Matthew Graybosch is a user on octodon.social. You can follow them or interact with them if you have an account anywhere in the fediverse. If you don't, you can sign up here.

I'm not very active on any of my social media profiles. I lurk mostly. I checked out Facebook this morning, and I am sickened by the number of my "friends" posting conspiracy theories. People I grew up with are attacking children.

These good "christian" folks are spreading vile & hateful lies. My 1st thought was to post some of those commandments they love & warn them all that I was going to unfriend them.

I've decided to just start purging. I still may post Exodus 30:16 first.

@starbreaker @Srtolar The Old Testament should hold no power over Christians. As I have come to understand it, the OT’s sole purpose for Christians is to provide perspective of why the NT exists and why Jesus came to be. The amount of hatred and violence in the OT is staggering. There are rarely situations where it provides a positive message.

The one core message of the NT is that which replaces the 10 commandments: do to others as you would have them do to you.
@feld @starbreaker @Srtolar the toxicity of modern organized Christianity under the guise of Catholicism, etc is really the worst representation of the message. Especially as there is not supposed to be any proselytizing (looking at you Mormons, Jehovas, etc). The message was meant to be spread through action: treat others well, and they’ll feel good and do the same.

Anyway, hope things go better for you. I’m just a friendly internet atheist 🙃

@feld @Srtolar I'm a not-so-friendly internet atheist, actually. I mentioned Matthew 16:26 because it can be taken as a caution against letting the end justify the means.

It's a warning many people on all sides could use.

@feld @starbreaker It may be that the OT should hold no power. Jesus did say he came to fulfill the law & that the whole of the law could be summarized with "live your neighbor as yourself."

However, one of the things that seems to drive these folks batty is being told they can't post the 10 Commandments on public property. I was just going to remind them of what those commandments actually say.

@Srtolar @starbreaker yeah it's not like the physical embodiment of such a monument couldn't possibly be a violation of the 2nd commandment...

@starbreaker @feld
<sigh> I wish an 'edit' option existed
*Love

@Srtolar @feld

Maybe you should remind them of the Golden Calf and then segue to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and Article 11 of the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli.

And, while we're at it, we could remind them that Sodom and Gomorrah was about hospitality, rather than homosexuality, specifically the Sodomites' complete LACK of hospitality as shown when they demanded that Lot hand over his angelic guests. :)

@starbreaker @Srtolar these people don't read. they're too busy doing God's Work^TM

@feld @Srtolar And here I am doing Lucifer's work, spreading the light of knowledge and reason. :)

@starbreaker @feld Everybody needs some knowledge and reason. Critical thinking skills. Can we throw in a spirit of discernment, too?

@feld @starbreaker Sadly, TL;DR is prevalent.

P.S. I am sometimes guilty. However, I usually don't comment or spew an uniformed opinion.

@starbreaker @feld I may save up all these ideas and put something together at my next break from school...