Religious people: How can one decide which items to pick and choose?

Question

How can one decide which parts are important to follow, and which parts can be ignored?

Answer 1

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Answer 2

The picking and choosing is the major problem in the interpretation of the Bible. The reason that there are four different churches on one street corner and two churches in the middle of the block is that each one of them has chosen something that fits their needs. More of the Bible is ignored than followed.

I like the definition of Christianity given by Ambrose Bierce.

"Christian, n. One who believes in the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin. One who believes that the Bible is divinely inspired and admirably suited for the needs of his neighbor."

Answer 3

Cafeteria style dining means to pick and choose what food to take from a cafeteria line.

The term "Cafeteria Christians" refers to people who view Christianity like a cafeteria where one picks and chooses only those beliefs that appeal to them and reject a genuine interpretation of Christian doctrine and the teachings of Jesus.

The term "Cafeteria Catholics" is similar. It is used to describe people who dissent from certain teachings of the Catholic Church while maintaining an outward identity as Catholics.

In Los Angeles in 1987, Pope John Paul II said: "It has to be noted that there is a tendency on the part of some Catholics to be selective in their adherence to the Church's moral teaching. It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the magisterium is totally compatible with being a "good Catholic," and poses no obstacle to the reception of the Sacraments. This is a grave error that challenges the teaching of the Bishops in the United States and elsewhere."

Heresy is the obstinate denial after Baptism of a truth which must be believed with with divine and Catholic faith.

"Cafeteria Catholics" in denial of certain truths are in danger of committing heresy.

With love in Christ.