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more and more christians believe in karma and reincarnation

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," but it conflicts with other verses in the Bible that depict the afterlife. As I wrote in another thread (click here), Hebrews 9:27 conflicts with Daniel 12:2, which says, "And many of those who slumber in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to disgrace and everlasting contempt."

Hebrews 9:27 also conflicts with several other verses that I quoted in my post that I linked to. Personally, I think that it is obvious to see that the Bible isn't exactly clear about what happens in the afterlife. In my opinion and as evidenced in the articles I linked in the parenthesis, the Bible's contradicting itself on its claims about the afterlife isn't the only subject that it contradicts itself with (read BibViz Project-Bible Contradictions, Misogyny, Violence, Inaccuracies interactively visualized and 101 Clear Contradictions In The Bible for plenty of examples). Lastly, I not only believe that the Bible has many contradictions, but I also believe that much of Christianity, as well as some stories in the Bible were copied from pagan religions that predated both Christianity and the Bible. If you click here, you will see how I demonstrated why I believe that Christianity is heavily influenced by paganism and why I doubt the veracity of the Bible.
Several points I agree with you on here. Firstly, that one verse about "as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," that alone does not contradict reincarnation. That person, that one individual will in fact only live once, and die once. Then comes the judgement. Right?

If you are familiar with Buddhism's teaching on reincarnation, that "judgment" happens in the Bardo Realm, where the "inner drop" or the "soul" of that individual is basically weighed and reassigned, according to their karmas. So far, that sounds an awful lot like this verse. After that person dies, then the judgement.

Reincarnation is not the "person" coming back. That person, that individual only get to live once, and die once. Just like the Bible says in that verse. I don't get to come back as "Keith" 200 years in the future. That "person" then will have no knowledge of this person today in any sense of self-identification. What comes back is that 'soul', or the spirit of that person, as another person, not the same person. This is not a contradiction with that verse in the Bible.

So right there, a Christian can comfortably say, "Yes, how I live my life matters to my destination after I die. I will be judged by this life, and if more purification is necessary, that will be judged as such and I come back to "work out my salvation with fear and trembling". You see? No reason to assume that verse cannot be understood a little less narrowly.

But secondly, a Christian can also understand that the writings of the Bible are human's attempts to speak about a Mystery in terms and languages of the time, to the people of that time, with the thoughts and ideas they had at that time. It is not necessary for a Christian to believe that there can be no conflicts, contridictions, or differences of points of view within scripture itself. They are after all, a library of different authors from different time periods, with different points of view, but with a common cultural and religious framework. That doesn't make it less inspired, to recognize the human aspect of it. A Christian need not understand the Bible as Magic.

As such, so long as the underlying message of "love your neighbor", "do no harm", love God, and so forth are maintained, then that suffices. It's not about "right theologies". Those are not the "weightier matters of the law", in the least, as Jesus himself taught.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Lol, obviously you aren't reading the verses. Just belief in God isn't enough.
I've been arguing that beliefs are not what saves you. Faith is. There is a difference between beliefs and faith, you know. Therefore, it's okay for other Christians to believe differently from each other, without those other Christians calling them apostates and the like.

It's very specific about what God is in view.
There is only one God. But that one God is viewed in a myriad of different ways by people. Are you saying those different ways are not allowed somehow? That we are in fact saved by correct ideas and beliefs? That it is our assessments and evaluations of the data and how we answer questions on a theological quiz test that gets you into God's graces? No?

No they don't have to believe everything exactly the same but there's some basics you have to believe to be a Christian.
And who is it here that is deciding what those things are, pray tell? You? ;)

As far as I read in scripture, the whole thing is about bearing fruit, not about believing certain theologies. Why do you differ from what Jesus taught on this by adding, "'In addition to knowing them by their fruits, you'll also need to check if they have some of the right basic beliefs too. Then you shall know them by these two ways', Jesus said not unto them".

I'm not sure which Bible you're reading, but I don't see what your teaching here in there.

Like it's appointed onto us to die only once and then be judged.
Really? A Christian's salivation is dependent upon them believing that the way you interpret that? Wow! That is a mighty stern judgement of Christians there. I can't imagine how you judge yourself, and how little flexibility you allow in thoughts about God. Sounds dreadfully fearful. Not a lot of Grace or Liberty there.

