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Hi Lisa. I think you need to look at modern Christianity and all the Pastors of its 1000's of denominations as showing different sides of God's truth.
I'm not trying to argue and I thank you for taking the time to reply, but I don't understand how I can do that. Two different churches preach God's word says the exact opposite, then one of them must be wrong.
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When you read some of the stranger laws and how they seem to not aways be consistant from the Old Testament to the New Testament, again think about the cultural context and more percisely, what laws had to do with the Two Greatest Commandments at the time. All the laws of the prophets hang on those. Whether you choose to truth that the bible is 100% accurate or not (another common debate here), just remember that God is good and man is not at least half the time.
I hate the advice to keep things in the Bible in the cultural context. To me that is just an excuse to make it say what you want. I mean look at how the women in the Bible were treated, as property, not as good as men, the weaker sex, etc. As a woman I take offense to that, I know God used men to write the Bible, but if He is really God, He could overcame sexism couldn't He, even 2000 years ago? My other point on cultural context is, how can I relate to a culture from 2000 years ago that is totally different than my own in every way?
I only tithed a little when I was young and stopped completely over 30 years ago and God has blessed me financially more than I could ever imagine. On the other hand, look at all the hundreds of thousands of people over at TBN who tithe every week and are poor as church mice. The tithing doctrine is heresy. That's just one of many MANY truths you will come across as you begin to explore the real truth of Christianity and all the fallacies that have cropped up around it from evil men ensnared within its grips of power, prestige, wealth and sex--the four pillars upon which the modern Christian hierarchy rests.
Yes I agree since the year or so I haven't been tithing I haven't seen a big difference in our financial situations. Actually I think some things have gotten better, but definitely not worse as I was lead to believe by the church. It's sad because every church in my area teaches tithing as Biblical and that makes me suspicious of their motives and what else they are teaching that's not Biblical. I mean if I can see by the Bible that it's not for today, I would think the pastor could with all his training. But of course he and his wife drove around nice new vehicles, liked to go on vacations, and the wife loved to shop so maybe I see why it was so important to them.
You've received so many replies by now that I'm sure it's a bit confusing. Everyone here will give you their own answer, most of them with the best of intentions. I cannot give you the answers you're looking for, and I'm not sure that anyone really can. To that end, I will merely offer you this: don't be afraid. Reinventing ourselves spiritually can be a frightening process, but don't be afraid of your questions, and don't rush to accept an answer that you find less than satisfying.
Thanks.
Thanks for the advice, this whole thing has kept me fearful I will make the wrong choice in the end so thanks for reminding me. Fear and worry never accomplished anything.
Ask yourself why you "want" to believe if you really don't.
I finally, after decades, had the nerve to ask that question of myself, and for me, the answer was that 1. I was terrified that hell might exist and 2. I couldn't bear the thought of nothing after death.
Once I realized these motivations, my fears, which I'd been hiding from myself, suddenly weren't as huge after all. I really think you should ask yourself why you want to believe. I think it is important.
Thanks for your input. It reminded me of when I accepted Christ at 15, it wasn't some God loves us all kind of sermon. It was a Hell fire and brimstone kind of sermon and I walked up to that altar for the simple fact that I didn't want to go to Hell and be punished forever. I'm not sure knowing that fact makes it any less scary to think that if I don't believe and God is real then I would spend an eternity tortured and suffering, but it does give me a new perspective on my own motives and different way to look at the issue.
I stopped believing in the Church years ago. It seems to me that is where you started, looking at the Church.
I don't go to Church and I believe in God and I don't read the Bible, and I believe in God.
Reason for that being is a long story.
Just know I didn't find God in either place. I found Him, in my life.
You're at an empath and God will bring you through it.
~ bell ~
Thank you for your reply. At the moment it is hard for me to separate God from the church and the Bible. Maybe someday it will be easier. I wish I could just believe and know that it was enough, but I'm not there yet. I don't want you to if you don't want to, but I would be interested in hearing your story and how you got to where you are now.
I get your point, my friend. But by prefacing "way" with "the" implies there is only one.
That, I believe to my core, is wrong.
Christ demonstrated "a" way to live that was pleasing to the Creator.
As have many others - most of them anonymous, living lives of quiet goodness.
I would agree if "the Way" were not so simple; it is merely having a vested interest in the well-being of everyone involved in any situation. As such, I would argue that all other ways are simply different applications of "the Way."
The bible should always be taken literal. Even the parables are literally parables. The only reason to not take what God has revealed to us is because you can't handle the truth. We see much of that today. But that does not change this plain fact that Gods recorded word for us is correct and must be taken as is. As has been said many times by those who have a knowledge from God of His scriptures "when the plain sense makes the most sense do not look for any other sense".
Also you must let the bible interpret the bible. If one takes the time to search for the meaning it is all there. Anything that differs is simply man's failed attempt to come up with the answer on his own. What the Holy Spirit shows you will never differ from scripture. When someone tells you they reject part of God's reviled truth because of what's in them you know that it is not God in them they are hearing from.
The bible should always be taken literal. Even the parables are literally parables. The only reason to not take what God has revealed to us is because you can't handle the truth. We see much of that today. But that does not change this plain fact that Gods recorded word for us is correct and must be taken as is. As has been said many times by those who have a knowledge from God of His scriptures "when the plain sense makes the most sense do not look for any other sense".
Also you must let the bible interpret the bible. If one takes the time to search for the meaning it is all there. Anything that differs is simply man's failed attempt to come up with the answer on his own. What the Holy Spirit shows you will never differ from scripture. When someone tells you they reject part of God's reviled truth because of what's in them you know that it is not God in them they are hearing from.
But you do realize that what you are trying to do does not make sense. You are trying to use analyze something that you don't practice yourself. It's like me telling you how parts of brain work and acting as though I'm an expert in psychology. If you don't believe the Bible then why are you trying to tell us what's in it and what's not?
Human perception relates to every facet of the human experience, including religion. While I only have a cursory understanding of the bible, I've read quite a bit about the psychology of religion in general. Contrary to what so many adherents of specific religions believe, there is much commonality amongst virtually all religions. As such, I think I can offer some perspective on why there are so many different, oft contrary perspectives, both within the same religion and amongst different religions.
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Originally Posted by HowCanIKnow
I'm not trying to argue and I thank you for taking the time to reply, but I don't understand how I can do that. Two different churches preach God's word says the exact opposite, then one of them must be wrong.
Not necessarily. It's sort of like when different persons watch the same film or read the same book and each has a different take on it's significance. And that's the problem with using what is largely parabels as a moral guide: the meaning is often so ambiguous and open to vastly different interpretations, there's often no definite principle to derive from it.
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Originally Posted by Rightly Divided
The bible should always be taken literal. Even the parables are literally parables.
Seriously? Because some of the parables seem entirely implausible. Since it's the subject of a current film, and one of the most well-known, I'll use Noah an example:
Genesis 9:28-29: "Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. So Noah's life lasted 950 years; then he died."
This is simply implausible based on any and all evidence. Individual persons are simply incapable of living for 950 years; it's physically and biologically impossible.
The longest verified lifespan was that of Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997. Also consider that the human maximum lifespan has been modestly, but consistently increasing for the last several decades. If Noah were a real person he lived several thousand years ago so it's very likely the maximum lifespan was significantly lower.
I'm not stating that there's no value in Noah's story, but to believe he literally lived to 950 is just plain silly. It's just as silly as believing that ancient extraterrestrial souls inhabit those of us who are living.
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Thank you
