It's not a multiple choice religion

It has been my impression that Christianity is not a multiple choice religion and the Bible not a "Hints from Heloise" that you can pick and choose from.

Now, I will grant you that the New Testament resonates much more with me than the Old Testament and I have to say that the Old Testament, aka the Jewish Bible, gives me problems with the portrayal of a less than infallible supreme being who argued with his subjects, screwed up so badly the first time that he wiped the slate out and began anew, and all the justifications in the OT for war and vengeance, laying waste to entire tribes and cities, treatment of women as property and not human beings, etc..  But I realize that it was written, reinterpreted and had the final scriptures chosen by men who not only reflected the attitudes of the times but also had their own agendas in embuing power to the church and to men.  Even so, the magnificance of the core message that survives stands as a testament to the enduring greatness of the Bible to me. 

What really bugs me though, are those I call "pick and choose Christians" who like to select scripture, often taken out of context, to support their views and prejudices and condemn others while plainly ignoring the passages that disagree with them.  Kind of like looking upon your neighbor with envy for his beautiful wife and new car whilst lusting after his wife and condemning him for his greed.

It wasn't the six or seven commandments, ya know.

DQ