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 The 17th century painting Judith Beheading Holofernes, by Artemisia Gentileschi, depicts a biblical scene.
February 25th, 2012
10:00 PM ET
My Take: Stop sugarcoating the Bible
By Steven James, Special to CNN (CNN) - The Bible is a gritty book. Very raw. Very real. It deals with people just like us, just as needy and screwed up as we are, encountering a God who would rather die than spend eternity without them. Yet despite that, it seems like Christians are uncomfortable with how earthy the Bible really is. They feel the need to tidy up God. For example, look in any modern translation of Isaiah 64:6, and you’ll find that, to a holy God, even our most righteous acts are like “filthy rags.” The original language doesn’t say “filthy rags”; it says “menstrual rags.” But that sounds a little too crass, so let’s just call them filthy instead. And let’s not talk so much about Jesus being naked on the cross, and let’s pretend Paul said that he considered his good deeds “a pile of garbage” in Philippians 3:8 rather than a pile of crap, as the Greek would more accurately be translated. And let’s definitely not mention the six times in the Old Testament that the Jewish writers referred to Gentile men as those who “pisseth against the wall.” (At least the King James Version got that one right.) CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories The point? God’s message was not meant to be run through some arbitrary, holier-than-thou politeness filter. He intended the Bible to speak to people where they’re at, caught up in the stark reality of life on a fractured planet. Dozens of Psalms are complaints and heart-wrenching cries of despair to God, not holy-sounding, reverently worded soliloquies. Take Psalm 77:1-3: “I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help” (New Living Translation). And rather than shy away from difficult and painful topics, the Old Testament includes vivid descriptions of murder, cannibalism, witchcraft, dismemberment, torture, rape, idolatry, erotic sex and animal sacrifice. According to St. Paul, those stories were written as examples and warnings for us (1 Corinthians 10:11). So obviously they were meant to be retold without editing out all the things we don’t consider nice or agreeable. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter I believe that Scripture includes such graphic material to show how far we, as a race, have fallen and how far God was willing to come to rescue us from ourselves. God is much more interested in honesty than pietism. And that’s what he gives us throughout Scripture, telling the stories of people who struggled with the same issues, questions and temptations we face today. Peter struggled with doubt, and we hear all about it. Elijah dealt with depression; Naomi raged with bitterness against God; Hannah struggled for years under the burden of her unanswered prayers. David had an affair and then arranged to have his lover’s husband killed. Noah was a drunk, Abraham a liar, Moses a murderer. Job came to a place where he found it necessary to make a covenant with his eyes not to lust after young girls (Job 31:1). It’s easy to make “Bible heroes” (as Protestants might say) or “saints” (as Catholics might refer to them) out to be bigger than life, immune from the temptations that everyone faces. I find it encouraging that Jesus never came across as pietistic. In fact, he was never accused of being too religious; instead he partied so much that he was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton (Matthew 11:19). Jesus never said, “The Kingdom of God is like a church service that goes on and on forever and never ends.” He said the kingdom was like a homecoming celebration, a wedding, a party, a feast to which all are invited. This idea was too radical for the religious leaders of his day. They were more concerned about etiquette, manners, traditions and religious rituals than about partying with Jesus. And that’s why they missed out. That’s why we miss out. According to Jesus, the truly spiritual life is one marked by freedom rather than compulsion (John 8:36), love rather than ritual (Mark 12:30-33) and peace rather than guilt (John 14:27). Jesus saves us from the dry, dusty duties of religion and frees us to cut loose and celebrate. I don’t believe we’ll ever recognize our need for the light until we’ve seen the depth of the darkness. So God wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty with us about life and temptation and forgiveness. And grace. Only when the Bible seems relevant to us (which it is), only when the characters seem real to us (which they were), only then will the message of redemption become personal for us (which it was always meant to be). We don’t need to edit God. We need to let him be the author of our new lives. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Steven James. soundoff (5,744 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's note: Steven James is the author of more than 30 books, including 
Just change the religion to Islam and you would have the same. Thanks, Steve. You hit the target.
BEYOND PRAYERS, RELIGION BECOMES TYRANNY AS BOTH HISTORY AND THEIR OWN BOOKS COMMANDS
That's really fabulous fabric Judith is wearing. I wonder what it is. Oh, I tried sprinkling powdered sugar on my Bible. Nothing happened. I've burned several Korans. At least that's reliable.
