The nature of religion (ritual, bible, trinity)

[jtartar]

Originally Posted by stephenw

I read this morning that the role of theories is to organise information already obtained "and to direct the search for new information. Theories are however, only tools, to be discarded when no longer useful."
This is how I feel about religion. Religion can be a vehicle towards understanding, but it is not an end in and of itself. It's just a raft to get you over the river.

stephenw,
Everything is relative. It is God's will for us to come to a accurate knowledge of truth, 1Tim 2:4. There is but one truth of the Bible. It was called THE WAY, in the first century, Acts 9:2, 19:9,23, 22:4, 24:22.
To please God we MUST worship Him in spirit and TRUTH, John 4:23,24.
God has laid commandments on men, not because He just enjoys making laws. God made these laws for a protection for us, because even when we want to do what is right, we often do not know what we should do, Jere 10:23, Isa 48:17, Deut 10:13.
The religion of the Bible is a way to live that affords us the very best life now and the hope of everlasting life, in the future, 1Tim 6:12,19.
The Holy Scriptures tells us there is only ONE FAITH, one hope , one baptism, Eph 4:3,4. It is up to each of us to find the one true religion, the one God is blessing, Acts 15:14,17.
As you mention, theories come and go, but the Holy Word of the Bible has remained accurate for centuries, in fact it is the most up to date book in existence.
For us to be pleasing to God we must study His word and get bact to the beliefs that Jesuus and the apostles taught in the first century. Only ONE religion is teaching exactly as was taught by the apostles. Study them carefully, because the religions that claim to be Christian have been contaminated, by allowing false doctrines, mainly pagan doctrines to infiltrate the teachings.

[Rolling_Stone]

Originally Posted by jtartar

stephenw,
Everything is relative. It is God's will for us to come to a accurate knowledge of truth, 1Tim 2:4. There is but one truth of the Bible. It was called THE WAY, in the first century, Acts 9:2, 19:9,23, 22:4, 24:22.
To please God we MUST worship Him in spirit and TRUTH, John 4:23,24.
God has laid commandments on men, not because He just enjoys making laws. God made these laws for a protection for us, because even when we want to do what is right, we often do not know what we should do, Jere 10:23, Isa 48:17, Deut 10:13.
The religion of the Bible is a way to live that affords us the very best life now and the hope of everlasting life, in the future, 1Tim 6:12,19.
The Holy Scriptures tells us there is only ONE FAITH, one hope , one baptism, Eph 4:3,4. It is up to each of us to find the one true religion, the one God is blessing, Acts 15:14,17.
As you mention, theories come and go, but the Holy Word of the Bible has remained accurate for centuries, in fact it is the most up to date book in existence.
For us to be pleasing to God we must study His word and get bact to the beliefs that Jesuus and the apostles taught in the first century. Only ONE religion is teaching exactly as was taught by the apostles. Study them carefully, because the religions that claim to be Christian have been contaminated, by allowing false doctrines, mainly pagan doctrines to infiltrate the teachings.

Do not forget that Jesus was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, taught as a Jew, and died as a Jew. He was not a Christian. Do not forget that the early Christians were regarded as a Jewish sect and only later became regarded as a separate religion.

Religon evolves and is punctuated by revelation. But if revelation is to upstep the religions of evolution, its teachings must not be too far removed from the thought and circumatances of the age in which they are presented. The religion of revelation must be limited by man's capacity of receptivity.

Over the centuries since Christ, the human capacity for advancement has increased tremendously, but God cannot be revealed to those who do not seek nor to those whose hearts are closed to advanced ideas.