Contradicting Teachings

There is no point when we stop seeking God

James_Lai said:

Yes, but if there’s no God or He’s very different from what we picture Him to be, then we might be seeking in the wrong place

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Which is why the search continues and is not afraid to explore the options. Discernment will find reason in the end. Think of God's truth as scattered among all the truths of man where none of man's are are absolute, so that no man may claim superiority.

James_Lai said:

If urgency is coupled with the belief that a small portion is getting saved, it effectively cancels out the command to preach to all people. Why even bother? An impossible task. Like Cinderella picking out peas and lentils before going to the ball.

So my point is I’m not taking a single teaching, but a set of teachings that are related and can potentially cancel each other out.

In this case, urgency with a prediction of a grand failure…

Yes, the love of maths

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But do people really think that only a small portion is saved? The only group that I know of that really put limits on the number saved is the Jehovah's Witnesses (144,000) but they surpassed that number long ago meaning that not all of them will get to Heaven (I think they have revised their theology in recent years to account for this).

The churches that I have been a part of see no limit in the number who will be saved so no imperative to stop and more imperative when the time comes closer.

Someone once said that the Church is the only organisation that exists for the benefit of its non-members. Read the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats - the ones who think they did all the right things were goats, the ones who reached out to the ones around them are the sheep.

So preaching the gospel message becomes even more imperative as the time comes closer to make sure as many people as possible get in rather than, say, a lifeboat where those inside are battering those in the water with oars to prevent them overloading the boat.

miamited said:

I don't believe that today you'd actually find someone to say that Tehran is an equal city to New York City.

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Does God love the people of NYC more than the people of Tehran?

miamited said:

The new city of Zion is not just for Israel. It is for all of the born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The new city of Zion is where all of the redeemed and born again children of God will live. Surprisingly as it may seem to you, there may not be a whole lot of Israelis living there.

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Good point. I'm just quoting this for emphasis.

James_Lai said:

It does absolutely affect their thinking and behaviour, short-term and long-term decisions and overall mental mood I would say. It shapes them deeply at many different levels. So from what I observe, such ideas are powerful, having an undeniable effect on people.

One younger couple my dear friends who are devout fundamentalist Baptist Christians, have decided to be child-free, because “why bring children into this world that’s going to turn very nasty and then be burned”. They are also against recycling or for ICE cars against electric, as they think it’s useless… Etc.

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I heard someone say, "The good thing is that my natural pessimism can get me through any temporary feelings of joy" .

Hi @Andrewn

Andrewn said:

Does God love the people of NYC more than the people of Tehran?

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Oh, absolutely not! I certainly didn't mean to infer that in my post.

God bless,
Ted