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Human parents are not God. I was under the impression God was a little more than us...butxifxnot said:
You're forgetting the idea that God is a God of love.
That's like saying a child has power or authority over his parents because his attitude can make his parents happy or sad.
Sure.flicka said:Human parents are not God. I was under the impression God was a little more than us...
Personifying God so you can have a relationship with him is a very human thing to do. Giving him the attributes of a human mind reader ("Oh no! I thought about sex with my girlfriend! Poor God must be sooooooo upset!!") is childish.
butxifxnot said:Sure.
But if Jesus says that a look with an intent to lust after a woman is sin and judgeable by God, we have proof enough that God "requires truth in the inward parts" and does, indeed, care how we think.You're right. You're also putting words in a few mouths.
As for "Personifying God", we don't do it out of whim: we act as we understand how God is. He feels, but He also isn't a crybaby.
flicka said:Not really, it was just the logical conclusion to thinking God can be pleased or displeased with our thoughts. And judge us on them even! You can't unthink a thought but you can choose not to perform an action, or make amends to someone you hurt if you do something wrong.
[bible]Psalm 51:6[/bible]Thoughts are about the only thing people have that other people can't know and criticize each other on, which is why people claim that God is doing that. It's a control issue. But really....what's God gunna do? If he isn't emotional about things (IE: crying over your sex thoughts) is he going to trot out all your impure thoughts when you die and punish you for them? That would defeat the whole purpose of Jesus. So where exactly are do a persons thought lay in the big scheme of things? I'll tell you....nowhere.
Seriously, it's hard enough for some to feel good about themselves as Christan's without them freaking out over thoughts popping into their head too.
me said:OP said:If a priest looks at a choir boy in church and has impure thoughts, is it only a sin if he acts on it?
1) It is sin if he acts on it
2) Temptation is not sin. To be tempted, there must be thought. Therefore, thoughts are not sin.
3) BUT!! If the thought is not delt with, the priest would be sinning for harboring those thoughts rather than kicking them out.
As C H Spurgeon put it, you can't stop birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them making a nest in your hair.
Jerusha_Girl said:Well... As a preschool teacher and an ECE degree student... I'd have to say that's not entirely incorrect. A lot of parents allow their children to have authority over them because they would rather be their child's friend than parent. They will let their kids run amok because they don't want to be sad that their children are sad.
Again, thoughts are not sin!
me said:OP said:If a priest looks at a choir boy in church and has impure thoughts, is it only a sin if he acts on it?
1) It is sin if he acts on it
2) Temptation is not sin. To be tempted, there must be thought. Therefore, thoughts are not sin.
3) BUT!! If the thought is not delt with, the priest would be sinning for harboring those thoughts rather than kicking them out.
As C H Spurgeon put it, you can't stop birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them making a nest in your hair.
This depends.royboy said:If a priest looks at a choir boy in church and has impure thoughts, is it only a sin if he acts on it?
It is not only NOT immoral, it is absolutely required by scripture.Mjonller said:Your thoughts are your own, why is it immoral to think for ones self?
ReluctantProphet said:[FONT="]This depends.
If he has feelings associated with the thought, either good or bad, then he most definitely has sinned already.
If he merely considers the idea as though discussing the very concept of it with another without feelings either way, then no he has not sinned at all.
ANY thought that brings passion to the heart also blinds the mind. The mind loses its ability to judge subtle detail (this is called "lust" from "luster"). Those errors in judgment are a sin against himself and the Holy Spirit.
If a man lusts toward something which will result in greater harmony with God than not, then he has still sinned against himself in that he has lost judgment, but fortunately he happened to be falling in a direction that was to his favor.
Jesus made wine of the water, but the wine was alluring toward the Holy Spirit and casting out the blinding that was already there.
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butxifxnot said:If anyone (Christian or otherwise) holds any qualms with this, please let me know.[/size][/font]
Mjonller said:Your thoughts are your own, why is it immoral to think for ones self?
flicka said:I don't think so. See, this would mean YOU have power over God. The power to make him happy or sad. Like I said before, some parts of religion, certain beliefs like this, really are nothing more than an extreme focus on self, to increase your sense of importance and control. It really is an ego thing. I mean how important must you be if your very thoughts can make God feel bad?
flicka said:Seriously, it's hard enough for some to feel good about themselves as Christan's without them freaking out over thoughts popping into their head too.
sparklecat said:In general, I have no problem with anyone thinking about whatever they like. However, if your personality is such that dwelling on the thoughts is going to make you more likely to try and act them out, and if acting them out would hurt others against their will or to an overly extreme degree, then yes, you should try to not dwell on the thoughts/fantasies. If you have no problem keeping your fantasies and reality seperate, go for it.
butxifxnot said:That philosophy doesn't account for "sin".
thumbsup: Lilly)
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