Thank you, kindly. I usually like the work he does, but I'd fire him for being so slow if he wasn't me.

@@thinkingtoinfinity 😂😂😂😂😂

Thanks, Rebecca!

​@@thinkingtoinfinitycome out

But...was it an Evangelical school? Evangelicals believe in a literal and infallible word of god--they don't believe in evolving exegesis, but many religions DO believe, including most non-Evangelical denominations of Christianity. For example, Catholics have sects that are fairly progressive and each new pope issues orders reinterpreting text to meet the changing needs of believers in the Church. I think for a lot of American who grow up in Evangelical or adjacent faiths, it's hard to picture evolving faith, but it's not abnormal or uncommon.

@Kimberly_Sparkles - There are also many churches that define themselves as Evangelical who are supporting of Progressive ideology. It's not abnormal or uncommon, but it is unBiblical, arbitrary, and often heretical.

@slitheen3 - thanks for the comment. Glad you got a kick out of the intro. 😁 I'm sorry for the struggles you faced, and admire your thoughtfulness and intellectual honesty. I'm curious if you consider your "faith vanished overnight" as a result of no longer believing Christianity to actually be true, or you left the faith even though you think it's true because of the incompatibility with bisexuality? Or if you'd define it differently? Thanks again!

@@thinkingtoinfinity Like I said, there was other things too, so I think my faith had subconsciously been fading for a while, and then that was the point where I stopped and realized, "I don't believe this anymore, and I haven't for a while." I didn't have a big dramatic crisis of faith or struggled consciously with my faith, it just kinda.... disappeared without me realizing it. And it's never been replaced by anything else, I just can't bring myself to believe in anything beyond our mortal coil I've always been a very curious person and lot of things I learned in my academic persuits were contradictory to what my church and school taught me (they were young earth creationists) so I think a lot of that, plus my own personal morality forming as I got older, plus the whole problem of evil thing, plus every other religion being just as convicted to their own beliefs as my church community has been.... etc, etc, just kept adding on top of each other in the subconscious of my mind. And suddenly I realized it just made no sense to me anymore, nor did I agree with the framework they viewed the world through. Life make a lot more sense to me now than they did when I viewed it through a Christian lens. I've really been wanting to do an "atheist bible study" for a while now, where I'd go through the whole Bible supplemented with historical and cultural contexts of the time it was written, alternate translations/interpretations of key passages, noncanonized books, etc. Mostly because I think it'd be really cool, but also to make sure that I truly don't believe any of it anymore. And so I can recognize when someone's beliefs are actually coming from the text, and they're not just using the text to affirm the beliefs they have already. But.... that's a lot of work, especially if I have to compile all that info myself 😓 so who knows when or if it'll ever end up happening

Thank you kindly!

@@thinkingtoinfinitygreggory Jesus is disappointed in you for your justification of bigotry. He also doesn’t like your hair.

@@alexmiller1018 - Thanks for watching! I'm just looking at whether the claims of certain people align with the religion they're supporting. What does "bigotry" mean to you? I've addressed the hair thing in other comments. Future video coming on that soon... hope you subscribe so you can check it out and let me know what you think. 😀👍

@@alexmiller1018immature insults really strengthen your argument.

A comment that starts with "Hoo boy" makes me nostalgic for my years in Oklahoma. Thanks for watching!

Or maybe it's just a myth

@sbnwnc - Maybe. Maybe not? I think it's worth examining all the available data and evidence to come to the most likely conclusion.

I do agree that studying the original text as much as we're able is key to understanding best.

@@thinkingtoinfinity I think that reading the text should lead to the conclusion that there is no God. 1 Samuel 15 is a good example of that. I do not say that Scripture is worthless, I simply say it is unreliable guide. It is worth studying to understand how our ancestors thought about the world, and it still can help guide us to a more moral way of treating each other. But it is not a reliable guide any more than a medieval map is still a reliable guide to getting around. Medieval maps are beautiful and still have a lot to teach us. But we have GPS now.

@@sbnwnc - Thanks for the comment! I think the map reference is a very reasonable view to take, but only when the advancements (like GPS) align with the way the world actually is. A fascinating thing with ancient maps is that there are maps from unconnected people groups that show the same land masses that aren't there anymore (and we were told never existed). We're now at a point where archeology and geology are having to correct wrong conclusions based on newly discovered geological evidence that supports a lot of those ancient "wrong" maps. The map used to look one way, but updating was/is necessary. Crucial. However, if Christianity is objectively true as presented by Jesus and the Bible, concerning the origin of our world and the destination of our immortal spirits, then it is an eternal truth. When someone wants to update / modify / amend it for modern people's preferences, that shows they don't think it's true, just arbitrary. In that event, it really is just the "opiate of the masses." If gravity, Abe Lincoln's assassination, germ theory, etc. are objectively True, they won't need to be updated for modern times. In fact, they shouldn't be. The same goes for a true worldview.

