God's Written Word, 3 things to consider
 

Ok, its going to be a long one. :D

Consider these 3 points about the Christian Bible

1) 40 different authors writing over a period of 1,600 years penned the 66 books of the Bible as they were inspired by God. 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 of the New Testament. Yet, from Genesis to Revelation, they tell one unfolding story. Together they give consistent answers to the most important questions we can ask: Why am I here? How can we get along? What happen when I die? How can I make peace with my Maker? The answers to EVERY ONE of life's questions can be found in its pages. The Scriptures are not many books but one.

2) The Bible is painfully honest. It shows Jacob, the father of its "chosen people," to be a deceiver. It portrays David not only as Israel's most loved king, general, and spiritual leader, but as one who took another man's wife and then, to cover his own sin, conspired to have her husband killed. The Bible represents human nature as hostile to God. It predicts a future full of trouble. It teaches that the road to heaven is narrow and the way to hell is wide. Scripture was clearly not written for those who want simple answers or an easy, optimistic view of religion and human nature.

3)Unbelievers often point to those who claim to believe in the Bible without being changed by it. But history is also marked by those who have been bettered by this book. The Ten Commandments have been a source of moral direction to countless numbers of people. The Psalms of David have offered comfort in times of trouble and loss. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount has given millions an antidote for stubborn pride and proud legalism. Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 has softened angry hearts. The changed lives of people illustrate the difference the Bible can make. Even entire nations or tribes, like the Celts of Ireland, the wild Vikings of Norway, or the Auca Indians of Ecuador have been transformed by the Word of God and the unprecedented life and significance of Jesus Christ.


The Bible is a living book empowered by God, but to understand its pages you must have the Holy Spirit help you see spiritually.

Consider the following verses:

Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God... There is none that doeth good.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness:

God has already answered all possible questions in His finished Word, the Bible.

Lets talk about evolution, hell, afterlife, future events, suffering, injustice. whatever you would like :wink:

Very nice.
Consider this.
Man has made God in his own Image.
Too many people have died in the name of Christ.
The truth cannot be found in our lives but in our deaths.
Is your life worth the truth?
Man can raise himself to new hieghts in the name of God, and destroy
entire civilizations thinking he is doing the will of God.

If God is the answer, what was the question?

[quote="Low spark":8d142]Very nice.
Consider this.
Man has made God in his own Image.
Too many people have died in the name of Christ.
The truth cannot be found in our lives but in our deaths.
Is your life worth the truth?
Man can raise himself to new hieghts in the name of God, and destroy
entire civilizations thinking he is doing the will of God.

If God is the answer, what was the question?[/quote:8d142]

True, man has made many gods to his own liking both in the past and present.
Many people have been martyred in the name of Christ.
Truth is the person Jesus Christ.
Your life is worth Christ's death.
Many can misused the name of the True Living God.

The question is "Where will you spend eternity?"

ok new topic if you insist,

Do you think the next president of the united states of america will be a woman? Hillary Clinton? i mean that would be wierd, a woman for a president? a woman leading the most powerful nation in the free world? yikes! not to be racist against woman 4 pres but i dunno. if so thats one for the history books.

Very good..

.

Except I do not think that the Chist whose wordsI have heard would want people Martyred in his name.
So no I would not die for Christ
Yes if Chist was supposed to die for our sins, I'd have to say my life is worth his death
And yes I am sure that if there is a God man in his imperfection has his name.
Where will I live enterinty, not really worried about it, I don't believe in hell. a childs scare tactic. When we die we maybe cease to exsist... whatever helps you make it through your life and helps you to be a good person is alright by me. But when that believe is used to hurt or condem people that do not believe as you I think then just maybe there might be a hell waiting for some very suprised people.


I could be wrong, religon is not my forte.
Enjoy.







