The Consequences of a Post-Christian America Revealed by COVID-19

[there4eyeM]

Aren’t you making an argument to disband the military?

The military is a government institution that keeps us safe.

Same with the local and state police.

Sure, on an national and societal level.

They do not keep us safe on a personal level as their chief function, and were not intended to. Our gov't chief function is to protect individual rights conferred by God.

"Government" is the result of the social contract, and exists to regulate society. If society expresses a value for "individual rights" (whatever they may be), that would then play its part. There are governments and societies that put the emphasis on collective security and the freedom from violence and crime over personal, individual liberties that are often misused against others.

Please do me one favor. Do not give me dictionary definitions in theory. Let's talk about the actual topic, thank you.

O.K.
The Consequences of a Post-Christian America Revealed by COVID-19
This is a false premise because a "post-Christian America" posits something non-existent.

We are a secular nation

So, you confirm the quoted post.

 

[SweetSue92]

I said, LITERALLY, "your soul you must reconcile with God". What does that mean to you? That means I cannot judge it, ding. But you made the blanket statement that "we all have the spirit of God", which is utter nonsense that I would expect anyone NOT professing to be a Christian to utter.

So only Christians are worthy of God’s spirit?

Yes. According to God, according to the Bible. Not according to me.

Ding, you are not the first to make up your own religion and you won't be the last. But what you believe, it's not Christianity.

By the way, waiting for those quotes from the Women at the Well.

Sue, I’m a cradle catholic. Which is probably worse in your eyes than being a Muslim or atheist.

You know what they say about assuming

I'm gonna cry about you judging me. That was really too easy ding lol

I’m not judging you, Sue. I am judging your behaviors. For example, you are behaving pridefully. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

so my statement had a qualifier which was the word probably. My statement was based upon your belief that only Christians have the spirit of God within them.

I tell you that God chooses who is invited to the feast and I will never impose my restrictions upon his spirit and I will always assume his spirit is in everyone. And I will never get in his way.

It is not my pride, ding. I have no pride in it. It is what God says. The Spirit of God is not in everyone. If that were true, everyone would be a regenerated Believer in Jesus Christ. Is this true?

 

[ding]

That making images would dis-serve 'God'.

I believe most people worship created things rather than the creator and that is what leads to unhappiness.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking answers or asking questions about origins. In fact, I believe it is encouraged.

 

[SweetSue92]

Actually you just judged me totally apart from the very words I said. Interesting!

Actually I didn’t. But I am open to hearing how you believe I did?

I said, LITERALLY, "your soul you must reconcile with God". What does that mean to you? That means I cannot judge it, ding. But you made the blanket statement that "we all have the spirit of God", which is utter nonsense that I would expect anyone NOT professing to be a Christian to utter.

So only Christians are worthy of God’s spirit?

you have judged me by inferring I need to reconcile with God for my beliefs.

You do not need to do anything. I wish you would, but you don't need to.

Like the warnings against false teachers in the Epistles. I do not want false information spread.

You aren’t God, Sue.

Do you believe Catholics are Christians?

This is an old game and I'm tiring of it. The game is; you are not allowed to quote to me what is in the Bible, nor even Christian theology, because that is Judging and You Are Not God.

Go your way, ding. You are right. I am not God and you will see that nowhere did I say I am. However, I have read the Bible cover to cover many times and I know what it says. That's it.

 

[ding]

So only Christians are worthy of God’s spirit?

Yes. According to God, according to the Bible. Not according to me.

Ding, you are not the first to make up your own religion and you won't be the last. But what you believe, it's not Christianity.

By the way, waiting for those quotes from the Women at the Well.

Sue, I’m a cradle catholic. Which is probably worse in your eyes than being a Muslim or atheist.

You know what they say about assuming

I'm gonna cry about you judging me. That was really too easy ding lol

I’m not judging you, Sue. I am judging your behaviors. For example, you are behaving pridefully. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

so my statement had a qualifier which was the word probably. My statement was based upon your belief that only Christians have the spirit of God within them.

I tell you that God chooses who is invited to the feast and I will never impose my restrictions upon his spirit and I will always assume his spirit is in everyone. And I will never get in his way.

It is not my pride, ding. I have no pride in it. It is what God says. The Spirit of God is not in everyone. If that were true, everyone would be a regenerated Believer in Jesus Christ. Is this true?

That’s a false question, Sue. He suffered death for everyone’s sins.

 

[JoeB131]

That is absolutely false again. Wow, ding.

The Spirit of God is not "within us all". It only comes to those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The Spirit of God is one of the Trinity, the living Witness.

I don't know what you believe frankly but I would warn you not to pass it off as Christianity.

So by your logic...

Jeff Dahmner is sitting on a cloud, because he accepted Jesus into his heart as his personal savior. Hopefully he won't run into anyone he ate up there, because that would be awkward.

