quote:
I remember an epiphany I had talking with someone from a narrow "fundamentalist" congregation. Only she bristled immediately at being called that, since that applied to those apostates! It turns out that while all those myriad sects (Should we call them "Legion" for they are many? Please don't tell me that Bible reference went right over your head.) that are virtually identical to each other in almost every single way as to be indistinguishable to external observers, whereas among themselves they are strongly divided on very finely split hairs of theological differences -- they can immediately identify unsurmountable differences between each other while they all just look exactly the same to us.
That reminds me of this Emo Philips joke
The best God joke ever - and it's mine!
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"
Northern Conservative†Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.