I need some help, please

Feathers in Hair · Sep 29, 2005

+++MOD POST+++

Please, let's stick to the topic at hand. If a person is wanting to debate religion in a specific form, I will be more than happy to set up a thread for people to do so in, or they can do so themselves. Thanks in advance, guys!

Feathers in Hair · Sep 29, 2005

Michel, since I'm no longer a Christian, I don't feel qualified to offer advice in this category. However, I would say that you exemplify all that I believe Christ wanted people to understand. (Kindness, compassion, infinite love, forgiveness.) If anyone wants to suggest that you aren't a Christian, they'll have to come through me, fully armed with tuna, first!

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

Halcyon said:
Mich, if you want my two cents - you believe in all the basics of modern Christianity - you are Christian.

If you want my three cents, look at the sayings of Christ alone, ignore all the rest from Paul etc. Only from the mouth of Jesus will you get his thoughts and his moral values - base yours on his - you can't get any more Christian than that.

That is a really good idea, but sadly there are no writings of what came direct from Jesus. Anything that is written down occurs 30 or 40 years after. For what it is worth, Paul was the first one to write anything, so everything else was the least influenced by him.

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

Dentonz said:
The ten commandments was the bases for the law of the jews.
Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus said "think not that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
vs. 20 "that except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
The scribes and Pharisees represented the law of moses to the people at that time(the ten commandments). Jesus said you must follow these as well as any other commandment I give you as well. He goes on in the rest of this chapter to explain this a lot better than I can. So, you can read for yourself. All throughout the gospels Jesus gives his followers commandments they must follow. So in order to see the kingdom of heaven you must follow the fulfillment of the law (Jesus).

How did Matthew know what Jesus said? He wasn't there, and everybody else was long dead

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

Dentonz said:
Guess what? He does: prayer.
John 14:6 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man can come to the Father( God,Jehovah,Yahweh,Allah) but by me.

1st Tim 2:5 For there is but one God, and one mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ.

So, in your opinion, Islam is completely invalid as a religion.

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

michel said:
I know exactly what you mean, and I cannot deny that part of it is emotion - Love and non judgementalism for another human being. I know that 'God works in mysterious ways', but I cannot (could not) visualize a Loving God denying a section of humanity a sense of fulfillment in a loving relationship by deniying them the physical demonstration of their love.:help:

You can relax michel. A powerful created God would not care about anything so trivial as people's sexuality. Also, why do you have to choose a particular sect, or even a particular YHWH religion. The holy spirit will come to you if you ask it to. You do not need an organised human structure to get you communion with God (however much they try to persuade you that you do).

If you would like to reach God as a Christian, then why not, it is a very valid way to do it. But remember what they teach: "when two or three are gathered together in my name, there will I be also". So find a couple of like-minded friends to pray together, you have your own church now, with no dogma.

EnhancedSpirit · Sep 29, 2005

Faint said:
I've been wondering about this topic for a while. Does a Christian need to accept all of the Bible, or only the parts that he or she likes? I would say that the Bible is not a salad bar--it doesn't make sense to put some of the messages on your plate and reject others. If you believe that any part of the Bible represents God's holy written "truth", than the book should be accepted in it's entirety. If you believe Jesus was the son of some supernatural diety because it is written, you must also accept everything else in that is written. Otherwise you are being unreasonable. Why believe this and not that when the evidence for both is no more than printed word and centuries of hearsay?

Which christian bible? There are several different translations, and there are differences in one from the other. The Mormons have their own bible, and the Catholics as well. I have a bible that was published in the 1700's and Revelations is not at the end of the New Testament, but found in the middle. Some translations leave out some of the original text, while others add to it. WHICH BIBLE DO YOU FEEL IS THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH? The bible was originally written with no punctuation, so how can we be sure that even the first translations even got it 100% right?

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

EnhancedSpirit said:
Which christian bible? There are several different translations, and there are differences in one from the other. The Mormons have their own bible, and the Catholics as well. I have a bible that was published in the 1700's and Revelations is not at the end of the New Testament, but found in the middle. Some translations leave out some of the original text, while others add to it. WHICH BIBLE DO YOU FEEL IS THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH? The bible was originally written with no punctuation, so how can we be sure that even the first translations even got it 100% right?

The Bible is not meant to be like an engineering manual. It was written by a wide variety of people over many centuries, and its makeup was argued about for again many generations. It is full of contradictions, anomalies and mistranslations. But that does not make it worthless.

It is a guide. But you must make your own personal communion with God. If you get hung up on trying to justify the Bible as being literally true, you will beat yourself to death against facts.

EnhancedSpirit · Sep 29, 2005

Merlin said:
The Bible is not meant to be like an engineering manual. It was written by a wide variety of people over many centuries, and its makeup was argued about for again many generations. It is full of contradictions, anomalies and mistranslations. But that does not make it worthless.

It is a guide. But you must make your own personal communion with God. If you get hung up on trying to justify the Bible as being literally true, you will beat yourself to death against facts.

I agree 100%. You can find God's truth in Dr. Suess's Green Eggs and Ham, if you open your heart and listen. The truth does not lie within the letters and the words, those are man made. The truth lies within the 'spirit'. The truth lies within YOU. The bible was only left for us to help us REMEMBER what we already know. You will never find God or the Truth if you continue to use only your head, because it is heavily burdened with veils of illusion, but with the heart AND the mind, the veils can be lifted and the truth revealed.

glasgowchick · Sep 29, 2005

While it is good to be helpful and give advice, for christians we must strive to view things as God would reguarding anything we do in this life time. As for homosexuality, God condems it out right in the bible..It is wrong in Gods eyes and to ignore how God feels in the matter is to ignore His Authority..

scitsofreaky · Sep 29, 2005

Michel, you seem to fit the exact definiton of christian: christ like. In my understanding, to love is to be like Jesus. You seem to do this.
As far as The BIble goes, nobody is going to know if they have "the right" interpretation, so the best you can do is try to understand it for yourself, which it seems you are also doing.
So as far as I am concerned, you are a Christian.

lilithu · Sep 29, 2005

glasgowchick said:
While it is good to be helpful and give advice, for christians we must strive to view things as God would reguarding anything we do in this life time. As for homosexuality, God condems it out right in the bible..It is wrong in Gods eyes and to ignore how God feels in the matter is to ignore His Authority..

