So all adult, non-Christians are bound for hell. Got it. Are all Christians equal or are there false Christian churches that will keep believers out of heaven? What about people who lived before Jesus?
Zone1 Why is it so tough to believe in God?
- Thread starter Meriweather
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They likely learned about Jesus from their Muslim parents who didn't put a positive spin on Christianity. I'd guess few Christian parents teach their children about Islam in a very positive way.
To you I'm sure He seems that way. I guess that makes you one of the 'good people'.
Quantrill
Point being, it doesn't matter where you grow up. Millions of Muslims become Christians. Millions of those raised in Christian homes become atheist's.
Do most believers in Christ raised in Christian homes become Christian. Of course. Why? Because that is what God wanted. He knows who His children are and wants them raised by His people.
You fail to understand that God is in control of your parentage.
Quantrill
Meriweather
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The Commandments are not about God, but about us. The gods being spoken of here are not only pagan gods, but things such as power and wealth and even other people. One of the reasons for this is God is everlasting, always with us. If power, wealth, or another person is first in life, what happens when you lose what you placed first? Devastation. What you relied on is gone and that is a tremendous loss.
Religious strife? We are to love the foreigner.
Meriweather
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Do you know the story of Abraham, the son of Teran who owned a shop of idols? Abraham worked there, but had a different idea about God over idols. One day, left alone in charge of the store, Abraham took an axe and demolished all of the idols except the largest one. He placed the axe in this one's arms. When his father returned, Abraham explained that when a woman had come in and left an offering to one of the other idols, the largest idol had become angry and destroyed all the other idols. Teran didn't believe it for a moment. He told his son inanimate objects do not become angry, don't speak, don't move--they are inanimate objects. (Proving Abraham's point about the lack of power of carved images.)
By the time of the Reformation, Christians were well past worshiping images or believing they had power. There are even images in the early Christian catacombs. I don't know if you went to Catholic school, but we were taught that having art and statuary in church or one's home was simply art. What we were cautioned about was believing in a lucky rabbit's foot or a lucky penny. We should not have those.
Some of Reformation Christians didn't know their own history. They forgot about cherubs being engraved on the Ark of the Covenant and in the Temple, the snake carved and raised in the desert, and other graven images that were clearly not idols in either Judaism or early Christianity. Touting their own ignorance, they ignorantly thought they had a good "Gotcha!"
Meriweather
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Cursing aside, taking the Lord's name in vain, is about calling on the name of God to do your will, or (speaking of magicians) using God's name to convince others of one's own power/faith through an illusion. God's name is holy. Think about it. Jews, Christians, Muslims, or people of any religion/faith turn the name of God into a profanity, how can others respect that religion or how that religion's adherents present God and tolerate the Name being used as a profanity.
No one has turned the names of Buddha, Zeus, Brahma, Vishnu, etc. as a profanity. Do you use your own father's name as a profanity? If you had children, if they used your name as a profanity, would you praise and honor their free speech? Not that I know all Jews, but I've never heard them use the name of God as a profanity. It seems it is Christians, former Christians, and atheists who do. When someone uses God's name as a profanity, it says nothing about God--but it says much about the user. I've often wondered why Christians don't defend the name of God. It seems like it was decided it is a "turn the other cheek" issue--and it shouldn't be.
Meriweather
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This is a day to set aside the bothersome trifles and annoyances that are a part of the individual daily life and focus on the greater plans of God and also his work in one's life. How can our own life be a reflection of God and his ways. It is a day to set aside minor worries and look at life through the eyes of love and goodness, the eyes of God.
Meriweather
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The word translated from Hebrew into English has lost the original meaning which had little to do with respect. That original meaning is to take on the weight or the burdens of your father and your mother. Whether you love or respect them is besides the point. Care for them when they are in need.
Meriweather
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I shake my head whenever anyone, at any time, says "especially women". We women are not victims, so get over it, and neither were our ancestors victims.
Marriage is two people joined as one. Marriage is a promise to the other to continue to do what is best for that one despite those feelings of lust or any other feeling for that matter. Are there hard times? Yes. Work through them.
So says anyone who does not experience what those who place their faith in a loving God experience. It is more than just a belief to be adopted.
The bottom line remains, if God can be controlled by man in a lab setting, or can be forced to do tricks on command like a trained elephant, He is not God. Can an ant prove the existence of humans in a lab deep inside the anthill? I say no, but that does nothing to reduce the truth of man's existence.
