The biggest problem with religion is that it get's in the way of Christianity

 

Now that's a good quote. Did you come up with that?

 

Yes i ment mil1ion. Thankyou. I am a Christian, this is what i think.

different people have different considerations before contacting God with their human spirit for the first time.. It may be that u are one who has been seeking God. If such is your case, you know that there is a \god out there somewhere, but u do not know how to contact him... all you need to do is begin talking to Him..... the Bible tells us that God became a man called Jesus Christt 2,000 years ago. he lived a perfect and righteous life which qualified Him to die for our sins. Then the Lord Jesus resurrected to become a life-giving Spirit so that He could come into us. Now all you have to do is to say, "Lord Jesus, I want to contact You so that I may know that You exist. I want to have a living contact with You so that I may experience You firsthand." by talking to Him in this way, you will find Him, because He said that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, and that he who seeks shall find.

If you are one who doubts his he is real, you also can say to Him, "Lord Jesus, I do not know if You are God or if You even exist at all, if You are real, plaese reveal Yourself to me. i want to know You and contact You." If He is non-existent, there will be no answer. If He is real, you will get your answer, because He will reveal Himself to you. If you are one who wants to know more about God, His purpose for man, and the relationship He wants to have with man, you can read the Bible and talk to believers to find out more. Briefly, He is a God of love and righteousness. His purpose is to have man express hiim and rule for Him in a corporate way. the way He wants to accomplish His purpose is too enter into man to be man's life by first entering man's spirit, then saturating mans soul... and eventually transfiguring man's vile body of humiliation so that man may be one with God... in this oneness of God annd man, god lives in man and man lives in God, God is man's life and man is God's living, God is man's content and man is God's expression, and God is man's authority and man is god's representative. tyhis wonderful relationship is possible when the huuman spirit is mingled with God the Spirit. Say to God, "Lord Jesus, use the Bible and believers to tell me more about u and reveal Yourself to me that I may know You.

 

True,

I honestly can't rememember if I saw that somewhere or if I came up with it myself. I just know I have felt that way most of my life. I do think that it kinda sums up most of the arguments against religion.

 

we're not starting an argument here are we? I really don't want to have to moderate anything, or close any posts cause people want to start one. So, on that note lets make sure we're civily debating instead of irrationally arguing.

 

Please answer the question within the context of the scenario:

A man spends the better part of his life spreading hatred and bigotry. He begins to get a following, and due to poor economic, political and social conditions he comes into a position of power. through his position he institutes programs of discrimination. Then these programs evolve into segregation. Then into ethnic cleansing. In a matter of 8 or nine years he manages to exterminate 6 to 7 million people and through his exploits causes the deaths of 20 million more due to wars he started. This man who was responsible for all this escapes and lives the rest of his life out in a small secluded town in some country in South America. During his time in South America he is visited by missionaries who successfully witness to him the wonders of the bible and the love of Jesus Christ. Through that epiphany he is saved, born again and begins to love his fellow man and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. According to the bible that mans slate of sin is wiped clean. Will this man go to heaven?

 

This is a loaded question and perhaps the biggest one confronting most people these days.
Will he go to Heaven? Yes

If he did not then those of us who believe the Gospel have no basis for redemption either.

My personal belief: The day will come when he will stand before the Lord who will judge him according to all that he has done...ALL that he has done. In that day he will be dealt with according to his acts. My human mind cannot conceive all that there is in Heaven, but there will be those (I think) who will be "stationed" (if you will) in different areas.

Despite popular belief - when we die, we do not go straight to Heaven. First comes the judgement.

 

Big Orn,
Yes, I guess you could say it is a loaded question, however it is a scenario that has occured before. Maybe not on that scale, but close to it. I remember reading about an deposed African leader who had become a born again christian. He had ordered and overseen the slaughter of hundred's of thousands of his own people who were of a different tribe. He was living in Europe somewhere and became a devout christian.

