yeah lovely being your own god Lego isn't it? Justify your own sin and corruption.

That is a sneery one liner reply, Runner. I was expecting you to pop up, but I thought that you would do a lot better than that. I must have upset you too.

God said "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." So, why are you and your Christian friends not running around doing exactly what God commanded? Is it because you are capable of thinking beyond the moral absolutes decreed by your non existent God? "Absolutist" personality people are another way of saying "fanatics". Religions are prone to fanaticism, but that does not mean that most religious people are fanatics. There are a minority of Christians who think that homo sexuality is normal, while most Christians very strongly disapprove of it. That does not mean that those Christians who disapprove of homosexuality are fanatics. Only that even within religions, people prefer to make up their own minds.

Most Christians do not think that the universe was created in six days, and they rationalize evolution by saying it is part of God's work. The Absolutists (fanatics) among Christians, will never concede anything to science, and will go to the most ridiculous lengths trying to prove that their silly religious scriptures are a fact. The Absolutists demand that the Bibles teachings are the literal word of God, and they must therefore be taken literally. Although why they are not running around beheading witches like the Saudis is a mystery? Perhaps even with fanatics, there are degrees of fanaticism, just like degrees of right and wrong, morality, and everything else?

Religious absolutes were invented by men and were usually based on very sensible premises at the time. The Muslim fatwa on eating pork was probably predicated upon the fact that pigs dig up dead human beings and eat human flesh. The Hindu ban on eating beef is predicated on the fact that even in the worst of times, a live cow can keep you supplied with food. The Christian Sabbath was probably predicted upon the fact that if you work people seven days a week forever, they get sick and die.

To LEGO.

What you've said on Absolutists seems hollow or paper thin in it's reasoning. For instance the issue with killing a witch is part of the Old Testiment for laws of a nation. they can't be applied after Jesus came for the redemption of all sinners. Nor applied without the foundation of a trial that was put in place in those laws, or the foundation of the nation to work together on all of these laws. But more then that an "absolutist" could find reasons within the bible to not kill a witch. Let vengance be God's is one such a reason. Meaning that a person should not kill or get even with another, let it be in God's hands instead of your own. With that kind of absolutist position I think I've seen many people try to be more pascifist then killers.

What I mean is this. There is more depth in Christianity then to say that those who believe in the bible should be killing witches.

To NNS.

Thank you for your contribution. It is fun fencing with intelligent people who hold opposing views.

I think you have missed the point. Or, perhaps because of the 350 word limit, I have not been able to explain myself properly. According to some "schools" of Psychology (there are several), people exist who possess "absolutist" personalities. To an Absolutist, morality is either 100% right or 100% wrong. An example would be the Greek philosopher Draco (from which the word "draconian" was coined) who proposed that every crime, no matter how trivial, was still a crime. And every crime must be punished equally. Since murder was a capitol offence, then even trivial offenses must be punished with the death penalty. Can you see the thought progression of an Absolutist? Got it now?

Can you see the thought progression of an absolutist LGTI.... activist who thinks that so called "transgender" people (who number around 1200 people in Australia according to census) means that the concept of male and female can not exist, and that therefore 25 million Australians should accept intersex toilets?

Laws advocating the killing of witches were part of western legal codes for 1600 years because pre reformation people were culturally conditioned by the church to believe in an absolute morality based upon the teachings of the Catholic religion. Which at that time had absolute authority. It is hardly surprising that it was the Reformation minded Protestants who re thought God's instructions and stopped the killing of witches. People like Luther may still have thought largely in absolutes, but they were beginning to use their heads and figure out that maybe God got it wrong occasionally.

Now, you have raised another good point. God said "Thou shalt not kill" while also saying "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." That is the problem with almost all moral absolutes. They routinely conflict with each other. The so called "fundamental" Human Right of Freedom of Religion should mean that the civilized world should tolerate cannibalism, human sacrifice, Thugeeism, the nutty and dangerous Aum cult, and stoning women to death.

LEGO,

In a previous post to me, you stated: <<It is nice to have an intelligent discussion with somebody who wants to learn>>

Then you give me this latest broadside that doesn't address the content of my post but dumbs me down and promotes your views.

<<Oh, I get you Ozpen. You are a religious person, and you believe in moral absolutes like "Thou Shalt Not Steal". And you think I am insulting you by saying that people with "Absolutist personalities" have a screw loose, because you think that I am referring to all religious people. That is not so. Religious people are not all absolutists,...>>

Your post demonstrated that <<intelligent discussion>> is not so intelligent after all.

LEGO,

<<The Absolutists (fanatics) among Christians, will never concede anything to science, and will go to the most ridiculous lengths trying to prove that their silly religious scriptures are a fact.>>

This is your fanciful rant. I could show you over and over the reliability of OT and NT Scriptures, based on historical evidence, but you wouldn't believe it. You are not interested in the facts of the case.

I, as a Christian who accepts God's absolutes in the NT, have a great respect for science. Science has taught cardiac surgeons how to replace my natural heart valves (mitral & aortic) and replace with artificial valves. Science has demonstrated how to survive after such surgery.

I accept the benefits of the science associated with putting satellites into space to track weather, facilitate communication, etc.

<<The Absolutists demand that the Bibles teachings are the literal word of God, and they must therefore be taken literally. Although why they are not running around beheading witches like the Saudis is a mystery? Perhaps even with fanatics, there are degrees of fanaticism, just like degrees of right and wrong, morality, and everything>>

You don't have a clue about laws that were given to the Israelites in the OT that are not applicable to New Covenant believers. You seem to be more interested in slandering Christian absolutists as fanatics than dealing with the right or wrong of morality.

We cannot have an intelligent, rational conversation when you engage in your straw man tactics.