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 Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 7:00 pm
It has come to my attention that many new age christians are rather unrealistic, and seem to have never truly thought out their faith in a logic or even a truly dedicate sense. Let us take a look at what I mean:
Todays christians seem to preach the right thing, in the wrong context. An example of this is Love. Many teach that God loves everyone, and because of this, everyone will go to heaven. However, this concept is greatly flawed. It's much rather, God loves everyone, so everyone should go to heaven.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Lets break apart this verse shall we? "For God so loved the world..." it begins with telling us that, because God loved the world so much. It's trying to say, that this is how much God loves you. It's telling us that this is what he does out of his love.
"...that he gave his only begotten Son..." This is the next crucial part, it's telling us what God did for us out of love. Many people tell us what God will do for us out of love, however, God had done something already, now it's up to us.
"...that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish..." Not "should" in this sentence. In other words, it's not saying -will- not, it's saying they shouldn't. So you can believe in God and Jesus and still go to hell. It's not that God doesn't love you, it's that you refuse to follow him.
An example to explain this is: If you won't follow me out of a burning building...you're going to die...no matter how much I love you.
This is why we can't say that in spite of accepting sin, we can get into heaven. No, we must reject sin. I find the rejection of sin is most difficult with homosexuality. I see homosexuality much like any other sin, but many, in an attempt to make it easier on themselves, or be "kind" see it as nothing but love. I could debate this is you wish, but I'd rather not. I'm trying to say that, to lie to yourself or others about sin is only hurting yourself and others. It's not judging to tell the truth.
Now to my main point - many believe that the Bible should be placed second to a personal relationship with God. I say that the two are one in the same, you can't truly be a christian without both.
Reading the bible is part of expanding your relationship with God. You're reading his huge book-long letter he left for you. It is, I am convinced, impossible to call yourself a christian, without Biblical influence.
For those skeptics of the bible who call themselves christian, think of this: The bible, whether you wish to believe it or not, is the foundation for Christianity. We would not even know of God, or Jesus' existence without it. We can't pick with parts are definately true and which to be skeptical about. You believe the Bible as a whole and follow it dilligently ((which is the same as following God)) OR you reject it all. If one part of the bible is false, who's to say another isn't? Christianity isn't about a personal relationship alone, we must all realize that we are all linked, and that the Bible was placed here for a reason. What we think we feel sometimes can be false spiritualism, not God. Without the Bible, we can NOT call ourselves christians...agnosticism is more like it.
Debate this topic, enjoy, and put some thought into it.
God bless.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 12:36 am
xXMr_GrayXx It has come to my attention that many new age christians are rather unrealistic, and seem to have never truly thought out their faith in a logic or even a truly dedicate sense. Let us take a look at what I mean: Todays christians seem to preach the right thing, in the wrong context. An example of this is Love. Many teach that God loves everyone, and because of this, everyone will go to heaven. However, this concept is greatly flawed. It's much rather, God loves everyone, so everyone should go to heaven. I agree. Not everyone will go to heaven; only those who believe in God and try to keep his commands as they interpret them to the best of their abilities. Quote: John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.Lets break apart this verse shall we? "For God so loved the world..." it begins with telling us that, because God loved the world so much. It's trying to say, that this is how much God loves you. It's telling us that this is what he does out of his love. "...that he gave his only begotten Son..." This is the next crucial part, it's telling us what God did for us out of love. Many people tell us what God will do for us out of love, however, God had done something already, now it's up to us. Out of love, God WILL forgive all our sins, if we ask. He has not already done this, because we all have not asked. Quote: "...that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish..." Not "should" in this sentence. In other words, it's not saying -will- not, it's saying they shouldn't. So you can believe in God and Jesus and still go to hell. It's not that God doesn't love you, it's that you refuse to follow him. The "should", in context, is obviously a "will" and no amount of literalness will change that. However, you are correct, again, that God will nto save those who refuse to believe in him. Quote: An example to explain this is: If you won't follow me out of a burning building...you're going to die...no matter how much I love you. This is why we can't say that in spite of accepting sin, we can get into heaven. No, we must reject sin. I find the rejection of sin is most difficult with homosexuality. I'm sorry. Quote: I see homosexuality much like any other sin, but many, in an attempt to make it easier on themselves, or be "kind" see it as nothing but love. I could debate this is you wish, but I'd rather not. I'm trying to say that, to lie to yourself or others about sin is only hurting yourself and others. It's not judging to tell the truth. It's not judging, unless it's the truth only as you believe it. As per your example, I do not believe homosexuality to be a sin, and you believe it is. As per Romans 14:1-4, I should not look down on you; nor should you