After reading your response Big Orn I have to ask you, do you take the Bible literally, word for word to be the truth? Or Do you Believe some parts and not others?

It would seem to me that in the rigid constructs that define Christianity, you can't have it both ways. Either you believe that the all of the bible is the word of god, or you don't.

 

bigdmizer,

Exactly the question that I put forward.

Waxy

PS - Bubba should love this one.

 

It's hard for me to "read" the words of the Bible and say, "See, there it is." I can’t explain it any further than that.

I had a bad experience in life that lasted about twenty years and that experience almost ruined me for God. So many times I would "read" those words and never realize the meaning of them or what they held as far as power was concerned. So I had to learn how to read the Bible with my eyes closed, so to speak. I had to turn the pages from one place (scripture) to the next in order to glean some sort of understanding. So when it comes to taking the Bible literally I cannot - I have to take it spiritually. That is the only way I, personally, can obtain good from it. So many times I wanted answers to questions that just kept coming, time after time when I began to take the writings of the Bible literally.
Like: If God can only create perfection, then why was the earth void and without form? I did not find that answer in writing, but after much praying I was able to align the scriptures and realized that the earth, “...became void and without form” due to Satan’s fall (or casting out) from Heaven. Jesus saw Satan, “as a lightning bolt” strike earth (Luke 10:18), which caused the earth to become void and without form. This also killed the large creatures (dinosaurs) that roamed the earth at that time – that is what I believe. But I can’t show you where it was written like that. This was my first example. Since then the Word of God that I get from reading the Bible has gotten more beneficial to my spirit and soul.
I try not act like those preachers who once pointed their fingers at me and said, “If you do not abide by the words of this Book...” I can’t tolerate that kind of behavior. They might as well tell me that God is the Bible, which at that point I will walk away and leave them to their fantasy.

 

I would like to know where this comes from?

 

Big Orn,
Sounds like that bad experience that lasted twenty years only made you stronger. That is the good thing that comes from the bad.

It would seem to me that in the rigid constructs that define Christianity...

What I call the rigid constructs in that particular context is the basis for Christianity. Which is the bible itself. The bible lays out the constructs for christianity. So either you believe in the bible being the word of God, thus you are a christian, or you don't believe that the bible is the word of god, thus you are not a christian. There is no gray area there, thus a rigid construct.

 

That's why I have steered clear of those people who think that the Gospel is rigid. I do know that there are religions of so-called Christianity that brow-beat (brainwash) its congregation into believing that certain methods, rituals, etc. have to be followed/preformed in order to "stay" within God's realm, but as far as I'm concerned they are cults. Those that study the Bible and learn from it, discover the foundation of this earth-age. Those that hear the Word of God in the scriptures and learn from it discover the foundation of their faith. Once faith is established between man and God, then ridigity is replaced with something that I can only describe as the smoothness of a woman's breast.

As far as the earth being XX years old and getting that from what the Bible says (or does not say) according to some formula - I don't know. But I do know that the scientists of this world are not idiots and can certainly be right about being millions/billions of years old. So I am not bound by what the Bible says literally - I keep an open mind.

 

Man I'm with you on that one BigOrn. It leads me back to a quote from gdub that the problem with religion is that it gets in the way of Christianity.

 

Yea - remember the myths we were taught as children (the biggest mistake Sunday Schools have made as far as children go)?

God knew the world would turn on itself (humankind) and that is why He didn't make it perfect to begin with? What!!!???

Eve ate an apple?

The snake in the apple tree?

Cain had to have married his sister?

When you die you go to Heaven at that moment?

Good people and little children become angels?

Once saved always saved? Yea, right. This needs explaining: If you are saved, that is, discover the error of your ways and turn from them until the day you die - then this is true. If you "get saved" and live accordingly for 20 years, then turn away from it, then you definitely are not.

I could go on and on, but you get the gist, right?

This misconception of the Bible is inexcusable and is spread like a virus by people who are supposed to be teachers.