MEANWHILE, Ann Frank is burning in Hell forever and ever and ever, because she never accepted Jesus into her heart when the Christians sent her to die in a concentration camp. Hopefully she won't run into Hitler down there, because that would be awkward.

 

[SweetSue92]

Yes. According to God, according to the Bible. Not according to me.

Ding, you are not the first to make up your own religion and you won't be the last. But what you believe, it's not Christianity.

By the way, waiting for those quotes from the Women at the Well.

Sue, I’m a cradle catholic. Which is probably worse in your eyes than being a Muslim or atheist.

You know what they say about assuming

I'm gonna cry about you judging me. That was really too easy ding lol

I’m not judging you, Sue. I am judging your behaviors. For example, you are behaving pridefully. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

so my statement had a qualifier which was the word probably. My statement was based upon your belief that only Christians have the spirit of God within them.

I tell you that God chooses who is invited to the feast and I will never impose my restrictions upon his spirit and I will always assume his spirit is in everyone. And I will never get in his way.

It is not my pride, ding. I have no pride in it. It is what God says. The Spirit of God is not in everyone. If that were true, everyone would be a regenerated Believer in Jesus Christ. Is this true?

That’s a false question, Sue. He suffered death for everyone’s sins.

So you believe everyone is saved, whether they believe or not.

You can call that what you want, but it is not Christianity. Same as I said before.

 

[ding]

Actually I didn’t. But I am open to hearing how you believe I did?

I said, LITERALLY, "your soul you must reconcile with God". What does that mean to you? That means I cannot judge it, ding. But you made the blanket statement that "we all have the spirit of God", which is utter nonsense that I would expect anyone NOT professing to be a Christian to utter.

So only Christians are worthy of God’s spirit?

you have judged me by inferring I need to reconcile with God for my beliefs.

You do not need to do anything. I wish you would, but you don't need to.

Like the warnings against false teachers in the Epistles. I do not want false information spread.

You aren’t God, Sue.

Do you believe Catholics are Christians?

This is an old game and I'm tiring of it. The game is; you are not allowed to quote to me what is in the Bible, nor even Christian theology, because that is Judging and You Are Not God.

Go your way, ding. You are right. I am not God and you will see that nowhere did I say I am. However, I have read the Bible cover to cover many times and I know what it says. That's it.

Sue, I am ok with you believing anything you want. You can’t say the same.

do you believe Catholics are Christians?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

The good people in the NHS have kept me and my family safe all our lives. Maybe I should have bought a machine gun instead ?

Do you teach this shit in class Sue ?

hahahahahahah

Tommy comes to prove the point that secular Leftists love safety above all

This is why they worship the NHS....see the skeevy London Olympics Worship Service a few years ago

The NHS is closer to God than the folk who make the guns that you worship.

 

[ding]

Sue, I’m a cradle catholic. Which is probably worse in your eyes than being a Muslim or atheist.

You know what they say about assuming

I'm gonna cry about you judging me. That was really too easy ding lol

I’m not judging you, Sue. I am judging your behaviors. For example, you are behaving pridefully. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

so my statement had a qualifier which was the word probably. My statement was based upon your belief that only Christians have the spirit of God within them.

I tell you that God chooses who is invited to the feast and I will never impose my restrictions upon his spirit and I will always assume his spirit is in everyone. And I will never get in his way.

It is not my pride, ding. I have no pride in it. It is what God says. The Spirit of God is not in everyone. If that were true, everyone would be a regenerated Believer in Jesus Christ. Is this true?

That’s a false question, Sue. He suffered death for everyone’s sins.

So you believe everyone is saved, whether they believe or not.

You can call that what you want, but it is not Christianity. Same as I said before.

I don’t even know what you mean by saved. Whatever that is I believe that’s God’s decision.

I focus on the journey, not the destination. My relationship with God is about my journey; my transformation. The destination is meaningless to me.

but I will say this about the destination. If you believe you are saved, you probably aren’t. If you believe you are a good person, you probably aren’t. I believe it is better to believe I am not worthy and strive to become worthy rather than becoming complacent and resting on my laurels.

 

[SweetSue92]

The good people in the NHS have kept me and my family safe all our lives. Maybe I should have bought a machine gun instead ?

Do you teach this shit in class Sue ?

hahahahahahah

Tommy comes to prove the point that secular Leftists love safety above all

This is why they worship the NHS....see the skeevy London Olympics Worship Service a few years ago

The NHS is closer to God than the folk who make the guns that you worship.

That's creepy Tommy

 

[ding]

Sue, do you believe Catholics are Christians?

 

[NotfooledbyW]

But the response to the virus is absolutely due to our post-Christian status.