If you don't believe what the Bible clearly says, don't fool yourself into pretending to be a Christian.
Oh, I see! So, yes, you do believe others don't have the right to call themselves Christians if they don't believe like you.

Honestly, the only one that doesn't sound like they are Christian, is the one who does that.
 

ajay0

Well-Known Member
Many Hindu view Jesus as just one of many gods... that's not what the Bible teaches. So yes that would be a false god, not the real Son of the only living God.

'Great indeed are the devas (gods) who have sprung out of Brahman.' ~ Atharva Veda


The Vedas state that all gods sprung from Brahman and are Brahman's manifestations.

In such a context, it is perfectly logical from the Hindu context to state that Jesus is the son of God.

What runs counter to Hindu philosophy is to say that Jesus is the only son of God, which would imply that others are not.
 

Wildswanderer

Veteran Member
There is only one God. But that one God is viewed in a myriad of different ways by people. Are you saying those different ways are not allowed somehow? That we are in fact saved by correct ideas and beliefs?
Absolutely. If I believe God is actually a blue unicorn named Clyde, that's not going to save me. Biblically, only belief in the one true God and his Son saves. There are thousands, maybe millions of religions that have a false god, and therefore do not save.
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
No. Jesus just said it was not true for that particular case (not in general).
Then perhaps you do not agree with what God says then?

(Jeremiah 31:29-30) 29 “In those days they will no longer say, ‘The fathers ate sour grapes, but the teeth of the sons were set on edge.’ 30But then each one will die for his own error. Any man eating sour grapes will have his own teeth set on edge.”
Please read Jeremiah 31:31-40

That applies to when?

(Ezekiel 18:2-4) 2 “What does this proverb that you quote in the land of Israel mean, ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the teeth of the sons are set on edge’? 3 “‘As surely as I am alive,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘you will not continue to quote this saying in Israel. 4 Look! All the souls — to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son — to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

To discontinue something, means to end it, or cease it.

The question about blind born man shows there was a belief in reincarnation. This concept is also known in Greek philosophy and there were some Hellenistic Jews... Jesus said nothing against it.
Whatever teaching it was, or where it came from, it was not taught by Jesus.

Yes. Jesus said something against it. Jesus taught resurrection, which is different to reincarnation.
Jesus taught that the dead are asleep in the grave, and awaken, and come to life, when he calls.

Is that not against reincarnation?

It doesn't have anything to do with idol worship. Like belief in heaven and hell that was common in many cultures and also doesn't necessary imply idol worship.
I didn't say it has to do with idol worship. Why did you bring that up, and what does heaven and hell have to do with it?
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Absolutely. If I believe God is actually a blue unicorn named Clyde, that's not going to save me. Biblically, only belief in the one true God and his Son saves. There are thousands, maybe millions of religions that have a false god, and therefore do not save.
Okay, this is a good starting point. I hope to explain something that might help you out here. How many weddings have you been to? I'm assuming you've heard the preacher quoting form the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the "love chapter"? I want to take a look at that with you here, in order to explain this.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."
You can see here that "thinking as a child", or in your analogy, "seeing God as a blue unicorn named Clyde", is not the criteria by which God grants or withholds his love for that child. Nowhere does it say, "If you think like a child, God won't accept you". Does it? Yet isn't that what you are telling us is so?

A child may think of God as an old man with a white flowing beard in the sky who watches over him as he sleeps, yet is that what God really is? Of course it's not. But to that child, it is! Does God hold that against them? Does God say, "Not until you understand theology better, will I consider you my child"?

Now let's extend that to adults. The Apostle Paul says that even he as an adult, having putting away childish things (seeing God as a blue unicorn, for instance), still, as a spiritually mature adult, is still only "seeing through a glass darkly"! He still does not really know that "truth". It is still knowing in part. Yet, is God saying, "Sorry, you don't believe right yet. You aren't save until you do!"? But isn't that what you are teaching?

So to summarize, as I've been saying, as you can see in the above passage and countless other passages as well, God does not judge a person by how they believe or think or imagine what God is. Only in how they sincerely believe however it is that they believe.