Whe borrowed it from the set of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert..."
GOD NEVER MADE HELL FOR HUMANS IT WAS FOR DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS. BUT WHEN MANKIND CHOSE TO EXALT SATAN THEY CHOSE TO MAKE HELL THERE HOME. BY MANS REFUSAL THEY ONLY THROW THEMSELVES INTO HELL BY REJECTING. GOD NEVER WANTED HELL FOR HUMANS BUT SINCE MANKIND CHOOSES SATAN, THEY CHOOSE HELL FOR THEMSELVES. YES GOD HAS POWER TO THROW BOTH BODY AND SOUL INTO HELL HOWEVER HE NEVER INTENDED HELL FOR HUMANS NOR DOES HE WANT ANY HUMAN TO GO TO HELL. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE SATAN AS YOUR god AS THEY DID IN BEGINNING, YOU ARE ONLY DO IT TO YOURSELF....
Are you saying that God did not know that man would choose to exalt Satan? That God is not all-knowing?
God is all-knowing. As explained before, we have free will. We're not robots.
Most people don't read or take serious posts written in all CAPS. You defeated your message before it was ever posted.
God is all-knowing? After creating the world "he saw that it was good". Why did he not *know* ahead of time that it was good. If God knows our every thought and action before us, how is it free will? He already knows the outcome.
While we're at it, we would be remiss if we did not also examine the teachings of the Talmud and who better to do that than
Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
Rabbi Yosef: "non-Jews exist to serve Jews, “Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel…Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi [Arabic, meaning lord or master] and eat,”.
Yosef, the spiritual head of the Shas party and the former chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel also said that non-Jews are protected in order to prevent financial loss to Jews.
“With gentiles, it will be like any person: They need to die, but God will give them longevity. Why? Imagine that one’s donkey would die, they’d lose their money. This is his servant. That’s why he gets a long life, to work well for this Jew,”
"Just as the days of Noah....." all you non-believer's are going to have one big foot in your mouth. when Christ returns for those who believed in Him. The time is at hand, as the end is drawing nigh. I'll pray that the Holy Spirit can impress on some of you non-believers of Christ unconditional love for us.
cut the crap off
If it means you and your ilk are leaving, we can hardly wait.
Oh, don't get your hopes up, ashrakay. The unsaved will be leaving shortly thereafter as well. You'll seven short years after the rapture to get yourselves saved before you leave too, and the majority of newly saved individuals will have their heads. Now is the time to be saved. Later will be no joyride.
I can't wait til all you religious people leave. We will have a party. hahahaha
@Liberals Are Stupid, I'll take my chances in hell. Who knows, maybe I'll get to meet Albert Einstein, Roger Waters or the Dailai Lama. Oooh, maybe I can meet the Buddha himself. How cool would that be. And if I ever get a chance to meet the devil, I'll have to thank him for tempting Eve with the knowledge of good and evil. I'm happy that I can be a free thinking and be free of the prison of god.
Steven James-'Your take' missed the point and is totally off base.
In what way? Do elaborate.
JESUS2020.COM IF YOU WANNA BE SAVED
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG IF YOU WANNA SEEK ALOT INFO ON BIBLE QUESTIONS
GOD NEVER MADE HELL FOR HUMANS IT WAS FOR DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS. BUT WHEN MANKIND CHOSE TO EXALT SATAN THEY CHOSE TO MAKE HELL THERE HOME. BY MANS REFUSAL THEY ONLY THROW THEMSELVES INTO HELL BY REJECTING. GOD NEVER WANTED HELL FOR HUMANS BUT SINCE MANKIND CHOOSES SATAN, THEY CHOOSE HELL FOR THEMSELVES. YES GOD HAS POWER TO THROW BOTH BODY AND SOUL INTO HELL HOWEVER HE NEVER INTENDED HELL FOR HUMANS NOR DOES HE WANT ANY HUMAN TO GO TO HELL. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE SATAN AS YOUR god AS THEY DID IN BEGINNING, YOU ARE ONLY DO IT TO YOURSELF....
