Closer to God

[athompson]

Re: Yeap

Originally posted by Champane Flight

I do not need anyone to show me what is right and what is wrong, I know. My higher power is all around me, I do not need some other person to bolster it.

Amen

 

[JHerrlich]

Once upon a time, I believe religion was a noble gesture. A system created by man to contol man. To give the masses a governing body that was built on something halfway decent.



That was once upon a time, very soon after that, people found out that you can take advantage of that control.



Believe what you may, but I believe that YOU are your OWN place of worship. You don't HAVE to be a sheep following doctrine created by a governing body of religion to worship whatever you believe in. Just worship as you see fit.



That how I feel about it.



BTW, I'm am in NO WAY condoning the actions of the extremist religion cleansing people out there, if that's what you think I'm getting at. As long as you're a decent person, you're doing something right.

 

[baby.driver]

athompson, it's very simple

Capital Punishment is legal murder.

Ditto abortion.



As for the rest, no one will force you to go to Heaven. If you don't want what Jesus offers, BELIEVE THIS, you won't get it.

Believe what you want, there is only one way.

 

[sdalton]

CF, is it religion, Christianity, or churches that anger you so??

 

[78repowerwagon]

Just because you are decent or "good people" does not mean you will be with Jesus in the afterlife. I had a friend that was a good person, but he also believed worshiping a tree was OK.

 

[Champane Flight]

Anger

I don't think that religion, churches, or christanity anger me. It is the some of the people in them that anger me. I do not think that any religion in itself is evil. I do however believe that there are people in every religion that bend it to their thinking, therefore make it evil.



To go out and try to convert people to your faith gives me a bite. If you live your faith or spirituality you teach by example. This is what makes people want to know more about your faith or spirituality. I do not have to go out, bang a bible on the table, and threaten hell. All I have to do is be content with myself and my higher power.

 

[78repowerwagon]

Jesus commanded us to go forth and spread the good news, how is that supposed to happen if we are expected to keep to ourselves. They killed Jesus because he said things about religion they did not want to hear.

 

[Champane Flight]

OK

Ok, the news has been spread. If there is anyone out there now that does not know about Jesus, he must live in a very deep, deep hole. Now leave us to make up our own minds and worship our trees.

 

[78repowerwagon]

There are still alot of people who have no clue about Jesus and alot of people who do not understand eternal life is a free gift. My church supports a missionary who works with Chinese. For those who do not know, the Chinese believe in Budah. Budah can not help them on judgment day, but because he is willing to spend his life trying to convert them, many people now know the One true God and understand what it means to be spiritually free.



Ever heard of Papua New Guini? This summer (June 2002) the Bible was presented to these people in their language(Kire) for the first time ever.



Blessings like this do not come free - that is why we should tithe to the church. Is it a sin for a Minister to drive a Lincoln? No more than it is for me to drive a Cummins. The money that is tithed goes to the church treasury, not to the minister. The minister gets a salary just like the rest of working America.

 

[illflem]

Originally posted by 78repowerwagon

Budah can not help them on judgment day...

What makes you so sure that Jesus is the only way? Have any proof?



Seems to me that Buddha, Mohammad, Confucius and Jesus were all saying the same thing.



This I'm holier than thou attitude is what turns me off to any religion pusher and makes me discount their beliefs as pure bunk.

 

[78repowerwagon]

They were not saying the same thing. Jesus said he is the only way to eternal life and he was to die for our sins so we don't have to, then he would be raised from the dead. Jesus is alive, Budah, Mohammad, Confucius are all dead. You can read all about it in the Bible. Don't believe in the Bible, try to prove it as inaccurate. It is impossible, it says the same thing now that it said 2000 years ago. Different writers, different times, different places all written over a time period of hundreds of years all say the same thing, Jesus IS Lord and Savior, Period. Nobody else who ever walked this earth can save anybody from their sins.



Don't be angry with God or Jesus because someone has a holier than thou attitude. The Pharisees and leaders of religious law thought they were holier than Jesus and he continually put them in their place when they tried to trap them.

 

[FATCAT]

How come we are expected to believe these child rapists wearing dresses and funny hats on word alone, but would be laughed at if we were to say we believe in Santa Claws, the Easter Rabbit or organizations who believe we were created by alien scientist.



I say show me proof ... that’s all.



How can you expect people to believe wholeheartedly on "stories" handed down some 2000 years ago. We all know the value of information that is 5th or 6th hand ... that 1lb bass you caught is now 10 lbs!!!



When my father talks about what he saw in Germany in 1945 at one of the concentration camps his company came upon, that was the clincher for him that there is no higher being, because if so, he/she/it would have prevented the evil that was perpetrated upon the Jews and other "sub-humans" as per the Nazis.



Evil and good exist in men’s hearts only. But, if you folks who believe want to keep sending your children to butt-raping homos for "salvation", who am I to say you shouldn't.

 

[illflem]

Do you think Jesus really said he is the only way to eternal life or was it one of his apostles writing 60 years later or worse yet edited by a king who was using religion for political control?



If Buddha would have said he was the only way would that have made him right also?

 

[JGblkLand]

I myself definitely think he said everything that is attributed to him in the Bible. God doesn't force anyone to believe, we all make that decision for ourselves. He gives us His word, we can take it or leave it. I choose to take it.