condemn me. Quote: Now to my main point - many believe that the Bible should be placed second to a personal relationship with God. I say that the two are one in the same, you can't truly be a christian without both. I completely agree. Quote: Reading the bible is part of expanding your relationship with God. You're reading his huge book-long letter he left for you. It is, I am convinced, impossible to call yourself a christian, without Biblical influence. I disagree. God did not write a book-long letter to you. God inspired many men and women to write many different books praising him, teaching his words, prophesying doom on those who rejected him, giving historical accounts of his people, and writing his Son's biography. All of these people wrote independently, with biases according to their own culture and personal preferences. To call the Bible a letter God wrote for you is ludicrous. Quote: For those skeptics of the bible who call themselves christian, think of this: The bible, whether you wish to believe it or not, is the foundation for Christianity. Actually, Jesus, his apostles, and a bunch of cults are. ^-^; The bible didn't exist until 375 A.D. Quote: We would not even know of God, or Jesus' existence without it. We can't pick with parts are definately true and which to be skeptical about. True. We must be skeptical of all of it. Before adopting anything in the bible to our hearts, we must research the culture and linguistic nuances the book was written in. Quote: You believe the Bible as a whole and follow it dilligently ((which is the same as following God)) OR you reject it all. Actually, there's a grey area. That's researching the Bible before following anything in it. Quote: If one part of the bible is false, who's to say another isn't? History? Archeology, different research techniques such as cross-referencing, etc.. Quote: Christianity isn't about a personal relationship alone, we must all realize that we are all linked, and that the Bible was placed here for a reason. What we think we feel sometimes can be false spiritualism, not God. Without the Bible, we can NOT call ourselves christians...agnosticism is more like it. True. Quote: Debate this topic, enjoy, and put some thought into it. God bless. Have I put thought into it? Blessed be. ^-^
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 3:03 pm
Tell those in this thread that!
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26771591&page=1
The Old Testament is something we all as Christians should learn from. However, it is by the New Testament that we should live. However, I will never "submit to my husband" as his wife (I haven't actually found the man to be my spouse yet, but hey). I believe it's a two way thing in marriage.
I must apologise for my absence. I cannot remember whether I have actually posted in here before or not. redface
I've been away from Gaia for a long while and have only recently returned.
Hello to you all by the way. My name is Melissa (Mel), from England. Take a look at the profile. 3nodding
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:07 pm
xXMr_GrayXx We can't pick with parts are definately true and which to be skeptical about. You believe the Bible as a whole and follow it dilligently ((which is the same as following God)) OR you reject it all. Completely and utterly false. Let me quote to you a page from my own Bible: Questions and Answers About the Bible; The Catholic Youth Bible What does it mean to say that God inspired the Bible? Did God speak directly to the Bible's authors?Christians make a fantastic claim about the Bible: God is the author of the sacred Scriptures. They believe the Bible is God's word, containing the truths that God wishes to reveal to humankind for our salvation. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the human authors of the Bible's books to reveal these truths in their writings. These two concepts -- God's inspiration of the biblical authors and God's revelation in their writings of the truths about God and God's will for us -- are two important Christian beliefs about the Bible. To say that biblical authors were inspired by God does not mean that they took dictation directly from God. They were true authors using creative literary forms to communicate the people's experience of God. In fact, many of the books had more than one author. Some books went through several decades of development in which the stories were told and retold, written down, combined, and edited. The church believes the Holy Spirit was guiding the many people involved throughout this whole process. How do I know that what is in the Bible is true? Aren't there mistakes in the Bible?Christians believe that the Bible is true and without errors when it teaches the things God wishes to reveal for the sake of salvation. This is called the inerrancy of the Bible. Some Christians also believe that the Bible is without error in every respect, including all references to scientific and historical facts. But Catholic Christians, along with others, are cautious about making this claim. The Catholic church teaches that in order to interpret the Bible correctly, we must understand what the human authors intended to communicate at the time of their writing. To know what God wants to reveal through their words, we must take into account "the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking, and narrating then current" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 110).In other words, from our modern viewpoint, some statements in the Bible may seem like mistakes. But these "mistakes" may be due to the difference between a biblical author's cultural perspective and our cultural perspective. Or they may be due to our misunderstanding of a biblical author's use of literary devices such as metaphors, fiction, and poetry. Or perhaps they are due to a biblical author's different understanding of science or history. In its introductions and articles, The Catholic Youth Bible will help you understand the biblical authors' intentions and the church's teaching about what God is revealing through them.
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