The Advantage of the Christian (Commandments, Scientology, cult, science)
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Do you believe the Bible is the only source of this? Do you think maybe other holy books are talking about the same thing?
Are the other holy books inspired by the Holy Spirit as the Apostle Paul said of his epistles and the writings of the other apostles, and that of the Old Testament scripture?
Are the other holy books inspired by the Holy Spirit as the Apostle Paul said of his epistles and the writings of the other apostles, and that of the Old Testament scripture?
I've not seen any of the kind.
Ok. I was just wondering because I've found things in religious traditions that support what I see. I like the Jesus narrative, Rumi, pop psychology, and lots of Buddhist things. An overriding theme is that compassion is the way to get there. "God" communicates to me through music and other people when they are acting selflessly. Nothing makes me feel better about "God" than to see someone help another with no expectation of something in return.
The Apostle Paul:
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Do you do that? Do you try and meet people where they are? I'm suspicious of this passage myself because he's not doing it out of selflessness but to get a reward. I could look around for a few days and I'm sure I could see random people doing it better than he did.
I follow strictly the inspired Word of God, you don't see it as that.
The word of God that I treasure says, over and over again by several authors in several books, "without repentance there is no remission of sins."
In all your posts I have not seen you acknowledge this fact of scripture.
Love and compassion is not complete without Christ in it.
But as I have said, what separates our beliefs is faith in the Word of God.
ok lets L-word the belief side by side so we can compare them and see.
I raise my kid "perfectly" teaching them love, compassion, and duty to serve their fellow man. And my child does that through its life. (we know there is no perfect but lets just play). You raise you kid "perfectly" teaching them love, compassion, and duty to serve their fellow man. And your child does that through is life. (we know there is no perfect but lets just play)
The only difference is that you did it through the bible and I did it through the scientific method.
The other difference is that. to the L-word.
I say: so long as we are doing the best we can with what we have god doesn't care.
You say: so long as we are following christ we will be saved.
Ok. I was just wondering because I've found things in religious traditions that support what I see. I like the Jesus narrative, Rumi, pop psychology, and lots of Buddhist things. An overriding theme is that compassion is the way to get there. "God" communicates to me through music and other people when they are acting selflessly. Nothing makes me feel better about "God" than to see someone help another with no expectation of something in return.
The Apostle Paul:
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Do you do that? Do you try and meet people where they are? I'm suspicious of this passage myself because he's not doing it out of selflessness but to get a reward. I could look around for a few days and I'm sure I could see random people doing it better than he did.
No one has ever done it better that Paul. The Holy Spirit calls him the master church builder for a reason.
He has been called by many theologians as the greatest single servant of Christ ever produced by God.
The Holy Spirit gave him almost 1/3 of the new testament scripture for our benefit. He was given by Christ personally the meaning of the new covenant. WE would have no idea how operate the Church without his epistles, we would have no idea who Christ is and His Lordship without his letters.
We would have no idea of exactly how to be saved without his letters, he is the only one in all of scripture who explains why we need Christ, who we are in the eyes of God, and exactly what we can do about it. Nowhere in scripture is there an explanation of salvation but by his letters.
This is just a quick view of the great apostle Paul. I could write a book right here off the top of my head about him.
ok lets L-word the belief side by side so we can compare them and see.
I raise my kid "perfectly" teaching them love, compassion, and duty to serve their fellow man. And my child does that through its life. (we know there is no perfect but lets just play). You raise you kid "perfectly" teaching them love, compassion, and duty to serve their fellow man. And your child does that through is life. (we know there is no perfect but lets just play)
The only difference is that you did it through the bible and I didn't with the scientific method.
The other difference is that. to the L-word.
I say: so long as we are doing the best we can with what we have god doesn't care.
You say: so long as we are following christ we will be saved.
what one seems more reliable?
I think that L word you are looking for is love (sorry Julian). You raised your kids with the L word and some people raise them as if they are defective and must be corrected because a book said they were and that's good enough for them.
Mine was a cult so I have a hard time with that. I still believe these people are narcissists by proxy because of their beliefs. I may be right or I may be trying to protect my own belief that people are basically good.
you came out of cult? a real cult? or just one of those oppressively church types?
I consider "real cults" those groups that can't function in a regular society. They really stand out.
No one has ever done it better that Paul. The Holy Spirit calls him the master church builder for a reason.
He has been called by many theologians as the greatest single servant of Christ ever produced by God.
The Holy Spirit gave him almost 1/3 of the new testament scripture for our benefit. He was given by Christ personally the meaning of the new covenant. WE would have no idea how operate the Church without his epistles, we would have no idea who Christ is and His Lordship without his letters.
We would have no idea of exactly how to be saved without his letters, he is the only one in all of scripture who explains why we need Christ, who we are in the eyes of God, and exactly what we can do about it. Nowhere in scripture is there an explanation of salvation but by his letters.
This is just a quick view of the great apostle Paul. I could write a book right here off the top of my head about him.
What if he was wrong and we don't need to be saved? That might explain his motivations. Too bad, he could have done much better if he wasn't worried about covering his butt.
you came out of cult? a real cult? or just one of those oppressively church types?
I consider "real cults" those groups that can't function in a regular society. They really stand out.
If you consider Scientology a cult then you would consider my group a cult. I remember being a kid and reading the first chapter of my mom's old Dianetics book. We didn't have that kind of money though so she went with this one.
I can understand that you may make it all look a bit nicer and less ghastly by having God put it all right for the firstborn and for all who die untimely (though you put the blame on Pharoah rather than God), but the whole argument that 'the bad is ok as God will put it all right' is a view or doctrine that appalls me.
I can understand that believers assume that it must all be ok in some way that we may not understand, but, when you realise that the Bible cannot be trusted as believable and the claims of Christianity do not stand up, then the doctrines derived from them at best false, and at worst, appalling. Even if they don't go as far as (for example) denying children medical treatment on religious grounds.
I look at the whole story of the Egyptians and the Jews and I look at God's success each step of the way, success being did the suffering god caused result in freedom for the Jews:
killing of firstborn, including babies -- at first it appeared successful, but I would have to liken it to the philosophy of the Holocaust. The ends justify the means. Ultimately, however, a failure, because Pharoah then pursues the escaping Jews anyway.
and then, since all else has failed, god parts the sea allowing an escape.
1 actual success after 10 failures.
Christians tell us that god is all seeing. And yet he didn't see 10 failures? And then he had to do one big miracle to get his way. Why not just do a big miracle to begin with, get it all over with, without all the suffering and without killing babies?
I like old movies. The other night I was watching one from 1932. It started off with a series of illogical events, each one seemingly written to fix the previous illogical event. I finally turned the flick off. That's similar to what I see in the story of Moses with the Jews.
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