Where is spirituality taking us? Is it getting dangerous?

Zachary Cox69 said:

Anonymous

;]

Because Jesus Christ told them to:

And He said to them: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes; and if they drink anything fatal, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
After he said this, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

So, a fake Jesus led some people to handle snakes, claiming faith in Him would protect them from venom.

That’s just how you sound when you read Jesus superficially. He called certain Pharisees a "brood of vipers"—you don't think he actually meant they were literal snakes, right? Or when He used metaphors like "whitewashed tombs" or told people, "You have the Devil as your father" (which, honestly, he'd say to you too).
Jesus speaks in imagery—think about it. He basically implies that nothing can touch you unless God allows it. Look at Paul—the Bible says he was bitten by a snake and walked away totally fine. There are always fools in every faith, just like there are in atheism. You can't escape it. Christianity isn't immune to stupidity. People like that have nothing to do with Christ.

He said that while he was sober, but when he wasn't, he was just screaming at people not to judge them and spinning fairy tales about turning the other cheek.

Zachary Cox69 said:

Anonymous

;]

Because Jesus Christ told them to:

And He said to them: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes; and if they drink anything fatal, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
After he said this, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

So, a fake Jesus led some people to handle snakes, claiming faith in Him would protect them from venom.

That’s just how you sound when you read Jesus superficially. He called certain Pharisees a "brood of vipers"—you don't think he actually meant they were literal snakes, right? Or when He used metaphors like "whitewashed tombs" or told people, "You have the Devil as your father" (which, honestly, he'd say to you too).
Jesus speaks in imagery—think about it. He basically implies that nothing can touch you unless God allows it. Look at Paul—the Bible says he was bitten by a snake and walked away totally fine. There are always fools in every faith, just like there are in atheism. You can't escape it. Christianity isn't immune to stupidity. People like that have nothing to do with Christ.

Would you seriously let a cobra or some nasty snake bite you just because you were banking on God to magically neutralize the venom?

Anthony Perez9 said:It starts with realizing you're actually going to die, which is pretty much what makes us human.

Then it ends with the belief that some specific guy is going to live forever.

That’s why organized religion is just spiritual poison—it kills the soul.

There’s this one Christian sect in America (where else, right? they sell all kinds of nonsense under the guise of spirituality) that practices catching venomous snakes with their bare hands. If you survive, apparently you're enlightened.

Because that's what Quincy recommended:

And He said to them: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes; and if they drink anything fatal, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
And after the Lord Jesus said this, He was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

So, the fake Jesus basically told people to grab snakes, promising that Him—or faith in Him—would protect them from the venom.

Or this, where they let themselves be crucified.

By our Lord... just like how Paul or Peter used to hang out.

From being flogged,

Opus Dei...

Or this. It's no wonder plenty of rational people don't believe in God when they see stuff like this.

Pathetic if that's really the reason.

Now look, this is part of the longer ending of the Gospel of Mark, which most scholars agree wasn't even in the original manuscript. It’s an interpolation—basically a late addition—that was probably cooked up to make Mark line up better with the other Gospels. You see, unlike Mark, the others have these specific stories about Jesus showing Himself to His disciples and giving a universal mission. So, in my book, no, Jesus almost certainly didn't say that.

But you're spot on about one thing: the people out there actually picking up poisonous snakes are getting their "inspiration" (read: total madness) straight from these verses.

David Vaughn75 said:Would you seriously let a cobra or some nasty snake bite you just because you were banking on God to magically neutralize the venom?

Jesus Satan said, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down—because it's written that He will command His angels to protect you."

And Jesus answered, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
So, there’s your answer right there.

Zachary Cox69 said:

Anonymous

;]

Because Jesus Christ told them to:

And He said to them: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes; and if they drink anything fatal, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
After he said this, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

So, a fake Jesus led some people to handle snakes, claiming faith in Him would protect them from venom.

That’s just how you sound when you read Jesus superficially. He called certain Pharisees a "brood of vipers"—you don't think he actually meant they were literal snakes, right? Or when He used metaphors like "whitewashed tombs" or told people, "You have the Devil as your father" (which, honestly, he'd say to you too).
Jesus speaks in imagery—think about it. He basically implies that nothing can touch you unless God allows it. Look at Paul—the Bible says he was bitten by a snake and walked away totally fine. There are always fools in every faith, just like there are in atheism. You can't escape it. Christianity isn't immune to stupidity. People like that have nothing to do with Christ.