You can see that God accepts the child who thinks like a child, he accepts the adult who is like a child too, seeing through a glass darkly and not face to face yet. God doesn't care about your ideas about God. Does he really?

Now with that said, read Romans 14. Paul clearly says that Christians have different ideas about what God wants them to do, some to not eat certain foods, others that those are okay for them. Paul's advice is clear, and sound, "Let each be convinced by their own minds. (verse 5)" That is profoundly insightful. God doesn't care. We care. And if we violate what is true for us, then we are sinning. We go against our own beliefs. But God doesn't care ultimately. It's only important to us. Not God.

I hope I'm making my point better for you to see here.
 
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Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Then you aren't reading or understanding all of the scriptures.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
If you understand those two commandments, then you do understand all the scriptures, according to what Jesus has just said here. "Love is the fulfilling of the law". "Love works no ill".

Does God send a child to hell because he thinks of God as an old man in the sky with a flowing white beard, while clearly scripture says God is Spirit? "Tommy, I'm sorry. That is not a biblical faith. You're not really saved." Is that how God's Love works in your mind?
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I see no other way to interpret it. It's plain that it means what it says. Perhaps you just try to explain away verses like that?
You believe there is only one correct way to interpret scripture, and you happen to have that one correct intepretation out of the millions of Christians out there? That you see no other way to interpet that, is simply a matter of your own perception, and awarness, and knowledge of larger contexts.

For instance, I mentioned this in a differernt post to someone, "appointed once to die, and after this the judgement". Do you know that reincarnation does not teach that "you" are coming back as "you" again? The "you" that person only lives once, and dies once. And after that death of that person, their 'spirit' is "judged" and either moves on to a higher stage or goes back to try again at the same stage, or lower, in a cycle of moving towards a full Realization of the Truth, so to speak. They don't come back as "Bob" again. The 'soul' may come back as "Mary", and there is no Bob anymore. That is dying once for that person.

So even if you wish to take that verse literally in scripture as you are, that does not mean reincarnation is incompatible with it. As you can see, there are lots of different ways in which people can interpret and understand these things. They don't have to make sense to you, so long as the other person is sincere in what they believe.

I've already shown that "belief" is not the criteria God looks at when judging the heart or the soul of a person. It's the sincerity of their faith, regardless of how they think about God. That is quite clear in scripture, and is compatible with the nature of God's Love. Condemning you for not believing correctly is incompatible with the Love of God.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
No, only if they don't believe what scripture says. It's not up to me.
But it's you who is claiming to be the authority on what scripture says. So it is you judging and condemning. You have clearly stated your judgment of me and others as not-Christian because we don't see the Bible the way you do. Haven't you?
 

Wildswanderer

Veteran Member
Now with that said, read Romans 14. Paul clearly says that Christians have different ideas about what God wants them to do, some to not eat certain foods, others that those are okay for them. Paul's advice is clear, and sound, "Let each be convinced by their own minds. (verse 5)" That is profoundly insightful. God doesn't care. We care. And if we violate what is true for us, then we are sinning. We go against our own beliefs. But God doesn't care ultimately. It's only important to us. Not God.
Lol, seriously? You can't get there without ignoring the vast majority of scripture. Paul was talking about a non essential belief. Some beliefs as essential. You can't just throw away everything that the Bible says about who God and Jesus is, and create your own version where Jesus is a blue unicorn and comes down and sprinkles fairy dust on people and expect God to honor that falsehood and let you into heaven.
Yes you must be sincere, but you also must sincerely believe in the true God, not the one in your imagination.
God might allow ignorance to an extent, but once you know the truth you are responsible to believe it.

"But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

And there's no excuse for not knowing today. We have the whole Bible easily accessible.
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
No you are not correct. I may not believe in it in the manner in which you do, but I certainly find inspiration in it.


Are you saying that only Biblical literalists and innerantists should be considered Christians, and those who don't are not? Unlike you it seem, I see Christianity as embracing a diverse range of views and beliefs about God.
Well I did not determine Christianity by what I think. Do you think that Christianity is determined by "how we see it"?

So do other Christians who don't believe the same ways you do about all things. You do understand the the Bible, is something that you have to interpret, right? So you are really going by what you interpret from the Bible. It's not "what the Bible says", as other read the same things you do yet interpret it differently.
Are you saying, you can interpret these verses to mean anything you want them to, and they do not refer to apostasy?
(1 Timothy 4:1) However, the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements and teachings of demons. . .

