This doesn't make sense. Please explain.

Lord'sWarrior

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Just to say that the story goes that I was wisbed by my mother but feel abandoned and not guided by my father. I had to look to other sources for guidance. And at my age I still feel like a child inside.

But to answer believing and professing God. I believe that there are people who say the Creed and are not from God. They just repeat without believing. That I feel is wrong.
 
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Emli

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Just to say that the story goes that I was wisbed by my mother but feel abandoned and not guided by my father. I had to look to other sources for guidance. And at my age I still feel like a child inside.

But to answer believing and professing God. I believe that there are people who say the Creed and are not from God. They just repeat without believing. That I feel is wrong.

I also had a bad childhood. My mother treated me like an enemy and my father left us. It's something that leaves you with deep scars. God has made me a new person today, and He will do the same for you. He is your father now, and He will love you, take care of you and give you the childhood you never got, but so much better than your human parents could have.

There are so many people who don't really believe, don't really follow the Word, yet claim to be Christian. The Bible addresses this, and it's something that Christianity as a whole struggles with. Do not let that worry you, or stand in the way of your own faith. Just trust God personally.
 
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Heber Book List

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[QUOTE\] not od husbands will [/QUOTE]

This means that you cannot be in the family of G_d just because your earthly father and mother gave birth to you - my previous post explains about being born-again. You were born on earth by the will of your parents - that makes you a member of the human race and of their, and your, family. Being born-again, makes you a member of G_d's spiritual family of believers in Yeshua - that family numbers several billion around the world!

G_d knew you before you were in your mother's womb - Jeremiah 1:5 - and he has a plan for your life here on earth. A plan that no one can take away from you. G_d called you, as he calls so many, at just the right time, in all sorts of situations and circumstances. I was a senior manager in a London City company when G_d called me to be Ordained and to study his word at an even greater depth than I thought possible. I had no real qualifications at all at that time, except that I was a Member of a professional Institute; I soon discovered that I had a mountain to climb. However, with many setbacks, and a daughter who nearly died at that time, as well as having lost two previous babies, I persevered and, after some years of training, I was ordained. I then went on to become a pastor and theologian. God steered me through it, in spite of my tears, doubts, and tantrums, as well as my constant WHY? about two lost children. Yes, I can guarantee you that G_d is good and that the Bible is full of truth - I know, I've lived enough hurt and pain to be able to say it with absolute certainty.
 
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~Anastasia~

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Regarding "errors" in the Bible ...

This is actually an important point to understand, IMO. There are some Christian denominations who have as an important part of their beliefs that the Bible is ABSOLUTELY without any error or contradiction of any kind. But when you look at things like the events on the days of the week when Christ was crucified, you start to see discrepancies.

If your faith hinges on the Bible being perfectly in harmony, then a discrepancy right there in black and white may shake your faith. That's why I don't argue with people who believe that - I don't want to "be right" at the cost of damaging their faith. I don't think Christ would look kindly on me potentially sacrificing someone's faith for the sake of my momentary pride! But I worry for folks like that, because they are always at risk.

The same teaching opens Christianity to ridicule by Atheists and agnostics, and perhaps prevents them from coming to faith. Frankly, it's a dangerous doctrine, as it is sometimes expressed.

Now, the Bible IS true. The principles there, and the events in general, and so on really happened, and are an account as seen by that person. But as someone else pointed out, people don't have the same point of view (and our memories can blur details like the day or year, perhaps). If you have siblings, sit down with them and ask them in detail about something somewhat significant. I did once and was shocked at how differently my brother and sister saw things! Or if no siblings, maybe an old friend or other family member.

The thing is, such little discrepancies actually make the Scriptures MORE reliable, if you think about it. If someone were assembling a falsehood, wouldn't they reasonably make every effort to make sure the stories matched? They wouldn't leave room for easy doubt. But the fact is, the early Church knew the truth of what they saw, what they experienced. They were confident enough of the truth NOT to try to gloss over or remove discrepancies, but let them all stand, just as they are. So any charges of the Scriptures being fabricated, especially by a central authority, should be very easily dismissed.