Jesus is such a master of ambiguity. You honestly never know what he’s actually getting at. Even the apostles were tripping over themselves thinking he was the Messiah meant to liberate Israel—how did he fail to make that clear to them, being their own teacher and all? 😵

He called those Pharisees "whitewashed tombs"—you don't think he actually meant they were literal graves, right? Or when He said, "You have the Devil as your father." (By the way, He’d probably say that to you too.)

He said entire cities would be tossed into hell, where the fire never goes out. Is that just symbolism or some poetic allegory? Or maybe even Jesus himself is just one big metaphor—just a story meant for spiritual contemplation? Probably.

Jesus puts it pretty bluntly: "No one can touch you unless God allows it."

So you're saying even a rattlesnake bite isn't a guarantee? You never really know which way God's mood is swinging on any given day—whether He decides to let you or your kid die from a snake bite or just lets you walk away.

Yeah, that’s just how Paul is. Got bit by a snake. And honestly, according to the text, he didn't cause any harm at all.

Lol. You clearly haven't read the Bible. 😛

Check out this joke:

Paul just gathered a bunch of farm scraps and tossed them onto the bonfire because the heat was getting unbearable. Then the snake comes slithering out and wraps itself right around his arm.When the locals saw where his livestock ended up... Watch your hands.They were whispering among themselves, "This guy's nothing but a killer. He cheated the sea, and now Justice won't let him breathe." But he... Just tossing an animal into the fire. Nothing happened; they were all just sitting there waiting for him to pass out or drop dead. Since nothing actually went down after all that waiting, they changed their tune and started calling him a god.

So, this guy claims some kind of snake—maybe a blind one?—wrapped itself around his hand while they were lighting a fire on the island of Malta, but luckily it didn't bite him. Naturally, the superstitious locals immediately started bowing down to him because they thought he was God (back then, people were handing out that title like candy). But the dishonest New Testament writer clearly missed the mark; if he was trying to make an allusion there, it fails, because you don't find venomous snakes on Malta.

Come on, believers—time to step up and prove you actually have faith!
Watch out, though. Maybe Jesus was just messing with you to throw you off the scent before that snake bites and the venom kicks in. Haha, classic move, Jesus!

"And these signs will follow those who believe: they’ll drive out demons in my name, speak in new tongues, and even pick up snakes; if they drink anything poisonous, it won't harm them."
Mark 16:17-18

You guys are basically walking on scorpions.

Look, I’ve given you authority to trample over snakes and scorpions and crush any enemy that comes your way, so nothing's gonna touch you.
(Luke 10:19)

Turns out it wasn't just some metaphor:

Moses slams his staff down and it turns into a snake. Then those Egyptian magicians pull the exact same stunt. Luckily for Aaron, his snake ends up swallowing
theirs. (Whew!) 7:9-13

Every faith has its idiots, just like atheism does. It's just human nature at this point. Christianity isn't immune to it. Those fools have nothing to do with Christ.

But honestly, Christ sounded like a bit of a nutcase too... I mean, the guy believed in Noah's flood, creationism, a flat Earth, talking to the Devil, angels, cursing people to hell, and the whole idea that God was born from a Virgin without a father.

Anthony Perez9 said:Just because Jesus Christ told them to.

He told them, "Go out to the ends of the Earth and preach the gospel to every living thing. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn't will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe:" In my name, you'll cast out demons and start speaking in new tongues."They’ll pick up snakes, and if they drink anything lethal, it won't touch them. They'll lay hands on the sick, and they'll be healed."
And then Jesus said all that, before He was taken up to heaven to sit right there at God's side.

So, Jesus basically told people to pick up snakes, claiming that having faith in Him would somehow protect them from the venom.

darkraven said:Now look, this is part of the longer ending of the Gospel of Mark, which most scholars agree wasn't even in the original manuscript. It’s an interpolation—basically a late addition—that was probably cooked up to make Mark line up better with the other Gospels. You see, unlike Mark, the others have these specific stories about Jesus showing Himself to His disciples and giving a universal mission. So, in my book, no, Jesus almost certainly didn't say that.

But you're spot on about one thing: the people out there actually picking up poisonous snakes are getting their "inspiration" (read: total madness) straight from these verses.

Basically, it’s just some hillbilly nonsense. The liar snuck that in. So, according to the Bible—which is supposedly the word of Jesus-God—we aren't even allowed to change a single thing without facing eternal damnation. Real fun.

"The guy who supposedly wasn't even part of that Gospel originally? Yeah, some liar just slipped him in there."

