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As I said, YOU read into. It what you want to use to browbeat the poster You are transparent and a fraud.
...and as i said, if we look at her post 494, the god she believes exists and has a 'personal relationship' with is Yahweh. Yahweh is the Hebrew god of war and that is why I called him a god of war...because THAT is what he is. I'm sorry if it's confusing for you.
So then bro, are you saying that you have sold all your possessions and given the money to the poor, that if you caught someone making off with your computer, you would call them back and ask them if there was anything they would like to take and that, once they were away with your gear, you wouldn't call the police??Then why do you need to have anything at all? Why not give it all away...to me! Of course. One is prompted to ask just why Yahweh sees fit to cater for your needs whilst allowing children to die horrible for nothing more than a glass of clean water.
I don't have much left, after 'someone' stole my business; Left me with NEGATIVE net worth, still there, and living paycheck to paycheck. I was quite angry for quite a while, but have learned to 'let it go' and am in a 'much better place' now! Come and get whatever you want, even my car! - but you gotta haul it off; no shipping!
But you see, since you are keenly aware - God gave them YOU to give them the glass of water - whatcha waiting for??
I prefer to give the 'glass of water' to non - Christians. The Christians will be ok. The Bible guarantees it. Just like it guarantees that anything you ask for in prayer will be granted. In human terms that would be regarded as terms of contract.
Matthew 10. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? 26 Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto [a]the measure of his life? 28 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow:
Guaranteed.
"Oh". saith the Eternal Theist, just as he did when cited the passage about giving all he Hath unto the Poor, "I thought that was metaphorical."
I don't have much left, after 'someone' stole my business; Left me with NEGATIVE net worth, still there, and living paycheck to paycheck.
Why do you even need a wage old fruit? Why don't you give your wage directly to the poor? Don't you believe Jesus when he tells you that he will look after you, even more so than he looks after the birds? Don't you believe him when he says that you only need to ask and it will be given to you?
I am struggling with religious belief and hoped some of you may have some advice. Maybe you've been though something similar. What did you do?
I have been for a while actually. I am Catholic. I go to Mass on Sundays and go to Mass on Holy Days of Obligation. I go, but I find everything to be repetitive and robotic. I can literally go on autopilot and recite a whole Mass and not even think about what I am saying. I really only get something out of the readings (which are different every week, but basically are the same readings I've seen all my life. So many are left out) and the homily (sermon). I should note, I've always been a "cafeteria Catholic" or a "lukewarm Catholic" and haven't always accepted the Church's teaching on some things.My Catholic family members are pretty much the same.
The past few years I've been working on learning more about my faith and I've done a lot of digging into Catholicism and am surprised by how much I never knew. I've attended classes offered by the Church, read historical books, and watched videos and documentaries presented from everyone from priests to atheists. And I've been reading the Bible.
Paradoxically, the more I learn, the less religious faith I have. For example, reading in detail how the gospels came to be, how they were edited, what was left out and why shakes my faith in what is there. Finding out how much the faith itself changed and listening to priests explain why it was changed for the "better" makes me question "if this is all divinely inspired, why does God change things? Wouldn't it have been perfect form the start? Either God isn't perfect or this isn't really divine."
I also learned about other ancient faiths that have similar themes to Christianity (death and resurrection gods with very similar stories). I read about other branches of Christianity that used to exist but were wiped out as heretics. Recently I found out that one of the names for God used in the Old Testament may be same name as a god in a pantheon of gods and some of those other gods are actually mentioned in the Old Testament (although some of that is debated by biblical scholars, but the idea blew my mind). And most frustrating, the Bible. It, like religion is supposed to be divinely inspired, but it contradicts itself in places or gives two stories for the same event (but the stories are not the same). So which one is true? And does that mean at least part of the Bible is incorrect? Of course, Catholics aren't sola scriptura anyway and aren't expected to literally believe Old Testament stories, at least now. Why did that change?
All this on top of the abuse scandals that go back years. And every time it seems like the Church is going to fix things, another one pops up. Part of the reason this is all reaching a head for me is that we recently had one of the priests in our parish removed because of "something" (but there is no indication of why... but they stressed no kids were involved... but it's all hush hush and just plain weird). I don't know if I believe the Church has lied and covered up before.
