this may be simple reasoning to many people, but as i see it - faith does depend on what we prove to be true for ourselves. we prove it by testing it to see if it works for us and for others.
governments have come and gone, but usually they've been based on a monetary system. if you look at the original plans of God for society it was mainly agrarian. people came together in communities and if someone was hurting, they helped them. nowdays, if you don't have money you are regarded as nothing. this is a false system to me. why should money be a determining factor in anything - other than to use it wisely.
Jesus Christ brought a philosophy unlike any other of the philosophers. He said you can only serve one Master. Him or money. if you are basing your life on what you can get out of it - you are serving money. if you are basing your life on what you can give, you are serving God whether you know it or not.
what i find amazing, too, is that Christ was actually God in the flesh. as he grew, and prayed, and became close to His heavenly Father - many things that He previously knew were again revealed in His mind. He knew how the world worked mathematically and every other way - in more detail than einstein. Yet how much of his gospel was science? none that i can see - other than 'if the sky is red... you know such and such will happen.' but, the most of his gospel was LOVE. science is FACT or hypothesis until proven.
God gave us the ability to find out about science - to study and have something to do for however long we've been on the planet. but, in terms of salvation, He never said - you must pass calculus. this makes me not feel silly at all. if i have love for another person it's equal to proving to a mathematician that i can do a calculus question. it is reasoning, but on a simpler level. what can i do to make another person's life easier or blessed.
Christ went around healing the sick, tending to the lame, preaching to those who had basically lost hope (maybe akin to those who are destitute today - whether with sickness or drug problems or addictions of other kinds). he preached a different kind of hope. usually, we might say, pick yourself up - get a job. do something IMPORTANT. but Christ realized every person was DIFFERENT - and he used different approaches on every different person he met. if he was dealing with a tax collector, He used the knowledge they were familiar with.
same with Christ's parables - using the rich man and the poor man as HOPE for those who have none in this life. (or seemingly have none). what other government gives hope to people? we have lived through so many governments that are basically failed in terms of serving ALL the people and not just MOST.
if the jews were given the oracles of God and the responsibility of the calendar, then they are the ones to look to as far as what books should be in the bible. not, anyone else, because it wasn't given to anyone else to decide. fraud is in art - and people prove easily the fakes because they don't match the criteria of authentic. so, the rabbi's of old went through fairly rigorous arguments to prove that the manuscripts that were left out were not authentic or doubtful in origin.
God told them to keep His words and be an example to the rest of the world. it all started with Abraham being the 'father of many nations.' not just peoples but NATIONS. did you know today, most of the nations that have the BIBLE are nations that came from ABRAHAM. and, yet, God also works in the Muslim nations. Ishmael was just as much a son of Abraham as Issac. Yet issac was chosen to pass on the blessings of Israel - down through today. this has been by God's prerogative -so that no one can say they are blessing themselves. Now our blessings are being taken away. the reason is that we are not listening to God's word (which we have available) and have become a laughingstock to people in other nations which might keep God's word better.
for instance, covering women's heads was a custom not just for muslims but also for jews. they were looking to the bible when they read 'it is right for a woman to cover her head' as a sign of admitting the authority of God and her husband in the synagogue - or temple. if both sons (ishmael and issac) knew the same laws at one time - then they would both be fairly consistent with each other. the arabs and jews are more alike that any other countries because they actually ARE brothers.
nowdays, we wouldn't use a veil in church, but merely a hat. when you look at a woman well dressed for a service (whether church, wedding, formal event) a hat makes her look better. it's no terrible crime to wear a hat - so why a veil. you are simply revealing that you like being a woman and you like to look good. some may think my reasoning is really simple - but, it's quite complex. to God there is an order of who is responsible for who. In the garden of eden, he didn't ask the woman first - but the man. then the woman, then the serpent. in our day, we ask the serpent, then the woman, then the man. i think the order is messed up. men are let off the hook for being responsible for anything.
i think the original idea was beautiful, especially in the case of Abraham. he basically spoiled his wife. he didn't beat her or take advantage of her in any way. he was always concerned about her and considered her points of vew. so, in view of the modern idea of equal rights - they HAD equal rights - it was just that they realized the authority of one to make a final decision (yet, considering the points of view of the others they represent). what government is not chaos with a thousand rulers.
i think many things which are ridiculed are simply not tried. we have tried everything ELSE but God's word and ways. that is why we have so much war, death, confusion, etc. we are not BLESSED. blessings are not scientific enough. But, if you believe in God, then you believe that there is a result from every action you take. if you do right, there is a good consequence. if you do wrong, there is evil. and, nowdays, we have every sort of evil. I don't see the news telling us that we have made significant progress in society even though our science has made astonishing progress. people don't know how to LOVE. how to give up something of their own for another.
Topic: Holy/Sacred Writtings