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I read about this story in yesterday’s blog post by Hemant ([tag]FriendlyAtheist.com[/tag]). I Googled this guy and found a video that you’ll definitely want to check out.
This man, [tag]A.J. Jacobs[/tag], tried to live out every [tag]commandment [/tag]in the [tag]bible [/tag]for an entire year. He even wrote a book to record his journey into the Christian faith.
My quest has been this: to live the ultimate biblical life. Or more precisely, to follow the Bible as literally as possible. To obey the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love my neighbor. To tithe my income.But also to abide by the oft-neglected rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers. To stone adulterers. And, naturally, to leave the edges of my beard unshaven (Leviticus 19:27). I am trying to obey the entire Bible, without picking and choosing.
The Modern Day Jesus title is obviously a joke. Relax 
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I don’t know what to make of this.
There are lots of things in the Bible we don’t do any more.
I broke a minor biblical prohibition TWICE this past weekend by eating TWO lobsters.
(On a personal note there is NO law that will stop me from eating shellfish!;;) )
How is this guy coming at this?
Is his a Christian perspective or a skeptic or freethinkers?
Is he trying to prove something?
R
I’ve read about this guy before. Quite a feat really to live by the 700 odd rules listed in the bible. Most people can’t even manage the ten commandments. I know I don’t.
Many rules are utterly ridiculous and seem to serve no purpose while others still apply to the modern world. Yet, shouldn’t a Christian adhere to ALL the rules? Picking and choosing seems to me to be inviting criticism.
[...] Filipovic wrote an interesting post today on Modern Day Jesus?Here’s a quick [...]
It’s pretty simple really…..we are under the new covenant of the New Testament….There are reasons for each of those laws in the Old Testament, especially the dietary…but I’m with you Robert….Shellfish or bust!!!! I love seafood…..
I’m going to take Tam up on her challenge from yesterday…
Today i woke up feeling
until I stubbed my toe.:( but then I got to the kitchen and found my hubby had made me breakfast and left in the microwave :d and i caught myself thinking that I wish he were home to show him how grateful I was :”> . I realized it was only Wednesday, and we wouldn’t have any quality time together until Friday night… :(( but then he called to say good morning :d/ and I was all warm and fuzzy 
. Sappy I know, and boring too.. 8-| but hey it’s my story. /:)
Wow, I just realized the pro-rodeo will be here this weekend….
I wonder if anyone will get squished…:-? I remember riding cows when I was little….in the field next door… :-\”
Ok, I’ll try to make this a little more interesting.. :-w I think you guys are awesome….
at times I may get a bit persnickety [-( ( there’s a word for you Hov) :)>- I’m looking at all the smilies I have left to go and I’m getting worried… #:-s I’ll have to write more throughout the day…hey Halloweens coming up! (~~) Ok, back to the debate for a bit….
Keep it up Gods Gal! :)>-
I need a *raise eyebrow* smiley.
I’ve toyed with the idea of “living Levitically” or “Living la Vida Levitico.”
It seemed impossible and I never tried it. There were too many things that I couldn’t control - food content, clothing fibers, animal sacrifices, taking off from work, etc. Impossible, unless you live in an entire community that observes the same rules.
OK, our son is a soldier so this means alot to us…**== , he truly is a light in our life! *-:)
For those of you out there who don’t believe in God, do you believe in any spirits? or o:-) ? I don’t believe that 3:-o have souls nor :(|) and the thought that I came from one still makes me :)). Sometimes on this site I get confused :-?? and :-ss but I’m a cowgirl at heart < ):) and would rather party with ya'll and have fun <:-p than talk about alien star dust people, =:) and have a group hug!!!!! >:d<
I love @};- and [-o< for ya’ll every day, like it or not!!!
Whew, another line down…where is everyone!!!!
Has anyone evr studied the true reasons why God put that stuff in the Bible in the first place? Do you think He did it to trip us up in some way or so that we could live abundant lives?
@Gods Gal
Spirits? That’s a word with a myriad of possible definitions.
Do I believe there is more to me than the physical matter of which I am composed? Well I have no evidence that there is anything more than my physicality, but i cannot dismiss the idea outright.
Angels? Again a word with a many definitions.
