The Gospel

[CaptainManacles]

I think a better question is, why are Christians so easily offended by everything? Christians are always the ones who seem to take a difference in opinion as a personal attack. Believing that Jesus didn't exist isn't a personal attack, it's where the evidence points. Yet, a part of Christian beliefs is that many friends of mine are abominations and deserve to die, yet I'm expected to remain unoffended. Interesting.

 

[KingMerv00]

All I Need To Know About Life I Learned From Star Trek
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seek out new life and new civilizations.
Non-interference is the Prime Directive.
Keep your phaser set on stun.
Humans are highly illogical.
There's no such thing as a Vulcan death grip.
Live long and prosper.
Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting; it is not logical but it is often true.
Infinite diversity in infinite combinations (IDIC).
Tribbles hate Klingons (and Klingons hate Tribbles).
Enemies are often invisible - like Klingons, they can be cloaked.
Don't put all your ranking officers in one shuttle craft.
When your logic fails, trust a hunch.
Insufficient data does not compute.
If it can't be fixed, just ask Scotty.
Even in our own world, sometimes we are aliens.
When going out into the Universe, remember: "Boldly go where no man has gone before!"

(and important lessons from many other sources here at All I Need to Know...

(Emphasis mine)

Star trek got it wrong here. When logic fails, any choice you make is basically a random guess. In other words...never TRUST a hunch.

 

[Palimpsest]

I think a better question is, why are Christians so easily offended by everything? Christians are always the ones who seem to take a difference in opinion as a personal attack. Believing that Jesus didn't exist isn't a personal attack, it's where the evidence points. Yet, a part of Christian beliefs is that many friends of mine are abominations and deserve to die, yet I'm expected to remain unoffended. Interesting.

Well, hang on, let's not generalize about all Christians here. But what I'm seeing in kathy's posts is basically ego. That she's special because she'll get into Heaven, because God loves her, because she's part of a special minority (heh), and it's AWESOME. And she, having been touched by this AWESOME Holy Spirit, is AWESOME by association. And maybe it's the only thing that makes her feel that way. It is not "a logical conclusion, logically arrived at," as Mr. Spock would say[*]. It's a deeply emotional and personal belief. Like rooting for your favourite sports team, I guess. If that team could save you from eternal hellfire.

So how would you feel if a bunch of meany skeptics started to question that thing that makes you feel so AWESOME, saying that hey, you're not special, you're just a flawed human being and--like a lot of human beings--you've been deluding yourself all this time?

[*] Bonus points: which episode is that from?

 

[kurious_kathy]

I feel sorry for you guys if your own reality is knocking believers. His sheep do hear his voice, but it seems skeptics and pagans are the hardest to reach.
What are you going to say when you meet your maker and he asks you what did you do with my son? On that day there will be no excuses, " the 2nd death will be worse than the first!"
Why do you choose to stay blind?
It's so sad that people who think they are so well read and smart can't believe in the gospel. Jesus came to teach us how to live,"the word made flesh," he died so we could live!
Everything outside of Christ leads to death. Why do worldly people struggle with this fact? Not fiction or myth...He's alive!

 

[Lisa Simpson]

Everything outside of Christ leads to death. Why do worldly people struggle with this fact? Not fiction or myth...He's alive!

Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Wiccans, etc--all go to Hell?

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

What are you going to say when you meet your maker and he asks you what did you do with my son?

I'll say, "You're the omniscient one; you tell me," and hope he doesn't check my trunk.

 

[Ducky]

I feel sorry for you guys if your own reality is knocking believers. His sheep do hear his voice, but it seems skeptics and pagans are the hardest to reach.
What are you going to say when you meet your maker and he asks you what did you do with my son? On that day there will be no excuses, " the 2nd death will be worse than the first!"
Why do you choose to stay blind?
It's so sad that people who think they are so well read and smart can't believe in the gospel. Jesus came to teach us how to live,"the word made flesh," he died so we could live!
Everything outside of Christ leads to death. Why do worldly people struggle with this fact? Not fiction or myth...He's alive!

DIVINE INSANITY: God killed himself on the cross to save his own creation from his own wrath

Taken from this thread

 

[Piscivore]

It's so sad that people who think they are so well read and smart can't believe in the gospel.

Why do you think that is? Have you even read the one book you claim to like?

 

[Richard G]

Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

What are you going to say when you meet your maker and he asks you what did you do with my son?

I'll tell my maker "He's in bed, snoring away. You'd think the son of God might cuddle for a few minutes, but noooooo."

God doesn't need to hear the details, right?

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

I'll tell my maker "He's in bed, snoring away. You'd think the son of God might cuddle for a few minutes, but noooooo."

God doesn't need to hear the details, right?

No, but we do.

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

Winky 4:17 And Jesus spake to the masses, Funk is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The fundies talk a lotta jive, but the funk is not within them, and they shall perish. The rest of you cats, come on up to Heaven for some bootylicious boogey! Amen.


from the Holy Bible Carabas-Funkadelic version (revised)

edited because I forgot that the words of our saviour are supposed to be green in the CFV(R)

 

[Lisa Simpson]

No, but we do.

