Question for devout Christians.

[SweetSue92]

On top of reading the Bible, I suggest you read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

Do not do that. I mean you can, but none of it is true. For confirmation, do a little research on Joseph Smith's "Book of Abraham". Yeah.

 

[SweetSue92]

Okay, by that I mean 100% practicing, love it 24/7/365 period. If you are there when a person is borne again, what chapters and verses do you recommend they read to get started, what do you recommend when they come a little further and why do you recommend them? What about them made such an impression that you would recommend them? Thanks.

Read the book of John, or any of the Gospels.

Do not refrain from finding a fellowship of Believers. I see that's been advocated here but being in the Body of Christ is very important. Find a church.

 

[onefour1]

Crixus, I seriously doubt whether Zaangalewa or SweetSue92 have ever read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price. Don't let them make the choice for you. Since its inception, Millions have joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Make your own choice. If you read it on your own and find that it is not for you, then at least you would have done so from your own perspective. I am a convert to the church and I have found that it is the true church of Jesus Christ. Don't let others make that choice for you. It is too important of a choice to do that. Make your choice based on your own observations.

 

[tyroneweaver]

Okay, by that I mean 100% practicing, love it 24/7/365 period. If you are there when a person is borne again, what chapters and verses do you recommend they read to get started, what do you recommend when they come a little further and why do you recommend them? What about them made such an impression that you would recommend them? Thanks.

Try living the Beatitudes 100%

 

[Bezukhov]

I have a question. When a devout Christian studies the history of his religion he is presented with all sorts of horrors perpetrated over the centuries. Some of these were to kill other Christians or non Christians as the case may be, and take their stuff, others died because they were heretics, and that's just how it what was done. So Christianity survived, thrived and prospered, and came to accept certain dogmas all through violent means. How does a Christian today feel about its history, when you realized that if others hadn't committed the most monstrous evils, you wouldn't today be a Christian, and accepting certain beliefs about your faith? It would have ended up as nothing more than a foot note in a history book.

 

[Meriweather]

I have a question. When a devout Christian studies the history of his religion he is presented with all sorts of horrors perpetrated over the centuries. Some of these were to kill other Christians or non Christians as the case may be, and take their stuff, others died because they were heretics, and that's just how it what was done. So Christianity survived, thrived and prospered, and came to accept certain dogmas all through violent means. How does a Christian today feel about its history, when you realized that if others hadn't committed the most monstrous evils, you wouldn't today be a Christian, and accepting certain beliefs about your faith? It would have ended up as nothing more than a foot note in a history book.

Ever done a study on the most evil artists? Doctors? Rulers? How do art lovers, patients, and citizens feel about this history today, since this work is shown to encourage evil among artists, doctors, and leaders?

Schools, hospitals, even traverlers' inns were originated by religious people to teach, to care for the ill and suffering, to ensure the safety of travelers.

Unfortunately, in this world, not even the word "religion" can keep evil at bay. The question to ask is what is the name of the assembly of people who are still committing monstrous, historic evils?

 

[Bezukhov]

I have a question. When a devout Christian studies the history of his religion he is presented with all sorts of horrors perpetrated over the centuries. Some of these were to kill other Christians or non Christians as the case may be, and take their stuff, others died because they were heretics, and that's just how it what was done. So Christianity survived, thrived and prospered, and came to accept certain dogmas all through violent means. How does a Christian today feel about its history, when you realized that if others hadn't committed the most monstrous evils, you wouldn't today be a Christian, and accepting certain beliefs about your faith? It would have ended up as nothing more than a foot note in a history book.

Ever done a study on the most evil artists? Doctors? Rulers? How do art lovers, patients, and citizens feel about this history today, since this work is shown to encourage evil among artists, doctors, and leaders?

Schools, hospitals, even traverlers' inns were originated by religious people to teach, to care for the ill and suffering, to ensure the safety of travelers.

Unfortunately, in this world, not even the word "religion" can keep evil at bay. The question to ask is what is the name of the assembly of people who are still committing monstrous, historic evils?

