quote:

Originally posted by embroiderer:
Or, have you found another way that has eluded the apostles of old?

Well, the Apostles of Old didn't need a written word, they had the real word of God, Jesus.

That's something that too many folks don't know these days, and they often get the two confused. I'll say it again for the (seems like) hundredth time: the bible is not the word of God; Jesus is the word of God!

The bible is a collection of writings from various sources which the early church fathers decided by vote were inspired.

They also voted on whether women had souls at that council. You'll be pleased to know that the women won by one vote! I'll tell you what, if the bishops had not voted that in, women would just go "poof" and disappear when they died. Interesting, no?

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

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Knox:
According to some of the people here, the following are a immature lot, deceived and brainwashed. They have accepted and believed in Jesus Christ. They have written about Christ, talked about Him, and lived Him. Oh, poor things! Sad! If only they were as smart of some on this board.

That a nice list there, Mr K, real pretty. Lots of good folks on there. Fact is, however, that you don't defend a belief system with a list of people who belief likewise. You defend it by breaking it down, looking at it from different perspectives, thru different eyes, asking yourself, "does this make sense in and out of context?", and eventually the Holy Spirit (or, as non-Christian folk call it, the conscience) tells you that it is true or not. This is how you come to believe. Now, once you come to believe, you live it, and thru your life others may see the light of the Christ. If your attitude is ugly, people will want nothing to do with it, if it's an attitude of love, they will come. This is how it works. You do not proselytize.

By the way, until one truly understands the kingship of Jesus, you won't have any idea who he really is.

It's quite a journey!

Doug Spaulding. You're improving. I thought you'd be impressed by that list. What a mix of characters all with the same basic belief eh? By the way, the part of scripture where it says that men alone didn't write the Bible, that it was God moving their hand in its writing,(as in some translations) Others: 'No Scripture is of any private interpretation, for it never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit'. (Or check it out in your Bible: Second Peter, chapter 1, vs 20-21). How exactly does that score wih your opinion? For instance, Ray says he doesn't write his stories, a muse dictates. So are we talking demon muse writing Ray's stories, or the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne? Or is he using the word muse simply as an expression? If so, what does he mean then by muse? Whose right here?

quote:

Originally posted by embroiderer:
If so, what does he mean then by muse?

I don't know - you could ask him.

quote:

Originally posted by embroiderer:
By the way, the part of scripture where it says that men alone didn't write the Bible, that it was God moving their hand in its writing,(as in some translations) Others: 'No Scripture is of any private interpretation, for it never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit'.

But isn't that agreeing that just because Joseph Smith claims that he was inspired of God, that the written word of the Book of Mormon is canonical. Orthodox Christianity would not agree with that.

It comes down to this: anyone can write anything and claim that it is inspired.

Doug Spaulding. Joseph Smith had quite a different take on who Jesus Christ is. The Jehovah Witnesses have a different take on who Jesus Christ is. When you have a different understanding of who Christ is, you have a confused faith. Today no faithful, practicing Jehovah Witness is waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. Likewise, Joseph Smith had a different idea of the person of Christ. (Those wives will do it to you every time).
check this out: www.septemberdawn.net

quote:

Originally posted by embroiderer:
Doug Spaulding. Joseph Smith had quite a different take on who Jesus Christ is.

You're right. But then so did the factions of the early Christian church. On the one side you had the Gnostics, and on the other the Pistics.

They both had very different ideas about Jesus. And this was before the Bible was contained into one volume.

In the end, it all comes down to conscience. What did Luther say when confronted by his accusers concerning his "heresy"? "Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me."

You gotta go with what you believe is right, so you keep it up, and I will too.

Thanks for writing!

quote:

Originally posted by embroiderer:
Those wives will do it to you every time.

You got that right!

Naughty, naughty Mr. Blevins. You deleted your wonderful posting. I was going to have fun with it. Now you took most of the fun away!

I'll just have to make-do and reply with an edited-down reply to the vanished posting:

Shintosists? Hmm. They hate Christians. In fact, they want them all dead. So I don't care to name any famous Shintosist. Well, actually, I can't seem to find any. Do you know of any?

Muslims? In many Muslim families it's a crime to even talk to a Christian. Here's a famous few. Hope they're not like that:
Ahmed Deedat
Zinedine Zidane
Ibnal-Baitar
Ibn Sina
Abu-Marwan
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
(Now that guy I remember. He's obviously cool with the Christian thing.)

How about famous Zoroastrians?
Foroze Ganhi (husband of Indira)
Homi Jehangir Bhabha
Xeres the Great (500BC)
Bejan Darwala (astrologer)
Soli Sorabjee
(I had a much longer list, but you know them without me having to list them, right?)

And famous Buddists?
Why does this list read like the 'Whos Who' of Hollywood?
Kate Bosworth
Jennifer Lopez
George Lucas (who'd guess!)
Steven Segal
Goldie Hawn (really?)
Jackie Chan (Wow)
Penelope Cruz
Uma Thurman
Peter Coyote
Laurie Anderson
Oliver Stone
(Who'd I miss?)

Now just out of the most wild curioisty, whatta you think these abbreviated lists say?

;;
This site is worth taking a gander at, per religious affiliations across America. I like how it works. Nice job. [My question: What happened to poor Northern Oregon?]

www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/religion.html .
..

Phil Knox says:

quote:

Naughty, naughty Mr. Blevins. You deleted your wonderful posting. I was going to have fun with it. Now you took most of the fun away!

Your quote says a lot, in and of itself.

Stopping by in my blur of Holy Week/prep for trip activity.
Famous Zoroastrians were the Magi, but they're famous for being the first converts, as it were!

Robert M Blevin: It says nothing, without your original posting. Why don't you put it back? Your scene of Jesus and God in heaven was pure newspaper editorial cartoon.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
Famous Zoroastrians were the Magi, but they're famous for being the first converts, as it were!

But what did they convert to?

There was no Christianity at that time.

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Knox:
Robert M Blevin: It says nothing...

That's Blevins!