I just finished Alberta's "American Carnage"; a very readable history of the so-called Republican Civil War between 2012 and 2018. He does a good job of humanizing some of them: John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Mario Rubio mostly.
Regarding the hell thing: Jesus himself never mentioned hell except metaphorically as "gehanna"; the constantly burning trash dump in Jerusalem. I'd really recommend this documentary:
The key point is that if God condemns souls to eternal torment then one of two things must be true:
1. God's mercy is not infinite. He's not cool like your dad when you dented the fender of his car as a teen.
2. God has no choice in the decision; he is not omnipotent.
For further down this rabbit hole, try Elaine Pagel's books:"Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation" and "The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics". Hell and Revelations were basically a scare tactic of the early church.
This was a genuine admittedly naive question. I couldn’t imagine the ADL woukd choose that despicable little twerp as their man of the year. Seems I was wrong.
I just finished Alberta's "American Carnage"; a very readable history of the so-called Republican Civil War between 2012 and 2018. He does a good job of humanizing some of them: John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Mario Rubio mostly.
Regarding the hell thing: Jesus himself never mentioned hell except metaphorically as "gehanna"; the constantly burning trash dump in Jerusalem. I'd really recommend this documentary:
https://www.amazon.com/Hellbound-William-Paul-Young/dp/B00CHI51D
The key point is that if God condemns souls to eternal torment then one of two things must be true:
1. God's mercy is not infinite. He's not cool like your dad when you dented the fender of his car as a teen.
2. God has no choice in the decision; he is not omnipotent.
For further down this rabbit hole, try Elaine Pagel's books:"Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation" and "The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics". Hell and Revelations were basically a scare tactic of the early church.
Love your take on the Evangelicals and those who follow Jesus and the difference between them.
The good doctor in Ibsen's "Enemy of the People" is the best example to show the difference that can quickly think of.
It’s a joke that the ADL chose Jared? Right?
This was a genuine admittedly naive question. I couldn’t imagine the ADL woukd choose that despicable little twerp as their man of the year. Seems I was wrong.
Why I subscribed: readings that make you think and give you 5 more things to read for more depth.