I tell cavity creeps, "Watch out for Crest." BTW- MadMax is spot on. The beauty of a knowledge of Christ is that while he knew I was imperfect, He still made a way for me to share in His Kingdom. I am not worthy, yet He gives me His worth. I need only acknowledge it. If I'll confess Him before humanity, He'll confess me as one of His own... one He has given His own worth to. Good trade off.
The insanity of the cartoon issue is that its not just over cartoons. People are just looking for reasons to destroy stuff.
Phillipians 2:9-11 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus is either that meek religious icon who did good deeds and died with a bunch of arrogant, self-righteous, exclusive, my way or the highway religious followers. Or He is the Exalted Lord, the Returning King, the Son of God, and Loving Savior who died on the cross for the sins of the World with genuine disciples who reflect a witness of His character. One leader of a Mega-church recently said he doesn't mention sin or repentance very often. That about sums up why there is confusion about God's love, mercy and our unworthy position. Do Christians kiss the devil on Friday night and kiss Jesus on Sunday morning? I was counselling a young couple who are about to marry last Sat. morning- Here is how the conversation went (note- they both attend church sometimes)- Rhester- " Are you Christians?" couple- "Yes" Rhester- "Are you living together now?" couple- " Yes" Rhester- " sex?" couple- " Yes" Rhester-" Did you know the Bible calls that fornication?" couple- "Bible???" Rhester- " still partying, drinking?" couple- "Yes" Rhester- " Do you use God's name as a cuss word much, you know GD?" couple- "Sometimes, most people do" Rhester- " Do you ever lie, you know even the little white lies?" couple- "sure" Rhester- " Do you ever use software illegally?" couple- " Everyone does (guy's answer)" Rhester " If the software company found out would they think you were stealing the software?" couple- "I guess" Rhester- "Thanks for being so open, I appreciate that" couple- "no problem" Rhester- "How would you describe your spiritual life? Your relationship with Jesus Christ?" Girl- " I don't know much about it except some stories I've heard" Guy- "I don't know?" Rhester- " If you both died today would you go to heaven?" couple- "Yes" Rhester- " My counsel to you is that you should become Christians, but not what you are thinking is a Christian the real deal; would you like to meet with me again and I can try to explain how?" couple-" Yes" None of us are worthy of forgiveness (deserving- having earned it because we are so good and perfect) It is a gift that is priceless, precious and pure; and it is offered freely because the sacrifice of Christ's own blood purchased it. And anyone who believes the blood of Christ and the gift of forgiveness is that valuable will repent of their sins.
i never told anyone how to practice their religion. these two religions are intertwined with politics that affect our lives, that is the issue. i thought it was obvious that the two religions in question are being bastardized by certain factions for political reasons. i don't understand why that doesn't stir more debate within those worlds. sorry if my point wasn't clear. as to my arrogance, well, i'll take that any day over complacency disguised as diplomacy. guess i'm just one big sinner. look, i think you are usually one of the best posters on here and then you post something so meaningless as to be a wasted post. that's what i meant. you basically implied that the thread i started did not merit your consideration. that's a little arrogant, don't you think? the thread has taken a few twists and turns, they all do, i'm still hoping some of our muslim brothers chime in. now, about the druids, i'll take down stonehenge if they mess with me.
Perfection is what He requires yet He knows we are not capable so that is the reason He sent His Son - Jesus. Otherwise, why not just send down some dos and don'ts and how many dos are needed and how many don'ts will get you tossed. Then what about that one guy who is just 1 short? Let him in? Then what about the guy that has just one less than him? God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but He can't live in eternity with a bunch of sinners. Like watching your daughter live life as a prostitute hooked on heroin. No father wants to watch that but it's up to her to choose. The moment she reaches her hand for His, He gives her a new life that she never dreamed she could have. Salvation isn't hard. You don't have to pay Him a $1000000. You don't have to pray 5 times a day for the rest of your life. You don't have to do anything - except acknowledge that your ways are not going to do it and believe on Jesus and Him alone for your salvation. It's not hard. You'll still be an individual - but you will be a new creation. You still have freedom - but you will be more aware of the consequences on some choices. Life is still fun, and I been on both sides and I can say it's more life is way more fulfilling after believing 100% on Him.
... to be tortured mercilessly by the imperfect creatures he created and expects to be perfect, got it. that's kind of mean.
And He doesn't expect us to be perfect. He knows we are not. That's why Jesus came. He knew this would happen before He left heaven to come to earth and yet He still came because there was no other way.
Simply because you don't have the faith and willpower to follow something doesn't mean others can't and won't. If you have absolutely no concept of faith then this isn't something to even discuss with you because it is obviously something that you can't understand. There is no worldly explanation for people's faith in greater beings. There is no proof or smoking gun that we can show you to make the light bulb turn on and you go "oh, now I got it!" I can tell you one thing, there is no greater feeling then knowing that everything in your life will be okay. There is no greater feeling then knowing that NO MATTER what this world throws at you that you can handle it, you can shoulder the burden of a million men if you had to and not blink or lose any sleep over it. Once you've reached that ammount of faith your life will forever be changed...
Rhester, How do you know that God thinks sharing software is against his will. Why would God not want us to share everything, and forgoe profit? How do we know what he/she/it thinks? DD
I don't think DD was pointing that out, I just think that he was trying to say that you don't know what God wants you to do in every aspect of your life. he gives you free will to do what you think is right, and he is so powerful that even if you sat down and tried to figure out what he wanted you'd have no chance in doing so.
he's told me time and time again here that he believes God to be unknowable. i don't want to speak for him, but i'm sure that's the meaning behind his post, above.
It's not over cartoons at all, it's just a convenient execuse for some thugs (in some cases backed by governments or some militant groups) to go around and take out their frustrations and anger on various Western operations.
I did not know that, then in that case I strongly and completely agree with you... he is easily knowable.
This is completely true, but the sad thing is that the followers of these people act so blindly to do their evil deeds. Why is it that so many muslims can be that easily swayed by the words of a few men? I just can't comprehend that as I'm sure most if not all of you can too. I have so much faith in what I believe that I would never go against those beliefs for something someone else said. I know that other religions have had their times of weakness where one or two leaders have taken many of the flock astray this is just the first time I've seen it personally.
Sharing is nice. You are asking the wrong question. If you pirate software from a company how would they feel about you taking their product without paying for it? I know there are crime rings that share automobiles that don't belong to them. And shoplifter's who share other peoples products without paying. Sharing legally with authorization and stealing are two different things. Hey if you pirate Microsoft software and you sat in front of their investigators and they told you it was nice we could share this with you- then that is sharing by definition. The other is theft.
Faith, not works? So, you can be a true samaritan, you can lay down your life for the good of others, you can cure disease, house the homeless, feed the hungry, educate the ignorant, make the world in every way possible a better place - but if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, you're still gonna burn. But, if you're an arrogant ass, covetous of material possessions, intolerant towards anyone unlike you, aggressive in temper but cowardly in actions, supportive of despotism, utterly unremarkable in every aspect of your life, prone to follow the herd, you will enjoy eternal reward in the afterlife because you believe in Jesus Christ. I know this is a question of theological divisiveness, and don't expect it to be resolved on the ClutchBBS. But, to the faithful, do you believe this? Is there a subtlety to it that negates what I'm saying, and is this subtlety explainable by anything other than saying something like "God's Justice is beyond our understanding"? What I want to know is do you, personally, believe this scenario?