So it was perfectly okay that Christians in the past did some very bad things, because doing those bad things meant that Jesus' message that we all be nice to one another survived?

 

[beautress]

Okay, by that I mean 100% practicing, love it 24/7/365 period. If you are there when a person is borne again, what chapters and verses do you recommend they read to get started, what do you recommend when they come a little further and why do you recommend them? What about them made such an impression that you would recommend them? Thanks.

Our co-mission with Christ is to spread the Good News.
Start them out with John. He knew Christ the best..

I was gonna say that, Irish Ram. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Crixus, that's just wonderful you'd bring up the topic. I taught children in Sunday School for years when my children were growing up, because my parents just dropped us off to Grandma and Grandpa's church, I just had to sort stuff out for myself at first. I remember the first time I spoke. My grandparents took us children to an American Legion Christmas party, and when we got home, I told my grandmother that I felt like crying because everybody else knew all the words to those songs, and I didn't. She assured me I would learn them and gave me a hug. The next year, I knew all those words to those songs. I'm not sure I recall what it was all about, but the music was a wonderful part of life.

We learned a lot in Sunday School, but in the third grade, Mrs. White, asked us to memorize one scripture every Sunday, and to this day, I still remember the 100th Psalm, which said, "Make a joyful noise." Of course, since that was also related to singing, it rang my bells, and I knew it the following week and still do to this day. It teaches you a lot of stuff about God. We didn't exactly memorize the Apostle's Creed, but it's a good thing because it reminds you later in life what is true about Christian beliefs. The Lord's Prayer is a good one too, because it reminds people that it's not enough to just pray, you actually are required (so to speak) us to forgive. That's backed up in both the New and the Old Testaments.

Another wonderful thing to know is Psalms 23. It teaches you to know what God does for those who believe in him, and to not panic if you have enemies, because at some point, they will know you have God's love, because he will anoint you in their presence, and your cup will overflow. It also reminds us of the next life's being in his presence in his household forever.

Micah is a wonderful book to understand what God requires of you.

If you have troubles due to persecution, the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew will soothe your soul.

If you are starting a new business and do not ever want to get in trouble with the law, keep the Book of Proverbs on your nightly reading list for the first two years in business. People will try you, but if you have that assurance of doing the right things, it's all there.

There's so much there. Since I'm retired now, I love reading the bible, book by book. But because I'm older, sometimes my eyes are very tired by bedtime, so I invested in a set of cds in which every book is read word for word, all 66 books. I also bought collections of Bible stories on DVD, and trust me, I didn't find all my favorites, because nobody has ever filled in the blanks between the story of Moses, the stories of Jesus, and Paul the Apostle. I haven't seen a dvd on Peter yet, but he appears in several New Testament stories. There are so many, if I start falling asleep in the middle of oh, say, the Chronicles I and II, the begats which crop up now and again, I just pick one of the dvds and reread the lives of David, et al. I haven't found one on Ezekiel yet, think that would really be a classy watch with all the zany things that happened to him and his splendid visions.

I can't think of anything else right now, but the Bible is like having a strong skeleton to support the fleshly mass of things that happen in your lifetime. It's just good to review them unless you were blessed with a photographic memory. I wasn't. God Bless you in your spiritual growth, Crixus.

 

[BreezeWood]

.
they abandoned the events of the 1st century to write their own christian bible in the 4th and are unwilling to make the changes that would alter their method of persecution and victimization of the innocent they use to promote their own purposeless, selfabsorbing religion of sin.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Okay, by that I mean 100% practicing, love it 24/7/365 period. If you are there when a person is borne again, what chapters and verses do you recommend they read to get started, what do you recommend when they come a little further and why do you recommend them? What about them made such an impression that you would recommend them? Thanks.

Our co-mission with Christ is to spread the Good News.
Start them out with John. He knew Christ the best..

