I seem to have generated quite a stir with my posts on this subject, so first off let me say that my purpose was not to generate any ill feeling amongst Christians of good heart, rather to (in one case) show the true nature of a particular church and its power players. In another it was to illustrate what I believe to be a major inconsistency in one man's argument, and his particular arrogance, and the weapon which the Bible can be when used by disingenuous people. I stand behind the things I said in those posts within the confines of that clarity. Of irony is that, since the process of social "purification" is the brainchild of the triad of Catholic/Jewish/Islamic heads of faith, and we are still, in this age, embroiled in "holy war". How it is that anyone still wants to be a proud member of any of these organizations is beyond me; reverence of all life is one of the basic tenets of religion, yet otherwise good Christians are killing Muslims for Christ, and hating Jews for Christ, and so on, back and forth. The concept of choice figures heavily here, as no one actually makes anyone go to war, and we all choose what's salient in our decisionmaking. And it does say, "Thou shalt not kill" without any mitigating factors like "unless your President tells you to".
I, too, am in the category of 'spiritual not religious'. I work every day to make relationships better, to do the right thing when it's not as easy, to be honest with myself and others when it's not as easy, and to love. That is the root of my problem, if any, with the God-concept: that so many individual views of God are inherently overbearing, jealous, and just plain mean. But that goes back to the church role in developing the concept; if there is a Creator, I'm pretty sure he's pissed at the College of Cardinals.
"His command, which I believe is universal, is to love our neighbor as ourself, not to initiate force or fraud against anyone, and to be responsible for our own lives and choices. I create my own immediate and painful hell, right here and now, whenever I neglect or ignore those things."--ML
Again, sorry for any undue strain; I could use a little refining with the timbre of my message, and I will try to be less absolutist and bald in the future.
Really interesting posts on this sub, by the way. Very thought-provoking