Meriweather
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Remember the etymology of covet. Covet does not mean, "Hey, my neighbor has a new car, I want a new car, too." Coveting is wanting the very possession that belongs to another. It's not wanting one's own new car, it is wanting the very car that already belongs to the neighbor. It is kind of closing the gate on thought so one doesn't take the action of becoming a thief.
pal
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Talking, war, hockey, alcohol, is God's faith we wonder.
Meriweather
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Blessed are the meek is actually one of my favorites, but again, it goes back to the etymology of the Hebrew word, 'meek'. Meekness is not weakness--that's a connotation of the English language. Meekness is to be so focused on one's own task or business what other's say about you is like water off a duck's back. Jesus' teachings focused on discerning the will of God and following it, to be obedient to it. This is not a task for the weak, it is a task for those who are strong enough to be focused on the ideals of God--and is why Jesus says these people are the one who will inherit the earth.
And they depend on the person's efforts to earn God's favor. Only if you're good enough, if you do enough good works, if you perform enough rituals at the right times and at the right places will you meet with God's approval and enter into His presence. If you kill enough of God's enemies, etc. He'll be happy with you.
That's where Christianity is unique. In Christ, God Himself did ALL the heavy lifting, ALL the hard work, sacrificed HIMSELF for all mankind. All that's left for man to do is accept it and enter into relationship with God here and now. Everything from that point on depends solely on that, nothing more.
IOW, we can no more earn God's favor by doing or being good than we can swim from California to Hawaii. Sure, some would make it further into the ocean than others, but eventually, everyone would drown. Meanwhile, Jesus is standing by on a cruise ship, telling everyone to get on board, we're going to Hawaii. Strangely enough, many would prefer to drown.
I agree that "meek" is not weak, at all. Remember who wrote about being meek, Moses. Was Moses weak? No, he killed a man with his bare hands. Meek means you're dangerous, but you choose not to bring harm.
Meriweather
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What you are showing with your own interpretation of what the Commandments and Beatitudes "really" mean is that one can move (forgive me for using the phrase as it is like beating a dead horse) the goal posts of the true meaning of the Commandment/Beatitude and change that original meaning into something over which to bicker or try a "Gotcha" argument.
Again, I am not trying to change your mind about any of the above; merely to explain why people of faith believe as they do. We see things differently.
BreezeWood
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the 1st century events are the repudiation of judaism - false commandments, hereditary idolatry, religion of apartheid, false heavenly personifications et al ... jesus taught liberation theology, self determination.
judaism is monarchical self serving for a few distortion for what it actually claims, monotheism where all are equal qualified by goodness - the heavens.
Meriweather
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Try the perspective I am not implying anything, especially not when it comes to you. What I have been saying is that the reason I found God was the teaching, "Seek and you shall find." I also have a habit of pointing to another teaching, "Blessed are those who believe without seeing...." Seeing comes with its own weight.
Also, I have no desire to convince you. We are simply having a conversation where two perspectives are being presented, so I pass on the chance to convince you.
As far as spending a lot of time listening to arguments across religions...for me that would be like listening to arguments about why I should dig up my herbs and plant roses. I'd rather learn more about herbs.
Are your questions pertinent or are they argumentative? For example when I teach math the question is always, "Why do I have to do math! My parents tell me they don't use much math besides arithmetic in their adult lives." Sure I could go through all the benefits of math which would be ignored if they were even listened to. So I use one of two approaches: You are in middle school. Do you want to go to high school? The answer is always yes, so I point out to go on to high school they need to learn middle school math. The other tact I take (especially with athletes), "Do you like to run sprints or long distances?" They admit they don't particularly like that, but understands it builds the muscle so they perform better in their chosen sport. I point out that math gives the brain a similar workout.
My point is are your questions formed to forge a path (excuse/reason) to wiggle out of belief or seeking God, or are your questions in search of information you do not yet have?
That depends on how vital this is to you, personally. As for me, I haven't a lot of patience, get distracted easily, and enjoy wild goose chases. So it took a decade or more. Later, even after that, I spent four years praying for something I knew was in line with what God would want to give me, yet nothing seemed to happen. When it did, I could look back in hindsight and pinpoint exactly where God's fingers had touched my life to bring about the result for which I had been searching.
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