I was gonna say that, Irish Ram. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Crixus, that's just wonderful you'd bring up the topic. I taught children in Sunday School for years when my children were growing up, because my parents just dropped us off to Grandma and Grandpa's church, I just had to sort stuff out for myself at first. I remember the first time I spoke. My grandparents took us children to an American Legion Christmas party, and when we got home, I told my grandmother that I felt like crying because everybody else knew all the words to those songs, and I didn't. She assured me I would learn them and gave me a hug. The next year, I knew all those words to those songs. I'm not sure I recall what it was all about, but the music was a wonderful part of life.

We learned a lot in Sunday School, but in the third grade, Mrs. White, asked us to memorize one scripture every Sunday, and to this day, I still remember the 100th Psalm, which said, "Make a joyful noise." Of course, since that was also related to singing, it rang my bells, and I knew it the following week and still do to this day. It teaches you a lot of stuff about God. We didn't exactly memorize the Apostle's Creed, but it's a good thing because it reminds you later in life what is true about Christian beliefs. The Lord's Prayer is a good one too, because it reminds people that it's not enough to just pray, you actually are required (so to speak) us to forgive. That's backed up in both the New and the Old Testaments.

Another wonderful thing to know is Psalms 23. It teaches you to know what God does for those who believe in him, and to not panic if you have enemies, because at some point, they will know you have God's love, because he will anoint you in their presence, and your cup will overflow. It also reminds us of the next life's being in his presence in his household forever.

Micah is a wonderful book to understand what God requires of you.

If you have troubles due to persecution, the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew will soothe your soul.

If you are starting a new business and do not ever want to get in trouble with the law, keep the Book of Proverbs on your nightly reading list for the first two years in business. People will try you, but if you have that assurance of doing the right things, it's all there.

There's so much there. Since I'm retired now, I love reading the bible, book by book. But because I'm older, sometimes my eyes are very tired by bedtime, so I invested in a set of cds in which every book is read word for word, all 66 books. I also bought collections of Bible stories on DVD, and trust me, I didn't find all my favorites, because nobody has ever filled in the blanks between the story of Moses, the stories of Jesus, and Paul the Apostle. I haven't seen a dvd on Peter yet, but he appears in several New Testament stories. There are so many, if I start falling asleep in the middle of oh, say, the Chronicles I and II, the begats which crop up now and again, I just pick one of the dvds and reread the lives of David, et al. I haven't found one on Ezekiel yet, think that would really be a classy watch with all the zany things that happened to him and his splendid visions.

I can't think of anything else right now, but the Bible is like having a strong skeleton to support the fleshly mass of things that happen in your lifetime. It's just good to review them unless you were blessed with a photographic memory. I wasn't. God Bless you in your spiritual growth, Crixus.

^
What a nice testimony. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Meriweather]

So it was perfectly okay that Christians in the past did some very bad things, because doing those bad things meant that Jesus' message that we all be nice to one another survived?

Let's go back to one specific bad thing. What precisely was it? When precisely was it? Where precisely was it? What were at least three circumstances that brought the event to a head? Who commanded the event take place, and what was his position? What three reasons did he have for giving the order(s)?

 

[beautress]

.
they abandoned the events of the 1st century to write their own christian bible in the 4th and are unwilling to make the changes that would alter their method of persecution and victimization of the innocent they use to promote their own purposeless, selfabsorbing religion of sin.

Glad you reminded me about sin, that reminds me, if you want to know what Christ taught against, he discouraged sinning or even wishing mean thoughts on other people. And to know what sins are the worst ones, of course, Exodus 20 lists the ten commandments, which are also listed somewhere in another book, possibly Deuteronomy. The most important Commandment is summarized by Jesus when a wealthy young man asked Jesus what was the most important commandment, and Jesus replied that he should love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might. And the second was like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself. And when he was asked, "Lord, who is my neighbor?" Christ reminded him of the poor man who had been beaten and robbed and was laying by the side of the road, a rabbi passed him, and another did too by going to the other side of the road so he didn't look. Then, a Samaritan saw him, washed and cleansed his wounds, and took him to a nearby lodge/hotel place, where he paid the proprietor for his room and board until he got well, and he would make good anything over what he paid if extra time or expense was needed to care for him. Then Christ asked the questioner, who was his neighbor? (the Samaritans and Jews never got along too well).

