By Punkerslut
Dialogue on the Bible
By Punkerslut
A conversation between myself and an acquiantance...
Punkerslut: Do you believe in the Bible?
Christian: Of course I do.
Punkerslut: But do you believe in slavery?
Christian: No, I don't. That's a silly question.
Punkerslut: There are various parts of the Bible which affirmslavery to be a just method, though. Exodus 21:20-21 justifiesit.
Christian: Well, that was the Old Testament.
Punkerslut: Ephesians 6:5 of the New Testament also justifies it.
Christian: The slavery in the Bible was different than theslavery of the Bible.
Punkerslut: Why did the southerners use the Bible to justify it,then?
Christian: They didn't really understand the Bible. Theyinterpretted it incorrectly.
Punkerslut: So, for the past two thousand years, nobody was areal Christian, because they didn't understand the Bible, andtherefore couldn't believe it. But for the past few decades, itwas only then that the Bible was really understood?
Christian: You don't have to understand the Bible to believe it.
Punkerslut: You don't?
Christian: No... You just have to believe it.
Punkerslut: When you don't understand something, it means thatthere are parts which you may think contradict each other, orpossibly they don't properly fit together, or maybe you read orheard something when in fact the opposite is what is implied.For instance, if someone said, "My answer is yes and my answeris no," you may be confused, because you were given acontradictory answer -- but perhaps they meant a yes to onequestion and a no to another question. If someone said, "Becausethe knife was in Joe's locker, it means that Jacob was themurderer." You may not understand, until you find out that Jacobwas the only one with access to Joe's locker, and Joe was out oftown for weeks. If someone said, "There is one statement I hatemore than anything: 'Slavery is right!'" and you walked in onlywhile he said, "Slavery is right!" you may also be confused. Inall of these instances, you didn't understand.
Christian: But you believed, and that's what counts withChristianity.
Punkerslut: Precisely. If someone said something that confusedyou, wouldn't you want to apply reason to it and try tounderstand?
Christian: Yes, of course.
Punkerslut: So, you agree then that Christianity can onlythrive, and has only thrived, because people have placed lessimportance upon reasoning and logic, particularly in religiousmatters?
Christian: I didn't say that.
Punkerslut: You said that in Christianity, you need notunderstand and that must only believe. You said that everyChristian up to 50 years ago didn't understand the Bible sinceslavery and prejudice have been prevalent until then. And yousaid that if you don't understand, attempting to comprehend isreasonable.
Christian: So?
Punkerslut: Christians accepted what they didn't understand.Reason would ask them to investigate what they didn'tunderstand, but they ignored reason, even insulted andcriminalized it. As the Christians moved from the position ofbeing eaten by lions to being the ones who tortured others, theonly way that a person could become a Christian was by belief --and belief in something so contradictory must be accompanied byan abhorance of reason, correct?
Christian: You're twisting my words.
Punkerslut: No, I was actually quite simple and precise inshowing you how I went from one step of my argument to the next.
Christian: Well, whatever... Even so, reason cannot save you,only Christ can.
Punkerslut: You're just restating your original opinion. What isthe method by which we decipher truth from falsity? Reason. Ifreason indicted Christianity for hypocrisy and contradiction,it's not trying to save you, exactly, but tell you thatChristianity cannot do that either. But then again, the ideathat you need to be saved is also a Christian idea.
Christian: I don't believe that.
Punkerslut: What part?
Christian: All of it.
Punkerslut: Could you be more specific?
Christian: Everything you say.
Punkerslut: Yes, that part was clear when you said "all of it."
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