Originally Posted by jsn9333
First of all, I actually agree that the fact that Christians "rule" this country is bad. For one, I believe separation of Church and Government is very important... because people should be free to live as they wish unless they're physically hurting someone else. If a Christian does hold political office, he shouldn't use it to enforce his religious beliefs. Many Christians in this country are ignorant or are hypocrites, and that compounds the problems caused when they try to legislate their own faith.
More importantly though, many people throughout the ages have claimed the Bible would soon be "out of date" and that soon "no one in their right mind" would believe in Christ and the God of the Bible. The Christian Scriptures have outlived all of them, and will outlive you. And for good reason; the truth found in their pages continue to change lives for the better, to give people boundless joy, peace and understanding. Sadly much of the Bible is mis-understood by people like yourself and even by many people in "the church" itself, which gives Christianity a bad name.
As far as the specific questions you bring up here, Jesus doesn't simply claim that you get whatever you ask for in prayer. That would make God your "whipping boy"... and that just isn't the case. If you'll read the passage(s) you're referring to you'll see He says to ask "in my Name" and at other times "in faith". That doesn't simply mean mention the name of Christ and you've got whatever your asking for. According to the Bible, God's "name" isn't simply the syllables that are uttered. It his is essence, his will, and his entire purpose. To ask in God's name is essentially to ask in His will. The practice of asking for things in prayer is a practice of growing closer and closer to God, learning to discover his will through prayer and reading the Bible, and then asking for things as He lays them on your heart. The purpose of prayer (or one of the purposes) is so that your faith will be strengthened as God reveals his will to you and begins answering prayers that you ask for *in His Name*. Like most in our culture, you seem to want immediate gratification and have your every desire served at your beckon call. That's not the way Christianity works. It is a process of growing closer and closer to God.
Anyone who simply reads the Scriptures looking for "contradictions" without actually putting serious time into studying what the passages actually mean will come away laughing at how stupid the Bible is. What they don't know is how stupid they make themselves look to people who know WTF they're talking about.
The "punishment by death" passages you bring up are twisted by you (either knowingly or ignorantly) in several ways. First of all, the woman is to be killed for lying about being a virgin and tricking a guy into marrying her based on that lie, not for simply "not being a virgin". Secondly, the child is to be killed not for "back-talking" but for cursing his parents and rebelling against all they stand for while still living in their house. Is that still harsh? Yes, extremely harsh!! Harsh enough to not follow the Bible? Sure. But that is the point of the Old Testament... to show that we all deserve very harsh punishment, even death, for our sins of lying, cheating, rebellion, murder, and hatred.
And what you fail to mention is that the in the New Testament of the Bible (Christianity) God and Christ teach that these "rules" are not to be followed any longer. That's a pretty big fucking thing to leave out when critiquing the Bible as a whole!
Old Testament rules, as crazy as they are, were put into place for a purpose: to show the extent of what we deserve when we curse, murder, lie to, steal from, and cheat our fellow man. And, according the the Bible (in passages you left out) those rules were specifically put into place at that time to later show the extent of God's grace and forgiveness when Christ took upon himself the punishment we all deserved at the crucifixion.
Also, your lumping together of all "Christians" in this country as bad is a big mistake. There are many "Christians" in this country that give Christ a bad name, I agree. But you're doing the same thing as people who want all potheads in jail simply because some idiots get high before committing crimes. There are a lot of hypocritical Christians... sure. But that doesn't mean all Christians are hypocritical.
Christ and God are not fables. Almost all historians today will say he was a historical figure. The apostles who followed him and were later killed for their faith were all definitely historical figures. The leaders of the Church who followed the apostles in the first, second, third, forth, etc. centuries and down to us through history were historical figures. You can go to the library and read historical accounts of these people. Other religious leaders have been historical figures as well, but what sets Christianity apart (to me) is that the first Christians all died for their faith without gaining anything wordly from their faith and death... that is what sets them apart to me. Muhammed (Islam) gained land by faith-based war and gained many wives. People like Joseph Smith (Morman) and other religious leaders who had "revelations" about God and may have died for their faith gained many wives and a lot of wealth also.
The first Chrisitans, historically, died without great wealth or heroms of any kind. If they were married it was to one woman. If they had wealth, it was given to the poor, to orphans, and to widows. These first Christians (the Apostles and the church fathers after them) historically died for their faith because witnessing Christ's teachings and his resurrection had had such an impact on them. They had no ulterior motives, historically speaking. That speaks volumes. No one dies for a lie, unless they are gaining something from it. And these men either lied when when claimed they saw Christ resurrect from the grave, or they actually witnessed the power of God. Its that simple.
And if one will come to the Scriptures and search for truth (instead of looking for ways to mock it) he or she will find the same truth that lead the first Christians to have such hope.
