Magnus Opus: Peter 3.

[Stealthbomber16]

id like to see your reprobate self try to preach the gospel once i bet you dont even have the courage.

As opposed to just quoting bits of the bible out of context like Rachyl, I encourage all of you to sit down at a chair, with a nice drink and witness the summit of my insanity.

Today I will be covering a bit of the bible that I personally agree with. While it's historical purpose and usage as a scientific and philosophic cornerstone is flawed at best (See Revelation 7:1, After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.), It was still written by wise men. Kings and prophets who understand morality. King Solomon of Israel describes himself as teaching wisdom, however he raised temples to his many wives' gods, which angered Him. What the bible can and should be used for, in my opinion, is a foundation. It is written by sinning men. The detailed story of how pride and greed caused the downfall of each of the Lord's disciples. It is up to the reader to determine what these men did which caused their problems.

Today I wish to talk about the Book of Peter. Specifically, 1 Peter 3 (am I citing this correctly? I hope I am.) Now, this verse can be succinctly divided into two categories. 1-7 and 8-22. I will admit I have not read the full bible, nor have I read all of the Book of Peter. I have, however, attended church inconsistently for ~1/3 of my life, and live in a predominantly baptist household. I have some weight on the topic but someone else would probably be able to deliver a better sermon than I.

Spoiler : 1 Peter 3:1-7 :

1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.
4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands,
6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

In this... verse? Stanza? I don't know the right term. The disciple Peter writes about his teachings. Peter writes in a very respectable way. He is very considerate, modest, and logical. Peter writes about how it is a christian woman's duty to the Lord that she must convert her husband. He preaches that this should be done through pure behavior. This should not be interpreted as them being submissive, but just as outstanding people and functioning members of society. He teaches that belief in the Lord should be believe in yourself. Remain strong to yourself and to Him. He ends the passage with a succinct message stating it is the husband's duty to respect the wife. Treat them as people.

Now we get to the juicy shit.

Spoiler : 1 Peter 3:8-22 :

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats ; do not be frightened.”
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—
20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Where Peter and the disciples express that they are good people is in this passage. It's a message that should be spread more. And one that I sadly don't see being followed by our friend. Acceptance. Pay particular attention to 3:8-11. Peter says that you must respect people. If they disagree with you, don't hate on them. Shower them with love. It's a beautiful message which even without religious connotation is still something that humans should do. You need to be accepting of other people, even if they are not accepting of you. If we were able to follow this advice as a species then we could advance so far. Not to justify a god, but for your own benefit.

Upon analyzing this, I understand why people look for religion. But you shouldn't need someone to tell you this. This is morality at its basest level. And the fact someone can preach the gospel without understanding that to follow god you need to do more than say how great god is, is frankly depressing to me. I think I've reaffirmed my belief that I don't give two shits, and that there will be bad apples in any community. But I'm thrilled that by spending almost an hour of my time on something that I find somewhat interesting, but makes Rachyl either frustrated or silent for a period of up to 2 weeks then I consider it a good use of my time.

I hope you enjoyed my Magnum Opus. If Rachyl continues to talk shit I'll bring in an analysis of text that I actually find ahead of time to call her out.