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Katie: Julian and and you have on an argument that can never be settled, was at the heart of the argument that led to the Protestant Reformation and will go on till dooms day. Rome follows scripture and "tradition", that is the writtings of the church fathers and opinions of popes and theologians for the past 2000 years. Christians that are generally in the protestant category, have tended to follow the principle of "Sola Scriptura." However, many former protestants are generally gravitating toward Rome, having given up on sola scriptura, for a variety of reasons. It is part of the battle between God and Satan that goes on in the world and will continue till Jesus comes again. My advice to Christians is to heed the word of God, for there are many warnings like the following:
Mt 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Mt 7:25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Mt 7:26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.Mt 7:27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Haven't seen you in a while my friend. Hope you are well.
I have no clue what this video is that you have mentioned. Maybe it was posted after I shut down last night? I don't even see the page it was removed from.
The Bible, in particular the OT cannot be the ultimate word of God. What you see is the interpretation of the men regarding God.
The God that I know and love is not like that. That is why for me the Bible is just a brochure written by men.
I fully understand that the doctrine of Sola Scriptura is based on the fact that the Bible is the faithful word of God. I simply have a different point of view. Interestingly the very nasty passages of the bible are never read in mass.
The solution is rather simple and the Episcopalians may be leading the way. Another solution is a church like Unity, not to be confused with the Unitarian Church.
The Catholic Church will change even if the change is slow. They already accept that folks that belong to other creeds are saved. The resentment of Catholics towards Protestants is now quite low. However, now the Bible belt has become very anticatholic. It is amazing how the roles are reversed.
It is easy to see why the RCC is not based on Sola Scriptura. The Bible has some issues, but these are accepted by the fundamentalists without any questions. I remember women in Washington DC telling me they were completely submissive to the H at home because they bible said so.
Julian,
I can understand why you don't think God can be jealous.
Jealousy is an ugly word in our language. It is selfish, suspicious and distrusts. It is possessive, demanding, and overbearing. We view jealousy as a horrible trait and we hate it. How can we possibly apply these traits to a loving God?
Yet, God very clearly states, "I am a jealous God."
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5).
The word jealous in the Old and New Testaments means intense zeal or fervor over something dear to us. Being jealous and being zealous are essentially the same thing in the Bible. God is zealous, and wanting to protect what is precious to Him. This is not the same as the "jealousy" we think of in our English language.
Remember when Moses came down from the mountain with the two tablets of stone only to find the people of Israel worshipping the golden image of a calf? God's jealousy was manifested through His servant Moses. Moses took the stone tablets, threw them to the ground, then burned the calf grinding it to powder. This was an expression of God's jealousy operating through Moses.
When things calmed down, God spoke to Moses and said,
“Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, lest it become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim—for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:12-14).
God says His name is Jealous! He zealously desires exclusive devotion and worship. Read what He says about Himself.
I am the LORD, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8)
God also says,
“I shall be jealous for My holy name” (Ezekiel 39:25).
As christians, we need to be jealous for Him. We should exalt Him above everyone and everything. We should be dedicated to living for His honor and zealously committed to doing His will.
Our goal should be to show the world that our God is the one true and living God!
So you see Julian, this is not a figure of speech. It is not a preaching tool. It is not a mundane primitive human sensation based on insecurity. You must do your own research on the word "jealous" in order to understand exactly what God means when He says, "I am a jealous God."
God Bless,
Katie
I see the word "jealous" as meaning "demanding respect." I don't see it as meaning "envious."
God does not need to demand respect. Once again that is a human quality and it also assumes insecurity and pettiness.
In many churches the view of Christianity is this:
Chapter One
There are two ways: one of life and one of death; and the difference between the two ways is great.
The way of life is this: first, you should love God, who made you; secondly, love your neighbor as yourself; and whatever things you do not desire to be done to you, do not do them to someone else.
Now the words of this teaching are this: Bless those who curse you and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who are persecuting you. For what credit is it if you love those who love you? Do not the Gentiles do the same thing? But love those hating you, and you will not have an enemy.
Keep yourself from fleshly and bodily cravings. If anyone hits you on the right cheek, turn the other one to him also. And you will be acting maturely. If someone should force you to go one mile, go with him two. If someone takes your coat, give him your shirt also. If anyone should take from you what is yours, do not demand that he give it back, for you cannot.
Give to everyone asking you and do not refuse, for the Father desires to give to everyone from His own gifts. Blessed is the one who gives according to the commandment, for he is innocent. But the one who receives without need shall account for his receiving. Furthermore, being held, he shall be examined concerning what he has done, and he shall not be released until he has given back the last cent.
It has been said concerning this, "Let your money sweat in your hands until you know whom you should give it to."
We don't spend a lot of time trying to get saved. However, for fundamentalists salvation is everything.
I rather be a Christian as per the words of the Didache and let God decide.
The word stems from the French jalousie, formed from jaloux (jealous), and further from Low Latinzelosus (full of zeal), in turn from the Greek word ζήλος (zēlos), sometimes "jealousy", but more often in a positive sense "emulation, ardor, zeal" [14][15] (with a root connoting "to boil, ferment"; or "yeast").
It is not how the word is used today which is why the Bible is correct. It uses an old meaning as in zeal for His name and zeal for His people.
I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God
The God of the Jews needed to act in this manner to make a differentiation from the pagan Gods who were also blood thirsty and also demanded sacrifices.
However, Abraham is commanded to kill his son and this is clearly pagan. God needed proof that Abraham was fearful!!!!!!!!! For God's sake that is an anti-christian/pagan point of view------------- and rightfully so-------------- Jesus had not arrived yet.
I certainly don't want a God that thinks that way. This goes well beyond jealousy and expresses the insecurity of the writers.
God does not need to demand respect. Once again that is a human quality and it also assumes insecurity and pettiness.
One of the dictionary definitions of jealousy is: "Demanding exclusive loyalty, as 'the Lord is a jealous God'." To me, that sounds pretty straightforward, and it's pretty much what I just got through saying.
Quote:
We don't spend a lot of time trying to get saved.
Nor do we (Mormons).
Quote:
I rather be a Christian as per the words of the Didache and let God decide.
Jesus Christ himself said, "By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, that ye have love one for another." I believe He was saying that our behavior towards one another was the main way in which the world would be able to identify us as His followers, or as "Christians."
The Bible, in particular the OT cannot be the ultimate word of God. What you see is the interpretation of the men regarding God.
The God that I know and love is not like that. That is why for me the Bible is just a brochure written by men.
I fully understand that the doctrine of Sola Scriptura is based on the fact that the Bible is the faithful word of God. I simply have a different point of view. Interestingly the very nasty passages of the bible are never read in mass.
Jesus, Peter, Paul and others quoted from the Old Testament often. Do you think they viewed it the way you do?
With all due respect, may I ask you how much of the Bible you have actually read? All of the OT? Some? Very little? A quote here and there? What about the NT? I'm wondering how you came by such a negative view of the Bible. Again, I ask respectfully.
Kate
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Deleted by Mystic.
