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Sure. The advantage of the internet is the fact that you do not need to know what time to tune in, and into which station. It is always there, and answers any question people might ask about God.
I know that for a fact when it came to my business' web site I had once.
Getting people to "tune in" to the web site still takes a lot to keep it viable and not sink into the oblivion of google search page.
I know that for a fact when it came to my business' web site I had once.
Getting people to "tune in" to the web site still takes a lot to keep it viable and not sink into the oblivion of google search page.
There is one online missionary site which claim they have had 1.5 billion web site visits (no doubt some people visit multiple times) and over 150 million people who have indicated a decision to follow Christ. Those are big numbers.
There is one online missionary site which claim they have had 1.5 billion web site visits (no doubt some people visit multiple times) and over 150 million people who have indicated a decision to follow Christ. Those are big numbers.
Would someone explain in simple terms for those who may not know what it means to "follow Christ"?
Explain how the Native Anericans , Chinese, Australian natives , etc have been in the loop since the birth of Christ . Explain why missionaries and Bibles in new languages are necessary if everyone is in the loop .
That was not the intent of my response...
My thinking is that if people are alive, then they are available for God. That does not imply everyone has equal access to the Bible and other materials.
What is interesting is that people in many cases worship something - it may be the sun, or the moon, or something they make up. The point being, it is inherent in most people that God exists in some way, shape, or form.
What I do know for sure is that you have access to resources about Christ and God. What's holding you back?
I'm afraid a few dingbats on this sub-thread have no idea how complicated translating a Bible can be.
Almost 40 years ago I met a Wycliffe Bible translator who, along with a partner, lived ten years in a remote part of the Philippines, up in the mountains in order to translate just the gospels for a small group of people, less than a thousand strong who lived in six villages. They had their own unique language.
The two translators spent years learning the language first. When it came time to begin a translation--in this case from English into a very small Philippine dialect they began to run into problems. The problem for Christians who think everything is easy black and white, is that it is simply impossible to use the exact idioms and get them correct. That is part of our problem in understanding Koine Greek, and it's even worse with ancient Hebrew when some of the words are untranslatable even by Jewish scholars.
In the case of my Wycliffe translator, one of the problems he had was distances and measurements. There were literally no words in that dialect which could be considered distance. If asked how tall something was, a native would say "as tall as a man," or "as tall as a tree." Nothing was specific.
When it came time to translate "When a man compels you to go with him a mile, go with him for two," our translators were stymied. But the one I talked with said that after struggling for weeks to find an answer he came upon an idea while watching a woman boil banana leaves (edible? yikes! they are hard to digest).
He said as he sat talking with her, she finished boiling one pot and started another. He, having a watch, timed how long it took--just over 20 minutes--and the idea came to him. So that verse was translated:
"If a man compels you to go with him on a path for as long as it takes a pot of banana leaves to boil, go with him for as long as it takes a second pot of banana leaves to boil."
He said that translated as such, it was probably as accurate as could be.
So fifty different languages does not mean all those languages understand it in a verbal plenary inerrant fashion. They can't (of course, neither can we), since verbal plenary inerrancy means that one believes all of the Bible is inspired down to the very words of Scripture. At best, from a fundamentalist viewpoint, it can be understood as non-verbal plenary inerrancy which mean that one believes all the Bible is inspired, but only as to its concepts—not all the words. Which is how we have to view it also, since we don't know the Greek and Hebrew words, because their are different meanings to many of those words, and we rarely take time to see those words contextually within the culture of the time they were written.
Please don't respond with, "Well, it's close enough." Close is not spot on, and if you are going to declare perfection then it should be perfect--not "close enough." And the reason for so many different interpretations of scripture is because of the MASSIVE variety of ways ancient words can be translated.
I do think it is commendable that there are many translations out there. We now have 50 more ways of interpreting scripture that will not exactly match what we have. No problem for me, personally, but for many it is unthinkable to even consider.
My thinking is that if people are alive, then they are available for God. That does not imply everyone has equal access to the Bible and other materials.
What is interesting is that people in many cases worship something - it may be the sun, or the moon, or something they make up. The point being, it is inherent in most people that God exists in some way, shape, or form.
What I do know for sure is that you have access to resources about Christ and God. What's holding you back?
Finally an idea we can agree upon. I do believe there is a divine spark in everyone--hence the seeking. Incidentally, so does Muslim religious sociologist Reza Aslan, who gave a terrific interview with Oprah last Sunday on Super Soul Sunday.
The "path" we choose to find God--and it is a self-chosen path--varies based on our culture. While "faith" is very personal, the "path" is all about what religion is chosen. It's sad that most of the "paths" regard any other "path," as headed in another direction than toward God.
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