What would YOU want to hear at church?
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I cannot find fault in that. God has made himself known to us in these various ways. (The Bible also confesses this; see for example Psalm 19; Romans 1.) Where we will disagree is when I confess that the more clear and more full revelation of God is in the work of his Spirit guiding us into understanding of his Word. I believe the Bible is a gift from God, often mishandled, but able to be understood via the Teacher, who takes up residence within us and prepares us to understand the deeper truths of God.
I can't generally fault you there either. I do not see evil in humour, except where it abuses our neighbor (and this it often does). There are dangers on both sides. You're right -- a dedication to the extermination of "lightness of spirit" would be a fault. But a carelessness about our words and our approach to all subjects is also dangerous. Our culture is mostly marked by reckless drunkenness, of which I have participated.
Christ said we must give an account for every idle word. That's a high standard, and I dare say that in a forum such as this, we have all given room for flippant or careless words without really regarding the potential harm in what we're saying.
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Spade’s Votive Candles and Shoe Repair
(Next to Quoc Lee’s Kosher and Halal Hams, uptown Aether Island)
Saving Souls/Soles is Our Mission
For repairs over $100, customers will receive a complementary votive candle. All work is guaranteed.
This offer expires January 31, 2012
Testimonials
KFC, Kentucky
For weeks I had been suffering from plantar faciitis. The pain was unbearable. I took my oxfords for resoling and received a votive candle. After wearing my repaired shoes for a week and burning the candle on the mantle, my suffering was relieved. A real miracle!
K. Nuc, Alberta
Ever since I turned 70, my night vision has been failing. I brought my galoshes in to Spade’s for resoling and received a votive candle. When I light the votive candle and place it on my dresser, I can see the glass of water which holds my false teeth. It’s a miracle!
And you can account for the 18 years between 12 and 30? Where do you think he was and what was he doing - making furniture?
You believe the bible is the word of god, I believe the word of god as he gave it to me: "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find." there is no mention of books or sages. I don't need intermediaries or musty old books. I go to the source for the truth. Relying on outside sources is not going to get you anywhere. The bible is a codex written by men. It contains some truths. Those truths point to a way to establish a personal connection to the source. Take the journey.
Good grief, you mean He hasn't been wrathful up to now!! I resent the fact that we got to be made from dirt, while Goid supposedly donated the sperm to create Jesus.
The gospel came into being twisted. At least these days, so many of our species, have developed a modicum of decency, common sense and true caring, that gospel is being looked at with a very jaundiced eye. Why take seriously, a God with more faults than the worst human criminal.
I don't understand ... you used a quote from the Bible to somehow justify ignoring the Bible.
For sure, we go to the source. Jesus Christ is either (1) who He claimed to be (the Son of God risen from the grave) and is therefore The Source, and the recordings of His sent apostles are intended for us to search; or, (2) he was a crazy schizophrenic who somehow managed to be the most influential human being on the earth anyway.
If you choose to believe #1, then can't you see that the Bible is from Him and about Him?
Sure he has. He wiped everyone off the map with a flood, and he bombed Sodom with fire and brimstone. That doesn't mean it's not going to get worse, though. The prophets and the Son of God haven't neglected to warn us. Jesus taught a parable about all those who hear His words, and likened judgment to a storm that will come on the various houses built by those who heard Him. Those who heard but did not obey, their houses will be destroyed by the storm of judgment, and there is no second chance to rebuild.
That's not true at all. Baby Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, put in the womb of the young virgin mother. That means He was a new creation, the Last Adam. "Conceived" means he was already a whole person. The scripture does not say, "fertilized by the Holy Spirit," it says "conceived" by the Holy Spirit.
Where do you find fault with Him? Do you receive your bread from Him without thanking him, worship idols, and then turn back and complain to Him?
lol Cute.
Sweet, everyone's turned into automatons.
- You'd think that being all-powerful and all-seeing, this god could make things perfectly clear to anyone in any language.