I know this doesn't answer everything, but the fact is, our faith is in GOD, not in the Scriptures themselves. They are our legacy, our guideposts, letters from God and the Saints who love us, and they are profitable, edifying, and true. But they are not a research paper. And it is in God Himself where our hope is found.



But by all means, feel free to ask about confusing passages. Some have definitive answers. Some we are not absolutely sure about. And that's ok. :)
 
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Heber Book List

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Regarding "errors" in the Bible ...

This is actually an important point to understand, IMO. There are some Christian denominations who have as an important part of their beliefs that the Bible is ABSOLUTELY without any error or contradiction of any kind. But when you look at things like the events on the days of the week when Christ was crucified, you start to see discrepancies.

If your faith hinges on the Bible being perfectly in harmony, then a discrepancy right there in black and white may shake your faith. That's why I don't argue with people who believe that - I don't want to "be right" at the cost of damaging their faith. I don't think Christ would look kindly on me potentially sacrificing someone's faith for the sake of my momentary pride! But I worry for folks like that, because they are always at risk.

The same teaching opens Christianity to ridicule by Atheists and agnostics, and perhaps prevents them from coming to faith. Frankly, it's a dangerous doctrine, as it is sometimes expressed.

Now, the Bible IS true. The principles there, and the events in general, and so on really happened, and are an account as seen by that person. But as someone else pointed out, people don't have the same point of view (and our memories can blur details like the day or year, perhaps). If you have siblings, sit down with them and ask them in detail about something somewhat significant. I did once and was shocked at how differently my brother and sister saw things! Or if no siblings, maybe an old friend or other family member.

The thing is, such little discrepancies actually make the Scriptures MORE reliable, if you think about it. If someone were assembling a falsehood, wouldn't they reasonably make every effort to make sure the stories matched? They wouldn't leave room for easy doubt. But the fact is, the early Church knew the truth of what they saw, what they experienced. They were confident enough of the truth NOT to try to gloss over or remove discrepancies, but let them all stand, just as they are. So any charges of the Scriptures being fabricated, especially by a central authority, should be very easily dismissed.

I know this doesn't answer everything, but the fact is, our faith is in GOD, not in the Scriptures themselves. They are our legacy, our guideposts, letters from God and the Saints who love us, and they are profitable, edifying, and true. But they are not a research paper. And it is in God Himself where our hope is found.



But by all means, feel free to ask about confusing passages. Some have definitive answers. Some we are not absolutely sure about. And that's ok. :)


I shall soon be writing a book about the mis-understandings Christians have in regard to their own faith. The average Christian has been been taught much about their own faith that is, at best, disingenuous and, at worse, simply untrue; their own personal knowledge of the word is so limited that they do not know whether what they are hearing is true, or not. There is a passage in The Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family (which is a book about Martin Luther), where Luther says he stayed in the Black Forest overnight on one occasion, with some monks who, during the drinking time, quite openly confessed that, sometimes, they used their shopping list instead of the words of Communion prayers, because no one in the congregation would know the difference* - they thought this was hilarious, though Luther was outraged! I know this couldn't happen now, but the principle of saying almost anything in regards to Bible texts could pass muster in 1000's of congregations, as I'm sure we all know. If the truth of the Word is not preached, the people cannot possibly know G_d!


*They said it in Latin which the German congregations did not understand.
 
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~Anastasia~

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Well, I am going to guardedly say that, all one has to do is look at the wide range of teachings out there that contradict one another. There is no authority; if people don't like what the pastor says, they find a new church, or hire a new pastor, or declare themselves a pastor and start their own. I've seen it happen plenty of times.

Not only must we know the Scriptures, but we must understand them properly. And there are a thousand voices out there saying they are the ones who are right. (Of course they would say this - if they didn't believe it, they wouldn't align themselves with this group or that. So I don't entirely blame them.)

