Secondhand in Florida, maybe. First-hand here...

http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents.php

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
Agreed, and it's this type who supercilliously refers to "raising consciousness"!
Interesting, too, how our friend fears "doing what the Church says", but he'll throw all his eggs in the Spong basket.
As I said before, the Soviets would've let this guy alone.

supercilliously, nice wordage B-Two! It's super silly!

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:
I'm right there with you, Rick!

I would be a-scared not to believe in Our Lord.

a-scared is a good word, er phrase!

Yes it is. And here's something to be a-scared of:

Churches are so deeply concerned about religious security that truth is always a casualty. If the church is a ghetto espousing yesterday's certainty, then it will die. You don't even need to help it to do so.

The hope for a Christian future will never be located in places or among people who really believe that change is wrong, that the Pope is infallible or that the Bible is inerrant.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Doug Spaulding,

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:
Yes it is. And here's something to be a-scared of:

Churches so deeply concerned about religious security that truth is always a casualty. If the church is a ghetto espousing yesterday's certainty, then it will die. You don't even need to help it to do so.

The hope for a Christian future will never be located in places or among people who really believe that change is wrong, that the Pope is infallible or that the Bible is inerrant.

And you can substitute "Spong", "Joseph Smith" or "Jim Jones" for "Church", Pope" and "Bible" in the quote above and you've got it about right.

I fear Doug Spaulding is actually the bastard son of Bishop Spong.

Thanks!

Q: How do you answer questions about Jesus Christ returning to earth in a second coming?


A: I don't!

One who would ask the question this way has already revealed the fact that he or she is locked into a 1st century dualistic literalism. The gospels portray Jesus as referring to his second coming, which would occur, those texts say, before that generation had passed away. Obviously that did not happen. Remember the gospels are written 40-70 years after the death of Jesus and may reflect the early church more than Jesus himself.

The second coming is the flip side of the story of the Ascension. Both concepts assume a three-tiered universe and God living above the sky. Those concepts died with Copernicus in the 16th century.

I am simply not concerned with things about which I can know nothing. Predicting the end of the world and awaiting the second coming are the parlor games of literalistic minds.

I think that what the resurrection of Jesus means is that the human entered into God. I think that what the Pentecost story means is that God entered the human. That is the only second coming I care about.


- John Shelby Spong

This Spong rant :What a bunch of absolutely Hooey!

Hooey is a good word.

Since Doug Spaulding is quoting Bishop Spong, figure it's okay to quote the Pastor that visited with Ray at his home few months ago. Rick Warren has stuff to say, like this, from his book, "The Purpose Driven Life".

"How Temptation Works" (abbreviated text)
"It helps to know that Satan is entirely predictable. He has used the same strategy and old tricks since Creation. All temptations follow the same pattern. That's why Paul the Apostle said, "We are very familiar with his evil schemes." From the Bible we learn that temptation follows a four-step process, which Satan used both on Adam and Eve and on Jesus.

In step one, Satan identifies a desire in you. We think temptation lies around us, but God says it begins within us. If you didn't have the internal desire, the temptation could not attract you. Temptation always starts in your mind, not circumstances. (Mark 7, 21-23 & James 4, 1)

In step two, is doubt. Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about sin. (Hebrew 3, 12)

In step three, is deception. Satan is incapable of telling the truth and is called "the Father of lies."
(John 8, 44)

In step four, is disobedience. Sin, full grown, gives birth to death. (James 1, 14-16.)

quote:

Originally posted by Nard Kordell:
It helps to know that Satan is entirely predictable.

It also helps to know that Satan is entirely an invention of the church of the Dark Ages.

Will we see you in Santa Monica or South Pasadena tomorrow?

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:

quote:

Originally posted by Nard Kordell:
It helps to know that Satan is entirely predictable.

It also helps to know that Satan is entirely an invention of the church of the Dark Ages.

Will we see you in Santa Monica or South Pasadena tomorrow?

As an ASU alumnus, that fellow sure looks like a "Sun Devil" to me. Or it could be a Mission Viejo High School mascot, the Diablo!

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:

quote:

Originally posted by Nard Kordell:
It helps to know that Satan is entirely predictable.

It also helps to know that Satan is entirely an invention of the church of the Dark Ages.

Will we see you in Santa Monica or South Pasadena tomorrow?

_

Doug~
Well let's see: Jesus Christ said he saw the devil fall like flames out of heaven.

Christ said he went to the mountains for over a month where he prayed and fasted and the devil came and visited his three times. Having to resist the temptations that Adam and Eve went thru with possibly with the same devil, Jesus finally was able to tell the devil to leave.

Then there was the time that Christ had to force the devil to leave a man who lived in a cave and cut himself with stones. And when the devil left, in fact many devils, they went out and took over a bunch of animals and drove the animals off a cliff to their death, if I recall.

So what do we have here? Is Christ just nutty? Or the writers of this Bible book you'd call an ancient Fantasy? Or a little of both?

quote:

Originally posted by patrask:
Or it could be a Mission Viejo High School mascot, the Diablo!

One never knows, do one?