For Starters:

Could you please define the exact year which divided America from it’s Christian Status to its Post Christian Status.

Do you take medicine for anything or do you subscribe wholly to faith healing?

 

[ding]

^ not helping

 

[ding]

That is absolutely false again. Wow, ding.

The Spirit of God is not "within us all". It only comes to those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The Spirit of God is one of the Trinity, the living Witness.

I don't know what you believe frankly but I would warn you not to pass it off as Christianity.

So by your logic...

Jeff Dahmner is sitting on a cloud, because he accepted Jesus into his heart as his personal savior. Hopefully he won't run into anyone he ate up there, because that would be awkward.

MEANWHILE, Ann Frank is burning in Hell forever and ever and ever, because she never accepted Jesus into her heart when the Christians sent her to die in a concentration camp. Hopefully she won't run into Hitler down there, because that would be awkward.

Only God knows.

instead of worry about the souls of others, maybe you should worry about your own lest you be given what you have always wanted which is to be left alone.

 

[there4eyeM]

It can as easily and logically be maintained that "pain and suffering" exist so that we can experience their lack.

My belief is that God created the material world to experience the material world through us.

Interesting, though clearly this anthropomorphizes 'God', indicating that 'God' had a desire for something 'God' lacked.

If that’s how you want to see it but that seems to be a position led by confirmation bias. As in you don’t want to believe God exists so you create arguments that confirm that belief.

whereas I started from the position of why would God create existence and looked for the most plausible reason I could find. So if you started from the position of why what would your answer be?

A person could well believe 'God' exists and is impossible to limit with words. That direct experience is the only kind that truly matters. That making images would dis-serve 'God'.

Great. So why did God create the material world?

There are so many elements of assumption in this question that an entire book might not address them adequately.
Let's just look at a simple basic:
'God' may be the impression we get from an existence, a universe that resounds with eternal creation. Our humble perceptions use the model of our family and the protection of our progenitors as a model for explaining what is beyond our capacities to explain.
'God' would have to be eternal, all and everything, beyond being encompassed by language, immune to any but the most general description. We are not equipped to comprehend satisfactorily such a One. Compared to the way human knowledge functions, it would even be impossible for 'God' to know that 'God' existed, as there could not be any "non-God" to contrast with. 'God' would have no reference for being as it would not be possible for 'God' not to be.
Perhaps this is why Buddhism insists on a unity beyond the illusory dualism of practical human existence.

 

[ding]

So only Christians are worthy of God’s spirit?

Yes. According to God, according to the Bible. Not according to me.

Ding, you are not the first to make up your own religion and you won't be the last. But what you believe, it's not Christianity.

By the way, waiting for those quotes from the Women at the Well.

Sue, I’m a cradle catholic. Which is probably worse in your eyes than being a Muslim or atheist.

You know what they say about assuming

I'm gonna cry about you judging me. That was really too easy ding lol

I’m not judging you, Sue. I am judging your behaviors. For example, you are behaving pridefully. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

so my statement had a qualifier which was the word probably. My statement was based upon your belief that only Christians have the spirit of God within them.

I tell you that God chooses who is invited to the feast and I will never impose my restrictions upon his spirit and I will always assume his spirit is in everyone. And I will never get in his way.

It is not my pride, ding. I have no pride in it. It is what God says. The Spirit of God is not in everyone. If that were true, everyone would be a regenerated Believer in Jesus Christ. Is this true?

Actually it is what you presume God says. You aren’t God, Sue. So don’t try to speak for God.

 

[ding]

My belief is that God created the material world to experience the material world through us.

Interesting, though clearly this anthropomorphizes 'God', indicating that 'God' had a desire for something 'God' lacked.

If that’s how you want to see it but that seems to be a position led by confirmation bias. As in you don’t want to believe God exists so you create arguments that confirm that belief.

whereas I started from the position of why would God create existence and looked for the most plausible reason I could find. So if you started from the position of why what would your answer be?

A person could well believe 'God' exists and is impossible to limit with words. That direct experience is the only kind that truly matters. That making images would dis-serve 'God'.

Great. So why did God create the material world?

There are so many elements of assumption in this question that an entire book might not address them adequately.
Let's just look at a simple basic:
'God' may be the impression we get from an existence, a universe that resounds with eternal creation. Our humble perceptions use the model of our family and the protection of our progenitors as a model for explaining what is beyond our capacities to explain.
'God' would have to be eternal, all and everything, beyond being encompassed by language, immune to any but the most general description. We are not equipped to comprehend satisfactorily such a One. Compared to the way human knowledge functions, it would even be impossible for 'God' to know that 'God' existed, as there could not be any "non-God" to contrast with. 'God' would have no reference for being as it would not be possible for 'God' not to be.
Perhaps this is why Buddhism insists on a unity beyond the illusory dualism of practical human existence.