(2 Timothy 4:3-4) 3 For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled. 4They will turn away from listening to the truth and give attention to false stories.

(2 Corinthians 4:3-4) 3 If, in fact, the good news we declare is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, 4among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.

(2 Corinthians 11:13-15) 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. 15 It is therefore nothing extraordinary if his ministers also keep disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works.

Are you suggesting you have the only right interpretation, and everyone but you is wrong? Do you want to admit that here?
I said nothing about interpretation. You did.
The Bible explains itself. I try to adjust my understanding to those explanation.
Why would I depend on an interpretation, when it just amounts to being someone's explanation? ...and what's so bad about that, they aren't even the author.
Is it not more accurate to hear the author explain, or interpret his words?
If someone explains a text, by using a scripture, it is an explanation from scripture. Not an interpretation.

I beg to differ. Again, how you interpret scripture, is not infallible, nor the last word on all understandings. So even if we are to say, "We are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets", that does not mean you can't ever have any thoughts or ideas other than the ones stated!
You are of course free to keep your thoughts and ideas. They are yours. They stem from your mind... what's in you.
If you believe we can determine what is, and what isn't by our thoughts and ideas, that's your choice.
When the time of revealing comes, you will know you were wrong. Matthew 7:21-23
The Bible does not agree with that. John 8:31-32; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

That's ridiculous! You miss the part about building on it. Are you suggesting there should be no building, and nothing but the foundation and the foundation alone? How functional or useful is that??
Are you suggesting that I haven't read the Bible?
What exactly do you think I missed, because there are various forms of building going on.
However, certain builders are not building on the foundation. They rejected the foundation, and are indeed building... which supports my point.
(Acts 4:11) This is ‘the stone that was treated by you builders as of no account that has become the chief cornerstone.’

Apostate "Christians" are building... but on what? Not Christ.
However, there are other building works taking place, so you might need to be specific.

If however, you are referring to the building I am referring to, then your thoughts and ideas do not matter. In fact, you ought to change them, for them to be in line with Christ... and true Christianity.
(Ephesians 2:19-22) 19 So you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens of the holy ones and are members of the household of God, 20and you have been built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. 21In union with him the whole building, being harmoniously joined together, is growing into a holy temple for Jehovah. 22In union with him you too are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit.

You sure you want to call that ridiculous?

If you are declare other Christians not Christians because they have different theological views than you, yes that matters. I'm surprised you don't know this. "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." Romans 14
Well, since I did not declare other "Christians" not Christians because they have different theological views than I do, none of this applies to me.

And what is that criteria? "By their fruits you shall know them". That's it! Not by their doctrinal beliefs and ideas. Where on earth do you get that from, pray tell? Not scripture.
I don't know where you got that from, but it certainly was not from me. Your thoughts and ideas maybe?
The criterion is mentioned in scripture.
(Acts 11:26) . . .it was first in Antioch that the disciples were by divine providence called Christians. . .

The disciples were called Christians. Not Tom, Dick, and Harry.
So all one has to do is go through the entire book of Acts of the Apostles, and see what a disciple is.
One can even go further than that, and read the Gospels.
There, you find what Jesus taught his disciples, and what they did. You'll even find what they were instructed to teach.

And you don't judge them as not Christian, or apostate Christians, or decieved, or lost, or false prophets, or any of these things?
Judge them? Not me.
God's word is what judges,
(John 12:47-48) 47 But if anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I came, not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 Whoever disregards me and does not receive my sayings has one to judge him. The word that I have spoken is what will judge him on the last day.

Even Jesus did not judge them, and yet...
(Matthew 6:2) . . .do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets. . .
(Matthew 6:5) . . .Also, when you pray, do not act like the hypocrites. . .
(Matthew 15:7) . . .You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said. . .
(Matthew 22:18) . . .Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said: “Why do you put me to the test, hypocrites?
(Matthew 23:13-29) . . .Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you . . .

