Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That may be so that YOU don't need to have your arms amputated but it is possible some do.
Maybe YOU don't need to be at enmity to God to enjoy reconciliation like some do.
Oh if only God had you for His adviser! He could learn so much more!
It is not a matter of whether there is another option than God's tough love approach. It is a matter of accepting what He is doing and going along with it.
Nicely done,chum. You are doing more to help Hyker along to Comprehension than I could ever do.
Repentance is about getting Right with God and in pretty much the same way in OT and NT. Though OT has pretty meticulous procedures for making amends,whereas the NT requires something a bit more shapeless (though cheaper). True repentance for the backsliding.
'Do unto others' is of course a pretty universal man -made moral codewhich in the nearest thing to a humanist 'fixed' moral basis that we have.
It is found in China, India, Greece and Judea (a Pharisee saying). so of course, it had to be put into Jesus' mouth, but after having been changed from a non -interference - message to a license to evangelize on the doorstep.
Getting right with God entails resolve not to do the harmful thing....an improvement.
Whether it is more or less universal (though the terms are much more proactive in Jesus' version) or not, the point remains that it is about self-improvement, which is the point I was answering.
Repentance is a greek word - "Matanoia" It merely means "Change your mind" . THEN - your actions will change.
The actions of the prodigal son in Luke 15 din't change until he first changed his mind - Then his actions folowed.
And that should tell you change comes from within. While you can deflect to cosmic excuses, you will never improve. The problem is that theists think these epiphanies are external when they are internal all along. Peer support also assists but there is no invisible entity at work.
When I was a christian, I was deemed to be a good one as I was active not passive in what needed to change. Since then, I have not reverted in any shape or form. Still the same me, just with less superfluous baggage.
And that should tell you change comes from within. While you can deflect to cosmic excuses, you will never improve. The problem is that theists think these epiphanies are external when they are internal all along. Peer support also assists but there is no invisible entity at work.
When I was a christian, I was deemed to be a good one as I was active not passive in what needed to change. Since then, I have not reverted in any shape or form. Still the same me, just with less superfluous baggage.
There is none good - No not even ONE! Contradicting scripture is a sure sign you do not know what you are even talking about.
If you put off the Christian beliefs that were drilled into you when you were a kid, the Garden of Eden story just reads like a story of people who got in trouble for doing something that a particular god told them not to. I don't see how you can get the idea that there was some pre-existing moral code that was first violated in the Garden.
I'm a devoted Christian and an avid student of the Bible, and original sin is not actually taught in the Garden of Eden story of the Bible. The New Testament, especially the epistles of Paul, are the basis for the theory, but the passages in question do not establish with any certainty that newborn babies are sinners worthy of burning in hell for eternity. Paul's writings clearly establish that we are born flawed and that we naturally tend to make sinful choices throughout our lives. Nothing absolute beyond that.
To me, the Garden of Eden story is not paradise lost. Events transpired exactly as God wanted them to or God would not have allowed it to transpire. There is purpose in having us live our lives in an imperfect world that is distant from God. It builds character. It makes us stronger. It provides a valid test to show what kind of person we really are. Just imagine what it would be like if Adam and Eve were never made mortal and never kicked out of the perfect paradise. Life would be boring, pointless and since nobody dies this planet would be hopelessly overcrowded... It's even possible that in their perpetually innocent state, copulation would have never occurred to them and they'd have never had children at all.
So why create a perfect world in the first place? Why create the tree of knowledge and with it the potential to destroy that perfect world? Why allow Satan to corrupt to serpent who then tempts Adam and Eve? I think God could not choose the wicked, lost and fallen world for them. It is not in God's nature to force misery, pain and death on anyone. They had to choose it for themselves. Seems to me that we all are given that choice after a fashion. The entire Eden storyline may be metaphorical, but it represents something each of us chooses: At some point we consciously choose/chose to live in this world of opposites and Adam and Eve symbolically represent each of us.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You are doing more to help Hyker along to Comprehension than I could ever do.