.

who says eternity isn't the exact same thing as sleeping, I personally would rather have my life gone, kaput.....dead to the world.....no afterlife, just feel like i'm sleeping without any dreams or nightmares

I live my life, eternity is well spent as nothing

God has already answered all possible questions in His finished Word, the Bible.

and yet we believe this is the truth

this "religion" stuff has given more death then it has answered our questions

why do good people die, why do bad people live, why because this "god" is playing us for fools

You say having a 4 year old kidnapped and killed is like teaching mankind a lesson, ya like this is going to stop it from happeneing again

Mankind is its own right is generally evil, who says we weren't created by evil

We have done more evil in this world then good, we fucked up the peacefulness before there was man, or when man was just stupid

Our world is based on violence, why animals have to kill to survive, why humans murder other humans, violence is the key

My mother being Cathelic and my father being Protestsant, I have seen the different "versions" of Christianity and well, I don't see why both of them see God so diffently when it is the same God after all

Cathelics believe Pope is the living being second to God, where Protestants don't

The opinions I suggest anywhere are not really to be taken seriouslly, mostly because being from two different religions, I don't know enough of either to really know all the facts

My mother is highly into the religion stuff, my Dad used to be

everytime we exit the vehicle she says father son holy spirit amen and does the touch forhead, chest etc. gesture, I believe that her belief in god and her way of believing in him is fine because it makes her happy, and if Religion can make people happy (just very biased) I am fine with it

My Dad now believes mostly in just giving a good life for his kids and just being a geneally nice person around the people he loves

I was baptised Protestant, but I am neither that or Cathelic, I ahve only been to church for weddings and furnerals and when I see my Polish grandmother we usually stop in the St. James church for a visit

If Religion can bring people happiness, It's alright, but I really hate when it leads to violence and wars and death

From all of this, believing that there is a higher being is perfect for the world and we wouldn't be as well off without this beliefs of a higher being, just sometimes we take it too far

My My getting a little negative Pyro.
Religon may not be the answer for everyone.
But violence should never be used by anyone for an answer.

One the reasons we need religons. Is when everything is going wrong people want an answer. It's a lot easier to say "It's Gods will" then it is to face the horror that the world can dump on a person.

[img]http://hometown.aol.com.au/chucktupp/evilhomgif.gif[/img][img]http://hometown.aol.com.au/chucktupp/teufel009.gif[/img]
[img]http://hometown.aol.com.au/chucktupp/firewall.gif[/img]

[quote="Mr.X":23bc5][img]http://hometown.aol.com.au/chucktupp/evilhomgif.gif[/img][img]http://hometown.aol.com.au/chucktupp/teufel009.gif[/img]
[img]http://hometown.aol.com.au/chucktupp/firewall.gif[/img][/quote:23bc5]

Does this mean if we go to hell we'll have to dance with Homer?

Doh!

[quote="Low spark":86160]Very good..

Except I do not think that the Chist whose wordsI have heard would want people Martyred in his name.
So no I would not die for Christ
Yes if Chist was supposed to die for our sins, I'd have to say my life is worth his death
And yes I am sure that if there is a God man in his imperfection has his name.
Where will I live enterinty, not really worried about it, I don't believe in hell. a childs scare tactic. When we die we maybe cease to exsist... whatever helps you make it through your life and helps you to be a good person is alright by me. But when that believe is used to hurt or condem people that do not believe as you I think then just maybe there might be a hell waiting for some very suprised people.

I could be wrong, religon is not my forte.
Enjoy.
.[/quote:86160]

I'll let God speak for himself through His written Word.

Psalms 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Matthew 5:11 11 (Jesus speaking) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Why God lets things happen can be confusing sometimes.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Be sure about your future.

Galatians 6: 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Take heart.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man (Jesus) is come to seek and to save that which was lost. :D


Thanks for your well thought out responses

The problem with religion is that it ignores the supernatural relationship you have with a saviour who was executed, buried and has risen from the dead. Think about that, Jesus has conquered death, do you know of anyone else who has done this ! He had many living witnesses at the time who were brutally murdered for testifying to that fact, but it was because they KNEW he was alive. The church should be filled with supernaturally spirit filled believers in love with there Lord, but alas many church memberes have abandoned that for rituals, rites, good works etc. The world sees no difference between "christians" and everyone else. Accepting Christ as your personal saviour produces remarkable changes in the life of a believer. I'll close with this.

2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord...

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Christ was a relationship with you, not for you to have a religion. :wink:

aliens made us and abandoned us in a secluded part of the galaxy, they moniter us all the time though :o sometimes you can see them and everynow and then, they take an unsuspecting subject and analyze him/her. :-?

[quote:37e5a]The question is "Where will you spend eternity?"[/quote:37e5a]

God is intelligent enough to evolve and create a universe filled with
living, breathing, evolving entities... but gives them eternal bliss or
eternal damnation based on a few life events. Right...