Thanks again for the reminder, BreezeWood.

 

[Mike Dwight]

Ya? If we fell with the sin of Adam and Eve, and they just ate an apple and covered themselves and then told God the Truth, then which 10 commandment was that? Its not one. There's no telling with that guy.

 

[buttercup]

Would it surprise you if I told you I don’t attend services? So I don’t technically fit your criteria. I don’t know if I am born again because I don’t know if I was born to begin with. But at some point in time I became aware. Of course it took 10 years of looking for it.

I'm sorry but I think you're misunderstanding this. You obviously were born, because you're alive. Our first birth is physical. Being born again is spiritual birth... being "born from above".... literally becoming a son or daughter of God, a new creation.

Also, it is absolutely essential to be born again. Jesus stated that strongly and repeatedly (in John 3.) I don't want to take this thread off topic, but I felt like I had to reply to that.

 

[beautress]

Ya? If we fell with the sin of Adam and Eve, and they just ate an apple and covered themselves and then told God the Truth, then which 10 commandment was that? Its not one. There's no telling with that guy.

Disobedience is what got Adam and Eve evicted. And as I recollect it, Adam and Eve were long gone by the time Moses was born a few hundred years after Joseph brought his father Jacob (aka Israel) and 11 brothers to Egypt, who were vips at first, but later became slaves to the royals following Joseph's boss, Pharaoh.

 

[The Irish Ram]

I have a question. When a devout Christian studies the history of his religion he is presented with all sorts of horrors perpetrated over the centuries. Some of these were to kill other Christians or non Christians as the case may be, and take their stuff, others died because they were heretics, and that's just how it what was done. So Christianity survived, thrived and prospered, and came to accept certain dogmas all through violent means. How does a Christian today feel about its history, when you realized that if others hadn't committed the most monstrous evils, you wouldn't today be a Christian, and accepting certain beliefs about your faith? It would have ended up as nothing more than a foot note in a history book.

Christ refers to His church as His bride. We have fractured His church into over 30,000 denominations. Some good. Lots bad. Thing is, Christians do not/should not follow mankind. We follow Christ. And He did none of those things. If man does, then Christ is not in him.
This is the criteria for discerning a Christian:
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

As for nothing more than a footnote. Christ spent 33 1/2 years on this earth. Only preached for 3 of them. Died on a cross like many others. Wasn't rich, wasn't beautiful, wasn't royalty. And yet here we are thousands of years later talking about what He said, and did. He was a good prophet too:
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away." Matthew 24:35

The reason Christianity took hold was, there were lots of people who claimed to be the Messiah. Only one came back. He's the one I want protecting my immortal soul.

 

[BreezeWood]

.
they abandoned the events of the 1st century to write their own christian bible in the 4th and are unwilling to make the changes that would alter their method of persecution and victimization of the innocent they use to promote their own purposeless, selfabsorbing religion of sin.

Glad you reminded me about sin, that reminds me, if you want to know what Christ taught against, he discouraged sinning or even wishing mean thoughts on other people. And to know what sins are the worst ones, of course, Exodus 20 lists the ten commandments, which are also listed somewhere in another book, possibly Deuteronomy. The most important Commandment is summarized by Jesus when a wealthy young man asked Jesus what was the most important commandment, and Jesus replied that he should love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might. And the second was like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself. And when he was asked, "Lord, who is my neighbor?" Christ reminded him of the poor man who had been beaten and robbed and was laying by the side of the road, a rabbi passed him, and another did too by going to the other side of the road so he didn't look. Then, a Samaritan saw him, washed and cleansed his wounds, and took him to a nearby lodge/hotel place, where he paid the proprietor for his room and board until he got well, and he would make good anything over what he paid if extra time or expense was needed to care for him. Then Christ asked the questioner, who was his neighbor? (the Samaritans and Jews never got along too well).