I agree about PC being bizarre. I disagree on the other statement. If the Bible can be "twisted", that means there's a legitimate interpretation of it as well. If that legitimate interpretation exists, it's possible to understand it. Pursuing that is what Christians *should* do.

Well, "The Way" of original Christianity never stopped. The Roman state church tried to wipe them out, but it persevered. The book "The Story of Christianity" by Justo Gonzalez covers the details quite well, based off the writings of the early Christians.

@@thinkingtoinfinity I've heard of this Way. It's utter nonsense. The very people who will tell you about this are also the very antithesis of Christian, as they make up their own rules. I have no idea how to obey Christ. Hit me, and you had better make it better than the best sex you ever had, because it is going to be one of the last things you ever do. In fairness, though, I don't claim to be Christian. A Christian doesn't get that option. So, when I am speaking of obeying Christ, even I, a non-Christian can understand what Christ tells His followers to do. I have yet to find a church for my wife that is not populated by people for whom Christ is a convenience, even Christians who prattle on about the Way. It's just a lot of revisionist garbage.

​@@scottjuhnke6825 - You're entitled to your opinion, but I think you're pre-judging a lot of people with those statements. I don't think Christians are exempt from self-defense. If we only use the "turn the other cheek" passage about religious persecution and ignore the rest of the Bible, we might be pacifists. Considering all of Jesus's words changes that though. Offering forgiveness when asked and not seeking vengeance are absolute requirements for us though. I don't hold to or support revisionism. We should thoroughly examine Christianity from the earliest sources and hold true to a proper, contextual understanding of what Jesus, foremost, and first-century Christians held to. I agree that modern churches are too often influenced by financial status and attendance numbers more than adherence to the truth. It's only becoming more difficult to find a solid local group, so I sympathize with you and your wife there. Praying you find a good community of people who care about you guys. Thanks for commenting.

@@thinkingtoinfinity Sadly, Christ says you are exempt from self defense. You don't get to hot back. You don't get to hire an attorney. You don't get to judge others. It's not really open to any interpretation. He is the only way to the Father. There is nothing ambiguous there. That people think there is is what sad, because if one fails to obey Him, He's not going to forgive, He's going to cast aside. When I die, if I am wrong, I'm headed to Hell. I don't mind that. I've made my bed, so to speak, and am good with that. I'd really hate to see anyone else there though. You sound like a great person,. This side of the dirt, I'll buy you a drink, afterwards, stay off of my lawn. ;)

@@scottjuhnke6825 - Glad to have a beverage and a chat anytime! I think studying *all* of what Christ said shows that self-defense is on the table ("buy a sword"), and after He said "judge not, lest ye be judged" (Don't judge unless you're prepared to be judged) He elaborated on how to properly judge others (Don't point out the speck in someone else's eye when you've got a log hanging out of yours). There's more to the story than the verses on bumper stickers. I think we're agreed that accurate interpretation is essential. I'd hate for anyone to go to Hell also. I'm sincere when I end each episode saying I hope you (and everyone) will choose wisely ("the real Jesus" in this case), avoid Hell, and spend eternity completely fulfilled with their Creator. I'm rooting for ya. 🙂👍

Or he looks like me? Uno reverse! 😀👍

@@thinkingtoinfinity that Is possible

Hi @Kimberly_Sparkles - they were written by eyewitnesses (and claim to be such) who were alive during Jesus's lifetime. So if Lincoln's cabinet members wrote memoirs about Abe 10-30 years after he was shot, those wouldn't be considered fictional.

@@thinkingtoinfinity Where in the Gospels do any of the writers claim to be eyewitnesses?

@@sbnwnc - Resisting the urge to do the "let me google that for you link" 😉 coldcasechristianity.com/writings/the-apostles-wrote-the-gospels-as-eyewitness-accounts/

@@thinkingtoinfinity I was expecting a citation to the Gospels, not some guy's opinion. Can you provide me a citation from the Gospels where the Gospel writer claims to be an eyewitness?

@@sbnwnc - Reading the article, you can see he isn't only giving his opinion, he cites 1 John 1:1,3 and 2 Peter 1:16 (Gospel writers) as well as Luke 1:1 stating he interviewed eyewitnesses (which corroborate the other gospels).

So they are moving forward, just very very slowly

@@KC_OnTheTrackLike Depends on the denomimation. Some are moving backwards! 😅

Christianity never supported stoning people. Technically that was Judaism.

@@thinkingtoinfinity I'm glad you made that point. I agree that we should ignore most of what the Old Testament says.

@@sbnwnc - I think "ignore" is different than "we aren't obligated to follow", but yeah. Those passages are still valuable to learn from for how the old work-to-earn-righteousness system didn't work (which was the point), how brutal that culture/time period on earth was, and what Jesus saved us from. Jesus clearly disagreed with many of the man-made laws from the OT, even specifically citing "Moses only told you that because..." and He, as well as Peter and Paul showed that Christ completed the requirements of the OT law. We're free from it. No stoning. Love and pray for your enemies. But no sinning too...