But being this thread is posted in Traditional Theology, the whole point is that the earliest Christians received instruction not only in the Scriptures, but in what they meant. And that is what we use for a guide.

I'm not arguing or agreeing/disagreeing, just stating my point of view.
 
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~Anastasia~

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I'm not quite sure what kind of challenge is being discussed, so this is a very friendly reminder, but if you want to have it here, please read and abide by the Statement of Faith for this forum, and if you have questions, please feel free to ask.
 
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Heber Book List

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MOD HAT

Posts have been removed for being off topic and against the SOP of Traditional Theology.

So what, exactly, was wrong with my professional response, answering the OP in detail, early in the thread - a response that has received several positive 'votes' from others on this thread?



Ah, just realised who the Mod is that has 'cleaned' the thread! Never mind, forget it!!!
 
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~Anastasia~

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So what, exactly, was wrong with my professional response, answering the OP in detail, early in the thread - a response that has received several positive 'votes' from others on this thread?



Ah, just realised who the Mod is that has 'cleaned' the thread! Never mind, forget it!!!

Likely the problem was with posts that were off topic to Traditional Theology.
 
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Heber Book List

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Likely the problem was with posts that were off topic to Traditional Theology.


My main post wasn't.

Good to see you again on here. Hope you are keeping well.
 
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~Anastasia~

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My main post wasn't.

Good to see you again on here. Hope you are keeping well.

I'm afraid I don't recall; I only remember being not quite sure what was being debated between some persons.

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, it's been hard to keep up in the forums the past few weeks ... both Church and life very busy just now. I am well enough, and hopefully even more so in another month or two, thank you.

Peace to you. :) I pray you are well also. :)
 
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James Honigman

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In Matthew 26:39 Who is there to record the words Jesus prayed to the Father? No one. It seems it is put there just to make a narrative.

Next there are three last words of Jesus in the cross. Which one is right. One, or none.

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ... Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. Matthew 27:46-50
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23:46
It is finished.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19:30

And then the pregnacy of Mary is put in Luke Chapter 1 during the reign of Herodes the Great that died around 4BC, and the birth of Jesus is placed while Quirinius is governator of Syria 10 years after Herodes died. Mary's preagnancy could not last 10 years instead of 9 months.

Something isn't right in these accounts. And these were what I found in a short amount of time. So kindly please explain them all.
Our Father never forsook our Lord. Y'shua was quoting the 1st verse of Psalm 22, which is the crucifixion psalm in the OT. With His dying breaths He was fulfilling Scripture and teaching us at the same time.
 
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Ron Gurley

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I spiritually perceive that you are "baby" Christ-follower in the first baby steps of your journey...a SALVATION EVENT ...THEN...A SANCTIFICATION PROCESS.
Mine the Scriptures for those 2 words.
RECOMMEND: seek and find an assembly "church" ask for a written "Doctrinal Statement" a Great ONE is found HERE: Doctrinal Statement | Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS)

Read / spiritually discern the entire Bible SYSTEMATICALLY. For example" "Through the Bible in 1 year" courses

I recommend the NASB version STUDY BIBLE (Ryrie) because it the most LITERAL translation from the original languages.

ORDER:
1. read all of John (the elder)...Gospel + Letters + Revelatiion...THEN: Matthew=> Luke => Mark => Acts
2. Then read ALL the letters of Paul IN ORDER starting with Romans...his PH.D. dissertation
3. Then read the rest of the NT

The NT will reference the OT, especially the first 5 books ~= the Torah. Go there when quoted/referenced.

You should be in an assembly/"church' for fellowship with the wiser / more mature in Christ + BIBLE STUDY. God might find you a mate there! (IF you need one!)

Why have I taken the time to rant above? My spirit was moved me to so do.

Luke 2:40
The Child continued to grow and become strong,
increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Hebrews 5:13
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

1 Peter 2:2
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word (of God),
so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

Ephesians 6:10[ The FULL Armor of God ]
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

1 John 2:14
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and
the word of God abides in you, and
you have overcome the evil one.

