Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Forums
New posts
Forum list
Search forums
Leaderboards
Games
Our Blog
Blogs
New entries
New comments
Blog list
Search blogs
Credits
Transactions
Shop
Blessings: ✟0.00
Tickets
Open new ticket
Watched
Donate
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
More options
Toggle width
Share this page
Share this page
Share
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Menu
Install the app
Install
Forums
Outreach
Outreach
Exploring Christianity
A few questions about Christianity
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="ViaCrucis" data-source="post: 61374296" data-attributes="member: 293637"><p>That would be pretty close to how I conceive of prayer. Scripture in some cases describes prayer as incense, rising from the earth to God. In some sense one can even say it is "sacrificial", an offering made to God. A bringing of ourselves, our whole life, all our worries, problems, all the people we care about (etc) and bringing it before God and to say, "Do with this as you will."</p><p style="text-align: left"> </p> <p style="text-align: left"></p> <p style="text-align: left"></p> <p style="text-align: left">More-or-less. The Christian community has always been a living, breathing organism (and fundamentally this is what the meaning of "church" or "ekklesia" is, a gathered community). As such it's involved reflecting and making sense of the unique experience of Jesus. And this community has, from the first, confessed that this Jesus is the Christ, that He is Lord, and that He rose bodily from the dead. These things alone, obviously mean something more than that Jesus was just a philosopher or some such. Again, just in what we have called ourselves--Christian--contains the basic confession that Jesus is the Christ. Our theology matured and expanded in order to meet the needs of the community to better put into words some of the less concrete elements of our confession. </p> <p style="text-align: left"></p> <p style="text-align: left">In the earliest literature--Paul's epistles--we see Jesus being in some way identified with Israel's God, that is, with YHWH. This is done in subtle and implicit ways, as well as in more explicit ways. In some of the subtle and more implicit ways involves taking passages from the Hebrew Scriptures which are about YHWH and identifying them with Jesus. In more explicit ways it involves outright declarations of Jesus' divinity, "In whom the fullness of Deity dwelt in bodily form", or "the appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." </p> <p style="text-align: left"></p> <p style="text-align: left">By the time we get to John's Gospel later in the first century, we have the famous Johanine prologue where Jesus is identified as the Divine Logos who is simultaneously God and <em>with </em>God.</p> <p style="text-align: left"></p> <p style="text-align: left">These confessions and theological affirmations are what would eventually evolve into the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and Hypostatic Union in the 2nd through 5th centuries.</p> <p style="text-align: left"></p> <p style="text-align: left"></p><p></p><p>Unfortunately the rules of this forum do not permit those of us with views which differ from the official forum position to discuss our views. As such I won't be of much help to you or discuss it as I might otherwise be willing.</p><p></p><p>As far as premarital sex goes--and I'll no doubt get a lot of heat for this--I've never seen anything in Scripture which indicates that sex before marriage is verboten. What I do see is the importance of spousal fidelity. I also see Scripture offering important teachings concerning sexual ethics and sexual moral teaching; but it seems far less to do with modern post-Victorian mores, and more to do with the consistent and general thrust of biblical ethical teaching--the right and just treatment of others.</p><p></p><p>-CryptoLutheran</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ViaCrucis, post: 61374296, member: 293637"] That would be pretty close to how I conceive of prayer. Scripture in some cases describes prayer as incense, rising from the earth to God. In some sense one can even say it is "sacrificial", an offering made to God. A bringing of ourselves, our whole life, all our worries, problems, all the people we care about (etc) and bringing it before God and to say, "Do with this as you will." [LEFT] More-or-less. The Christian community has always been a living, breathing organism (and fundamentally this is what the meaning of "church" or "ekklesia" is, a gathered community). As such it's involved reflecting and making sense of the unique experience of Jesus. And this community has, from the first, confessed that this Jesus is the Christ, that He is Lord, and that He rose bodily from the dead. These things alone, obviously mean something more than that Jesus was just a philosopher or some such. Again, just in what we have called ourselves--Christian--contains the basic confession that Jesus is the Christ. Our theology matured and expanded in order to meet the needs of the community to better put into words some of the less concrete elements of our confession. In the earliest literature--Paul's epistles--we see Jesus being in some way identified with Israel's God, that is, with YHWH. This is done in subtle and implicit ways, as well as in more explicit ways. In some of the subtle and more implicit ways involves taking passages from the Hebrew Scriptures which are about YHWH and identifying them with Jesus. In more explicit ways it involves outright declarations of Jesus' divinity, "In whom the fullness of Deity dwelt in bodily form", or "the appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." By the time we get to John's Gospel later in the first century, we have the famous Johanine prologue where Jesus is identified as the Divine Logos who is simultaneously God and [I]with [/I]God. These confessions and theological affirmations are what would eventually evolve into the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and Hypostatic Union in the 2nd through 5th centuries. [/LEFT] Unfortunately the rules of this forum do not permit those of us with views which differ from the official forum position to discuss our views. As such I won't be of much help to you or discuss it as I might otherwise be willing. As far as premarital sex goes--and I'll no doubt get a lot of heat for this--I've never seen anything in Scripture which indicates that sex before marriage is verboten. What I do see is the importance of spousal fidelity. I also see Scripture offering important teachings concerning sexual ethics and sexual moral teaching; but it seems far less to do with modern post-Victorian mores, and more to do with the consistent and general thrust of biblical ethical teaching--the right and just treatment of others. -CryptoLutheran [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Outreach
Outreach
Exploring Christianity
A few questions about Christianity
Top
Bottom