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...snip... She saw a lady with rotten black crocked teeth be prayed for in a service and immediately her teeth were made straight and pearly white. How can you explain that?
Sad that you have to go around assuming everyone is a liar when they don't conform to your little fantasy bubble. I've witnessed supernatural things myself and I know I'm not a liar.
Sounds like your church cherry picks what parts of the Bible that it wants to believe. I believe you either have to accept it all or nothing. There is a remarkable consistency throughout the entire Bible that speaks of its divine revelation. You can find Jesus even in Genesis.
I know that's a popular accusation tossed among fundamentalists, the "cherry-picking" thing, but it's really exactly the opposite. Our church studies scripture and discusses its meanings and how it relates to us as Christians far more deeply and intensely than any other church I know. We do not, however, take it on the surface word-for-word and use literally words that may have been specifically applicable to situations in other times and places. We have to try to understand the context under which the words were written and how they were meant and then ask, constantly, constantly ask questions about what the meaning might be and how does it fit in with how we are charged to demonstrate God's love.
For example, take a verse that's popularly used to justify denial of food to the poor. "If a man does not work, let him not eat." Wow, yeah, it's in the BIBLE, so it must mean we shouldn't feed people who don't work, right? Cancel the welfare, let the homeless go hungry, starve the enemy, and do it in the name of the Lord.
THAT is cherry-picking. The verse is given in response to reports of people in a specific Christian community--which were pretty much communes in the first days--who were saying, "If Christ is coming back any minute, why should I bother to work?" They were Christians who were able to work and contribute to their community but just were not doing so using the return of Christ as an excuse. Paul was giving instructions to that community not to tolerate the excuses.
That's a lot different from using the same words to deny food to an illiterate, mentally ill, homeless person who has no means of providing for himself. As a matter of fact, to do THAT is a grave sin because it goes against the core teachings of Jesus.
It's simpler to just say, "Oh, it's all divine revelation. God dictated it to the many authors over time, just speak in quotes and therein you have all the answers you need. We don't have to work very hard or think much about what it says or means. It's all clear." It's not, because we are human and God is divine, and all we get out of the written thoughts of the people who wrote the biblical books and other writings is filtered through their minds. We need more than the bible. We need to listen for the voice of God.
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Originally Posted by jeffbase40
That sounds messed up to me. In order to avoid one sin, your church promotes what it views is a lesser sin? It is also a statement that our relationships here in the span of a few short decades is worth more than an eternal relationship with God.
No, you don't seem to be understanding that we don't consider being gay a sin. Our church uses not just tradition and scripture, but our God-given ability to think and reason as our guide. The church is not perfect. It has needed to self-correct many times over the past two millennia, and we still can't get it right or we wouldn't have so many divisions. Nor do we think that our sins are being marked off on a giant blackboard somewhere and the score is going to determine what happens to our souls upon discorporation. It just doesn't work that way. It's not so much about what we do as about what we don't do. Did we follow Jesus's commandment to love our neighbors? That is far and above the most important thing. Since you like Bible verses, look up Matthew 25: 31-46. It's a parable, but it pretty much gets to the heart of Christ's teaching.
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Originally Posted by jeffbase40
And my church doesn't reject anyone who comes through those doors. They are welcome to attend, worship, praise and fellowship. But if they want to actually join the church, they have to accept the rules ,and those rules don't include living in an openly public sinful lifestyle. It's not different than a church not electing a pastor who is openly cheating on his wife. People need encouragement. Not encouragement to sin.
We don't have the same rules, then. The only person our priest ever told was not welcome at our church was a man, a newcomer that the priest discovered, after his arrest for auto theft, had been convicted of and done time for molestation of a child and her mother he met through a church in another state and had been suspected of child molestation in other church settings. He was wearing a character costume when he was arrested for the car theft and his belongings that he asked the church to hold for him consisted of stuffed animals and kids books. It was apparent that he could be of harm to other parishioners, so he was denied the right to attend our church. That was a judgment call by our priest, and I think it was the right one. Since we don't consider gay people to automatically be sinners, since we believe they are that way by nature, we don't reject them because it would be wrong to turn someone away just because of who they are. We also don't focus on people's sexual practices and habits as closely as you do, but more on spiritual matters and how we treat other people and help those who need help. We don't feel it is our place to judge others, as we all have equal shortcomings.