If I were to tell you the bible was simply a book written by a few men
seeking to enthrall the populace physically and psychologically, what
would you answer me ? Would you actually consider the possibility ?

As far as I am concerned, there is a creational force... and it did create
the universe with a purpose. I don't, however, believe life after death to
be as simplistic as your bible depicts it. My metaphysical beliefs are a
"party mix" of different beliefs and religions: I take in the best and leave
out the illogical.

A being/entity/force intelligent enough to create a universe ex nihilo
with a purpose would never throw away one of his promising creations
to an eternity of pain and misery based on how they have lived one
life.

I would share an obvious example of how wrong the idea of a heaven
and hell is, but I honestly don't believe taking the time to write it will be
worth it, as you will probably dismiss every single thing I have said in
this post.

Here's a hint: every single human being is born a tabula rasa - a blank
slate: whatever his instructors feel like imprinting on it will determine how
that person acts and reacts for the duration of his life. A very simplistic
example, I agree... but if you have an ounce of ingenuity inside of your
head, you will understand.

Cheers.

[quote:e092d]If I were to tell you the bible was simply a book written by a few men
seeking to enthrall the populace physically and psychologically, what
would you answer me ? [/quote:e092d]
These men lived over a span of 1600 years, few at the same time. What could possibly be their motive?

[quote:e092d]As far as I am concerned, there is a creational force... and it did create
the universe with a purpose. I don't, however, believe life after death to
be as simplistic as your bible depicts it. My metaphysical beliefs are a
"party mix" of different beliefs and religions: I take in the best and leave
out the illogical. [/quote:e092d]

Force, as in , trust in the force Luke... :) How do you determine what to take and what to leave, kind of like life's buffet bar.

[quote:e092d] A being/entity/force intelligent enough to create a universe ex nihilo
with a purpose would never throw away one of his promising creations
to an eternity of pain and misery based on how they have lived one
life.[/quote:e092d]
Genesis 7:22 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. 23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark

Yes as you see God did "throw away" his creation, all but 8 people and aquatic animals. God's looking for a people who WILLINGLY chose Him.

Please share your views on hell.

[quote:e092d] whatever his instructors feel like imprinting on it will determine how
that person acts and reacts for the duration of his life..[/quote:e092d]

so that person has no "CHOICE" about decisions they make in their lives, I guess that explains all the full prisons these days, they had no choice. In fact its everyone's personal responsibily to make the right choices and they should be fully accountable.

...hey fella, ok...so your brain has been successfully washed.... congratulations,
however.....speaking as one still in the spin cycle of life....lay off the Bible-bashing. You're just another fanatic.....anyways, peace to you and yours :)

[quote="Mr.X":cd79e]...hey fella, ok...so your brain has been successfully washed.... congratulations,
however.....speaking as one still in the spin cycle of life....lay off the Bible-bashing. You're just another fanatic.....anyways, peace to you and yours :)[/quote:cd79e]

No one forced you to read the posts. Aren't we all fanatics, just the subject changes.

...And Charelton Heston casts the first stone...
 

The bible, like the Koran, is an interpretation of morality by a group of people held up as life examples... but not necessarily of examples of purity, as exampled by the stories of David, Cain and Abel, et al.

In the case of the bible, the "creationists" began over time to use it as their proof of God, Jesus, Heaven and Hell; constructs that were meant to enforce both the stories of morality and control of the people in a "Church verses State" struggle for validation.

I have no personal belief that coincides with the stereotypical God & Jesus model, but have taken notice of the issues relating to humane morality expressed in its "stories" or "parables". They, IMHO, are a good start to creating a guide to human morality, but are by no means complete...that is something that all humanity should be working towards for a clear direction for all races, creeds and colours.

If you want to look at an alternative, look up "Altruism" in the dictionary. It is a far harder code to adhere to, and no interpretation of the term can be used to justify wars, rapes, deaths, destructions, and any other action that will directly disregard another person's life...

[quote="*MoG*Quartus":11a72]No one forced you to read the posts. Aren't we all fanatics, just the subject changes.[/quote:11a72]

...actually, no....we are not. And not all "subjects" presume to be the only truth about the past, present and future....of everyone.
.... you pester people on the street about this...don't you.... :roll:

*MoG*Quartus, thank you for confirming my every assumptions. I see
no hope in helping you wisen up without repeated interventions so I will
quit now before you throw more bible references at me. :lol:

Have fun with your make-believe heaven... and yes, I am familiar with
Pascal's wager, so don't "enlighten" me. I still don't believe in simplistic
human-made stories meant to scare the peasants into obedience and
subservience by the men in power.

