That is exactly why study is the key and not just simple reading it like a newspaper. If you study the process by which the bible was put together you may be shocked to find out the high standards that multiple councils used when putting the collection together. The reason the gospels of Peter and Thomas as well as other early church letters were not included is because the church council, I forget the actual name, found them to be faulty or not 100% convincing that it was divinely inspired. There is a great book called "How We Go Our Bible" It is amazing material for study.

 

Thanks for bringing the book "How We Got Our Bible" to my attention. All this discussion has made me interested in, and has wetted my whistle for knowing how the Bible came to be. Sounds incredibly interesting.

At the end of the day, I'm not here to tell anyone how to think and what to believe, as they have every right to, just as I do. When their belief makes them think that it's ok to tell me how to think and what to believe, that's where I draw the line. You might consider my words as doing so, but there again... that's the difference between me and you.

 

You see, I haven't once told you what to think or believe. That's fallacy. The difference in us is that you don't like my stance, and that's ok. I do agree with you that Christ's overriding message is love. I'll end my participation in this thread with this example. My very best friend in the world since we were boys, and the only friend I graduated high school with that I still am close to, beyond the casual small talk in passing. He was married, a devoted father (still is) and a devoted husband. His wife had an extramarital affair, and to make a short story long, married the man she had an affair with and my friend is now a divorced single parent who shares custody of his children. Since his divorce, he's had woman after woman move in, several more than once. He's jaded towards the institution of marriage, and I understand that. Yet his relationships with those women are sinful. I love him dearly. I would drop anything I was doing at the time if he was in need. There's next to nothing I wouldn't do to help him or give him if he truly needed it. We've confided in one another and shared great times throughout our lives. Yet his lifestyle is sin. He knows it is sin, and has even said that he knows it's wrong. Not for one second have I ever not loved him. And regardless of his lifestyle or if it ever changes, I'll still love him. So, your assumption that I or other Christians don't love with a Christ like love is absurd frankly.

I never said that you, Spindoc do not love with a Christ like love. You saying that is absurd frankly.

Obviously.