by stevieb1 26 Replies latest jw friends
Thanks Penn for your warm welcome to examine
this topic in detail.
I am declining at this time as I have
grown tired of rehashing "Jesus"
over and over. I do beleive what the
Bible says regarding belief as a
matter of " faith ".
I have no faith in Jesus, to be honest with you.
Perhaps if there were sound facts in the Bible
or secular records that Jesus is the way, than
maybe I would ne sold on this one concept.
Thanks again, your offer is much appreciated.
I'm pretty sure they can be found in Rio de Janerio during festival.
Bobsgirl,
You wrote: "the key here is that they were MY answers to MY questions."
You are very very wise.
Budda,
I, like you, have grown very weary of rehashing Jesus, having read and re-read the bible, esp. his teachings over and over again. And you're right, the Christianity we see today is VERY Pauline. I will be the first to admit that Jesus' teachings gave me a lot, but I've since moved on. When I reflect on my spiritual journey, I am often reminded of that scripture that talks about the difference between milk and solid food.
Anyway, I am now reading the B'hagvad Gita. And my favorite insights come from reading sayings from your name sake (Buddha). Occasionally, I reconsult the bible. In fact I just bought one that has four translations for every verse. HUGE. All of the masters seem to be leading us to one thing--love of one another. imo.
Bridgette
Penn ... thank you for your facts ... as I noted ... I too read the bible ... and Fact: While there may be more Christians in China than there are Christians in the US ... there are more non christians than residents of the US .... give or take a baby girl or two ....
BobsGirl
"May the work of your hands be a sign of gratitude and reverence to the human condition." - Mahatma Gandhi
Hello everyone ,
great question!
The phrase that I do enjoy is from BobsGirl:
"Maybe Gods chosen people are the ones who have the courage to have the relationship with Him that He built into their hearts ….. despite the outside pressures and influences. "
A nice one too the quote from M. Ghandi!
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
It's me again Penn..
I have a questian..
You mention you are "Born Again".
Are there different sects of Born Again
Christians?
And..
Are the Christians in China all Born Again.
Thanks
Buddha wrote - I am declining at this time as I have grown tired of rehashing "Jesus" over and over. I do beleive what the Bible says regarding belief as a matter of " faith ".
My friend, nowehere in the Bible does it ask anyone to put their faith in something that is not absolutely provable or a certainty. There is no such thing as 'blind faith' as far as pertaining to Christ. As if God was saying "Well, there really isn't evidence but I want you to believe anyway'. That type of structure is totally foreign to the Bible.
You also wrote - Perhaps if there were sound facts in the Bible or secular records that Jesus is the way, than maybe I would be sold on this one concept.
Come on man! How can you turn me away from showing you evidence and then say that you would believe if there *were* evidence. All the things you look for as far as evidence you can find with the Bible. Secular history and archaeology both are in agreement with scripture. You want proof? Please humor me and I can give you plenty.
Penn
Bobsgirl said:So can I assume that we won't be finding the people of god in China, the middle east ... India
Says who? The bible say's " those who have no law and do the THINGS in the law have the law in themselves'(something like that anyway)
I have to believe that God has to read hearts of people for him to decide their fate. It dosen't seem just to me if God were to say on judgement day "sorry you were misled...I know your intentions were good, but you didn't believe correctly"
The question should be when are the people of God.
I'll explain:
It is a fact that space and time started at some point, whether you believe in God or science.
For God to be the creator and not a product of the universe, he must exist outside of space and time or "space-time".
In this position, God would not see the passing of events in a lateral time line as we do but in a "lump", very difficult for us to imagine, but try to imagine all the places you've ever been appearing in the same place simultaneously but making a coherant pattern.
Now comes my point:
Why would God choose an arbitary point on OUR time line at which point those who are sinners or haven't repented will die, and those that have found the "Jehovah's Witness" religion will live? - when moving this point one way or the other would definately alter the numbers (and the individuals) who are saved.
Gumby .... the words you quoted were intended as sarcasm ... I think you make a valid point. I do believe that God knows our hearts... I don't think that this absolves us of the responsibility to listen to them however.
Ballistic .... Interesting points ...
BobsGirl
"May the work of your hands be a sign of gratitude and reverence to the human condition." - Mahatma Gandhi
