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Old 05-16-2015, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Home is Where You Park It
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Wary Christians Flee Nevada Church After Yoga

I simply don't know what to say. Demon-haunted comes to mind...
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Old 05-16-2015, 01:03 AM
 
Location: Caverns measureless to man...
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Quote:
We as Christians do not want to make our mind more flexible.
You really can't make this stuff up. Nobody would believe you.
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Old 05-16-2015, 04:57 AM
 
Location: S. Wales.
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That's very interesting. I'd say that the Faith -confidence phenomenon is well attested. It is ascribed to the merits of whatever belief -system the person buys into.
The conclusion I have at the moment is that it is a common mental ability that can be accessed by mental focussing. It is not related to any particular belief -system, let alone to any particular god.

In an odd way, the Bible underlines this point. The dogmatic message is that whatever you ask in faith it will be granted, but Matthew 17. 19 adds a caveat, alone of the four. 19.Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, Why couldn't we drive it out? 20 He replied, Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

It is the faith that counts, not the dogma. Of course he spoils the point in his usual fatheaded way saying that a small amount will be quite enough when he said the reason the disciples couldn't do was becasue they didn't have enough. You need enough Faith that you can do this thing and it will very often happen. This doesn't work on mountain -shifting of course. But we can put that down to a rather overdone metaphor.
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Old 05-16-2015, 09:03 AM
 
Location: Northeastern US
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NIH (Not Invented Here) syndrome at its best. It's very much like how Christians care much less about DOING good than they do about BEING RIGHT, in that righteousness is "filthy rags" unless it comes after, and as evidence of, correct belief. Here, it's sour grapes because a perceived answer to prayer comes by an unapproved route, and most importantly, by an unapproved belief system (yoga) -- even though practiced by a Christian. In other words it's far less important for human suffering to be removed or reduced than it is for a person to believe the correct and approved dogma / orthodoxy AND avoid unapproved beliefs or procedures, even if that does nothing to get them out of a wheelchair they've been in for 30 years.

Here you have people who should be rejoicing at the good fortune of their "brother in the Lord" and instead they decry him as if he had voluntarily taken demons into himself.

Returning to my NIH theme, this is also about control (largely, thought control). These believers are more concerned about being in charge of and getting credit for the healing narrative than in actually healing anyone.
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Old 05-16-2015, 09:10 AM
 
Location: Home is Where You Park It
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Mordant, I think that most of them are just plain superstitious. By that, I mean they think the bogeyman is out to get them, and they can protect themselves by getting out of the bogeyman's line of sight.

Not that the things you mention don't come into play...
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Old 05-16-2015, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Ontario, Canada
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There's no cure for stupid.
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Old 05-17-2015, 04:20 PM
 
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or limits.

But butterfly's do show us what we can/will achieve with medicine I think.
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Old 05-17-2015, 04:35 PM
 
Location: New Zealand
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Humans have 'moved mountains' and wouldn't have been able to if they really believed that they couldn't...
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Old 05-18-2015, 01:43 AM
 
Location: S. Wales.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rotagivan View Post
Humans have 'moved mountains' and wouldn't have been able to if they really believed that they couldn't...
Yes.. 'It isn't possible, so there's no point in trying' has never struck me as a very sound argument.

On the other hand a personal motto is "If at first you don't succeed, pack it in and do something else."
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Old 05-18-2015, 05:18 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rotagivan View Post
Humans have 'moved mountains' and wouldn't have been able to if they really believed that they couldn't...
lmao. some of us are just to stupid to realize we can't do that!
lucky for us that know better
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