Theology is just way too full of those kinds of sugarcoated lies. 🙂
Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about you.

I'm pretty sure that interpolation was just cooked up later to make Mark line up better with the other Gospels. Unlike Mark, those others love including stories about how Jesus showed himself to his disciples and his broader mission. So, nah, Jesus probably didn't actually say that.

There’s more to it. But we're only talking about stuff that could actually be plausible. Honestly, there's a good chance even more was faked, but without any original documents or independent witnesses to back it up, the whole thing is just a messy blur of anonymous writers and religious propagandists.
They just throw a bunch of Old Testament details at you in this desperate attempt to prove Jesus is the Messiah, even though if that guy actually existed, there’s basically zero proof left of what really went down.

Yeah, let’s be real—the people out there grabbing "inspiration" from those quotes are really just looking for an excuse for their own insanity.

It's the same old story with the people speaking in tongues, casting out demons, or obsessively worshipping the Virgin. Same nonsense, different day.

Thanks, Jesus—you're a real piece of work. 😉
You've been holding that same grudge for 2,000 years. 😂

Zachary Cox69 said:Jesus Satan said, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down—because it's written that He will command His angels to protect you."

And Jesus answered, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
So, there’s your answer right there.

It’s a real shame he decided to test God and ended up being tossed straight out of heaven....

Anthony Perez9 said:So, Jesus basically told people to pick up snakes, claiming that having faith in Him would somehow protect them from the venom.

Basically, it’s just some hillbilly nonsense. The liar snuck that in. So, according to the Bible—which is supposedly the word of Jesus-God—we aren't even allowed to change a single thing without facing eternal damnation. Real fun.

"The guy who supposedly wasn't even part of that Gospel originally? Yeah, some liar just slipped him in there."

Theology is just way too full of those kinds of sugarcoated lies. 🙂
Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about you.

I'm pretty sure that interpolation was just cooked up later to make Mark line up better with the other Gospels. Unlike Mark, those others love including stories about how Jesus showed himself to his disciples and his broader mission. So, nah, Jesus probably didn't actually say that.

There’s more to it. But we're only talking about stuff that could actually be plausible. Honestly, there's a good chance even more was faked, but without any original documents or independent witnesses to back it up, the whole thing is just a messy blur of anonymous writers and religious propagandists.
They just throw a bunch of Old Testament details at you in this desperate attempt to prove Jesus is the Messiah, even though if that guy actually existed, there’s basically zero proof left of what really went down.

Yeah, let’s be real—the people out there grabbing "inspiration" from those quotes are really just looking for an excuse for their own insanity.

It's the same old story with the people speaking in tongues, casting out demons, or obsessively worshipping the Virgin. Same nonsense, different day.

Thanks, Jesus—you're a real piece of work. 😉
You've been holding that same grudge for 2,000 years. 😂

Basically, it’s just some hillbilly nonsense. The liar snuck that in. So, according to the Bible—which is supposedly the word of Jesus-God—we aren't even allowed to change a single thing without facing eternal damnation. Real fun.

"The guy who supposedly wasn't even part of that Gospel originally? Yeah, some liar just slipped him in there."

Theology is just way too full of those kinds of sugarcoated lies. 🙂
Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about you.

I'm pretty sure that interpolation was just cooked up later to make Mark line up better with the other Gospels. Unlike Mark, those others love including stories about how Jesus showed himself to his disciples and his broader mission. So, nah, Jesus probably didn't actually say that.

There’s more to it. But we're only talking about stuff that could actually be plausible. Honestly, there's a good chance even more was faked, but without any original documents or independent witnesses to back it up, the whole thing is just a messy blur of anonymous writers and religious propagandists.
They just throw a bunch of Old Testament details at you in this desperate attempt to prove Jesus is the Messiah, even though if that guy actually existed, there’s basically zero proof left of what really went down.

Yeah, let’s be real—the people out there grabbing "inspiration" from those quotes are really just looking for an excuse for their own insanity.

It's the same old story with the people speaking in tongues, casting out demons, or obsessively worshipping the Virgin. Same nonsense, different day.

Thanks, Jesus—you're a real piece of work. 😉
You've been holding that same grudge for 2,000 years. 😂

Basically, it’s just some hillbilly nonsense. The liar snuck that in. So, according to the Bible—which is supposedly the word of Jesus-God—we aren't even allowed to change a single thing without facing eternal damnation. Real fun.

"The guy who supposedly wasn't even part of that Gospel originally? Yeah, some liar just slipped him in there."