Was Jesus judging, or making observations - identifying, or calling a spade a spade?
Did he not tell us to do the same?
In the same Chapter, where he said, "Stop judging that you may not be judged. . ." (Matthew 7:1) He said...
(Matthew 7:15-20) 15 “Be on the watch for the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? 17 Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. 19 Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.

If it were not for science, we would not be able to identify an atom. Would you call an atom a rabbit, or an atom?
Likewise, if it were not for God's word, we would not be able to identify false prophets.
Would you call a false prophet a true prophet, or false prophet?

Well if you don't know, I can understand if you kept silent.
What's sad to me, is that people claim to believe the Bible, but when it really boils down to it, it's evident they don't, because they don't think you can know anything from it... except your ideas.

I constantly have been sharing verses to back what I've said. For instance, "By their fruits you shall know them". "Who are you to judge another man's servant", and the like. I'm backing up what I say, yet I'm not finding any support for "By their beliefs you shall know them", by those Christians in this thread who are acting as if they have the right to call other Christians as non-Christian, or apostates, or whatever other judgment they are choosing to pass on their fellow-Christians.
What do you think fruits are... mangoes and cherries?
Well, they are, but those aren't what Jesus is talking about, as I am sure you know.

(Matthew 12:33-37) 33 “Either you make the tree fine and its fruit fine or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, for by its fruit the tree is known. 34 Offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are wicked? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man out of his good treasure sends out good things, whereas the wicked man out of his wicked treasure sends out wicked things. 36 I tell you that men will render an account on Judgment Day for every unprofitable saying that they speak; 37 for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.”
 
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Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Lol, seriously? You can't get there without ignoring the vast majority of scripture. Paul was talking about a non essential belief.
Yes, seriously. And I am not ignoring the rest of scripture. Unlike you, I am understanding it in context. I do not place the Old Testament as equal to the New Testament, as I believe you do. Moses and Jesus are equal to you. Not to me.

There are many Christians who think the NT is just more law on top of the OT law. But as Paul says if you want to start quoting Moses and following the law, you are, "obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."

Now regarding this arbitrarily claimed "non-essential belief", who the heck came up with that? It's not biblical. That is some preacher who wishes to excuse away the implications of what Paul is saying here in Romans 14. Let me put it this way, to someone who is a died in the wool Jew, not eating pork is an "essential belief". It is not to him, "non-essential". The only thing this "non-essential belief" business is about, is the person to whom it is non-essential!

It is neither essential nor non-essential to God. That is the point of the passage. It's only "essential" to the person to whom it is essential, not to God. "Let each be fully convinced in their own minds" "To their own master they stand or fall, and they will stand", because God doesn't look at those things. That's what the chapter is clearly teaching.

So, I reject this claim of "essential beliefs". Those are only essential to the person who believes them. Not essential to God.

Some beliefs as essential.
Essential to what? God accepting that person? Really? Are you serious? "Lol", as you put it. ;)

Do you think God is a gumball machine that needs the correct currency to operate? Or that God is the Cosmic Quiz Master who gives you a test in theology to see if you have the right beliefs first in order to love and accept you? How is any of that Love to you? I'd love to know the answer to that.

You can't just throw away everything that the Bible says about who God and Jesus is, and create your own version where Jesus is a blue unicorn and comes down and sprinkles fairy dust on people and expect God to honor that falsehood and let you into heaven.
So "let you into heaven" is how you see this? So you do believe you need to pass a quiz first for God to love and accept you. You see it as something earned. That language betrays how you see this, even though the Bible is explicitly clear it is not earned, but fully by Grace alone.

Now that is a core teaching of the NT, and you appear to have that wrong. But unlike you, I don't think you understanding that for where you are at, is "essential" to God loving you and accepting you despite your murky vision of the truth about the Love of God. The only thing affected by that error, is your experience of God, not "God letting you into heaven".

You see God quite differently than I do, yet I am not judging that radical difference as "essential" to God for you. I think you can still see that Light, albeight through the much darker glass of a fear-based legalism, IMO.

Yes you must be sincere, but you also must sincerely believe in the true God, not the one in your imagination.
All ideas anyone has about God are a product of our conceptual minds, or "imaginations". That is just the reality of it as a human being. We can also experience God, but for those who do experience the Divine, they will tell you that it takes any ideas we have about God, and pretty much obliterates them as just "beliefs".

