Rimbaud I have my poitical differences with Rice. I'm afraid that you are just envious because you did not get in. I am convinced they would have gladly accepted me. If Ihad been into that whole prestige school thing, I would have had to turn them down ol Rice U when I got in to higher ranked schools. Due inpart to my great humility.
The Plan of Salvation, no? I'm off to the pool with the kids... maybe I'll sneak in a baptism. Any Mormons around?
Agreed. After all Jimmy Carter is Southern Baptist, but so is Pastor Ed Young who said the US desrved 911 due to the ACLU and gays. Agreed. ? Max, it seems like you have made up your mind, too. I think it is good to discuss things. Ok to use your intellect rather than just "faith". OK. Ok, sort of general. The US has had an unjust foreign policy that has killed million,which has been supported by 90% of Evangelicals. I realize that this number is falling. I also realize that perhaps they feel they can be saved even if they do or dont do good deeds like stop wars. Agree, if the Big She,It Him exists he/she/it etc. is bigger than any human mindby definition.
Jimmy Carter left the Southern Baptist denomination because of their prejudiced policies against women.
I am still tired but my kids took me to the library so I'll ramble on.... God is perfectly loving, good, holy, righteous, humble, gracious, just, kind, forgiving, merciful, faithful, wise, pure, compassionate, patient and He rules the universe He created... at least that is what I read in the bible verses.... So I think if another good person stood before Him, that person would be worthy of heaven... I fall so far short of that and have such a distorted view of such goodness, I can't imagine showing up on my own goodness and asking God to judge my goodness... If the grace and mercy and forgiveness I believe is in Christ does not get me into heaven,, I will not get in,, and I will not be disappointed because I believe so strongly that God will do what is right when he judges me... ramble, ramble - If Jesus doesn't get me in, I won't get in, because I am not trusting in anything else. should be clear as mud what I was trying to say
I believe this, based mostly on how I read the Bible: There is a time in the future when God will judge all people who haven't obtained mercy. He'll look at our life, and in His perfect wisdom and justice, he'll decide whether you were good enough to go to Heaven or not. If you believe in Him and lived a Christian life, you get to avoid that judgment. But if you aren't a Christian, that doesn't mean you don't get to go to Heaven, you just have to go to court and have the Judge decide.
not a believer but i agree with your take. i could never understand the purpose of the parable of the good samaritan otherwise ... not what the Jesuit preists taught me in high school though. they said you're going straight to hell if you aren't catholic. yup that included all the other non-catholic christian denominations.
One problem for non-believers is how the concept of Hell is used to compel non-believers and also some Christians to act Christianly through fear when other Christians have stated that the core message of Christianity is love. That display seems to me like taking the most convenient aspects of both OT and NT to make a more effective message. Yet that message might not be the real purpose of following Christianity in the first place. Yeah. Without any enthusiasm for an ideal, it won't last long, and too much enthusiasm causes rifts and the creation of sects that have been seen in all religions. It's a very human aspect to confirm all the time and energy you've spent into something by declaring yourself an expert. I do respect figures in robes or their proper attire, but it's also been robed men who caused those historical divisions. So my respect shouldn't be automatic and it can be lost at any time. Since I believe religion is about the evolution of the individual, the vagueness in religious texts should be encouraged. Perhaps it's just too tempting for many priests, monks or clerics not to confine themselves within a teaching or advising capacity.
yes sishir, but again, you tell me. i don't live in a country where the majority of people live their lives with that hanging over their heads. as meowgi said, it is a cultural issue here, in america.
very well said, i think. i promise you...i'm not good enough to deserve heaven. if you can earn heaven/salvation/eternal life/whatever you want to call it with a life like mine, then it's not worth very much at all.
i've made up my mind regarding who Christ is. but i haven't made up my mind in the sense of labelling different groups of people good or bad. you seem to want to do that. maybe i'm reading in to much, but i know i've mentioned that to you in the past. that it's what i read in your posts. republicans? bad. democrats? good. this sort of Christian? bad. this sort of Christian? good. secular? even better. here's a problem i pick up in these threads in terms of communication. person A and person B agree that there is a problem regarding issue X. person A thinks you solve issue X through process 1. person B thinks the best way to solve issue X is through process 2. Then person A assumes that because Person B doesn't agree with him on the way to solve the problem...that Person B really doesn't care about the people affected by issue X. And labels him as an insensitive jackass. Or worse. glynch, my view on politics is more like yours now than it's been since I was 18 years old. but i don't want to demonize people who think differently. particularly those that still have a heart to help people...but just think there's a better way to do it than you and i might think. by the way...the fact my views on politics are more like yours than they've ever been should be pretty strong evidence to you that i haven't "made up my mind" on everything.
i don't know. quick question: does everyone understand that the eternity Christians speak of is to be on this earth??? a redeemed earth?? a physical reality?? not Mount Olympus? i get the sense that many Christians forget this, even, so it would not surprise me if many of you had never even heard that.
Homer: I want to tell you about the most wonderful place in the world: Doggie Heaven. In Doggie Heaven, there are mountains of bones, and you can't turn around without sniffing another dog's butt! And all the best dogs are there, Old Yeller, and about eight Lassies. Bart: Is there a Doggie Hell? Homer: Well… of course, there couldn't be a heaven if there weren't a hell. Bart: Who's in there? Homer: Oh, uh… Hitler's dog… and that dog Nixon had, what's his name, um, Chester… Lisa: Checkers. Homer: Yeah! One of the Lassies is in there, too. The mean one! The one who mauled Timmy!
When the night falls down I wait for you And you come around And the world's alive With the sound of kids On the street outside When you walk into the room You pull me close and we start to move And we're spinning with the stars above And you lift me up in a wave of love... Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ? Ooh heaven is a place on earth They say in heaven love comes first We'll make heaven a place on earth Ooh heaven is a place on earth When I feel alone I reach for you And you bring me home When I'm lost at sea I hear your voice And it carries me In this world we're just beginning To understand the miracle of living Baby I was afraid before But I'm not afraid anymore Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ? Ooh heaven is a place on earth They say in heaven love comes first We'll make heaven a place on earth Ooh heaven is a place on earth
I tend to think that this is heaven but we can't see or touch it, well most of the time. It bothers me that Christians think the world and universe is less than divine.