Theology is just way too full of those kinds of sugarcoated lies. 🙂
Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about you.

I'm pretty sure that interpolation was just cooked up later to make Mark line up better with the other Gospels. Unlike Mark, those others love including stories about how Jesus showed himself to his disciples and his broader mission. So, nah, Jesus probably didn't actually say that.

There’s more to it. But we're only talking about stuff that could actually be plausible. Honestly, there's a good chance even more was faked, but without any original documents or independent witnesses to back it up, the whole thing is just a messy blur of anonymous writers and religious propagandists.
They just throw a bunch of Old Testament details at you in this desperate attempt to prove Jesus is the Messiah, even though if that guy actually existed, there’s basically zero proof left of what really went down.

Yeah, let’s be real—the people out there grabbing "inspiration" from those quotes are really just looking for an excuse for their own insanity.

It's the same old story with the people speaking in tongues, casting out demons, or obsessively worshipping the Virgin. Same nonsense, different day.

Thanks, Jesus—you're a real piece of work. 😉
You've been holding that same grudge for 2,000 years. 😂
And look... if you spend your entire childhood being teased because people question your parentage, you might as well learn how to laugh at it. 😉

Zachary Cox69 said:Jesus Satan said, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down—because it's written that He will command His angels to protect you."

And Jesus answered, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
So, there’s your answer right there.

I mean, if even Paul wasn't out here trying to test God, why on earth would you think you could?

Go ahead, jump off a skyscraper and just assume God's gonna break your fall because He's capable of it. See how that works out for you.

David Vaughn75 said:I mean, if even Paul wasn't out here trying to test God, why on earth would you think you could?

Go ahead, jump off a skyscraper and just assume God's gonna break your fall because He's capable of it. See how that works out for you.

Where and how exactly did Paul test God?

Anthony Perez9

]

Jesus is such a manipulator. You never actually know what He's getting at. The Bible even says the apostles thought He was the Messiah who would liberate Israel. How did He not explain that to them as their teacher, for crying out loud? 😵

He explained it plenty—they just couldn't grasp it. In their minds, the Messiah was someone to free them from the Romans, not from the Devil. They figured it out later. At first, they were brainwashed too, just like you are now. Jesus is God and Savior. You can't see that because you're blinded by lies trying to make Him something He isn't.

And He said entire cities would tumble into hell, where the fire never goes out. Is that also symbolism, an allegory, or some poetic abstraction? Is Jesus Himself just one big allegory? A story for spiritual contemplation? Probably.

Even a kid could see that we're talking about people, not actual buildings.

Here's a funny little story:

Paul gathered some brushwood and threw it on the fire when, because of the heat, a snake came out and fastened itself onto his hand. 4When the locals saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "This man is a murderer; he escaped the sea, and Justice won't let him live." 5But he shook the snake off into the fire and nothing happened; 6but they were waiting that he would swell up and fall down dead. Since they waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual happened to him, they changed their minds and began saying he was a god.

It says a snake (maybe a water snake?) wrapped around his hand when they lit a fire on the island of Malta, but it didn't bite him. Then the superstitious locals immediately rushed to worship him because they thought he was God (people were called gods quite easily back then). But the dishonest writer of the New Testament didn't realize that there aren't any venomous snakes on Malta, if that was meant to be an allusion.

Your comment is ridiculous. Shallow to a fault. I assume those locals knew how to tell a harmless snake from a venomous one. Their reaction makes that pretty obvious.

Come on, believers—prove your faith!
(And watch out! Maybe Jesus was joking to trick you so the snake would bite and the poison would kill you! Haha, good one, Jesus!)

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, (18) they will pick up snakes; and if they drink anything poisonous, it will not hurt them; "
(Mark 16:17-18)

It's all metaphorical. The SNAKES won't harm you. He even said regarding Herod: "Tell that snake (some translations say viper) this and that." So, you are the spiritual snake, just like the one that tricked Eve. Of course, that wasn't a literal animal, but the Devil himself. That's what has filled your head and heart. One day you'll realize Jesus is God and the Messiah, but by then, it'll be too late.

I walk on scorpions.

Look, I’ve given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions—even over all the power of the enemy—and nothing will harm you.
(Luke 10:19)

The "power of the enemy" part is pretty straightforward. Jesus' enemy isn't some literal snake or scorpion—it's the Devil.