YOUR REFUSAL TO CHOOSE LOVE OF GOD YOU ARE CHOOSING HELL FOR YOURSELF. YES YOU DO HAVE TO GO THERE CUZ YOU CHOOSE IT AND GOD DOES THROW BOTH BODY AND SOUL INTO HELL, BUT THIS WAS NEVER HIS INTENTION FROM BEGINNING AND HE NEVER MADE HELL FOR HUMANS....EVER. IT WAS FOR DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS. BUT MAN CHOSE TO MAKE SATAN THERE god. SO NOW ITS A BATTLE CHOOSE WHOM YOU WISH TO BE YOUR SAVIOR
if you choose satan then you choose hell for oyurself.
choose Christ love who can rescue you then you can escape.
pick your choice. God doesnt want bad for you.
This guy know what he is talking about. I approve of this message.
all you guys, grow up and stop believing fairy tells like u were toddlers
Paul, if you truly believe the Bible is filled with fables, then I have to wonder why you care. Go visit a Muslim site and tell them their Koran is full of stories. Post your name and address – I dare you. The religion of peace will have your back, I'm sure. Or, do you just verbally attack Christians because you know they're easy prey for you to pounce on?
All spirituality/religion is about enlightenment. "To enter the Kingdom of Heaven" means to experience enlightenment. To see with your own eyes that everything is ONE, that everything is alive, that you are always within the Kingdom of Heaven, that you are infinity and therefore eternal. Christianity is about enlightenment.
I disagree that the majority of nonbeleivers are bitter and so angry. They just don't find reason in believing in religious elements because the have difficulties comprehending facts. For example, how can there be a God with comassion when all these evil things are happening to His Creation? Why does he allow other men to be born only to kill his fellow brethrens? Why these wars and man made virus when there's supposely a God who has the power to prevent them?
Out of FAITH, creationists like myself would say to that, "Who are we to ask why God allows things to happen?.. God has given man his liberty and time to do things at his own free will... but He shall judge us on His day of judgement."
Non-believers would object that this does not make sense out of rationality. Their views and expressions does not make them bitter or angry, they're just being logical out of reasoning and sometimes emotions.
Be respectful to everyone's view and take on matter is being Christien also. Peace to all!!
But those questions have been answered and if you follow the comments, they don't want to hear or learn the truth. They take text out of context to knowingly make false accusations against God and the Bible. They love it and you can see the mocking in their posts. Again, for people who claim there is no God and that the Bible is a bunch of fairytales, they sure try hard to condemn it. I wonder if they visit Muslim sites and do the same there. I bet they don't have the balls.
@Liberals Are Stupid, People like myself have applied the same rigor of truth to muslim articles written here on cnn. Fantasy is fantasy. A world without evidence is a world all of us should fight against.
My problem isn't with God but with mans attempt to speak for God. It's no wonder that many people don't believe in God considering those who claim to represent him.
Prayer changes things.
Againt I'll comment. Just prayed for Obama to step down. Didn't happen. Guess prayer doesn't change things.
Oh my I forgot I wash't supposed to TELL what I wanted. Damn these rules!
NVRWRONG, prayer *can* change things. Sometimes the answer is no. And there's no rule about not saying what you're praying for; it's a prayer not a birthday wish.
So I guess you're wrong, AND you named yourself NVRWRONG, so that's twice you're wrong... get a new screenie?
@Rich – Give me one scientifically backed explanation of prayer leading to a change.
JEREMIAH 7:31 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
JESUS2020.COM IF YOU WANNA BE SAVED
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG IF YOU WANNA SEEK ALOT INFO ON BIBLE QUESTIONS
GOD NEVER MADE HELL FOR HUMANS IT WAS FOR DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS. BUT WHEN MANKIND CHOSE TO EXALT SATAN THEY CHOSE TO MAKE HELL THERE HOME. BY MANS REFUSAL THEY ONLY THROW THEMSELVES INTO HELL BY REJECTING. GOD NEVER WANTED HELL FOR HUMANS BUT SINCE MANKIND CHOOSES SATAN, THEY CHOOSE HELL FOR THEMSELVES. YES GOD HAS POWER TO THROW BOTH BODY AND SOUL INTO HELL HOWEVER HE NEVER INTENDED HELL FOR HUMANS NOR DOES HE WANT ANY HUMAN TO GO TO HELL. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE SATAN AS YOUR god AS THEY DID IN BEGINNING, YOU ARE ONLY DO IT TO YOURSELF....
AMEN
Where did you get that idea?
compilation of many verses from bible......