Well let's just say there was a corset, high heels and fishnet stockings involved.



But not worn by me.

 

[Palimpsest]

Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Right, well, there you go. I guess God doesn't want everybody to get into heaven. If he'd wanted wise and prudent me to hear the truth, he would have, but he chose to hide it from me.

Which pretty neatly answers kathy's last question, even though it contradicts her earlier statements.

 

[Beleth]

Why do you choose to stay blind?

On the contrary. We have chosen to look at everything and have concluded that different things are worthy of attention than you have.

You see, from our viewpoint, you are the one who has chosen to stay blind.

 

[jjramsey]

Believing that Jesus didn't exist isn't a personal attack, it's where the evidence points.

Yes, the evidence points to the origin story of Mithras being that he was born of a virgin. No, wait, it points to the origin story of Mithras being born from a rock. Funny thing, Mithraic scholars like Franz Cumont (who's a little dated) and Manfred Clauss (who's not) say something totally different than the polemicists who claim that Jesus never existed.

Another example of where the evidence really points.

Now that I'm done venting on some popular nonsense, back to the thread topic:

Everything outside of Christ leads to death. Why do worldly people struggle with this fact?

Because the evidence falls far short of supporting that the claim "Everything outside of Christ leads to death" is indeed fact.

 

[Beleth]

I just don't understand why peolple feel it's a threat to test their own beliefs against what the bible says? Nobody should feel it is being crammed down their throat...

Don't you see that that's exactly what you are doing when you call us "blind"? Trying to shame us into believing what you believe?

Not only doesn't it work, it pushes us further away from what you are trying to convince us of. We see that and think to ourselves, "oh, look, another nutty Bible-beater trying to cram her beliefs down our throats."

but why not test our own truths in light of scripture?

Okay. Here's a simple one.

I believe that the universe was created more than 14 billion years ago. Interpretation of data, data that is untouched by human hands, leads me to believe that. Meanwhile, the Bible, touched and translated numerous times by human hands, tells me that the universe was created just over 6000 years ago. There are numerous things I can see and touch and experience that I know happened over 6000 years ago. Well, okay, I'll allow for some wiggle room; I will admit that either they were created over 6000 years ago, or that the Creator is making it look like they were, in which case the Creator is trying to deceive me.

So either the Bible is in error as to the age of the universe, or the Creator is engaged in a deception, in which case the Bible is in error when it states that the Creator does not engage in deception. Either choice leads to the same conclusion: that somewhere along the line, the Bible is in error.

I just wish I had done it sooner in my journey called life. I feel more complete and made wholein accepting his word is true. Don't ask me how it works, God's ways are not are ways.

Here's something else I've never quite understood. Eventually when you ask enough probing questions about Scripture, you typically end up with an answer like this one - "God's ways are not our ways" - or the more popular "God works in mysterious ways." But that can't be true without invalidating all of the commandments set forth in the Bible, can it? I mean, here's God saying "Do these things and I'll like you" and us returning the favor by saying in essence "We can't possibly know what would make you like us"?

A heart that is opened to him and really seeking will definately be found.

All I can say is that I've been looking for more than 20 years and I still haven't found him.

 

[Robin]

Have you ever really asked yourself where you want to spend eternity? Hell will not be a party guys!

As I have said before the choice seems to be either to spend eternity in torment or to spend eternity with the sort of mind that could have conceived Hell.

The former seems the least worst.

Have you ever considered what type of people keep torture facilities in their basements?

 

[Winny]

All I can say is that I've been looking for more than 20 years and I still haven't found him.

Have you checked behind the sofa?

Winny

 

[Atlas]

I feel sorry for you guys if your own reality is knocking believers. His sheep do hear his voice, but it seems skeptics and pagans are the hardest to reach.
What are you going to say when you meet your maker and he asks you what did you do with my son? On that day there will be no excuses, " the 2nd death will be worse than the first!"
Why do you choose to stay blind?
It's so sad that people who think they are so well read and smart can't believe in the gospel. Jesus came to teach us how to live,"the word made flesh," he died so we could live!
Everything outside of Christ leads to death. Why do worldly people struggle with this fact? Not fiction or myth...He's alive!

Hey kurious, are you putting it together yet? Most of the people you are talking to have no reason to believe in life after death. Give them something to look at in that regard and you would open a few eyes.

Most of these folks have no reason to believe prayer has any value. Prayer, as in petitioning God for something desirable - like the life of a friend in the hospital - works no better than chance. If you have proof otherwise you'll unblind the skeptics.

There is no acceptance of sin either. Adam and Eve is a fable with a talking animal. Original sin is part of the fable. Jesus isn't necessary to save anyone from a fable. So the God of Jesus is part of the same cultural delusion.

Anyway, you may not be blind but you do not understand what you see.