But Christ seemed like a fool... Just think about it—this guy believed in Noah's flood, creationism, a flat Earth, talking to the Devil, angels, cursing people to hell, and that God was born from a Virgin without a father.

Right, he just needed to believe humans crawled out of some "primordial soup." Then he would've been "normal."
And the whole Big Bang thing? Man, you really need a massive amount of faith to buy into that.

Zachary Cox69 said:

Anthony Perez9

]

Jesus is such a manipulator. You never actually know what He's getting at. The Bible even says the apostles thought He was the Messiah who would liberate Israel. How did He not explain that to them as their teacher, for crying out loud? 😵

He explained it plenty—they just couldn't grasp it. In their minds, the Messiah was someone to free them from the Romans, not from the Devil. They figured it out later. At first, they were brainwashed too, just like you are now. Jesus is God and Savior. You can't see that because you're blinded by lies trying to make Him something He isn't.

And He said entire cities would tumble into hell, where the fire never goes out. Is that also symbolism, an allegory, or some poetic abstraction? Is Jesus Himself just one big allegory? A story for spiritual contemplation? Probably.

Even a kid could see that we're talking about people, not actual buildings.

Here's a funny little story:

It says a snake (maybe a water snake?) wrapped around his hand when they lit a fire on the island of Malta, but it didn't bite him. Then the superstitious locals immediately rushed to worship him because they thought he was God (people were called gods quite easily back then). But the dishonest writer of the New Testament didn't realize that there aren't any venomous snakes on Malta, if that was meant to be an allusion.

Your comment is ridiculous. Shallow to a fault. I assume those locals knew how to tell a harmless snake from a venomous one. Their reaction makes that pretty obvious.

Come on, believers—prove your faith!
(And watch out! Maybe Jesus was joking to trick you so the snake would bite and the poison would kill you! Haha, good one, Jesus!)

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, (18) they will pick up snakes; and if they drink anything poisonous, it will not hurt them; "
(Mark 16:17-18)

It's all metaphorical. The SNAKES won't harm you. He even said regarding Herod: "Tell that snake (some translations say viper) this and that." So, you are the spiritual snake, just like the one that tricked Eve. Of course, that wasn't a literal animal, but the Devil himself. That's what has filled your head and heart. One day you'll realize Jesus is God and the Messiah, but by then, it'll be too late.

I walk on scorpions.

Look, I’ve given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions—even over all the power of the enemy—and nothing will harm you.
(Luke 10:19)

The "power of the enemy" part is pretty straightforward. Jesus' enemy isn't some literal snake or scorpion—it's the Devil.

But Christ seemed like a fool... Just think about it—this guy believed in Noah's flood, creationism, a flat Earth, talking to the Devil, angels, cursing people to hell, and that God was born from a Virgin without a father.

Right, he just needed to believe humans crawled out of some "primordial soup." Then he would've been "normal."
And the whole Big Bang thing? Man, you really need a massive amount of faith to buy into that.

He explained it plenty, they just couldn't wrap their heads around it.[/I]

Complete failure of a spiritual leader if he couldn't make it clear within a year or so that his role wasn't to be an militant liberator of Israel from the Roman occupiers, but a peaceful redeemer of humanity—a mission of peace, not war!
What kind of idiot misses explaining something that obvious? That he was a peacemaker, not a terrorist. Were the apostles slow, or was Jesus just blind? 😵

They had the Messiah who frees them from Rome stuck in their heads, not from the Devil.

A teacher's job is to make it clear he isn't an militant Jewish Messiah, but a universal peacemaker. It’s the exact opposite of what they were expecting. How did Jesus not lay that out for them? For God's sake, then the apostles and those 72 followers went around telling everyone they planned to join Jesus in an uprising against Rome! That's no joke. That was incredibly dangerous.

They figured it out later.

LATER??? After Jesus rose from the dead and cleared everything up? Seems a little late, doesn't it? It's almost like Jesus Christ intentionally led them to believe he was an armed rebel (selling everything just to buy swords!), so they'd preach it, making it look like the Messiah-Christ fit the traditional mold, which would then lead the Romans to catch and execute him for insurrection.
Jesus was the ultimate manipulator of the apostles.

At least at first, they were brainwashed just like you are now.

If Jesus was a teacher, he either totally failed or kept them in the dark on purpose.

Jesus is God and Savior.

Keep chanting that if it helps you ignore what's actually happening here.

You just can't wrap your head around it because you've been fed nothing but lies about who Jesus actually is.

