re proof of resurection in article apr geneva rutgers edu andrew srsune shlrc mq edu au andrew mcveigh writes the bible s message is that we are to love all people and that all people are redeemable it preaches a message of repentance and of giving unfortunately all people have deceitful hearts and are capable of turning this message around and contorting it in sometimes unbelievable ways this is also a fundamental christian doctrine andrew how i wish this were true and how i long for the day in which it will be true but alas it is not true of history the bible does not have a message it has messages and some of those are messages of repentance and giving to turn the other cheek and do unto the least of these but some of the messages are the complete opposite like the isrealites order to wipe out other tribes including women and children down to cattle and punished severely when they were less than complete about the job like jews who are said to have cried out in matthew his blood be upon our heads and our childrens heads a verse quoted in every pogrom from the crusades to the holocaust have these been misunderstood i think not they have only been understood too clearly it is essential that christians grasp firmly the good the bible teaches the meek carpenter from nazareth is a potent symbol for how we should be his teachings we must take to heart but we cannot ignore the other material in the bible which is not to our liking and say those who live by that have misread it to say that is only to chose a point of interpretation and declare it normative such can be done with the same legitmacy by anyone instead we must let the text critique the text understanding that there is both good and bad in our sacred corpus we test all things and hold fast to that which is good p s i believe that a line of questioning like you presented is strangely enough compatible with becoming a christian certainly christianity encourages one to question the behaviour of the world and especially christians i praise god for jesus christ and the fact that we can doubt our beliefs and still come back to god and be forgiven time and time again at the risk of sounding heretical well ok more heretical i don t think that doubt is something which requires forgiveness it is something which requires introspection and reflection if that is a sin then there can be no salvation for doubt is an inescapble part of being human consider job his friends had no doubt whereas job had no doubt in himself but doubted the wisdom and justice of god when god finally did appear he rebuked the friends and had job make sacrifices for them to be a christian it to always have doubt or not to have honesty randy
