To new Christians on JWN (page 6)

snowbird

WasBlind!!!

I watched Ms. Angelou recite that on some show; I cried like an abandoned baby.

Syl

bobld

I don't agree with all your comments.EX."They will claim that they are content and REAL contentment comes from knowing God" Who are you to judge wheather I am content or not?

It always gets my goat when the wbts or someone says you CANNOT be happy unless you blah blah blah.

B

NVL - You are right. There are MANY professing Christians that promote bad things in the world. But there is a specific flaw that I see in the godlessness of the world. The lack of accountability. We've taken God out of everything. The only one we are accountable to is the law. If we can do something in secret, with no fear of getting caught, we would we not do it if there is no one to answer to? But with God, he sees all things.

notverylikely

You can if you're God.

Ta da.

Speaking of "Ta Da!"....

"With God all things are possible ..."

Oh, and god cannot lie or do anything unholy or unrighteous, so clearly not ALL things are possible.

brotherdan

I wasn't the one saying it bobld. The Bible says that. I'm not judging you. I don't know about your personal contentment. I just believe that the Bible says true happiness comes from knowing God. How many times do I have to say this?

wasblind

yea girl

it was Madea's family reunion, i'm a big madea fan

Mad Sweeney

We imply that we can only find truth through our own knowledge. But Jesus (and his apostles) did not say this would be the case. The Holy Spirit also went by the name "The Teacher". The Holy Spirit would teach us what we need to know.

I do not imply that it is our own knowledge, not at all. It is that the Holy Spirit does MORE than simply guide the writing and understanding of one single book that only around 1/3 of the world even has access to. The Teacher is FAR GREATER than the Bible. The book is useful. It is sometimes practical. But it has been filtered through the biased lenses of its writers, its translators, and its readers. It is not the Holy Spirit or even a product of the Holy Spirit. At best it is a by-product of Holy Spirit's acting on and through imperfect men who's imperfections and biases remain within the work.

Therefore, it is more than simply that the Holy Spirit helped write the Bible (as it can help anyone write anything if called upon). It is that the Holy Spirit can help you and I learn from the Bible (as we can learn from any number of other great works of literature). As you brought out, it is "The Teacher" who gives us understanding. The Holy Spirit can use the Bible or not as he so chooses. He doesn't need the Bible.

The Bible is special. But it isn't THAT special. :)

brotherdan

NVL - God didn't create humans with original sin. We did that to ourselves. God just set up a plan of salvation for us.

And you are right. God cannot lie, nor be unrighteous.

snowbird

Oh, and god cannot lie or do anything unholy or unrighteous, so clearly not ALL things are possible.

He cannot in the sense that He will not - ever - do any unrighteous thing.

Faith in God is a wonderful thing.

Can't view your video.

Syl

Hoping4Change

God tells us that true contentment comes from knowing Him. If I believe this then what am I to conclude about the true contentment of those that do not believe in God? I leave that to you to answer.

I definitely agree that the 'eliteist' thread is definitely in the Bible, however, I also think other portions of it make it clear that believers shouldn't be taking on airs because of their "knowledge of God". I would think that one would refrain from concluding anything about another's "true contentment", or at the least refrain from voicing or commenting on that conclusion", for while such a conclusion may stem from a type of logical deduction (i.e, one can offer proof text to support the claim), offering/voicing an opinion agreeing with the conclusion comes across as judgmental (regardless if it true) and I think the Bible has a thing or two to say about judging others (even if the judgment happens to be correct). I think that in the original post, had it not included this:

I really think this is why people buy into the atheistic philosophy. They want to eliminate the ulti mate judgment on such sinfulness, consequently, they elimi nate God. It's expedient for them to philosophically get rid of God so that they don't have to live under the guilt and the fear of a coming judgment.

some (including myself) may not have had the same reaction.

As for:

That's a cheap remark from Carl Sagan. It avoids the issue and just throws it back into the creationists court to be dealt with.

I wasn't trying to offer an evolutionist standpoint; from what little I know of it, evolution is not about determining 'first cause'. That said, Sagan's remarks are neither cheap nor avoid the issue. It hits the issue directly on it's head. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". The onus definitely is on "Creationists" to provide the evidence for their extrordinary claims, it originates and is definitely in the "Creationists" court to deal with this question. There is no more reason to believe that "God always existed" then "The Universe always existed". (Perhaps this is why some equate the two). To "choose" one over the other is simply a 'leap of faith' and nothing more (and that is ok, admitting to such is what is important). The "proof" simply does not exist. What does exist are observations and evidences of varying value supporting (or not) each claim.

Information CANNOT come from nothing. It cannot be demonstrated in ANY sense. If you are honest with yourself, you cannot say that it can. There MUST be some sort of intelligence to cause what we see existing in the universe. From the power of the macrocosm to the fragile detail of the micrcosm, it is inexcusable to not believe in some sort of intelligent design.

These very same remarks can be said about 'God', "he cannot come from nothing...." ad infinitum. To not understand (today) how it might be possible for "intelligence to come from non-intelligence" does not, by any logical deduction necessarily mean it cant be so. It simply means we do not know, 'yet'. You may be right, the Bible 'might' be right (to greater or lesser degrees) or you might be wrong and Bible may be wrong. There's a whole world out there to live, love, know and experience - the "truth" is out there. Until Jesus reappears (should that happen) we simply will not know, all we can do is believe (or not. And even if he were to appear, I wonder if the world's reaction might not be one such as that in 'The Grand Inquisitor' from "The Brothers Karamasov"). And if Shiva, Buddha, or somthing else shows up first - we'll know then too.

To new Christians on JWN

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