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Hate speech?!?
If I say that candy can't replace a balanced diet, does that mean that I hate candy?!?
Do you know what hate even is??
Of course I know what hate is. It is my default nature.
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What I'm saying is that knowledge of the Bible cannot substitute a relationship with God. If people don't like that, what else can I say? Apparently they prefer a book to God Himself!
But your saying so much more than that Brian. Your really dumbing down the sigificance of God's Word.
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FWIW, there are denominations within Christendom which would agree with what I am saying here. The Quakers are one such group. What I'm saying here is really nothing new; some people agree, others don't.
Christianity is not a democracy or a popularity contest. IF the whole world disagreed with God and agreed with each other they would still be wrong.
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Well, even if we don't agree on everything, I still love ya!
Blessings trettep,
brian
I love you to Brian, which is why I hope you take these things constructively and consider them. I know you mean well with your words but I think you just don't know what the impact is.
There is a theory that states we are simply ideas in the mind of God and this is his (or her) way of "experiencing" the reality of the thought. I don't subscribe to it personally, but it is fun to consider.
But then again, that's really opening your mind to wonder.
Not really what I meant, but okay.
I simply meant that I thought the OP was implying that you should read the Bible to learn about God - but that you have to establish your own relationship with God to really know him. Much as a person who has read a book about me doesn't really know me until they have actually met me.
I don't believe in the Bible and I don't believe in the Biblical God - although there might be some sort of higher power, I don't know. So this wasn't really about my thoughts - simply what I got from the OP.
I simply meant that I thought the OP was implying that you should read the Bible to learn about God - but that you have to establish your own relationship with God to really know him. Much as a person who has read a book about me doesn't really know me until they have actually met me.
I don't believe in the Bible and I don't believe in the Biblical God - although there might be some sort of higher power, I don't know. So this wasn't really about my thoughts - simply what I got from the OP.
You sure are right that Christianity is not a democracy.
I had a church goer tell me it was the perfect socialist society.
Well religion is needed in a socialist society so I see the importance there.
But God the Creator is so much better than the gods of the bible.
Just because they are his creation and are inferior to him.
I know the bible claims ownership of God the Creator.
But christianity attempts to create an association that does not seem to exist but for in the imagination of people who are indoctrinated.
Like we see time and again.
If a person does not agree with the inqusition then they are said to not be able to share in the gifts of God.
They would have been executed 500 years ago.
It is kinda like a test of sorts.
And the test is this.
Will a person testify that they have knowledge of something that they could not possibly have knowledge of.
Such as that Jesus was God in the flesh.
Now there is not a single person in the world that could have actual knowledge of this.
So that is where belief comes in.
If the subject agrees that Jesus is God in the flesh then that person is simply going along with the crowd or has been convinced .
Then another phenomenom happens.
"Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions.[2] Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. It is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology."
The subject knows right well that they could not possibly know such a thing.So to keep from having the inner conflict they make things up.
And if the indoctrination is successful they remain in this state of agreement with the indoctrinantors because to stop would start up the conflict of what they had done.
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Originally Posted by trettep
Of course I know what hate is. It is my default nature.
But your saying so much more than that Brian. Your really dumbing down the sigificance of God's Word.
Christianity is not a democracy or a popularity contest. IF the whole world disagreed with God and agreed with each other they would still be wrong.
I love you to Brian, which is why I hope you take these things constructively and consider them. I know you mean well with your words but I think you just don't know what the impact is.
You sure are right that Christianity is not a democracy.
I had a church goer tell me it was the perfect socialist society.
Well religion is needed in a socialist society so I see the importance there.
But God the Creator is so much better than the gods of the bible.
Just because they are his creation and are inferior to him.
I know the bible claims ownership of God the Creator.
But christianity attempts to create an association that does not seem to exist but for in the imagination of people who are indoctrinated.
Like we see time and again.
If a person does not agree with the inqusition then they are said to not be able to share in the gifts of God.
They would have been executed 500 years ago.
It is kinda like a test of sorts.
And the test is this.
Will a person testify that they have knowledge of something that they could not possibly have knowledge of.
Such as that Jesus was God in the flesh.
Now there is not a single person in the world that could have actual knowledge of this.
So that is where belief comes in.
If the subject agrees that Jesus is God in the flesh then that person is simply going along with the crowd or has been convinced .
Then another phenomenom happens.
"Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions.[2] Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. It is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology."
The subject knows right well that they could not possibly know such a thing.So to keep from having the inner conflict they make things up.
And if the indoctrination is successful they remain in this state of agreement with the indoctrinantors because to stop would start up the conflict of what they had done.
Christianity is about following Christ. What calls itself "Christianity" today has nothing to do with following Christ.
I had a similar thought that people were a way for spirits that God created to experience life.And groom those spirits for an end game.
At this point everything contains positive and negative energy.
Maybe there is a way to exist with just positive energy.
All the conflict of the world is an outward expression of the inner conflicts of man.And I mean at the particle physics level.
God created physics. All the laws of physics are laws God put in place.
Of course I know what hate is. It is my default nature.
But your saying so much more than that Brian. Your really dumbing down the sigificance of God's Word.
Christianity is not a democracy or a popularity contest. IF the whole world disagreed with God and agreed with each other they would still be wrong.
I love you to Brian, which is why I hope you take these things constructively and consider them. I know you mean well with your words but I think you just don't know what the impact is.
Hi trettep,
Thank you for your post.
Well, it's okay if I'm not "popular." My view on the Bible however is NOT unique at all.
I have never been fully accepted in the fundamentalist churches I've attended, and that's fine. I don't fit into their doctrines, and I don't want to be a hypocrite and say I agree, if I really don't. So we each generally go our separate ways.
Imo, Christianity has a very good track record of telling people how rejected they are, how they don't fit in, why they are wrong, etc. And I believe that that is a big part of why many people do not want anything to do with Christianity. I know that God sees their situation, and I believe He sees their reasons as justifiable.
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Anyway, I know that we view the Bible differently, and that's ok by me. We can still be friends anyway, even if we don't agree. Imo, all our doctrines and beliefs won't make much difference at all in the end --- only our Love! (and whether we are trusting in the LORD all the way!)
I have never been fully accepted in the fundamentalist churches I've attended, and that's fine. I don't fit into their doctrines, and I don't want to be a hypocrite and say I agree, if I really don't.
It doesn't have anything to do with fundamentalist churches. Seriously. Trettp is not even a fundamentalist, he is a universalist.
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