Why do Christians claim to get their morals from the bible?

[RightLeaningChristians]

So, the Mormons are also right?

Yes.

[Sdaeriji]

I don't understand why using the Bible for moral guidance has to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Yes, I get my morals from the Bible. I don't get ALL my morals from the Bible, and I don't take ALL of the morals from the Bible either. I do not understand the insistance that, for example, if I believe that the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good moral guideline, then I must also accept all of the unsavory and anachronistic morals demanded by Leviticus.

[Free Soviets]

I don't understand why using the Bible for moral guidance has to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Yes, I get my morals from the Bible. I don't get ALL my morals from the Bible, and I don't take ALL of the morals from the Bible either. I do not understand the insistance that, for example, if I believe that the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good moral guideline, then I must also accept all of the unsavory and anachronistic morals demanded by Leviticus.

that would depend on whether you think that morality is handed down by god through the bible or if the bible has some good stories, some of which happen to hit important moral insights. if the latter, no problem at all. if the former, then that's just sort of crazy. especially if you don't explicitly hold that large portions of the bible are not in fact the word of god and should be removed.

[Pope Joan]

I try to be selective.

The OT parts about wiping out entire villages, including families and even livestock, I ignore.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which he says inter alia that we should love our enemies, turn the other cheek, repay evil with kindness and so on...

my fellow believers and I try to follow that as closely as we can.

[Grave_n_idle]

I try to be selective.

The OT parts about wiping out entire villages, including families and even livestock, I ignore.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which he says inter alia that we should love our enemies, turn the other cheek, repay evil with kindness and so on...

my fellow believers and I try to follow that as closely as we can.

You must be the Mennonite. (I know we've got one, but can never remember who).

[Blouman Empire]

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Luke 14:26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers ans sisters and themselves as well".

Other posters have already addressed this and as I say doesn't say you must hate your family.

[Pope Joan]

I try to be selective.

The OT parts about wiping out entire villages, including families and even livestock, I ignore.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which he says inter alia that we should love our enemies, turn the other cheek, repay evil with kindness and so on...

my fellow believers and I try to follow that as closely as we can.

You must be the Mennonite. (I know we've got one, but can never remember who).

Yep, that's me.

Holding down my one percent of the distribution of opinion in a any sample.

[Grave_n_idle]

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Luke 14:26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers ans sisters and themselves as well".

Other posters have already addressed this and as I say doesn't say you must hate your family.

Other posters addressed Matthew.

The difference between Matthew and Luke is that Luke says 'hate'. He doesn't equivocate.

[Grave_n_idle]

I try to be selective.

The OT parts about wiping out entire villages, including families and even livestock, I ignore.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which he says inter alia that we should love our enemies, turn the other cheek, repay evil with kindness and so on...

my fellow believers and I try to follow that as closely as we can.

You must be the Mennonite. (I know we've got one, but can never remember who).

Yep, that's me.

Holding down my one percent of the distribution of opinion in a any sample.

Mennonites always seemed the denomination that had most 'got it' according to my perspective on the scripture. I tend to thin of the beatitudes as being central, and everything else ranks around it depending on how closely it matches - which seems (for some reason) to be an unusual way to consider scripture.

[Blouman Empire]

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Luke 14:26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers ans sisters and themselves as well".

Other posters have already addressed this and as I say doesn't say you must hate your family.

Other posters addressed Matthew.

The difference between Matthew and Luke is that Luke says 'hate'. He doesn't equivocate.

Well my Luke didn't but it is talking about the same thing.

The hate not doesn't make sense there must be more to it, hate not X but Y or something.

[The Deus Corporation]

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Luke 14:26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers ans sisters and themselves as well".

Other posters have already addressed this and as I say doesn't say you must hate your family.

Different translations say different things but they all mean the same thing.

[Cabra West]

I don't understand why using the Bible for moral guidance has to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Yes, I get my morals from the Bible. I don't get ALL my morals from the Bible, and I don't take ALL of the morals from the Bible either. I do not understand the insistance that, for example, if I believe that the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good moral guideline, then I must also accept all of the unsavory and anachronistic morals demanded by Leviticus.

I think there is a difference between considering something a good moral tale, and actually using such a tale as the original source of one's moral understanding.
As you said, you base some of your morals on the bible. What do you base the rest on? Do you take only those stories from the bible as base of your morality that fit a grid of morality that you already have independently from the bible? Or do you take some of them that contradict your non-biblical based moral feelings?

[Blouman Empire]

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Luke 14:26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers ans sisters and themselves as well".

Other posters have already addressed this and as I say doesn't say you must hate your family.

Different translations say different things but they all mean the same thing.

So you are agreeing with me?

[Skibereen]

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Luke 14:26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers ans sisters and themselves as well".

Other posters have already addressed this and as I say doesn't say you must hate your family.

Other posters addressed Matthew.

The difference between Matthew and Luke is that Luke says 'hate'. He doesn't equivocate.