Do I believe in beings greater than humans but less than God? I have no evidence for their existence.
What is a soul? I assume you refer to something which is in essence me but not my physical body.
No evidence that such a thing exists. but no denial on my part either.
I do believe that we are on a level above that of cows, pigs, crocs, dogs and cats.
We know that one day we will stop breathing. We know our existence is finite. That gives us a special place in nature. What does that ultimately mean?
I DON’T KNOW.
This is the seed of philosophy and religion.
Don’t worry you didn’t come from a monkey!
The evolution theory states that humanity and the lower primates have a common ancestor.
That is troubling to me. If the prohibitions in Leviticus were only applicable to Jews of the time why isn’t that made more clear?
I ask this because many of your Christian brethren use the aforementioned chapter of the Old Testament to advocate discrimination if not outright death of some members of our society.
Robert
Robert, there are many people who call themselves Christians, yet live a life and have ideas that are far from Christianity. Just like I believe there are people who call themselves atheists who are more Christian than they know, and yet don’t know it yet. That’s why it is so extremely important to search things out on your own. For me, i often find that when I research something out it will go against an opinion, or God will show me something that adds to what I’ve learned. I believe in spirits and angels. In fact as a believer, most of our battles are in the spiritual. I know more than you probably want to wrap ur brain around today…but it’s where I am. Mostly with the smilies, I’m just having fun with Tam’s challenge….
@Gods Gal
Believe me I know PLENTY of arrogant atheists! Coralling atheists is like herding cats.
To be honest with you I don’t even like the term ‘atheist’ mainly because of it’s negative connotation deserved or otherwise and also because it is not a POSITIVE word. In my view Atheism defines what a person is against and not what he or she is for. This is probably why most Americans revile the very idea of atheists living amongst themselves.
Knowing what you learned of me after these past few weeks; If I moved in next door to you… would you feel threatened?
I don’t think you would. I hope not. Plus I look great shirtless! =))
Robert
Naw, Robert, no threats, that’s why enjoy this site so much, its strengthened me in a lot of ways, and I have some awesome new friends!
You nailed it with the titles tho, there are many times I hate being called a Christian, because there are so many bad things attatched to the name. That’s why I’m so strict on letting people know that I am not religious, I’m in a realtionship.
Gods Gal,
What a great job you did with the emoticons.
You are a real artist.(*)
Perhaps you could make a few bucks creating e-mail cards for Hallmark.
$-)
Thanks Ed, it’s a fun thing….I just got done reading what you wrote on the other post….you are so full of wisdom. I can only hope to stop and think things through some day the way you do. Just wanted you to know you’re appreciated!
I really enjoyed the interview. Thanks for posting it Bill.
A. J. Jacobs comes across to me as a very open minded guy. He was humble enough to admit he never got through a day without breaking one the rules in the Bible.
He spent time traveling to different religious communities around the world and seemed to have a great deal of respect for the people he meet. In these regard I think he did his part to promote better understanding between the different cultures of the world.
Of course maybe he just wanted material for his book so he could a lot of money. $-)
I like the term he used to describe his views. He now calls himself a reverent agnostic. That is he still apparently doesn’t not believe in God but does see value in sacredness.
While I am a atheist I do agree there is value in sacredness. My definition of the word may be a little different from my Christian friends.
The love between a parent and their child is scared. The bond between life long friends is sacred. My morning cup of coffee is sacred. :).
No problem, Ed! Thanks for your comments. I always enjoy them
There are other ways to describe Atheists other than as “Atheist”. I mean it’s a good word but any Christian will be Atheist with respect to Odin or Ptah. You could always call yourself a Bright. It has positive connotations although it is a little arrogant. The implication being that if you’re not “Bright” then you must be dim.
If you’d like to hear A.J. Jacobs talk about his new book, “The Year of Living Biblically,” check out this audio interview link.
another term I’ve heard in regards to atheists is “secular humanist.” Personally I wish on a (*) that more people would use that term.
Humanist does not necessarily discount the existence of a deity though. The secular bit does, of course but people often forget to add that. I’ve even heard Buddhists referred to as humanists. There are also atheists who don’t necessarily following the speciest leanings of humanism.
So much trouble with a label.