Ecclesiastes 12 is FULL of wisdom! (Soloman?)

2 Chronicles 15:7
But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

Job 17:9
“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to His way,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
 
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Lord'sWarrior

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I spiritually perceive that you are "baby" Christ-follower in the first baby steps of your journey...a SALVATION EVENT ...THEN...A SANCTIFICATION PROCESS.
Mine the Scriptures for those 2 words.
RECOMMEND: seek and find an assembly "church" ask for a written "Doctrinal Statement" a Great ONE is found HERE: Doctrinal Statement | Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS)

Read / spiritually discern the entire Bible SYSTEMATICALLY. For example" "Through the Bible in 1 year" courses

I recommend the NASB version STUDY BIBLE (Ryrie) because it the most LITERAL translation from the original languages.

ORDER:
1. read all of John (the elder)...Gospel + Letters + Revelatiion...THEN: Matthew=> Luke => Mark => Acts
2. Then read ALL the letters of Paul IN ORDER starting with Romans...his PH.D. dissertation
3. Then read the rest of the NT

The NT will reference the OT, especially the first 5 books ~= the Torah. Go there when quoted/referenced.

You should be in an assembly/"church' for fellowship with the wiser / more mature in Christ + BIBLE STUDY. God might find you a mate there! (IF you need one!)

Why have I taken the time to rant above? My spirit was moved me to so do.

Luke 2:40
The Child continued to grow and become strong,
increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Hebrews 5:13
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

1 Peter 2:2
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word (of God),
so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

Ephesians 6:10[ The FULL Armor of God ]
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

1 John 2:14
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and
the word of God abides in you, and
you have overcome the evil one.

Ecclesiastes 12 is FULL of wisdom! (Soloman?)

2 Chronicles 15:7
But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

Job 17:9
“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to His way,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.

Yes. I only started this path one year ago. I'm in Portugal, so that version in portuguese (bible) I believe is not available. Also, it has come to my knowledge one small church near where I live but I hadn't yet the courage to go there, and probably they do not have a doctrinal statement written.

What your message got me thinking is that I probably should go check it out. And one of the reasons is that I very much isolated of every people known to me and unknown also.

I'm feeling very weak in my faith and also in myself. I see things getting worse if I do not do anything.

And this church was told to me my a supposed atheist person I know in a conversation after I prayed for one that I could go to, because I am dissatisfied with catholic ones (the most proliferant ones here). I haven't responded to this (probable) answered prayer, but maybe I should.
 
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Ron Gurley

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My devout Catholic Family of 11 are TRUE members of the RCC and the "Body of Christ". Beware RCC assemblies that are "Cafeteria Catholics"...they pick and choose what to believe and follow.
JOKE: these type of assemblies ONLY:
Baptize 'em
Marry 'em
Bury 'em
A Bible based assembly may be hard to find where you are, but the search is worth it!
 
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dzheremi

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Several years ago by this point, when I was first attending the liturgy, the Copts taught me an Arabic saying, al-haruf yuqatl -- the letters kill. The idea is not just "don't take everything excruciatingly literally" (though, yeah, don't do that), but "if you let it, your over-reliance on the text itself will hurt you." I agree with that, and find it a good thing to remind myself of from time to time, as necessary.

You would hardly be alone in noticing such discrepancies, though the idea that these are somehow a problem for the truth of gospels themselves is apparently a later position. The earliest of the "gospel harmonies", the Diatessaron of Tatian (c. 120-180) which formed the standard Syriac version of the gospels prior to the Peshitta translation which appeared in the 5th century, does not attempt to show that the gospels, as they were written, do not contain errors, only to synthesize them into a coherent narrative concerning the life of Christ.

While the Diatessron as a text has long been supplanted by the individual canonical gospels in the Syriac tradition, I don't think that's such a bad goal to maintain when reading the gospels in particular, as they are after all narratives, not disinterested histories.
 
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