Well my Luke didn't but it is talking about the same thing.

The hate not doesn't make sense there must be more to it, hate not X but Y or something.

Check the context of the chapter. Any bible VERSE seperated from the chapter its in can be twisted up...I would but i am bloody exhausted.
I wanted to post n this thread...but meh.
Good night.

[ChengISao]

The bible was written by man...not god...enough said? Why they would listen to man instead of their god is beyond me.

[Blouman Empire]

The bible was written by man...not god...enough said? Why they would listen to man instead of their god is beyond me.

Who does everyone else listen to?

[Peepelonia]

Umm because they do?

[The Abrahamic god]

If you read the bible then you will clearly see that if people actually got thair morals from it....

Well to put it simply the world would be more fu*ked up than it already is.

I'd like to hear what all of you have to say on this topic.

Most christians have never read the bible, which is quite fortunate really as it is a blueprint for evil.

[Tekania]

The irony of this law being delivered via a murderer was always something of an amusement to me.

Moses?

Yes, he murdered an Egyptian Guard... that's why he fled for awhile and moved in with his future father-in-law before coming back as the spokesman for the Hebrews.

Oh yeah true that, which then asks the question can murder ever be justified?

Can murder? no..... killing another could however...

[Risottia]

If you read the bible then you will clearly see that if people actually got thair morals from it....
Well to put it simply the world would be more fu*ked up than it already is.

1.It really depends on which part of the Bible.
2.They claim that because they define the Bible as their holy text which is to be followed, expecially as moral guidance. I know, circular logic etc.
3.Also, you forget that Christians =/= all the people in the world.

[Tekania]

Have you read the bible? Or more importantly the New Testament?

I would like you to explain your second point and how you got to that reasoning.

You mean the hate your family thing:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. "

Matthew 10:34-37

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Except, it's not actually "hate" as we think of the word... More of an idiom of "put aside"... that is a showing of precedence towards Christ.

[LOL ANARCHY NUBZ]

Have you read the bible? Or more importantly the New Testament?

I would like you to explain your second point and how you got to that reasoning.

You mean the hate your family thing:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. "

Matthew 10:34-37

That's not telling you to hate your own family.

Luke 14:26 "If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. "

Except, it's not actually "hate" as we think of the word... More of an idiom of "put aside"... that is a showing of precedence towards Christ.

Now what some would say...

[Bottle]

I don't understand why using the Bible for moral guidance has to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Yes, I get my morals from the Bible. I don't get ALL my morals from the Bible, and I don't take ALL of the morals from the Bible either. I do not understand the insistance that, for example, if I believe that the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good moral guideline, then I must also accept all of the unsavory and anachronistic morals demanded by Leviticus.

Sounds like you don't get your morals from the Bible at all. You pick and choose which parts of the Bible you're going to use as a blueprint based on...your values. Your moral sense. Your conscience. Your reason.

You get your morals from the same place as everybody else: from a combination of the culture in which you were raised, the values you were taught as you grew, and your own experiences and reason combining to create your own individual moral judgment.

[Neo Art]

I don't understand why using the Bible for moral guidance has to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Yes, I get my morals from the Bible. I don't get ALL my morals from the Bible, and I don't take ALL of the morals from the Bible either. I do not understand the insistance that, for example, if I believe that the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good moral guideline, then I must also accept all of the unsavory and anachronistic morals demanded by Leviticus.

Sounds like you don't get your morals from the Bible at all. You pick and choose which parts of the Bible you're going to use as a blueprint based on...your values. Your moral sense. Your conscience. Your reason.

You get your morals from the same place as everybody else: from a combination of the culture in which you were raised, the values you were taught as you grew, and your own experiences and reason combining to create your own individual moral judgment.

Which is why I'm convinced that most people, for better or worse, who claim to get their beliefs from the bible...don't. They AGREE with certain parts of the bible, and disagree with others. I think there are very very very VERY few people in the world who take the attitude, for example, of "well, I personally don't have a problem with homosexuals, I don't take issue with what they're doing, I personally don't see anything wrong with it, but god says it's a sin so it's a sin". Very few people do that, I think.

Rather, a person who is predisposed to homophobia and bigotry might cling to those passages to lend a sort of moral authority to their position. A convenient "way out" of rather than having to face their own prejudices, simply saying "god told me to".

I like the parable of the good samaritan too. But I don't like it BECAUSE it's in the bible. I'd like the moral and message regardless of the source, whether it was the bible, an aesop fable, or in the newest edition of Spider Man. I agree with the message because my upbringing and the society in which I was raised predisposes me to liking the message (of course, the argument of whether or not my society itself is shaped that way because of biblical morals notwithstanding).

I like certain parts of the bible, I dislike others. I'm not going to pretend to "pick and choose". The morality expressed within certain parts is good, in other parts bad. I don't give any particular moral weight to the source, only the message.

[The Ahemalt Outcasts]

I'm just wondering why Christianity is the only major religion attacked for their beliefs?