Consider this: you have most likely sinned hundreds of times in the
course of your life so far... how do you plan on getting into Heaven ?
Oh, right... the priest "wipes" them away. Yup... really neat system
God has eh ?

Weird. I would have thought a supreme intellect would have a better
way of going about things, wouldn't you agree ? Oh wait... you won't
think about it, you'll just look it up in THE book and give me some
non-sense answer. Do yourself a favor and don't bother mm'kay ?

Pfft... God Schmod...

OK, I sense some anger here but I'm going to write a few paragraphs so stay with me...

A few months back I was going through some old books and came across a devotional for teens. I read the first "day" and have read it almost every day since then. Now granted I have always been a Christian and have been baptized and everything, but I rarely turned to Christ for guidance. Since I have started reading this devotional, I have made an attempt to talk to God every day and change myself to become a better person. Now I turn to God for guidance and submit myself to the Holy Spirit for additional guidance. Doing these things has improved my life more than I could have ever imagined. It has given me so much more confidence in my life by turning to Christ for all the obstacles that I come to in my life.

Now about the eternal life deal. I do not believe that there is a narrow path to heaven and a wide path to hell. Our God is a forgiving God, and as long as you repent your sins and accept Christ as your Savior, God wil forgive you. God will forgive you because that's how much he loves you. Why would he have created you if he didn't love you? Sure, God flooded the world once because of all the sinful activities going on in the world. But He has promised us to never do such a thing ever again. It hurts God to see all the sin that he sees, but even before he created us, he knew that was going to happen. I don't think that you have to go to church every Sunday, say your prayers every day, and praise God every day to be a Christian. All you have to do to spend your eternity with God is to accept Him into your heart, submit yourself to the Holy Spirit, and accept Jesus as your Savior that died for you sins. It's that easy? Why? Because Christ wants to havea relationship with you. He wants to spend time with you. He wants to make you a better person.

I'm not going to lie to all of you here. I use profanity. I look at girls and think lustful thoughts. I watch stuff on TV and listen to stuff on the radio that I shouldn't. I have been violent at times with my family members. I occasionally use the Lord's name in vein. I lie. I commit all of these sins and more, and I don't have a choice; it's human nature to be sinful. But I repent for my sins on a daily basis, and I praise God on a daily basis, and I tell God how much I love Him. I don't do these thing because I'm afraid that I will go to hell if I don't, I do all of these things because I sincerely love God. I sincerely believe in Him. I sincerely believe that God is closer than I can ever imagine. He is closer than my skin, He is closer than my thoughts, He is closer than my family and friends. I love God. I love Jesus. I have improved my life dramatically over this summer by making my relationship with Christ closer. And that gives me confidence that I will spend my eternity in Heaven with the King of kings.

Sorry that this was so long. For anybody that read this all the way through, I thank you for listening to my thoughts.

Has anyone seen God? did'nt think so.

[quote="Pfc.Green":d5e66]Has anyone seen God? did'nt think so.[/quote:d5e66]

No, I haven't. But he is real because Jesus came and said so. Now you might think that's dumb to assume God is real just becaue Jesus said so, but that's what I think. Jesus wasn't just an ordinary person, you know. He created dozens and dozens of miracles in his lifetime.

[quote="Chronic Diarrhea":08fa0][quote="Pfc.Green":08fa0]Has anyone seen God? did'nt think so.[/quote:08fa0]

No, I haven't. But he is real because Jesus came and said so. Now you might think that's dumb to assume God is real just becaue Jesus said so, but that's what I think. Jesus wasn't just an ordinary person, you know. He created dozens and dozens of miracles in his lifetime.[/quote:08fa0]

...right... I bet Jesus, burped lightning and farted fire :roll:

Well I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. I can't make you believe that Jesus made miracles during his lifetime. But it's your view and I respect that, unlike other Christians that would jump all down your throat about it. :)

Did you see these miracles?, you mean to tell me you trust the word of a book that cant be proven to be true?

I'm not even going to get into a religion argument with you...

