God
- Thread starter Eddie Haskell
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And therein lies the dilemma.
Our choice.
Why didn't he make us like robots? Automatons?
Because He gave us a free will.
And to Him, that is sacrosanct.
Soul liberty.
Our choice.
Either accept Him or reject Him.
Our choice.
He wants you to want Him and He will reveal Himself to you.
Our choice.
But what is your point? You said:
"One thing I do know is that Christianity in the USA has almost nothing to do with what Jesus is quoted to say and preach in the Bible. I am a fan of both, but I certainly don't confuse them for each other. "
Are you saying that people say they are Christians in the USA but sin? I'm still not sure what you are trying to say.
As a child I was taught to believe in god.....santa.....the easter bunny......the tooth fairy. Then one by one I found out they weren't real. As far as going to some wonderful place on the sky I feel when I die I'm just going to go in a box in the ground and many many centuries later I will be turned back into soil.
And Smurphy, I'm not disagreeing with you or debating you at all. I'm just trying to understand what you mean.
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I am sorry if something happened in your life that made you lose your faith in God. I am not trying to pry, you seem to elude to that in one of your early posts.
That is terrible if that is the case. Sorry about that.
- Apr 15, 2001
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No I wouldn't say anything in my life turned me away from it. I just think when I was a kid my dad took us when he was feeling bad about himself and the things he did. We basically were Sunday Christians. As soon as we got home it was back to regular life again. My parents were divorced and my mom never exposed me to church. So for my dad it was almost like an image thing. A few weeks later we would stop attending until some big major screw up happened again. People may dislike me for not believing but I don't live my life to suit other people. I feel I'm a decent person and I live my life for me and my family. I won't discourage my kids from attending church if they want to because that's not my choice.
I interpreted what he said that the way Christianity exists in the USA is almost comically opposite how Jesus would want things run things if he were around.
Like a few others here I was raised Catholic, did the whole Catholic school thing etc. The Jesus we *learned* about was all love, charity, forgiveness, non-judgmental. The only thing that mattered was how you treated others, and how you helped them.
In practice it was less so. And the people shaping/leading Christianity in America often demonstrate absolutely none of those characteristics!
Aside from the fact that science has shifted the goal posts so many times on religion the past few hundred years, I also just think the rules are ridiculous.
I mean the smartest, most generous, kind, saving "man" to ever live created a game with so many fucked up nonsensical rules, that it's impossible to play. Then he died and left a bunch of dumb fuck assholes in charge. Even the referees disagree on exactly what makes you win the game and what makes you lose. And the rules change every few decades when some group of people start interpreting something differently.
So at the end of the day, I neither believe or disbelieve. I just refuse to play the game entirely, especially with the other assholes on our team (i.e. humans).
If Jesus or God, or whatever your local team calls him, wants me to play, I am happy to. He just needs to come back and deliver the rules in such a way that a smart person can understand them.
And assuming all the Christian stuff is true, I'll tell that too his face after I die, and he'll probably still forgive me. What a mind fuck. :weed::weed:
What do you mean He created a game? Nonsensical rules?
I've asked this to others so I will ask you...
You don't have to answer, but I am curious because you always seems so passionate about certain issues, this being one of them.
What would you say or do if Jesus Christ appeared in front of you and showed you his nail pierced hands and then called you by your name and said, "I am the way, the truth and the life".
Could it happen? Absolutely. Will it ever happen? Probably not because it's a matter of faith and the bible says that "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
But just for conversation... Would you simply say, "The gig's up."
Would you try to tell others what you experienced? Or would you convince yourself that no one in their right mind would ever believe you and just try and keep to yourself and spend your time quietly trying to find out as much as you could about Jesus Christ.
Or would you try to deny the experience altogether?
Maybe I am trying to make a point.
So I'll say this....
It's not about religion. Religion doesn't "Save". Neither does church or baptism.
It's about a personal relationship with the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus "Saves".
Jesus is God Himself and author, A. W. Tozar said, "He hides himself in a thick darkness from the wise and prudent of this world."
What's required is a leap of faith.
OK my questions are these,
Would people believe in a higher power had nobody told them about it as a child? Would the belief of a higher power just come natural?
Why do people believe in only some aspects of the Bible? Usually the parts that are not as ridiculous and then try to make the ridiculous parts just be metaphors or just a context.
Do you believe that someone could die and rise again? Do you believe that someone can magically turn water into wine? Or how about the parting of the oceans? What about Noah's Arc? If you can't believe it can happen now, why do you believe it happened then?
Would people believe in a higher power had nobody told them about it as a child? Would the belief of a higher power just come natural?
Why do people believe in only some aspects of the Bible? Usually the parts that are not as ridiculous and then try to make the ridiculous parts just be metaphors or just a context.
Do you believe that someone could die and rise again? Do you believe that someone can magically turn water into wine? Or how about the parting of the oceans? What about Noah's Arc? If you can't believe it can happen now, why do you believe it happened then?
Peace!
Considered by many to be Northrop Frye's magnum opus, The Great Code (1982) reflects a lifetime of thinking about the patterns and meanings of the Bible. In this new edition of The Great Code, Alvin A. Lee presents a corrected and fully annotated version of Frye's text, as well as a comprehensive introduction to help contextualize this important work and guide readers through its allusive passages. Lee's introduction provides a synoptic account of the role of the Bible in Frye's intellectual and spiritual odyssey, as well as a description of how The Great Code as a book came into existence, and an introductory critique of the shape and meaning of the book's argument.
The Great Code is culturally allusive to a high degree. It takes much of its inspiration from the Bible itself, including a profusion of biblical passages, but also from the author's extensive reading of a host of other texts from ancient times until the late twentieth century. Lee's extensive annotation illustrates, beyond question, that Frye's knowledge of the Bible and how it has worked in Western culture was at once profound and visionary. This new edition not only re-presents Frye's text in a clear, correct, and fully annotated form, it goes a long way in helping us understand the widespread scholarly and popular reception that met this extraordinary and in some ways revolutionary book and how it can still be richly rewarding for readers.
http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Great_Code.html?id=Lb_Rq66W4g0C
http://heritage.utoronto.ca/content/bible-and-english-literature-northrop-frye-full-lecture-1
Thanks Jack. The thread will get more attention here in general. It's been a good discussion and people seem to be respectful of others beliefs. I hope it stays that way.
It's been very interesting so far.
