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There were responses to the original question, yes, but I saw no attempt to justify the scripture, just attempts to deflect responsibility for claiming to believe the scriptures by ignoring those scriptures that cast the original doubt into the mind of the person who started the thread. And it is a doubt that is shared by many.
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Then I encourage you to reread the posts. No one attempted to 'deflect responsibility'. When faced with such an accusation from boagie, I responded - you can refer to those arguments if you like.
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As for the message being for everyone, I could quote another scripture, "Many have been called, few have been chosen." Yes, the message is for everyone, but that doesn't mean that everyone is meant to understand it.
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And your quote would only support the fact that not everyone will understand, so what's the point?
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Dirt and stone and air and water and trees and animals, and so on and so forth, also comprise the world. There's nothing in the verse that signifies that God was making a distinction, nor that he wasn't making one.
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And so man would be included.
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As you say, in the OT the term was "God's chosen people". Do we assume that because of the New Testament God no longer chooses who is or isn't his child? If so, then let me remind you about the "few have been chosen" part. That's from the New Testament. If it doesn't make you different from others to be God's child, then why call yourself Christian? Why bother with a label, a distinction?
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God didn't chose or leave out any humans from being his children, even in the OT. Instead, some of his children were his chosen people - those who worshipped him.
From scripture, I would argue that everyone is the child of God. To be a Christian would be to turn to that scripture for guidance.
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If everyone at the outset is a child of god, what need then of the totalalitarian ambitions of Christianity, or any world religion for that matter. What they don't embrace they must smite, a lot of smiting going on
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There isn't such a need - instead, there is the abuse of teachings by some. This abuse is a terrible shame, but not a "need" that Christianity has.
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"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things as a meaningful unity" - Albert Einstein
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Nietzsche said something very similar to this in "The AntiChrist". I think they're right.
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I agree with boagie. And it suggests that Christians don't actually believe that everyone is God's child, they just like to pretend they do. Cause, hey, we don't want to offend you while we smite you.
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Right, because I so often smite people.
Seriously, Solace. These sorts of accusations are useless.