And what verses? Where does it state that hell was created for demons, etc? You can't find that in the OT/Hebrew Bible for those authors did not believe in a hell. There is Sheol, and that is the underworld for the dead for Israelites and for many members of the early forms of Judaism. There is Gehenna, that was thought of as the bad part of Sheol, but that doesn't appear in the Hebrew Bible but in the New Testament, and it was not created for demons, but for those who are deemed wicked.
Well said!
Agreed. Truth is truth.
JEREMIAH 7:31 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
JESUS2020.COM IF YOU WANNA BE SAVED
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG IF YOU WANNA SEEK ALOT INFO ON BIBLE QUESTIONS
GOD NEVER MADE HELL FOR HUMANS IT WAS FOR DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS. BUT WHEN MANKIND CHOSE TO EXALT SATAN THEY CHOSE TO MAKE HELL THERE HOME. BY MANS REFUSAL THEY ONLY THROW THEMSELVES INTO HELL BY REJECTING. GOD NEVER WANTED HELL FOR HUMANS BUT SINCE MANKIND CHOOSES SATAN, THEY CHOOSE HELL FOR THEMSELVES. YES GOD HAS POWER TO THROW BOTH BODY AND SOUL INTO HELL HOWEVER HE NEVER INTENDED HELL FOR HUMANS NOR DOES HE WANT ANY HUMAN TO GO TO HELL. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE SATAN AS YOUR god AS THEY DID IN BEGINNING, YOU ARE ONLY DO IT TO YOURSELF....
Save yourself and your family, obey only one God !! Every time humanity deviated from this path, God sent down His of prophets (Noah, Ibrahim, Mosses Jesus and Mohammed were among thousands) who carried this single message to the whole humanity (And they all had the highest moral standards). That is the message of Islam.
God speaks to the whole humanity through His book Quran..
“Proclaim, He is the One and only GOD. The Absolute GOD. Never did He beget. Nor was He begotten. None equals Him." [112:1]
“They even attribute to Him sons and daughters, without any knowledge. Be He glorified. He is the Most High, far above their claims.” Quran [6:100]
“The example of Jesus, as far as GOD is concerned, is the same as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, "Be," and he was.” Quran [3:59]
“…anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people....." Qur'an [5:32]
Most exalted is the One in whose hands is all kingship, and He is Omnipotent.The One who created death and life for the purpose of distinguishing those among you who would do better. Quran [67.2]
Subsequent to them, we sent Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the previous scripture, the Torah. We gave him the Gospel, containing guidance and light, and confirming the previous scriptures, the Torah, and augmenting its guidance and light, and to enlighten the righteous. Quran [5:46]
Thanks for taking time to read my post. Please take a moment to clear your misconception by going to whyIslam org website.
O people of the scripture, do not transgress the limits of your religion, and do not say about GOD except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was a messenger of GOD, and His word that He had sent to Mary, and a revelation from Him. Therefore, you shall believe in GOD and His messengers. You shall not say, "Trinity." You shall refrain from this for your own good. GOD is only one god. Be He glorified; He is much too glorious to have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. GOD suffices as Lord and Master. Quran [4:171]
@ Bob....CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.
So please explain to me why I'm able to post other bible verses from God's Word in this discussion "EXCEPT" (Matthew 5:17-19) Are you saying I'm not following the "Rules of Conduct" because I want to share "this verse" which is the TRUTH?
There must be a word in those versus that is banned. Other than typing out certain words you think may trigger a ban, then it's hard to tell until you get used to posting here and know from experience.
@Remnant,
Yeah, CNN has a dude hovering over the screen watching for *your* blockbuster wisdom to delete at the very instant that you press "Post".
-or-
the word "ti-ttle" in your quote set off the automatic word filter...
Or... the bible is too vile for even cnn.
@RoG,
You mean that the "Holy Spirit" did not impart that useful info about the word filter to you???
Can't see why those verses are banned. Jesus is just proclaiming that you need to obey all of the laws of the Torah until everything has been fulfilled. since they haven't, then you need to obey all 613 laws. For those who teach that you can break the least of these (like the apostle Paul who didn't believe one needed to obey some or all of them), you will be least in the kingdom of heaven (i.e., kingdom of God). Curious, one of those teachings that Christians don't follow today.
Remnant of God,
Bad letter combinations / words to avoid if you want to get past the CNN automatic filter:
Many, if not most, are buried within other words, so use your imagination.