Is is for some to believe in a God, but to think all of the answers are found in a book, is a little hard to swallow. I was 16, questioning everything, the exsistience of God was doubtful. My minister said that that it does'nt make any difference if you believe in a God or not, it's whether God believes in you.
I am sorry but im going to sterotype here. I have met many who have tried to convert me to the particular cult of Christianity. But for the most part the these people a some the most bigoted, hateful, unforgiving people have ever met. So when I see someone that can only quote the bible to give an answer, I question their sincerity.
The bible maybe their turth, but therer are millions of people in the world with a different brand of truth.
I will not condem person for being different than I, whether it be religous belief, race, nationality,sexual preference. We are not perfect, and no book contians turth.
Enjoy

That's well said Spark. Like I said, I respect Green's opinion about the miracle deal. I don't think any less of him now. I don't assume that he is not a Christian. I don't assume that he is going to hell. To tell you the truth, I don't consider myself a Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, whatever. I consider myself a Christian, and in the end, it doesn't really matter. And you comment about the bigotry, you're right in a way. I have met some Baptists that are snobs to anybody else that is not Baptist. I think it's ridiculous.

SO......I take it someone enjoys a spot of bible thumping on weekends :p

What a bunch of ignorant atheists...as most are. :roll:

[quote="Old Reliable":f00f3]What a bunch of ignorant atheists...as most are. :roll:[/quote:f00f3]
Ignorant? A horse, with blinder on, that follows a carrot on a stick so that it does not stray from the assigned path is intelligent? :)

Have I died yet? Nope, I'm happy who I am, and I don't really discriminate if you are an atheist or not. I don't really care, I'm friendly to all :o

[quote="Pfc.Green":44d17]Has anyone seen God? did'nt think so.[/quote:44d17]

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

John 20:29

I thought this quote from end of days was quite fitting myself.

[quote:b2a99]If something good happens its the will of god, if something bad happens its "he works in mysterious ways". If you look at the bible what does that tell you? shit happens. [/quote:b2a99]

Not to bring down anyone's faith but here is an interesting theory historians are thinking about now:

Jesus died on a Friday- TRUE
Jewish people took Jesus off the cross--TRUE

A Jewish person would NEVER EVER touch a dead body on a Friday. They always wait until the Saturday or Sunday.

Some historians think he was alive when he was off the cross (3 hours is a VERY short time of death considering others took about 8-12 hours to die) When he was brought off the cross, he went to his tomb to be rejuvinated. Then some think that he led a normal life spreading the word of God and married Mary Magdalin (sorry bout spelling). Then, in theory, he had children with her and lived in France for the rest of his life.

When you do think about that, something fishy is there. Don't get me wrong, I am a hardcore Roman Catholic--so i'm not doubting my faith, I'm just interested in what others have to say about it.

oh i forgot another thing. Some believe that Joan of Arc was scitzofranic (again, sorry bout spelling). She may have never seen God. It is recorded that she told her officers in the Crusades to send in all the re-inforcments. joan said, "Send in all 10,000 of them! Now!!!" Then all of the officers were puzzled since there were only 1,000 re-inforcments. She also was reported of seeing other strange things when nothing was there.

That's another brain itcher.

my religion rant. First all god, and religion is bullshit, it's was invented as a form of entertainment. Answer this, there is an invisible man has ten things he does not want you to do, if you violate any of these ten things there's a place full of torture, flames and death waiting for you.... but he loves you..... and he needs your money! oh yeah he is all knowing all powerfull all seeing, but he just can't figure out money. Like c'mon, when you ask god for something and never get it, you say, "it's god's will, thy will be done." well, if you're not going to get what you want, why bother praying in the first place? another thing, if this divine, holy, pure being is controlling our fate, why is there all this death, starvation, and war going on? when you think of religion, nothing compares to the bullshit factor that they convey, false promises, exaggerated claims, and just plain, pure manufactured bullshit. I do not envy anybody who aimlessly, pointlessly warships any sort of god, like a fucking cult, all you religious people are all drones and bitches to people who should be locked away in a mental asylum.

I think that was the dumbest, most pointless post I have ever read in my entire life. Do you go up to people and ask for anything you want and just expect them to give it to you? No, you expect to do something for them in return. I'm not bashing you because you don't believe in God, I'm bashing you because you are exceptionally stupid.