 

[3dracer]

I have pondered long enough. I do understand that all have the free-will to accept the word of God. You may choose to not accept it but I pray that you do. As a part-time-studying-to be preacher, I am inclined to speak up here. I am a Southern Baptist. I supported those missionaries that were martyred over there in Yemen. The purpose of those missions are not to persuade them to join the church but to join the ENTIRE church of Christians. Just as you are, or should be, not inclined to give a tenth of your income, but to do what God wants you to give to the church. To accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Jesus is the Lord because he died PERFECT and ROSE again on the third day. Budha Muhammed and Whoever else you choose to worship all led a sinful life, just as me and you. Jesus did not sin therefore he was perfect. There are some people that ruin the Christian image out there, and I am not so good to say that I don't fall short of that image either. I am a sinner, I am not perfect. But that should not keep anyone from accepting that Jesus was and to follow him. One should not let these shortcomings keep one from going to Heaven. You can be as good as you want to be and will still go to Hell if you don't accept Him. I do not care about religions, they are just names untill Judgement day. I have a faith that is secure forever in Jesus, and I pray that all you do too. That is my Mission. In the book of Genesis, it says that there will be wars among the people. There will be fighting and there will be blood shed. God is Just in what he does, even if it is groosome. He has a plan for all of us, death and life and all good, or bad is to fit into his plan. Just because he is God. Put your faith in him, you will not regret it if you do.



B. J. Deal

 

[78repowerwagon]

God desired to create a human race that loves Him. Genuine love does not exist in a dictatorship, obedience based on fear does. We decide if we will seek Him or turn our back on Him. He allows us to make our own decisions, but in doing so evil became a possibility because of mankind and our selfishness.



Evil is here and it is real, but that does not make God any less real. He hates evil and will avenge it to all who deserve it.



Remember, God experienced evil firsthand too. He walked the earth as a man. He was mocked, spit on, slapped in the face, whipped with a lead tipped whip then hung on a cross until dead.



How do I know this happened? The Bible is the impossible book. It is impossible for It to exist without Divine intervention. It is impossible to destroy It, many have tried. Science can prove It, Archeology can prove It, and history can prove It.



MG

 

[baby.driver]

Sign on my tailgate

Don't blame



Jesus



for Christian's mistakes.

 

[Champane Flight]

Here we go.

Here we go, the one religion over all the rest syndrome. If they were over there serving their religion, they died for a good cause and were martyred in your eyes. In my eyes it puts them in the same class of people that the Muslims are.



I believe in what I believe, it makes me feel good when times are bad, it gives faith to face another day, and it teaches me tolerance when there seems to be none. His name can be Jesus, Mohamad, Buddha, or Ogalla of the seven moons, If it makes the world a little better, in my eyes it serves the purpose. If it preaches intolerance, self importance, hate, martyerdom, death, and the taking from the weak, you can keep it.



Jesus was put on this earth to die for our sins. He was also sent here to experience us, he was not perfect and had many temptations. He threw the money lenders out of the temple in a fit of rage, he was tempted by Mary Magdelena, and even had doubts of his own ability! He was not perfect, and his father sent him that way... ...

 

[Mike Ellis]

All this crap about "Christians did this... " or "Christians did that... " or "The preacher asked me for $$$$... . " is just a crutch that people are using to avoid dealing with the uncomfortable TRUTH that there are some people out there willing to kill them simply for what they believe. Or more accurately, DON'T believe.



It is quite simple, gentlemen. If you aren't a Muslim, you're an infidel. And if you're an infidel, and an American, you are a TARGET - because America supports the state of Israel. You can blame American Christians and Jews for this and that, and rage about the priests who did the other, and be agnostic or atheistic or Buddhist or Wiccan, doesn't matter. If you aren't Muslim, you're an infidel. And as an American, that makes you a potential target.



None of the other world religions teach that unbelievers should be killed, or that conversion at the point of the sword is acceptable. 90% of you guys live within a few miles of a church or synagogue here in America, and you know darned well that the people inside those buildings this Sunday will NOT be calling for your death, or the destruction of your Nation, or that of anyone else, either.



Tonight, all across America, if you have Christian or Jewish friends and family, there will be people praying for the health and safety of you and your family. People who honestly want nothing but the best for you.



And all across the world, in organized groups and individually, there are also people praying fervently for their God to help strike you and your family down and destroy your nation. People who honestly want nothing but the worst for you. People who would cheerfully kill your children and believe they are going to heaven as a result.



Gee, I wonder which group you should be worrying about?

 

[78repowerwagon]

CF

Jesus was perfect, he had no sin in his life. He was tempted, but did not give in to temptation therefore sinless. I may be tempted to exceed the speed limit, but I don't break any laws until I do it. What is wrong with throwing the money changers out of the temple. They were doing Satan's work in a very Holy place, of course he kicked them out.



I don't know where you get that Mary M tempted him and even if she did, he did not sin with her! He never doubted his ability. He cured blindness, all kinds of sickness and disease, raised people from the dead (even some who were dead long enough to be partially decomposed). He cast out demons, walked on water and even rebuked a Fig tree because it had no fruit on it, it died just because of what he said to it. He rebuked a storm and made it go away. He turned five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed five thousand men not counting women and children. He had no doubts about himself, he knew exactly who he was.



Jesus is perfect and God sent him that way.