Quote:
Originally posted by NY Madman:
The words "every inclination" is not the same as "inherent" and does not have the same meaning. Inclination is a tendency. Inherent is a built in characteristic.

I think you may be under the impression that all versions of Christianity believe the same canon or even read the same versions of the bible. They do not. The texts itself may even be slightly different.

Your version of Christianity has different interpretations of many things than Roman Catholics. Modern Catholics also do not take a literal interpretation of the bible. Especially much of the Old Testament.

Modern Catholics and many Protestants hold a somewhat skeptical view. People who are Evangelical or Pentecostal Christians hold more literal interpretations of the bible. Your interpretation of the nature of mankind is not only different than say Catholics, but also literal within that interpretation.

As I said before, Catholics do not believe that mankind is inherently evil. I also think many Protestants also do not believe in such an interpretation.

Your version and particular interpretation of the nature of mankind is not held by the majority of Christians in the world.

And , no... I have not thought about these types of things very much. The only time I ever have to think about such things is in discussions with evangelical or fundamentalist type Christians. They are usually the people who claim theirs is the only true version of Christianity and they are the only true Christians.

To your credit, you have refrained from making such claims, but many Evangelicals, Pentacostals, or whatever, do make such claims. That could also be one of the reasons they are not held in high regard by many among the populace, even other Christians.
1. I understand the the word "inclination" is not a synonym for "inherent". But I also know that the word "every" appears before that word. Not "most" or "the majority" or "99%". Every means, all. The totality of. Every single tendendcy of the heart is toward evil. All of them.

2. In no way am I "under the impression that all versions of Christianity believe the same canon or even read the same versions of the bible." That's absurd. On the contrary, I'm very well aware of the doctrinal differences between Catholic and Protestant, as well as between many different Protestant denominations. I'm also aware that there are literally thousands of different translations of the Bible, some with books that aren't contained within the canon of mainline Protestant Bibles.

3. I'm also very well aware that some groups that call themselves "Christian" profess to not take the Bible literally. To me that is completely ludicrous. Why read it at all then? Why not read Stephen King novels or porn or something? If it's not to be taken literally, then there's no freaking point to any of it. If only some of it is to be taken literally, then what parts? And who decides? The priests? How do we know they have it right? Why the elitism? And if it's not to be taken literally, than anyone who claims to be a Christian is completely wasting their time. The credibility of the Bible rests on its veracity. If any part of it is proven false, it all must be thrown out.

4. You said this: "Your version and particular interpretation of the nature of mankind is not held by the majority of Christians in the world." How do you know this? Where's your proof? If I'm a protestant, talking with protestants, and you're a catholic talking with catholics, of course we're going to find people who support our views. Tell me where this information is coming from.