Thanks for the comment. I have a video coming on that soon... there's a lot more to that verse than just reading it at face value in English. 💇‍♂

@@thinkingtoinfinity Interesting. When it comes to _your_ behavior, we can't possibly take the text "at face value." To understand it, we need the right interpretation. In fact, we need a Doctorate of Theology with a concentration in Hermenutics. But when it comes to gay people, the text is ever-so-clear. Funny how that works out.

@@sbnwnc - Why are you assuming that's my approach?

@@thinkingtoinfinity Because that's what you said. You said "there's a lot more to that verse than just reading it at face value in English." Perhaps I shouldn't take what you say seriously. Remember that you also said that the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses. Your words were: "they were written by eyewitnesses (and claim to be such)." Yet you were unable to provide a single citation to the Gospels where an evangelist stated that he was an eyewitness. So perhaps no one here should take your words seriously. You are here trying to teach others. But if you don't take your words seriously, why should anyone else?

@@sbnwnc - I'm glad to discuss these things, but you need to be honest. I never stated that degrees were required for analyzing my behaviors, but alternate sexualities only need a plain reading of the text. I encourage deep analysis of all tenets of the faith. With the passages we discussed previously (regarding divorce, homosexuality, adultery, etc.) I, besides the whole of Jesus's statements on those issues, also cited extra-Biblical, historical sources, not merely one face-value reading of a verse. You're straw-manning my approach. I also gave links to specific examples of Biblical authors noting they were eyewitnesses... you somehow didn't notice those scripture references in the article I linked, so I then cited them directly. I truly appreciate your conversation, but will need to move on if you're going to inaccurately present the argument.

Thanks so much, Zack! Glad you're enjoying the videos. Contact is on thinkingtoinfinity.com 😃👍🏻

Yes, He clearly did on many occasions. It's a popular move to say He didn't, but multiple scriptures (many plastered all over the screen in the video) support it. If the Gospel writers were making up the events proving his deity that occurred during His baptism, transfiguration, resurrection, etc., why wouldn't they have just written "Then Jesus said 'I am God'?" It was clearly evident in the other things He said and did. The Roman governor (Pontius Pilate) publicly announced he found no fault in Jesus, so He wasn't being executed by the Romans for leading an insurrection. The Jewish High Priest condemned Jesus to death for claiming to be God, and that is what motivated the Pharisees to pressure Pilate (knowing he'd try his darndest to avoid both a Jewish uprising and scrutiny from Rome) to carry it out since the Jews weren't allowed to conduct their own executions. Ancient historians (Josephus, Tacitus, et al.) support this. Nicea did indeed happen hundreds of years after the writings of first century Christians that clearly identify Jesus as God. Like other Catholic councils that happened hundreds of years after the Christianity was established, they could only retroactively address what was already happening. The Bible was already in regular distribution among Christians. A council putting their stamp on it didn't magically change all those previous writings of Christians we have record of.

@@thinkingtoinfinity Jesus wasn't crucified for claiming to be God. He was crucified for claiming to be king of the Jews and Messiah, which was not claiming godhood. Jews believed Messiah to be an eternal political leader. If you don't know that simple bit, I'm not going to listen to another word, you say, because you are definitely wrong.

Hi, @ddrse - How did you come to that conclusion?

@@thinkingtoinfinity I'm just here to discuss the literature. what is of Christ is what's rejected by the religious people. Therefore they make lgbtq people Christians. I find no fault with the lgbtq whatsoever. What do you say?

@@ddrse - Sorry, I don't understand your comment here. I'm trying to understand why you consider a particular view of gender/sexuality (LGBTQ+ or however you prefer to abbreviate) to not be incompatible with the Christian faith? I'd say Christianity is founded foremost on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth who, on this issue, made no differentiation between sex & gender, stated sex has always been binary, and the only proper expression of sexuality is in a marriage between one man and one woman. (Matt. 19:4-6) All Biblical references (guessing this is what you mean by the "literature"?) to other sexual behavior, whether expressly named or falling under the title of "porneia" are compared with evil behavior. Merely "saying" we're a Christian is different from actually being one. Like, as in the video, saying you are a fan of Johnny Depp doesn't mean you actually are one if you disagree with him on his beliefs and actions. Do you have Biblical reasons for your view or something else that convinced you?

@@thinkingtoinfinity LGBT people are like Christ because they're persecuted by religious people.

@ddrse. Thank you for clarifying! 👍 On that logic, all men are like Christ because Jesus was a man, correct? Would that include Hitler? Also, Satan is like Christ because they were both hated by the Pharisees. I'm curious why you think those kinds of connections make something Jesus didn't support, and the Bible labels as sinful behavior, no longer sinful?

Hi @sturat6478 - I do. Well, technically, someone else does. 💇‍♂️ Thanks for watching!