......with a Man's interpretation....really....who is to say what is truth and what is .........not sure of the right word here I'm looking for here......for example we can all see the same event and all come up with completely different takes on that event....who's to say which one is right or wrong. Everyone please keep in mind I'm not here to argue....I'm actually quite curious......yes, I know .....you're supposed to have faith....but how do you have faith in a book written by Man.....and rewritten..... Where is the proof....... The Bible is the Word of God written by different men. In the Old Testament (before the coming of Christ), God would appear in visions to different men or send his angels with his news. In the New Testament (the birth of Christ and after), the disciples followed Christ and wrote about their experiences with him. Also, God/Christ appears in visions to some of these same men. I will give you an example from Revelation to help you see clearly what I mean. Pay attention to the bolded parts. 1 This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him concerning the events that will happen soon. An angel was sent to God's servant John so that John could share the revelation with God's other servants. 2 John faithfully reported the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ – everything he saw. 3 God blesses the one who reads this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to it and obey what it says. For the time is near when these things will happen. 4 This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the commander of all the rulers of the world.All praise to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. 6 He has made us his Kingdom and his priests who serve before God his Father. Give to him everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever! Amen! 7 Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him – even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the earth will weep because of him. Yes! Amen! 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end," says the Lord God. "I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One." 9 I am John, your brother. In Jesus we are partners in suffering and in the Kingdom and in patient endurance. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and speaking about Jesus. 10 It was the Lord's Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard a loud voice behind me, a voice that sounded like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, "Write down what you see, and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea." 12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were bright like flames of fire. 15 His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. 190 Write down what you have seen – both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen later. 20 This is the meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

But to me the Bible is a book....written by Man......with a Man's interpretation....really....who is to say what is truth and what is .........not sure of the right word here I'm looking for here......for example we can all see the same event and all come up with completely different takes on that event....who's to say which one is right or wrong. .I'm actually quite curious......yes, I know .....you're supposed to have faith....but how do you have faith in a book written by Man.....and rewritten..... Where is the proof....... I hear this often when it comes to the Bible. People seem to think because the words were put to paper by man that they cant possibly be true to what happened. Says who? They ask how do I know it was recorded properly, where's the proof? How do you know it wasnt, where's the proof it wasnt? I know non-believers or the skeptical dont like to hear it, and maybe its because they dont really understand the concept of faith in God...but thats why believers believe..faith. Just like you (by you Im not referring to anyone inparticular) have faith that your next breath will come...believers have faith that the word of God is just that..the word of God. Someone told me once that faith is too simple an answer and wont do. To me they are half right...faith is simple, but to anyone who believes, faith is all they need and it most certainly will do.

Ok, I stay out of these religious threads (ok actually I come in just don't usually post).I wondered where you were; you're in like every other thread but this one! :wink: But to me the Bible is a book....written by Man......with a Man's interpretation....really....who is to say what is truth and what is .........not sure of the right word here I'm looking for here......for example we can all see the same event and all come up with completely different takes on that event....who's to say which one is right or wrong. From what I've read and been taught, Old Testament priests who copied the scriptures were extremely careful in copying the texts. It took 'em forever to copy one because they copied each letter (I think) one by one. I don't remember all the steps they took, but they were very slow and deliberate about making copies. There are several thousand copies of New Testament books throughout the world; more copies than of all of Shakespeare's writings, if I'm not mistaken. These texts are the source texts for modern translations. Now, translations are interesting. You have "word for word" translations from Hebrew & Greek like the New American Standard or New King James. There are "thought for though" translations like the New International Version. Plus several translations that use modern day slang or phrases. Then there are paraphrases that are individual interpretations of what they have read. For the most part, all the translations include the same verses and convey the same message. It's not like one translation says "Jesus is the Son of God" and another says something contrary to that. The primary message is still the same throughout the translations.

Ok, I stay out of these religious threads (ok actually I come in just don't usually post).I wondered where you were; you're in like every other thread but this one! :wink: It's like I tell the family at home....yes I do have to be invovled in and know everything that is going on.....I'm a Mom aren't I :wink: I have to say, this thread and the one in GD are the first times I have felt comfortable asking questions publicly. I know I could pm and ask people, but it's nice to hear everyone's point of view, beliefs, or whatever.....

Re: We have a new Pope!!!!!!
Great! You may be the one person who can answer a question I've had for 30 years that no one ever answers for me. When I was a Catholic, it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday's. If you ate meat on a Friday, didn't confess, and died, you would go to Hell. Sometime (in the 60's or 70's) when this "liberalism" you speak of started taking hold, somebody decided that eating meat on Friday isn't a moral sin anymore. I guess that was part of the Vatican II crap. Two questions. 1) Are the people who ate meat prior to that date still burning in hell? 2) Now that we have a new non-liberal pope, will they go back their original teaching that eating meat on Friday is a mortal sin? (No more Vatican II, right?) It seems only fair to those people in agony down there. BTW, No, I don't really believe people are burning in hell for eating meat. I don't believe in hell at all. But for Catholics who believe both, what do you think has happened to those people? Do you think it's fair that they're burning for all eternity for something that's no longer a sin?The Catholic Church has been very influential in Western culture. It still is influential although it no longer has quite the weight it did in Medieval Europe. Because The Church was so politically powerful for centuries (the de facto government in many European countries), any rule the leaders of The Church instituted became law. Many rules were based in Scripture but others were not. Nevertheless, because The Church was setting down the rule, it was treated as being as binding as other rules that were based in Scripture. Some rules were even made by Popes who had their own agendas. One classic example was Pope Leo X who sent out indulgence peddlers to raise money so he could build in Rome. This was primarily a ploy to refill the Vatican coffers which he had depleted in his first two years as Pope, through extravagance. "Hey there Peasant, buy an indulgence and shave off some time in purgatory for your loved one!" The uneducated poplace did not have the knowledge to realized they were being had. The whole "no eating meat on Fridays" rule was one that was not based on Scripture. However, when you have several generations of Catholics faithfully following this rule, it becomes as binding to them as law. If a Catholic were to eat meat on Friday, he/she would not burn in hell. It is not a mortal sin...no matter how many people have come to think of it as such.

It was a mortal sin if you were a Catholic in the 60's. And now it's not. People were burning in hell for doing it. And now they are ... ?

The problem with religion for me is there's no logic to it. It's all, "That's wrong because God told me so. And I wrote it in a book. And if you don't believe that book, you will rot in hell. The end." Put all the fancy words on it people will, but that's the bottom line. "My book is better than your book because my book comes from God and yours does not. Why doesn't your book come from God? Because my book said so." Circular logic.

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