And that your arguments are therefore stereotypical misunderstandings of the lives of ordinary people from different cultures, with differing viewpoints.
Well, if you want to call the Protestant faith a “different culture”, it would not be untrue. Catholics, although some get divorced, are less likely to get divorced. I come from a Jewish background, but have since turned to Christianity. I do not mean the lukewarm Protestant faith and its sects. Your country, even when it became Protestant, remained religious for some time. What happened? By the 19th century, the Age of Enlightenment had cemented secular, liberal thought across Europe. You and I are culturally different. When people talk about western values, they really mean to say secular values. Neither a real Christian nor a Muslim nor a Jew who remained true to their roots has anything in common with secularism.
In case you didn't know, King Henry VIII is why Catholicism had to go in Britain. The reason? He wanted a divorce from his first wife. Pope Clement VII forbade it, so Henry established the Church of England. Then, he could remarry as much as he wanted.
Child abuse is just as likely to occur within a contractual marriage as it might within any other sort of family arrangement.
It isn't. Children, whose parents stay together, are better off in every regard. They have more problems when parents divorce. It is not only about the parent being single, as children who are living with a stepfather or stepmother are more likely to be abused than when they are living with their natural parents.
So if GOD bestowed us with intellect, then why is it "rather unimportant"?
Humans have free will, which I believe is mistaken for intellect. That we cannot be in agreement about what intellect is testament to its lack of importance. For instance, you and I clearly have a different idea of what intellect is.
God gave us much, much more, yet you think intellect is the best thing.
Call it a GOD principle if you like, but don't confuse this with a magical mystery man with a beard and sandals.
He doesn't wear a beard and sandals. God is spirit, and has no physical body. The Bible says He is immortal and invisible. Why do the heathens think he wears a beard and sandals?
And by the way, the Bible was written by men who sought the power and authority to control and dictate the lives of others.
This is your opinion. It is an ignorant one. Care to support it?
MANGOD was just symbolically representative of a punishment that awaited those who digressed...Basically mind control...Just as yours is controlled by your religious conditioning.
I would not be Christian if I were controlled by religious conditioning. Jews do not believe Jesus is the messiah, do not like the New Testament, do not like many Christians, and denigrate Jesus in the Talmud. I don't believe in circumcision, do not observe Shabbat, and pray to the Father, Christ, and Mother Mary.
