What do your words say about you?

[Energized]

You make this statement:

Yes.  Time and again I keep assuming that all those here have more knowledge of the Bible than they actually do.

And then...

Yes I would.  Jesus never taught his disciples to force their opinions on others, or at least I have never learned this from the Bible.  The fact that some people believe he did has caused the shedding of much blood over the past 2000+ years but he never taught his followers to do so. 

Baloney.

“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest (Matt. 9:37-38).

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ … how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:17,14).

“And thus I aspired to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man’s foundation; but as it is written, ‘They that had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand’” (Rom. 15:20-21).

“But if our Gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

And so on.

As an apologist, you're essentially giving us your opinion on what something means in the bible. Preachers give their flocks their opinion on the meaning behind the bible. If you can't even understand this, then perhaps it is you, sir, who doesn't know his bible.

I have read this thread and I can't, for the life of me, understand what point your're trying to make regarding a simple passage. There are heavier and more meaningful phrases in a cook book. But it doesn't surprise me considering you've missed one of (what I consider) to be the top five subplots of your fairy book.

E.

[joebbowers]

Jesus never taught his disciples to force their opinions on others, or at least I have never learned this from the Bible.  The fact that some people believe he did has caused the shedding of much blood over the past 2000+ years but he never taught his followers to do so. 

Baloney.

You forgot this one....

Luke 19:27

But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me.

I guess he's not really forcing his opinion, I mean, he does give them a choice. Kneel down and worship me or die.

[Jstwebbrowsing]

Well understanding that this is a parable,  the end is a picture of Jesus when he arrives for Armageddon.  And he will be speaking to this angels.

This will be well deserved, even if I am a part of it.

[velkyn]

Well understanding that this is a parable,  the end is a picture of Jesus when he arrives for Armageddon.  And he will be speaking to this angels.

This will be well deserved, even if I am a part of it.

the ultimate words of a sycophant that thinks might equals right and that he has the right god in answer to Pascal's Wager.

[hickdive]

I did say.

For those that can understand and accept the symbolism

Let's say Homer Simpson made it up.

Is it true?

Okay, for those who understand symbolism, what does this mean?

Matthew 27:50-53

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."

You see, that's the problem when you start adding caveats like "for those who understand and accept the symbolism". You leave yourself with a choice, either the bible is all literally true (in which case your heart thing is plainly nonsense, as I pointed out) or it is simply symbolism (in which case your resurrection story becomes metaphorical too).

Then there's the third option; a magical decoder ring that lets you decide what is real and what is metaphorical. The problem with that is your magical decoder ring is different from everyone else's.

If you dismissed my answer as glib then that is because you didn't understand your own question.

[Alzael]

I pointed to the meaning of hurtful words.  I've tried my best not to say anything hurtful.  Condescending is another word that comes to mind.

Can you actually add anything to the conversation other than a condescending attitude?

Condescending? Aren't you the one outright claiming that he knows the true words, actions, and intentions of an omnipotent god? That only he has the truth and everyone else is wrong, even though he can't prove it.

Perhaps you should look in the mirror a tiny bit more. I would say that no one here even comes close to your level of condescension. We're only condescending to idiots. You're condescending to the whole of humanity.

[Grimm]

OP -

I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) that you're hoping to use the idea that there are several profound statements in the bible to show that the bible either a) has worth, or b) is a good moral guide (or something equivalent).  This is actually a logical fallacy:  The fallacy of the Biased Sample.

Essentially, you're hoping to say 'the bible is good' by cherrypicking the things that are reasonable (I especially love Paul's description of Love) while ignoring all the things that aren't. 

Take, for instance, the following quotes:

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

“To know that you do not know is the best.
To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.”

“Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.”

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

... these were written about 2000 BCE, by a man named Lao Tse, in a book called the Tao Te Ching.  Does this wisdom imply that you should become a Taoist?  (Allow me to add that the basic books of the Taoist faith eschew slavery, decry materialism, absolutely circumscribe violence (they state explicitly when it can be used), and do not contain stories of genocide or any sort of talking animal.  The /fables/ have talking animals, though.)

I can't ignore the bad to take the good, J - and you shouldn't either.  Rather, you should take good ideas wherever they're found, and recognize that just because a good idea exists in a source doesn't mean the entire source is worthwhile.

At the risk of Godiwning things, let me offer you one more quote:

"“And I can fight only for something that I love, love only what I respect, and respect only what I at least know.”  - Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler.

... get the point?