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Originally Posted by jeffbase40
That book is my sword and shield in the spiritual warfare which you are probably oblivious too. If I was truly in a false Christian church, why would I be witnessing supernatural acts of God? I talked to a lady yesterday who is of the same faith and she said she has seen many amazing things. She saw a lady with rotten black crocked teeth be prayed for in a service and immediately her teeth were made straight and pearly white. How can you explain that?
Yes, of course, I must be oblivious because I don't agree with you. And I never said you were in a false Christian church, just maybe an immature one. God is my sword and shield, not the Bible, not that I'm really into war metaphors. He's much more than a book. I know you don't believe that God is separate from the Bible, but I do. Strongly.
I would take such a story with a grain of salt. Big grains of salt, as Milton says in Office Space. I once talked to a guy who said God had made him commander of the Army of God. He also took his childhood swingset and made it into a pyramid with one of the swings hanging down and said that when he sits there, he can travel to Jupiter. It's an amazing story also, but I think he's schizophrenic.
People are healed sometimes through prayer and faith, but I doubt very much anybody's teeth changed so completely without dental intervention.
I talked to a lady yesterday who is of the same faith and she said she has seen many amazing things. She saw a lady with rotten black crocked teeth be prayed for in a service and immediately her teeth were made straight and pearly white. How can you explain that?
Did you ask her why she didn't immediately get everyone to pray that no child starves to death ever again?
Seriously?
Those children who will be leaving us today were just hoping and praying there was a higher power who could rain food down on them
Quote:
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.
Why did god shut down the manna from heaven factory jeffbase40?
Yes, of course, I must be oblivious because I don't agree with you. And I never said you were in a false Christian church, just maybe an immature one. God is my sword and shield, not the Bible, not that I'm really into war metaphors. He's much more than a book. I know you don't believe that God is separate from the Bible, but I do. Strongly.
Sounds like your church cherry picks what parts of the Bible that it wants to believe. I believe you either have to accept it all or nothing. There is a remarkable consistency throughout the entire Bible that speaks of its divine revelation. You can find Jesus even in Genesis.
That sounds messed up to me. In order to avoid one sin, your church promotes what it views is a lesser sin? It is also a statement that our relationships here in the span of a few short decades is worth more than an eternal relationship with God.
And my church doesn't reject anyone who comes through those doors. They are welcome to attend, worship, praise and fellowship. But if they want to actually join the church, they have to accept the rules ,and those rules don't include living in an openly public sinful lifestyle. It's not different than a church not electing a pastor who is openly cheating on his wife. People need encouragement. Not encouragement to sin.
That book is my sword and shield in the spiritual warfare which you are probably oblivious too. If I was truly in a false Christian church, why would I be witnessing supernatural acts of God? I talked to a lady yesterday who is of the same faith and she said she has seen many amazing things. She saw a lady with rotten black crocked teeth be prayed for in a service and immediately her teeth were made straight and pearly white. How can you explain that?
When did Jesus issue rules? Was he asking if the pe0ple were in line with a GODLY LIFESTYLE before he gave them fish and br0ke bread with the masses?
What does God think about Christians who discriminate against gays?
What does God think about Christians who bully gays?
What does God think about Christians who disown their gay children?
What does God think about Christians who kick their gay children out of the house?
What does God think about the Christians who march through Target protesting people using the bathroom when 22% of the kids in this country live below the poverty level?
What does God think about homosexuality? You tell us. If you don't know ask the person sitting next to you in church. It's the fundamentalists who have the massive ego, the hubris and the audacity to tell everyone they know what and how God thinks.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 06-02-2016 at 03:14 PM..
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