That's the point of why I am saying this to you, and what Paul was getting at in his writings about seeing through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Anything we believe about God, is just that. A belief. Beliefs don't save you. Faith does.

God might allow ignorance to an extent, but once you know the truth you are responsible to believe it.
No. You are responsible to act. But how we believe about that Truth, may and can, and should be allowed to grow and increase. Not be static, ridgid, and dead, and used as a violent weapon against others whose beliefs and understandings challenge our own rigidly held ideas.

I hope I'm making my point.

"But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

And there's no excuse for not knowing today. We have the whole Bible easily accessible.
Everyone who follows God should take responsibility for their attitudes and actions, but this is not at all the same thing as being dogmatic, inflexible, and legalistic with our beliefs. Doing that, violates the Law of God, with is the Law of Love.
 

Wildswanderer

Veteran Member
But it's you who is claiming to be the authority on what scripture says. So it is you judging and condemning. You have clearly stated your judgment of me and others as not-Christian because we don't see the Bible the way you do. Haven't you?
My judgment is irrelevant. Unless you can show me where God condones such beliefs, you don't have a leg to stand on. You want to make it personal, but it's not. I'm not going to be your judge...so you better make sure He approves of your theology. According to scripture we stand or fall away based on what we believe about God.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

God is a jealous God. If you choose to add other beliefs outside of what he condones, you do so at your own risk. Mixing and matching religions is a sure way to end up letting in demonic ideas.
 

Wildswanderer

Veteran Member
Yes, seriously. And I am not ignoring the rest of scripture. Unlike you, I am understanding it in context. I do not place the Old Testament as equal to the New Testament, as I believe you do. Moses and Jesus are equal to you. Not to me.
Where did you come up with that? I never said anything like that.
You just seem to be making stuff up as you go.
 

Wildswanderer

Veteran Member
No. You are responsible to act. But how we believe about that Truth, may and can, and should be allowed to grow and increase.
That's what I just said. The more light you are given, the more responsibility you have to get it right. You haven't even addressed what I've said. I'm not preaching legalism, I'm simply preaching the gospel, which is salvation through no other name.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
My judgment is irrelevant. Unless you can show me where God condones such beliefs, you don't have a leg to stand on.
I've explained in detail and shared multiple passages of scripture in support of this. Don't you recall what I posted?

You want to make it personal, but it's not.
When you judge another person's faith, you are making it more than personal. "Who are you to judge another man's servant?," asks the apostle Paul indignantly.

I'm not going to be your judge...so you better make sure He approves of your theology.
God doesn't care about your theology. I've already shown the verses explaining this. And you are being others judge when you call them apostates because they believe differently from you. You talk about taking responsibility? I think this is something you are avoiding doing here.

According to scripture we stand or fall away based on what we believe about God.
False.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
What the hell? What does having a different view of God's expectations of us have to do with this verse? This verse is in the context of this sorts of behaviors. Are you suggesting that Christians who believe about reincarnation fit this description???

"Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” a 8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died."​

That is some serious judgmentalism you have of your fellow Christians if you view them as engaging in idolory, revelvery, sexual immorality and the like, just because they don't see God as legalistically as you do! Wow. Why would you throw a verse of scripture like this at them? That's really abusing scripture, friend.

If you choose to add other beliefs outside of what he condones, you do so at your own risk.
Wow. When you read Romans 14, would you be saying to that Christian who doesn't see the need to observe certain religious rites and practices you believe you need to as, "You do so at your own risk, Buddy! I wouldn't test God like that if I were you. God may burn you to the ground!". I think Paul wrote that passage for you to take to heart. I suggest you do.

Mixing and matching religions is a sure way to end up letting in demonic ideas.
Ridiculous. Are you that fearful that you think you can't tell if you're acting outside the will of God, and that only 'correct beliefs" protect you from this? Other Christians aren't that insecure in their faith as that. They trust in the hearts, and not rely on their heads in their walk with God. You should learn to respect them.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Where did you come up with that? I never said anything like that.
You just seem to be making stuff up as you go.
I'm not making this up. You may not say it, but you treat it as such. You treat God legalistically. You carry this "right beliefs" business as if it were on the same order as not picking up sticks on the Sabbath.
 
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