As a former Catholic, I know the dogma inside and out, but I also know the faith. You have to ask yourself why Jesus let the apostles down like that. It’s not like he was stupid enough to miss how they saw him—just waiting to be this militant Messiah for Israel. They held onto that delusion right up until he showed up after his death. Lol, what a joke.

Imagine if they went out preaching to the crowds again and dropped this: "Look, we totally messed up before. Jesus wasn't some militant revolutionary; he was actually a peaceful Savior from everyone's sins—born of the Virgin through God. So, get baptized!" And then just a massive crowd of Jews rushes to get baptized. Ha ha ha.

Quote:

He said entire cities would be tossed into hell, where the fire never goes out. Is that just symbolism or some poetic allegory? Or maybe even Jesus himself is just one big metaphor—a story meant for spiritual reflection? Probably. Even a kid could see it—we're talking about people here, not buildings.

So you're telling me Jesus tossing entire cities into hell isn't just symbolism? You’re basically picking through the crowd whenever you feel like messing with someone.

Quote:

Quote: Paul gathered up some brush and tossed it onto the bonfire, but then a snake slithered out from the heat and clamped down on his arm. When the locals saw where the thing had bitten him, they started whispering, "This guy’s a straight-up killer—he survived a shipwreck only for Justice to come for his life." But he just shook the snake off into the flames like it was nothing. They were all standing there waiting for him to drop dead, but when nothing happened, they changed their tune and started claiming he was a god. So, this guy claims some kind of snake—maybe a blind one?—wrapped itself around his hand while they were building a fire on the island of Malta. He says it didn't even bite him. Naturally, all the superstitious locals immediately started bowing down to him because they thought he was God (back then, people were handing out that title like candy). But the New Testament writer was clearly playing fast and loose with the facts; if he was trying to make an allusion there, he missed the mark, because there aren't any venomous snakes on Malta. Your take is hilarious. Honestly, it’s shallow as hell. I mean, you'd think the locals would know the difference between a rattlesnake and a copperhead, right? You could tell just by how they reacted.

Whatever, it doesn't even say what kind of snake it was—could've been venomous, could've been nothing. And it definitely doesn't say he actually got bitten like you're imagining. It’s pretty obvious the locals were just incredibly superstitious. Honestly, just funny little fairy tales for the naive... "No, a snake didn't hurt him, because that's what Jesus proclaimed!" lol

It’s all metaphorical. Snakes won't hurt you. Look at what was said about Herod: "Tell that snake (some translations say viper) this and that." So, you're basically acting like the spiritual snake that messed with Eve. Obviously, we aren't talking about a literal reptile here, but the Devil. That's who's been messing with your head and heart. One day you'll realize Jesus is God and the Messiah, but by then, it'll be too late.

Your malicious threats about screaming forever in hellfire don't scare me nearly as much as you do. You really need to clear that poison out of your head.

The whole "overcoming the enemy" thing is pretty clear. Jesus God's enemy is Satan, not some literal snakes and scorpions.

What about the other "symbols" then? Speaking in tongues and casting out demons are real things, but being immune to scorpion stings isn't?

Quote:

But Christ was a fool too... I mean, imagine believing in Noah's flood, creationism, a flat Earth, a Devil you can actually talk to, angels, cursing people to hell, and that God was born from a Virgin without a father, etc. 🤣 😵 Yeah, he had to believe humans came from "primordial soup." That would make him normal. And the whole Big Bang universe thing. Man, you need a massive amount of faith just to buy into that.

I guess you have to stay a Young Earth creationist and a Flat Earther if you want to follow the lead of Jesus Christ and all those fairy tales he and his crew believed in according to those storybooks. He also believed in that ridiculous Noah's flood—God slowly drowning every little kid in water rising to the highest mountains. 👎

Real spiritual stuff...

Zachary Cox69 said:Where and how exactly did Paul test God?

I actually heard this story from one of my mentors once—he argued that while the text exists, the whole thing was more about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like, if a snake bites you just because you happened to be standing there, that’s not exactly a "test," right? And yet, the snake didn't kill him.
If we take the story at face value, then there wasn't really any "testing" of God involved—it's not like he went out looking for a snake just to see if God would pull a miracle out of a hat...
Look, I'm not a believer myself, but I really can't stand dishonesty, and I have zero patience for fanatics, regardless of which side they're preaching from!

frozenstag9 said:I actually heard this story from one of my mentors once—he argued that while the text exists, the whole thing was more about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like, if a snake bites you just because you happened to be standing there, that’s not exactly a "test," right? And yet, the snake didn't kill him.
If we take the story at face value, then there wasn't really any "testing" of God involved—it's not like he went out looking for a snake just to see if God would pull a miracle out of a hat...
Look, I'm not a believer myself, but I really can't stand dishonesty, and I have zero patience for fanatics, regardless of which side they're preaching from!

