I won't MadMax, don't worry. If my girlfriend can still believe in God, then I can't imagine anything happening to me that would change that basic belief.
Not all Christians beleive the way that you stated in your initial argument. There is also some disagreement among Christians as to what 'hell' actually is.
I never called you intolerant. You are flippant IMHO. C'mon look at the title of your thread. Look at much of what you post. Flippant means casual; it's okay to be flippant but not about everything, don't you think? If you want to take home-church seeking advice from a self-professed agnostic like <b>dimsie</b>, go right ahead.... I would think that to be the last place to look or listen for advice about that. What I suggested has merit whether or not you see it or appreciate it.
Hmmm, I guess this isn't calling me intolerant. There will be nothing casual or flippant about my search. I think you're full of **** for just assuming through a ****ing BBS that I would be. Of course this is coming from a guy who thinks it's OK that cops slam people into cars and punch them in the face, so why am I even bothering?
giddyup: With all due respect, who exactly are you to determine the conviction of RM95's beliefs or the casualness with which he approaches them? To demand a certain expectation of him is to place a tremedous amount of judgement on him. Last time I checked, for Christians, that's God's job, NOT yours.
I'm still waiting for an answer on my question. Why is it no one can answer? I'll repeat it again for convenience: How do those of you that think RM95 is going about this the wrong way think RM95 should find a Church to attend?
<b>RM95</b>: I asked a rhetorical question; that is not an accusation. You may twist it as much as it pleases you. I never said is what "OK" for cops to slam people into cars. I suspended judgement on the particular fracas until all the facts were known. You do know that cops have slammed people into cars before and it WAS perfectly okay-- because it was deemed necessary to apprehend the suspect. You may convict before the facts are in; I'm just glad it's not your job All from the guy that wished me a dose of police brutality! <b>Jeff</b>: I'm not a determinant of anything. I have an opinion based on the tone of his posts and the words he chooses to express himself. He was asking for input, wasn't he? If he can't stand the heat, don't go into the kitchen (publish his personal issues in a public place). I said nothing to challenge the conviction of his beliefs. Please retract that. I only wished him success in his search and threw in some thought about a change in attitude that I thought would be helpful. I've been accused of "b****ing" (by an agnostic) and now "judging" (by a lapsed Christian?). I don't know how to describe RM95's diatribe of expletive! I think all I did is to suggest some alternative ways to think about his way of choosing. My ideas have merit. Neither he nor you have to agree with my ideas. I didn't assault him. I didn't bump the thread to the top with wave after waver of "demands." I responded to questiions and to criticisms with embellishment. I demanded nothing of him. I did challenge the way he was thinking about the matter; it was a constructive criticism. Likewise you are challenging me now. You won't find me throwing a bunch of <b>@^$*^&*&%#&^</b> at you like he does at me. <b>Major</b>: I don't intend to answer this question because I don't have a roadmap for anyone to use, but I did want to note your question because I think you expect me to. While I don't have a roadmap for this accomplishment, I think I do recognize some factors that <b>could be</b> problematic, i.e. eliminating entire denominations because some pastor gets hammered by his bureaucracy for doing something that you, personally, think is the right thing to do.
Major: I don't intend to answer this question because I don't have a roadmap for anyone to use, but I did want to note your question because I think you expect me to. While I don't have a roadmap for this accomplishment, I think I do recognize some factors that could be problematic, i.e. eliminating entire denominations because some pastor gets hammered by his bureaucracy for doing something that you, personally, think is the right thing to do. Thanks -- I wasn't actually directing the question to you so much as some of the others in this thread. Mostly the ones that are saying "God wouldn't want you do it this way". I'm curious how they would go about telling a friend to find a Church -- essentially, what way God does want them to go about it and why.
Don't you have any paid-up benefits... kind of like good-works?! Just to protect myself from accusation, Jeff wrote "Personally, I tried Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist. I've even been to Unitarian. If I were still a Christian..." I did my proper field underwriting.
when i was a kid i thought life insurance could prevent you from dying (or that it brought you back to life) OK so I was a dumb kid.
In the "immortal" words of Woody Allen: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality by not dying!"
This was the post that offended me the most out of this thread. You absoulutely agreed with it. You really didn't offer any alternatives except not to be too discriminating or idealistic, which I never said I was going to do. However, IMO, the original story that inspired this thread is enough, in my mind, to not visit a church. You disagree, that's fine...I respect that (I really do, more than you know), but don't disrespect my opinion by saying I'm being flippant in a decision that will be very important to my girlfriend and I. I'm not being casual at all, I just feel <B>very</B> strongly about respect when it comes to other religions. This church is blatantly going against that whether the congregants feel the same way or not. Sorry about the expletives...you told dimsie and I that . You want to "sharpen" my search for a church home without knowing anything about us other than what you see here, yet you criticize dimsie and I for having the audacity for thinking we know your POV. giddyup, I respect your beliefs, I really do. If I didn't, I wouldn't respect my own Mother (y'all would get along! )...I just don't like the way you go about sharing them with the <B>perception</B> (could be a misperception on my part) that you are absolutely right in every thing. Sure, we all think we are right, but most of us (I'm not saying you necessarily don't think this either) understand that there really aren't any absolute truths in the world, and are willing to accept that others logically and rationally feel different. I think we've both gotten much better in our discussions here, the last few days not withstanding. The olive branch has been extended.
I accept the Olive Branch and want to talk about this no more. Best success to you and Your Girl in your search for a Home Church. I hope you make a selection (however you do it) that provides you with a lifelong loving community, with spiritual guidance and inspiration, and with a feeling of rootedness in your community.
Oh you two! Look at me. This is where the tears would be if I could cry. But I can't -- botched facelift.
Major, I really don't think him wrong to approach finding a church home in the way he is going about it, the only thing I questioned was the level of submission he has to God. Like I said before, the hardest part of becoming a Christian is to submit yourself to God. I admit that I did use his level of submission to God, which I judged by his responses in the thread, to be short of the mark -- and that was wrong. But I do feel that submission is the key to christianity, and also feel it's the most diffucult to master -- I certainly haven't mastered it yet.
