[MindBodySpirit]

Originally Posted by Reign.

Okay, first off, yes it is a book. It is ancient, but the way in which whoever was speaking of it made it seem like it was not relevant to our lives today-which it is.

I don't think it's relevant. At least not any more relevant than the Code of Hammurabi or Shakespeare. How is the bible relevant today?

Originally Posted by Reign.

The Bible is not immoral in any way, shape, or form.

So you believe that beating your slaves within an inch of death is a moral action then?

Originally Posted by Reign.

I justify my belief in the Bible as God's word.

Except that the bible is not god's word. It is something that men wrote.

Originally Posted by Reign.

And yes, the Bible was written by men, humans, but it was only through God's Holy Spirit by which they did so.

Do you have proof of that claim? Seriously, prove it. I would very much like you to back up your claim with some sort of evidence that does not involve circular reasoning.

Originally Posted by Reign.

If you knew as much as you obviously pretend to about the Bible, you would know the evidence of the scrolls and things written in stone from the first century Christians.

I'd advise you to look a little bit deeper into the history of the gospels. The gospels weren't written in first century AD. In fact, in some versions of the bible (NIV for example) gospels, it will say that the authors are "unknown" at the beginning.

Originally Posted by Reign.

To answer your question, a sin such as homosexuality is something that is directly going against what God requires.
God does not approve of such because God created Adam and Eve, man and woman, to be together.
And it says numerous times in the Bible how homosexuality is a sin and it is a detestable act.
Therefore, if you engage in homosexuality, you are directly disobeying God's laws and that is what I consider a sin.

I don't think you answered the question he asked. He's asking you to justify your belief in the bible and he's also asking if sin is just a concept created by religion. So yes, you can assign the word 'sin' to something in the bible, but it doesn't really have any real meaning to anybody until a belief in the bible is justified.

You see, people often claim that Christianity is the solution to "sin". However, sin is a creation of Abrahamic religions, so Christianity is essentially trying to fix the problem it created. That sounds asinine if you ask me.

Originally Posted by Reign.

We are all born "sinners" or "in sin" because of Adam and Eve.

So we were born into sin because of two people that never existed?

Originally Posted by Reign.

But we have the CHOICE to follow God's laws or not, and therefore we will be judged according to our deeds.

You can be a terrible person your entire life and ask for forgiveness on your deathbed and still be accepted into heaven.

...but you could be the kindest person in the world and dedicate your entire life to helping people but not be allowed into heaven because you never heard about Christianity.

That's not being judged according to ones' deeds. That's a flawed system that a "perfect" god would never create.

Originally Posted by Reign.

But if we make the CHOICE to disobey God, that is considered lawlessness on our part, which is sinning.

There are a ton of things that people do by accident, or have no choice in that are considered sinful. I mean, you contested yourself that people are born into sin. You certainly don't make the choice to be born.

Originally Posted by Reign.

We are not "born" a certain way.

Sure we are. For example, we're born with a dominant right or left hand. We are born with different coloured hair/eyes/skin. We havedifferently shaped brains, and different biological make-ups that have a significant effect on personality, sexual orientation and even things like depression.

Originally Posted by Reign.

Proof of that is in the example of Adam and Eve.
They were perfect, sinless, humans.
But they had their free will.

Aside from the fact that Adam and Eve did not exist, there are a number of problems with this.

1. Adam and Eve (according to the bible) were created, not born.
2. There are many physical examples of how Adam and Eve (and all humans) are not perfect.
3. Free-will is inconsistent with an all-knowing god.
4. This doesn't qualify as "proof" to begin with.

Originally Posted by Reign.

So bottom line is, if we love God, and not just fear him, we will do what he asks of us, not bend it to fit what we want.

Even IF the Christian god existed, I would not love him. Yahweh is a horrible monster that is not deserving of praise. Even if we ignore slavery, women's lack of rights, the stupid laws in the bible, and the absurdities in the story of Jesus (the basis of the Christian faith), the bible is not really a good basis for a moral system.