Let's try to tone down the sarcasm. /moderator
Thagrastay, I think that you took sexymama's question as an attack. I don't think it was meant as such. She was asking how, with your literalist view of the Bible, you come here with the pornography on the site. A simple "I don't look at it at all" would have sufficed. Instead, you accused her of accusing you...I'll attribute that to the flaws of the internet as a communication medium.
We all recognize that no one is perfect in following what they believe, so it wasn't an accusation or asking you to justify your presence here, just a curious question seeking clarification. You've made it clear you interpret the Bible literally and, thus, it was a question bound to come up. No need to get defensive - no one said you shouldn't be here, no one "turned up their nose."
As for being judgmental, there is a huge difference between expressing your view and TELLING everyone else not that YOU think they are wrong but that they ARE wrong. Unless you can prove to me, with the same certainty as you can prove 2+2=4 (discounting vectors
), that your view is right, it IS judgmental to tell someone that they are absolutely wrong and not allow for the possibility.
I BELIEVE atheists are incorrect in their belief that there is a God, and I'm more than willing and in my right to show them why I believe that in a courteous manner, but I must also allow for the fact that it cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God. Therefore to simply TELL an atheist they are wrong, outside of the context of "I believe," *IS* judgmental. Likewise, to tell someone that the Bible simply flat out cannot be looked at from any other perspective than a literal one, outside of the context of simply you believing so, is judgmental. I can't speak for anyone else, and I don't feel like looking back in their posts, but I know that I have never swaid to you that your beliefs are wrong. I have only explained why I believe what I believe and, in some cases, that your beliefs about other beliefs are wrong. But I have never told you that what you believe is wrong. However, you HAVE told peopole - flat out - that what they believe is wrong, that the Bible cannot be looked at from any other perspective than a literal one, and so forth. That is judgmental, and I'm sorry if you can't recognize that. You're welcome to believe whatever you wish - we all are - and you're welcome to share it as well and explain why you believe it - that's what these threads are for. But to flat out say that anyone who looks at the Bible from a non-literalist perspective is wrong is judgmental.
So, please, continue to share your views - no one's saying you can't or shouldn't - but keep in mind that you cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what you say and, therefore, don't act like you can. Nothing can make me believe that there isn't a God, but unfortunately I can't prove what I believe to anyone who is atheist. Thus, I respect their right and their reasons for their beliefs and say that I BELIEVE they are wrong but not that they are positively wrong. There is a large difference. One recognizes my own imperfections and the other doesn't.
Anyways, that's all I have to say about this and I'd encourage this thread to get a little more on topic. While you may be coming across as judgmental and while you may have insulted a lot of people by telling them flat out that they are wrong, as if you're infallible, there's no reason to gang up on you.