puriteen18 said:
It has to do with thinking that a cross can protect you from evil.
Now maybe this is just my experience but I have
never met someone with that mindset.
puriteen18 said:
If you think that wear it will protect you from evil, it is a superstition.
I don't think that and I don't know anyone who does either. Oh, and please quote book, chapter, and verse where the Bible explicitly says superstition is wrong.
puriteen18 said:
Putting hope in any object, other that God, to protect you from evil is superstitious and a form of idolatry.
Possibly. I always assumed that it was the worship of an object that is idolatry. At least that's what the dictionary says:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/idolatry said:
i·dol·a·try
(
-d
l
-tr
)(Religion)
n. pl. i·dol·a·tries 1. Worship of idols.
2. Blind or excessive devotion to something.
puriteen18 said:
"Modern" includes any who deny historical interpretation of Scripture. Most fundamentalists and "conservative" persons are not consisdent with historical Christianity. They reinterpret scripture and will have nothing to do with an endeavor to study what the Church has taught for years.
Then what human on this earth is qualified to interpret that verse or even the entire Bible? Is it only you or your pastor?
puriteen18 said:
Well, this is what I am speaking against. Putting hope in a bit of metal.
Lev. 19:26,
This is what Leviticus 19:26 states in multible Bible translations:
(NIV) Leviticus 19:26 " 'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. " 'Do not practice divination or sorcery.
(NASB) Leviticus 19:26 'You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying.
(KJV) Leviticus 19:26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
(ESV) Leviticus 19:26 "You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.
(HCSB) Leviticus 19:26 "You are not to eat [anything] with blood [in it]. You are not to practice divination or sorcery.
I fail to understand how wearing a cross could be eating anything with blood in it or the practice of divination and/or sorcery.
puriteen18 said:
God has revealed Himself to us. We need not return to Jewish ceremony or pagan superstition.
I am guessing that you are referring to God's trip to the earth as the fully human Jesus. As for the Jewish ceremony, I agree with that. As for superstition, BCV please.
Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Which verse is this and what translation did you use?
puriteen18 said:
You met someone in post #24 that did.
Who am I to judge her?
puriteen18 said:
The author said that she thought that the cross protected her from certain "forces", one can only assume that she means demonic.
Just because one person believes this doesn't mean that everyone who wears a cross believes it.
puriteen18 said:
Logic and practically do not over ride the orthodox teaching of the Scriptures.
This is a gray area in scripture. God gave us brains for a reason. When it comes to gray areas, it's a matter of personal conscience and prayer.
puriteen18 said:
In Jesus's day, the Scribes walked about in their long religious robes hoping for men to see them as super religious.
That was in Jesus day, not today. Some people today may express vanity over their religion but I have not yet met someone who does. Just because some are wrong doesn't mean all are wrong.
puriteen18 said:
Today the "scribes" walk about in Christian T-shirts and crosses.
And I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it can be used for the glory of God. God says to let our light shine. He says not to hide it under a bushel. I cannot recall which Bible verse it is that says this but I know it exists. Maybe someone else will know what verse it is.
puriteen18 said:
Is it a sin to wear a robe? No.
Agreed.
puriteen18 said:
Is it a sin to wear a cross? No.
Agreed.
puriteen18 said:
Is it a sin to be prideful about religion? Yes.
Perhaps. I believe it depends on how much pride you exhibit. If you exhibit too much pride and are not humble, that is wrong.
puriteen18 said:
Then do you just want to argue with me?
I really don't understand why you are asking all these questions that my first post seemed to be pretty complete on.
I am not arguing. I am debating. I like to debate. But since you have finally cleared yourself up over this whole thing, the debate can end. It seemed all along that you were implying that wearing a cross is a sin.
puriteen18 said:
It is not a sin to wear a plain, simple cross.
I would venture to say that it's not a sin to wear
any cross. It's the motives behind the wearer of the cross that matters.
puriteen18 said:
It is not right to wear one of expensive, flashy material. That is vanity.
Are you going to offer blanket judgements to all who wear expensive and flashy crosses? Just because someone wears a cross that is expensive and falshy doesn't mean they are exhibiting vanity.
puriteen18 said:
It is not right to hope that it will protect you from evil. That is a fetish, a superstition, and basically idolatry.
I don't hope it will protect me from evil.
puriteen18 said:
It is not right to wear one in the hopes of looking like a super-Christian or something.
I have never met anyone who had this mindset about wearing a cross.
puriteen18 said:
Weary expensive jewelry or putting alot of worth in material items to show them off to make you look good is vanity.
It depends on the motives of the person wearing it, not the jewelry itself.
puriteen18 said:
I'm sorry I did not clarify. That one sentence was dealing specifically with crucifixes.
Thank you for clarifying.
puriteen18 said:
I did not say that one must not wear any jewelry or that wearing a cross was wrong. If you would please go back and actually read post #12 you would see that I never argued wearing a cross was wrong.
Maybe you didn't. All I know is that it appeared to me and others I am sure that you were saying that wearing a cross is wrong.
=puriteen18]However, there are somethings which the Bible teaches are to ritzy for a Christian person. Such as the quote from I Timothy.
OK.
puriteen18 said:
Are you saying that the Scripture is legalistic.
No, it's the interpretations of many people that is legalistic.
puriteen18 said:
This is exactly what I am talking about with modern "pastors". They explain away the Bible so that we can permit what we want.
No, they take it into context so that they have a proper understanding of the Bible. You can take verses out of the Bible and condemn just about anything without taking the verse into context.
puriteen18 said:
We can wear fancy jewelry now.
I agree.
puriteen18 said:
Men can wear hats during times of reverence, and women don't have to cover their heads anymore.
I agree.
puriteen18 said:
Women and divorced men can be ordained as ministers now.
I agree.
puriteen18 said:
We don't have to observe the LORD's Day anymore.
I disagree but I don't think that God is going to strike someone dead for going to work on Sunday or sleeping in or something.
Hey, and we can even "get saved" now just by reciting some "magic" prayer after a preacher ( a practice not found ONE place in the entirety of the Bible and Church history) .
The whole sinner's prayer thing is debatable and even I am not certain as to what I believe concerning all of that. Personally, I feel like it's an act of faith in Jesus that saves us and not some prayer.
(NKJV) John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
puriteen18 said:
The point is that just because some one reinterprets the Bible how they want to today does not make it a right interpretation.
It also doesn't automatically make that interpretation wrong.
puriteen18 said:
There must be proof of it as an historically orthodox interpretation. How did the Apostle's disciples interpret Scriptures, the Church Fathers, the Reformers?
That's debatable and is for a different thread.
puriteen18 said:
Ask a "preacher" today what this verse means, and ask a minister from 400 years ago and you get a very different answer.
Are you certain of that? Did you live 400 years ago?
puriteen18 said:
Most modern "theology" has been corupted by modern philosophies of feminism, neo-humanism, liberation movements, "tolerance" movements, and other such anti-Christ nonsense.
That's debatable and is for another thread. I will not debate anything else in this thread besides the cross issue. I have offered my comments but I do not wish to debate on those. I do not want to hijack this thread. If you have concerns about the other issues then start another thread please. I do respect your opinions and want you to know that you are a very good debater.
May God richly bless you!
Holly