So I've looked into other Christian branches. Namely Lutheran and Episcopal. They seem okay, but there is still the issues that I mentioned earlier and when I research them I find things there that I don't believe either. I've decided I will go to an Episcopal service one Sunday and a Lutheran another. But Catholicism is seared into my brain it's almost like, if I don't believe that, how can I believe anything else? I find myself wondering if, at heart, I am just agnostic (like my father) and have just been going through the motions out of habit or if I haven't quite found the right religion. I believe in the basic concepts of Christian faith (love, charity, etc). But those really aren't exclusive to Christianity.
So anyone else go a similar crisis of faith? What did you do? Any advice?
I have not had a crisis of faith, but I have come to terms with the fact that it is OK to take what feeds your soul and lifts you up, and leave behind that which does not.
I was not raised Catholic, but I’ve been exposed to Catholic services by family members. To me as an outsider, it seemed that Catholics are spoon fed everything by the priest and do not really even participate much. The service just seems to roll over them.
I think what you are doing is great. With Episcopal and Lutheran, you are still get the heavy ritual that you are used to. My parents were Lutheran and Episcopal, but I was raised Baptist. To make a long story short, after sorting through a few options, I settled on Presbyterian, despite the fact that I don’t really buy predestination. I’m sure you will find a church that fits you like an old shoe, and it might be one you least expect.
Why do you even need a wage old fruit? Why don't you give your wage directly to the poor? Don't you believe Jesus when he tells you that he will look after you, even more so than he looks after the birds? Don't you believe him when he says that you only need to ask and it will be given to you?
I still have a family in tow - so gotta do my part in the plan (HE's given me everything I need to accomplish that - just as birds have been given wings to GO to where the seed & worms are, etc)
Please come get my car though - seriously; I'll even sign the title over and hand you the keys (and I won't even call the cops on ya), and if you come before Christmas, I'll throw a computer (with monitor & keyboard) in the trunk too...
I don't have much left, after 'someone' stole my business; Left me with NEGATIVE net worth, still there, and living paycheck to paycheck. I was quite angry for quite a while, but have learned to 'let it go' and am in a 'much better place' now! Come and get whatever you want, even my car! - but you gotta haul it off; no shipping!
But you see, since you are keenly aware - God gave them YOU to give them the glass of water - whatcha waiting for??
God gives atheists to children dying for lack of clean water? Jesus' commands were not to his own followers, but to atheists? That's odd.
If you had a business to steal, you obviously had not sold all that you had to give to the poor.
You clearly have some deep conditioned anger around the corruptions of organized religion. It’s understandable. I’m sorry to say this, but it sounds more like you are invested in a sense of superiority than in real authentic discussion......
...and that's where the whole thing started. You KNOW it to be true and that is why I asked you what you would say to Hindu's who also say that they KNOW what they believe is true on a level that transcends the mind, any belief systems, any hunches, any desires. Your answer was, in effect... I don't care what others think because I have no interest in being right.
Sorry, but you seem to have a reading comprehension problem......I stated clearly I believe there are many different pathways to knowing God. Mine happened to open up through a Christian experience.
You keep tripping up over the KNOWING part, and are invested in merging it with organized religion even though I’ve been clear about that.
So try this —- do you KNOW there is such a thing as love?
Do you KNOW there is such a thing as grief?
You KNOW it because you’ve “experienced” it as have others. You can’t see love or grief. You can’t hold either in your hands as objects, yet they are real and can powerfully influence your life.
Scientists can’t quantify either of them or find an exactness to either experiences. Yet you and most humans KNOW they are real. The experience of them has been recorded since earliest human writings, and same with the experience and influence of God throughout history and many many diverse cultures.
You, have apparently not had an experience of God — it doesn’t mean those who have don’t KNOW God just because you haven’t experienced it.
Someone who never experienced love may say there is no such thing as love and struggle with people who KNOW there is the love or grief phenomenon.
It’s the closest example and explanation I can give you.
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Of course. One is prompted to ask just why Yahweh sees fit to cater for your needs whilst allowing children to die horrible for nothing more than a glass of clean water.
