I suppose my approach to religion is like my approach to music - I take what I want and leave the rest.
Leaving religious texts open too interpretation is the downfall of religion itself. If it is truly the word of God then there is no room for interpretation; you either take all of it or none. There is no selective belief
If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.
Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true.
1st Baron Verulam
But people as a rule believe only what they want to believe, and if you tell them anything else they'll call you a trouble-maker and get rid of you and never give you your job back, even if what you said is proved spot on right by time.
Because most Christians want it both ways. They want to be able to proudly declare they are believers in the Bible and yet simply ignore those parts they find too difficult or too inconvenient to believe.
We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament,, and embrace it with passion.
We are all very ready to believe what we like.
Everyone believes in the atrocities of the enemy and disbelieves in those of his own side, without ever bothering to examine the evidence.