Sorry, but I'm not following the logic. Paul didn't grab the snake; the snake grabbed him. It was venomous, sure, but it didn't kill him. So, how exactly does that count as him testing God?

frozenstag9 said:I actually heard this story from one of my mentors once—he argued that while the text exists, the whole thing was more about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like, if a snake bites you just because you happened to be standing there, that’s not exactly a "test," right? And yet, the snake didn't kill him.
If we take the story at face value, then there wasn't really any "testing" of God involved—it's not like he went out looking for a snake just to see if God would pull a miracle out of a hat...
Look, I'm not a believer myself, but I really can't stand dishonesty, and I have zero patience for fanatics, regardless of which side they're preaching from!

I actually meant to direct this toward him rather than you—it's clear you're the one who actually gets the point.

Zachary Cox69 said:I actually meant to direct this toward him rather than you—it's clear you're the one who actually gets the point.

Look, understanding things isn't the hard part—that's actually pretty easy! The real question is how much effort someone is willing to put in to actually fact-check what they've heard through the grapevine when things like this come up. Plus, there was a little bit of a misunderstanding earlier; since you sent two different posts and didn't catch my drift right away, I figured I’d respond to this second one where you finally nailed exactly what I was getting at.

He wouldn't have even replied to you—he doesn't truly know anything about this, he just caught a snippet of the conversation somewhere. He isn't the type to go digging for the truth; that's just not his habit.

=Unknown;76912931

What a complete failure of a spiritual teacher—if he couldn't make them understand something that simple within a year or so—that his role wasn't to be a militant liberator for the state of Israel from the Roman occupation, but rather a peaceful redeemer of humanity's sins. It was a mission of peace, not war!
What kind of idiot would miss the chance to clarify that? To show he was a peacemaker, not a terrorist. Were the apostles mentally slow? Or was Jesus just blind? 😵

If I weren't worried about getting banned, I’d tell you straight up: you're being a total fool here. Your take is shallow. Look, as a Christian, I'm trying to explain this to you—Jesus came to liberate people from sin, not from earthly rulers. But it just won't sink in. They were primarily looking for liberation from foreign rule, much like how Americans might feel regarding certain systemic injustices. That was their focus. Later, once they saw the risen Jesus, they never viewed him as a way to break the Roman occupation again. Get it? Why don't you try explaining the actual importance of this to someone who's being dense.

The whole point of a teacher is to make it clear that he isn't a militant Jewish Messiah, but a universal peacemaker. It's the exact opposite of what they had in their heads. How could Jesus not have explained that clearly to them? FOR GOD'S SAKE, if he hadn't, then the apostles and those 72 followers would have gone around preaching that they planned to join Jesus in an armed revolt against the Romans! And that's no joke—that would have been incredibly dangerous!

This is superficial and totally detached from reality. They preached the Kingdom of Heaven, not an earthly one.

LATER??? After Jesus came back from the grave and cleared things up? Seems a little late for that, doesn't it? It's almost as if Jesus Christ INTENTIONALLY led them to believe he was an armed rebel (selling everything just to buy swords!), so they would preach it that way—making it look like the Messiah-Christ fit the traditional mold, which would lead the Romans to catch and execute him for insurrection.
Jesus was a great deceiver of the apostles.

Again, too shallow. He taught them to "turn the other cheek," "love your enemy," and "forgive seventy times seven."

As a former Catholic, I know the dogma and the faith well. Ask yourself why Jesus deceived the apostles. He wasn't so clueless that he didn't see how they viewed him—as a militant savior for Israel. That's what they believed right up until he appeared after his death. lol What a joke.

Just imagine if they HAD gone out and told the crowds: "Hey, we messed up before; Jesus wasn't a militant liberator, he was actually the peaceful Savior from sin—born of a perpetual Virgin from God—so go get baptized!" And then masses of Jews flocking to be baptized. Ha ha ha.

You’ve clearly never actually encountered Catholic Jesus. You’ve obviously stepped too far into the occult—that’s why you’re so confused.