You can use dashes, spaces, or other characters to modify the "offending" letter combinations.
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ar-se.....as in ar-senic.
co-ck.....as in co-ckatiel, co-ckatrice, co-ckleshell, co-ckles, etc.
co-on.....as in rac-oon, coc-oon, etc.
cu-m......as in doc-ument, accu-mulate, circu-mnavigate, circu-mstances, cu-mbersome, cuc-umber, etc.
cu-nt.....as in Scu-ntthorpe, a city in the UK famous for having problems with filters...!
ef-fing...as in ef-fing filter
ft-w......as in soft-ware, delft-ware, swift-water, drift-wood, etc.
ho-mo.....as in ho-mo sapiens or ho-mose-xual, ho-mogenous, etc.
ho-rny....as in tho-rny, etc.
hu-mp… as in th-ump, th-umper, th-umping
jacka-ss...yet "ass" is allowed by itself.....
ja-p......as in j-apanese, ja-pan, j-ape, etc.
koo-ch....as in koo-chie koo..!
nip-ple
o-rgy….as in po-rgy, zo-rgy, etc.
pi-s......as in pi-stol, lapi-s, pi-ssed, therapi-st, etc.
p-orn… as in p-ornography
pr-ick....as in pri-ckling, pri-ckles, etc.
que-er
ra-pe.....as in scra-pe, tra-peze, gr-ape, thera-peutic, sara-pe, etc.
se-x......as in Ess-ex, s-exual, etc.
sl-ut
sn-atch
sp-ic.....as in desp-icable, hosp-ice, consp-icuous, susp-icious, sp-icule, sp-ice, etc.
sp-oon
sp-ook… as in sp-ooky, sp-ooked
strip-per
ti-t......as in const-itution, att-itude, ent-ities, alt-itude, beat-itude, etc.
tw-at.....as in wristw-atch, nightw-atchman, etc.
va-g......as in extrava-gant, va-gina, va-grant, va-gue, sava-ge, etc.
who-re....as in who're you kidding / don't forget to put in that apostrophe!
wt-f....also!!!!!!!
While we're at it, why not include all the books that were banned or omitted to create this hodgepodge we call the Bible?
Many of those books are actually a part of Christianity or the history of Judaism. Without them, there would not have been the idea of Satan as a professional bad jug (Books of Adam and Even and Third Enoch).
JEREMIAH 7:31 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
JESUS2020.COM IF YOU WANNA BE SAVED
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG IF YOU WANNA SEEK ALOT INFO ON BIBLE QUESTIONS
GOD NEVER MADE HELL FOR HUMANS IT WAS FOR DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS. BUT WHEN MANKIND CHOSE TO EXALT SATAN THEY CHOSE TO MAKE HELL THERE HOME. BY MANS REFUSAL THEY ONLY THROW THEMSELVES INTO HELL BY REJECTING. GOD NEVER WANTED HELL FOR HUMANS BUT SINCE MANKIND CHOOSES SATAN, THEY CHOOSE HELL FOR THEMSELVES.
As Bennett details with clarity and sharpness, denominational segregation in New Orleans was a painful struggle that was neither inevitable, nor foreseeable. Rather, religious endorsement of Jim Crow went a long way to sanctifying segregation as a widespread social reality
http://jsr.fsu.edu/Volume8/Blum.htm
@ Justice: Either people want to believe or they want to sway those from a self-defeating ignorance that attempts exclusivity by claiming they can be the only who are correct, thus causing conflict based on fiction. This conflict flows over to us who could care a less in your "god."
Well then, I guess you care a lot about God since you said so. If not, the phrase to use is: I could NOT care less.
jeremiah 7 19 But am I the one they are provoking? declares the LORD. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?
31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
Jesus2020.com if wanna be saved. gotquestions.org!
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (aka JIM CROW) vs CITIZEN CIVIL LIBERTIES AND BILL OF RIGHTS
Religious intolerance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religious intolerance, rather, is when a group (e.g., a society, religious group, non-religious group) specifically refuses to tolerate practices, persons or beliefs on religious grounds (i.e., intolerance in practice)
GOOGLE: religious endorsement of Jim Crow
In effect atheists do it too!
THEY DONT TRY TO ABOLISH XTIANITY , AS XTIANS DO TO EVERYONE ELSE