That’s funny because I am able to answer the question why God created the material world in a single sentence.

I believe it is so that he could experience the material world through us.

 

[there4eyeM]

Interesting, though clearly this anthropomorphizes 'God', indicating that 'God' had a desire for something 'God' lacked.

If that’s how you want to see it but that seems to be a position led by confirmation bias. As in you don’t want to believe God exists so you create arguments that confirm that belief.

whereas I started from the position of why would God create existence and looked for the most plausible reason I could find. So if you started from the position of why what would your answer be?

A person could well believe 'God' exists and is impossible to limit with words. That direct experience is the only kind that truly matters. That making images would dis-serve 'God'.

Great. So why did God create the material world?

There are so many elements of assumption in this question that an entire book might not address them adequately.
Let's just look at a simple basic:
'God' may be the impression we get from an existence, a universe that resounds with eternal creation. Our humble perceptions use the model of our family and the protection of our progenitors as a model for explaining what is beyond our capacities to explain.
'God' would have to be eternal, all and everything, beyond being encompassed by language, immune to any but the most general description. We are not equipped to comprehend satisfactorily such a One. Compared to the way human knowledge functions, it would even be impossible for 'God' to know that 'God' existed, as there could not be any "non-God" to contrast with. 'God' would have no reference for being as it would not be possible for 'God' not to be.
Perhaps this is why Buddhism insists on a unity beyond the illusory dualism of practical human existence.

That’s funny because I am able to answer the question why God created the material world in a single sentence.

I believe it is so that he could experience the material world through us.

You conflate belief with answer. That it may be an adequate answer for you is one thing. That it is the answer is, shall we say, a bit presumptuous?

 

[SweetSue92]

You know what they say about assuming

I'm gonna cry about you judging me. That was really too easy ding lol

I’m not judging you, Sue. I am judging your behaviors. For example, you are behaving pridefully. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

so my statement had a qualifier which was the word probably. My statement was based upon your belief that only Christians have the spirit of God within them.

I tell you that God chooses who is invited to the feast and I will never impose my restrictions upon his spirit and I will always assume his spirit is in everyone. And I will never get in his way.

It is not my pride, ding. I have no pride in it. It is what God says. The Spirit of God is not in everyone. If that were true, everyone would be a regenerated Believer in Jesus Christ. Is this true?

That’s a false question, Sue. He suffered death for everyone’s sins.

So you believe everyone is saved, whether they believe or not.

You can call that what you want, but it is not Christianity. Same as I said before.

I don’t even know what you mean by saved. Whatever that is I believe that’s God’s decision.

I focus on the journey, not the destination. My relationship with God is about my journey; my transformation. The destination is meaningless to me.

but I will say this about the destination. If you believe you are saved, you probably aren’t. If you believe you are a good person, you probably aren’t. I believe it is better to believe I am not worthy and strive to become worthy rather than becoming complacent and resting on my laurels.

Please do not take any of what I am about to say personally. None of this is about you. I do not even know you. You don't know me. It's not about you--or me. Your first sentence tells me, again, nothing personal--that I'm going to back up and explain some things.

Salvation in Christ is an exchange. It is not a destination, a set of acts, or anything like. It does not have to be a dramatic event, a "feeling" that comes over you. Some people know when it happened. Other people, like me, only know they are saved but cannot pinpoint a day or time.

It reorients your entire life. It is what it means, in fact, to be Christian. Not to do "Christian things". It has not a thing to do with listening to Christian radio, shopping at Christian bookstores or whatever. It is, as the Bible says, to see the Kingdom of God.

It is not a journey. It is to know the journey is over. Or, as Jesus said, "It is accomplished".

To be a saved Christian means that it doesn't matter too much what I believe. It does matter a whole lot what God says about God. That matters more than my life, ding.

That I am saved does not in any way make me a better person than any other person walking the face of the earth. I did not, nor could I do, anything to earn salvation. God didn't save me because I am better. I do not know why He did save me. But He can and will save anyone reading today, who calls on the Name of Jesus Christ. (See Romans 10:9)

To be saved means that the destination is not, in fact, meaningless--the destination means that you go to be with God, in Heaven--and you long for it. That doesn't mean we are senseless to the pleasures of this world, nope. Or that we are sinless, oh...nope. But, we long to be with God. That is our ultimate reward.

If you don't even know what it is to be saved, it's not a wonder that you are stumbling through theology, honestly. I honestly pray that you will come to know Jesus Christ as you Lord and SAVE-ior. And yes, to answer your previous question: I do believe individual Catholics can be saved. But I do not believe the religion itself is set up for salvation. I've had too many Catholics ask me questions similar to yours, who believe salvation is in the Eucharist or etc.

Take care.