Michel, I don't want to spin into an off-topic debate about what the bible says about homosexuality. Gawd knows that there's already too many threads on RF about this. But let me just say this: Jesus never condemned homosexuality, and in the few times where it came up around him, his message was one of faith and love. Some Christians will pick and choose who they love based on their own biases and then cite selective passages from the bible to back them up. Jesus called us to love everyone. His is a much more challenging faith. And I'm glad because I know that you are up to it.

-lilith

michel · Sep 29, 2005

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has given his/her opinion; I never for one moment thought that I would have such a response from my question.

What can I add ? - just thank you.

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

EnhancedSpirit said:
I agree 100%. You can find God's truth in Dr. Suess's Green Eggs and Ham, if you open your heart and listen. The truth does not lie within the letters and the words, those are man made. The truth lies within the 'spirit'. The truth lies within YOU. The bible was only left for us to help us REMEMBER what we already know. You will never find God or the Truth if you continue to use only your head, because it is heavily burdened with veils of illusion, but with the heart AND the mind, the veils can be lifted and the truth revealed.

Well said

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

michel said:
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has given his/her opinion; I never for one moment thought that I would have such a response from my question.

What can I add ? - just thank you.

God bless and good luck

Merlin · Sep 29, 2005

glasgowchick said:
While it is good to be helpful and give advice, for christians we must strive to view things as God would reguarding anything we do in this life time. As for homosexuality, God condems it out right in the bible..It is wrong in Gods eyes and to ignore how God feels in the matter is to ignore His Authority..

You actually think He cares about such trivia?

glasgowchick · Sep 29, 2005

Merlin said:
You actually think He cares about such trivia?

yes, I sincerly do..

HOGCALLER · Sep 29, 2005

michel,

Let me ask you: Do you have any problem with God and society in general proscribing alcoholism?

The reason I ask about alcoholism is that there definitely seems to be a born that way or genetic component to it. That means that many who suffer from it cannot help it; it is not a choice for them. Should God and society not proscribe alcoholism and drunkenness just because many alcoholics were born that way? Shouldnt it be just as wrong for God and society to expect the hapless alcoholic to control himself, especially since he had no choice in the matter?

There has been some recent and interesting research into the genetic component of addiction. It seems there is a connection. Should we remove proscriptions against drugs and drug addicts also?

What about incest between consenting adults why don't we throw that one out while we are at it?

Where would it stop?

Now, let me ask you: If Bill Gates singled you out of a crowd, took you aside and made you this offer: I have 20 billion dollars in a bank account that is your if for a period of one year you give up sex. And to make sure you have no sex here is a chastity belt that you must wear for the year. At the end of the year the money is yours. michel, would you do it, would you put the belt on?

Gods offer is much more valuable (trade this life of say 100 years for a never ending life) and more certain than is Bills. Why would you not want to take advantage of Gods offer? Can you please tell me so that I can understand it?

I am fairly certain that you have heard all of this before and you probably already realize that it all boils down to the very same choice that Adam and Eve had to make: Obey God or side with Satan and decide for yourself what is right and wrong. It is that simple.

Mike182 · Sep 29, 2005

HOGCALLER said:
michel,

Let me ask you: Do you have any problem with God and society in general proscribing alcoholism?

The reason I ask about alcoholism is that there definitely seems to be a born that way or genetic component to it. That means that many who suffer from it cannot help it; it is not a choice for them. Should God and society not proscribe alcoholism and drunkenness just because many alcoholics were born that way? Shouldnt it be just as wrong for God and society to expect the hapless alcoholic to control himself, especially since he had no choice in the matter?

There has been some recent and interesting research into the genetic component of addiction. It seems there is a connection. Should we remove proscriptions against drugs and drug addicts also?

What about incest between consenting adults why don't we throw that one out while we are at it?

Where would it stop?

Now, let me ask you: If Bill Gates singled you out of a crowd, took you aside and made you this offer: I have 20 billion dollars in a bank account that is your if for a period of one year you give up sex. And to make sure you have no sex here is a chastity belt that you must wear for the year. At the end of the year the money is yours. michel, would you do it, would you put the belt on?

Gods offer is much more valuable (trade this life of say 100 years for a never ending life) and more certain than is Bills. Why would you not want to take advantage of Gods offer? Can you please tell me so that I can understand it?

I am fairly certain that you have heard all of this before and you probably already realize that it all boils down to the very same choice that Adam and Eve had to make: Obey God or side with Satan and decide for yourself what is right and wrong. It is that simple.

.

hey, come on, the poor guy came to us with a problem, you could have not phrased your message in such a harsh mannor

there is a difference between the cases you present of alcoholism V homosexuality, if you fail to realise this then it would be pointless to debate the issue further

C_P

Sunstone · Sep 29, 2005

Alcoholism is harmful both to the alcoholic and often enough to others. But how is homosexuality harmful to the homosexual or to others?

I need some help, please

World's Tallest Hobbit

World's Tallest Hobbit

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

High Priestess

Active Member

High Priestess

Gives Glory to God !!!

Active Member

The Devil's Advocate

Administrator Emeritus

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Gives Glory to God !!!

Active Member

Flaming Queer

De Diablo Del Fora