[*]we must also confess that historically scientists have at times been wrong; they will be shown to be wrong again, for they too are human and prone to error, misunderstanding, and bias; science itself does not suffer these weaknesses -- however, science certainly has limitations; for example, science can have no comment on that which might transcend the material universe;
[*]I remain an unashamed young-earth six-day creationist!
Makes more sense than this loving, compassionate, and merciful god nonsense who seems to massacre a lot of people from one end of the OT to the other. Someone counted one time and the figure was over 10 million not including the populations of a few cities and towns.
Sad that you have to carry all that around. I prefer accepting that I screw up and then I move on.
I thought time in the Bible was relative. The bit about 6 days being like 6000 years and all that crap. Or is that only in parts of the Bible? because there doesn't seem to be a scale or a note when one should use time or relative time.
lolDon't we already have those? They're called Moonies right?
I keep pointing out to JWs that show up here on occasion that if everything in lalaland has no source for contention, everyone is in bliss, , etc. basically saying everything is perfect, then it's also perfectly boring.
Oh hell yes! Give me dirty, grimy, not always pleasant reality over "paradise" any day!
You can't be really human, in my opinion, if you don't have any conflict in your life. We thrive on adversity, for the most part.
I think you're missing the point; while we can agree there might be SOME things of value said in the bible, it's the things that contradict, that are, well, evil (or at least bad) and the atrocities there-in that people have issue with. And since the bad stuff of the Bible outnumbers the good stuff, well don't be surprised if people pick up on that, especially when there are people like you who say "THE BIBLE IS TRUTH!" when clearly parts of it are evil.
There is a third choice, IMO. Jesus was sort of who he claimed to be - a son of God, just not the SON of God - a man, and possibly a healer/priest/teacher but that was it. It makes him "holy" - thanks to the priestly bit - but nothing extra-super special. And like other enlightened men, he was revered and his name carried on past his death.
So he could have been choice three, too.
Yep. Heaven must be full of really, really, really, really bored nutcases.
hhhmmm Actually that could be fun, come to think of it. I just wanna bring a movie camera.
Oh, wait. No food or sex? I'm staying here.
lol The USA passed a law saying companies, corporations, etc. were legal entities and had rights equal to human beings. I'd imagine that there are a few hockey clubs included.
Why should He make things perfectly clear to those who aren't His children? I don't teach math, spelling, or manners to the children down the road, but I do teach these to my own children.
"Who is Jesus?" is the most important question any of us will ever answer.
If he were merely healer/priest/teacher, but not "The Son of God," then he was a horrible teacher and a liar, what with claiming to be the Son of God. I assume then that you do not believe He rose from the grave?
But it is one team. We say of the Father and Son, not that they are one person, for they are two, but they are of one essence or of one substance -- there is one God, whose very nature embodies both diversity and unity, intimacy and community.
"Becoming one flesh" is Biblical language for the unity of a married couple.
Why shouldn't He if 'He' wants to attract more coppers to the collection plate? As it is, all that's being demonstrated is a flash of the hypocrisy and arrogance that drove me from Church in the first place
Yeah. I think they invited a whole pile of grief on themselves.
Ya don't think it'd attract more people to its followers and clear up a whole pile of crap that happens between the existing followers?
But, you're right, I guess. It would make too much sense to make things perfectly clear for those involved.
See, that's just more dancing around the fact. One god in three persons. Not logical.
Definitely. As time moves forward some of those crazy movies where they depict the future and the hegemony of corporations doesn't seem quite so delusional. Campy still, lol, but not delusional.
You assume God values quantity instead of quality. You assume His agenda is to cram stadiums full of "Christians"?
He's not like us. He says, "Jacob I love; Esau I hate."
Who are you to tell me what I assume? Isn't that an assumption of itself?
Funny, I thought this numbskull loved everyone and all things. Ya know, like it says in the Bible? Um "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son ...." etc. Jesus, whose alterego is this god, according to the Bible, said "hate not the sinner". You can't have it both ways. It's extremely illogical and downright irrational.