Look, it doesn't specify what kind of snake it was—whether it was venomous or not—and it definitely doesn't say he was bitten (which is what you're assuming). But it's obvious the locals were incredibly superstitious. It's just one of those silly stories meant for the naive... "No, the snake didn't hurt him, just like Jesus proclaimed!" lol

Where is your head at? Seriously. They think Paul committed some massive sin against God and that God is punishing him with a snake bite—but then, seeing that he was bitten and nothing happened, they view him as divine. It's crystal clear to anyone with sense. Apparently not to you.

I couldn't care less—I'm just sitting here having a beer. If you end up in hell, who cares? Not my problem.

Zachary Cox69 said:

=Unknown;76912931

What a complete failure of a spiritual teacher—if he couldn't make them understand something that simple within a year or so—that his role wasn't to be a militant liberator for the state of Israel from the Roman occupation, but rather a peaceful redeemer of humanity's sins. It was a mission of peace, not war!
What kind of idiot would miss the chance to clarify that? To show he was a peacemaker, not a terrorist. Were the apostles mentally slow? Or was Jesus just blind? 😵

If I weren't worried about getting banned, I’d tell you straight up: you're being a total fool here. Your take is shallow. Look, as a Christian, I'm trying to explain this to you—Jesus came to liberate people from sin, not from earthly rulers. But it just won't sink in. They were primarily looking for liberation from foreign rule, much like how Americans might feel regarding certain systemic injustices. That was their focus. Later, once they saw the risen Jesus, they never viewed him as a way to break the Roman occupation again. Get it? Why don't you try explaining the actual importance of this to someone who's being dense.

The whole point of a teacher is to make it clear that he isn't a militant Jewish Messiah, but a universal peacemaker. It's the exact opposite of what they had in their heads. How could Jesus not have explained that clearly to them? FOR GOD'S SAKE, if he hadn't, then the apostles and those 72 followers would have gone around preaching that they planned to join Jesus in an armed revolt against the Romans! And that's no joke—that would have been incredibly dangerous!

This is superficial and totally detached from reality. They preached the Kingdom of Heaven, not an earthly one.

LATER??? After Jesus came back from the grave and cleared things up? Seems a little late for that, doesn't it? It's almost as if Jesus Christ INTENTIONALLY led them to believe he was an armed rebel (selling everything just to buy swords!), so they would preach it that way—making it look like the Messiah-Christ fit the traditional mold, which would lead the Romans to catch and execute him for insurrection.
Jesus was a great deceiver of the apostles.

Again, too shallow. He taught them to "turn the other cheek," "love your enemy," and "forgive seventy times seven."

As a former Catholic, I know the dogma and the faith well. Ask yourself why Jesus deceived the apostles. He wasn't so clueless that he didn't see how they viewed him—as a militant savior for Israel. That's what they believed right up until he appeared after his death. lol What a joke.

Just imagine if they HAD gone out and told the crowds: "Hey, we messed up before; Jesus wasn't a militant liberator, he was actually the peaceful Savior from sin—born of a perpetual Virgin from God—so go get baptized!" And then masses of Jews flocking to be baptized. Ha ha ha.

You’ve clearly never actually encountered Catholic Jesus. You’ve obviously stepped too far into the occult—that’s why you’re so confused.

Look, it doesn't specify what kind of snake it was—whether it was venomous or not—and it definitely doesn't say he was bitten (which is what you're assuming). But it's obvious the locals were incredibly superstitious. It's just one of those silly stories meant for the naive... "No, the snake didn't hurt him, just like Jesus proclaimed!" lol

Where is your head at? Seriously. They think Paul committed some massive sin against God and that God is punishing him with a snake bite—but then, seeing that he was bitten and nothing happened, they view him as divine. It's crystal clear to anyone with sense. Apparently not to you.

I couldn't care less—I'm just sitting here having a beer. If you end up in hell, who cares? Not my problem.

Man, Christians these days... there was a time when people weren't even afraid of lions, yet now everyone is shaking in their boots over a simple moderator ban. O tempora, o mores. ☕

I feel like when people go through those physical trials—you know, like how some cultures do it—they’re basically just trying to reach up toward the divine.

Zachary Cox69 said:Where and how exactly did Paul test God?

So why on earth would you throw a quote about testing Him in my face?

You totally missed my point here.
Look, you swear by the miracles in the Bible and all that—but what if some guy walks up to you today, claims he’s the Son of God, and tells you to follow him? If he starts claiming he can walk on water, would you actually buy that? You say there’s no reason not to believe the Bible, but fine—so why wouldn't you apply that same logic to someone making those exact same claims right in front of you today?