Pick and Choose Fundamentalism

'I'm talking about "moderate" Christians- those that may take up to the entire Bible as a metaphor or allegory.'So if a man called Jesus said "I am the light," it's metaphor, but the existence of Jesus is itself allegory. How much does that non-existence matter, if the moral teaching of 'Jesus' is followed because it is held to be optimal?

'And this, of course, is in direct conflict to what Jesus said: Not one jot, not one tittle of the law shall be changed till all be fulfilled.'Maybe all has been fulfilled.

'You do realize that by "all be fulfilled," Jesus meant the end of the world, right?'It may be that he meant that all of the law will be fulfilled. His parameter may have been moral, not temporal.

'Have heaven and earth passed?'"'Til heaven and earth pass, we will not leave here without getting our money."They got their money.

'I handily admit I don't see it.'Never mind. Others will.

'I have never believed that Genesis was word for word literal.'Of course, you're a sensible guy. Four-year-olds pick this up when they hear of snakes talking.

'Why are sins such as murder, theft, adultery and homosexuality so much more egregious in the eyes of certain Christians than, say, working on the sabbath, back-talking to your parents or eating unclean foods?'There is no sabbath period now, no week, for religious reasons- any more than there are unclean foods. Serious disrespect for parents is destructive of society, and is no less dangerous than anything else.Edited by ochaye, : No reason given.Edited by ochaye, : No reason given.