Thanks again for the reminder, BreezeWood.

.

Glad you reminded me about sin, that reminds me, if you want to know what Christ taught against, he discouraged sinning or even wishing mean thoughts on other people.

he discouraged sinning ...

that is not true, the 1st century was about freeing one's spirit, living without sin - for remission to the Everlasting. the religion of antiquity.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Okay, by that I mean 100% practicing, love it 24/7/365 period. If you are there when a person is borne again, what chapters and verses do you recommend they read to get started, what do you recommend when they come a little further and why do you recommend them? What about them made such an impression that you would recommend them? Thanks.

Book of Acts. Any of the 4 Gospels.
But most of all new Christians should be earned that the demons will now attack to sway them away.

Okay, the demons. So it was said only God can create. The Devil can’t. All the devil can do is lie and deceive. So the devil can’t create demons, not enough to get everyone. So the devil has to lie and basically sets us up so we separate our selves from God. That’s a short and sweet version of a sermon I listened to.

God shot Lucifer out of Heaven like a lightening bolt. 1/3 of the angels went with him. Thing is, we don't know how many angels there are, so we can't calculate what 1/3 represents.
Angels are eternal beings, good and bad. They never cease to exist. The same demons that inhabited every person on earth, (but for 8) before the flood, are alive and well and going to and fro to inflict suffering on humans as we speak. The Lake of Fire was created for Satan and his angels. They will be contained, not killed.
Adam didn't just eat an apple. He turned dominion of the earth over to Satan. When Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world it was because Satan was in control of them all. It was a legitimate offer.
But Satan's time is coming to a close. Jesus, the Christ, is coming back to take control of His inheritance. He came the first time as our sacrificial lamb. He is coming back as a lion.
Maranatha, Lord.

 

[zaangalewa]

Crixus, I seriously doubt whether Zaangalewa or SweetSue92 have ever read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price. ..

I took randomized samples. What I read made not a big sense - more clear: It was bullshit, what I read. And I was sure Joseph Smith jr. was a liar, when I heard this very absurde story about the Book of Abraham, which he wrote with a lot of fantasy. I do not have any idea how someone is able to take this nonsense serios.

Don't let them make the choice for you. Since its inception, Millions have joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A mystery. Do you have any explanation for?

Make your own choice.

Which choice? Between what?

If you read it on your own and find that it is not for you, then at least you would have done so from your own perspective. I am a convert to the church

What was the religion of your parents or the main religion of the region where you grew up and why did you decide to become a Mormon?

and I have found that it is the true church of Jesus Christ.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no! That's nonsense. What your prophet Joseph Smith had produced was pure fantasy.

Don't let others make that choice for you.

... but let SevenOfNine - ah sorry: OneFour1 - make the choice for you?

It is too important of a choice to do that. Make your choice based on your own observations.

How do you know that this choice is important for him in his life and his relation to god? And what is an "observation" of something what no one is able to observe? To trust in god means to trust in god - and not to trust in an observable god.

 

[zaangalewa]

Would it surprise you if I told you I don’t attend services? So I don’t technically fit your criteria. I don’t know if I am born again because I don’t know if I was born to begin with. But at some point in time I became aware. Of course it took 10 years of looking for it.

I'm sorry but I think you're misunderstanding this. You obviously were born, because you're alive. Our first birth is physical.

Exactly. But we existed in this world since about 13.8 billion years before we were realized here in this very concrete life.

Being born again is spiritual birth... being "born from above".... literally becoming a son or daughter of God, a new creation.

I never was "born again". I was always a child of god. Everyone is a child of god in my eyes. To "know" this or not to know is the only difference. But this is a process of growing awareness or consciousness.

Also, it is absolutely essential to be born again.

If you like to live forever.

Jesus stated that strongly and repeatedly (in John 3.) I don't want to take this thread off topic, but I felt like I had to reply to that.

Sure you will have to let your body of water behind you one day and you will have to be reborn in a body of fire. But what's your choice in this process?