Again, charity. The Bible, which is an anthology of stories that gained admittance partly through chance, and partly by natural selection whereby what has both pleased and aggrandized those whose choice of what to preserve determined what was included, has more than a little of everything -- which is essential in a proof text with claims to universality. Anyone can find in it pretty much whatever one pleases. People like me prefer the bits like the sermon on the mount and the parables encouraging empathy, humility, and compassion. The "christians" you mention likely find such stuff weak tea, and are more drawn to the parts that celebrate wrath, anger, and war crime. They understand their bible perfectly well.
I think we need to be more charitable. It's not that they don't believe what they preach, it's more they don't understand it.
To be honest, most of the "christians" I see clearly haven't read and internalized the Bible, given by their rhetoric.
Again, charity. The Bible, which is an anthology of stories that gained admittance partly through chance, and partly by natural selection whereby what has both pleased and aggrandized those whose choice of what to preserve determined what was included, has more than a little of everything -- which is essential in a proof text with claims to universality. Anyone can find in it pretty much whatever one pleases. People like me prefer the bits like the sermon on the mount and the parables encouraging empathy, humility, and compassion. The "christians" you mention likely find such stuff weak tea, and are more drawn to the parts that celebrate wrath, anger, and war crime. They understand their bible perfectly well.