Convert Me?

[awitch]

If you already know the gospel about Jesus and his gift of salvation there is really no need of my trying to change your mind, God has given us all freewill to to decide.

That's it? I'm supposed to believe it all just because some stranger knocks on my door and hands me a tract or some anonymous person tells me I'm lost on an Internet forum? Come on, my soul is on the line. I'm looking at eternal torture in the pits of hell here.

 

[kotwebck]

That's it? I'm supposed to believe it all just because some stranger knocks on my door and hands me a tract or some anonymous person tells me I'm lost on an Internet forum? Come on, my soul is on the line. I'm looking at eternal torture in the pits of hell here.

Yeah, that is true, but you must understand it is a job given to Christians by Jesus, to tell everyone that he came to save us all. Some Christains take it too far and try to hammer you into believing.

The only thing we (Christians) should do it tell everyone about Jesus, Jesus will do the rest. But he is right in the fact that once you've been informed you choose.

Can you imagine a god that forces people to worship him?

 

[awitch]

Yeah, that is true, but you must understand it is a job given to Christians by Jesus, to tell everyone that he came to save us all. Some Christains take it too far and try to hammer you into believing.

The only thing we (Christians) should do it tell everyone about Jesus, Jesus will do the rest. But he is right in the fact that once you've been informed you choose.

Sincere questions...why do you suppose god would have Christians tell people about Jesus, if "the rest is up to Jesus" anyway? Why rely on "fallen" people who obviously corrupt the message (see all the different denominations) when there is so much at stake? Does God really expect people to drop everything, suspend all held beliefs, and suddenly accept the Bible as a literal truth just because some stranger said so?

Can you imagine a god that forces people to worship him?

It's harder for me to imagine a god who would punish those who did not worship him.

 

[PassionFruit]

Sincere questions...why do you suppose god would have Christians tell people about Jesus, if "the rest is up to Jesus" anyway? Why rely on "fallen" people who obviously corrupt the message (see all the different denominations) when there is so much at stake? Does God really expect people to drop everything, suspend all held beliefs, and suddenly accept the Bible as a literal truth just because some stranger said so?

You asked some good questions. The bible has been changed over the years, there are books in the bible that weren't included in the NT. You probably know that Christianity was essentially divided on many issues even when it first came into existence. There are were Christians who didn't even believe Jesus Christ's sacrifice wasn't even necessary for salvation, but obtaining knowledge of what they would call the "truth" was.

It's harder for me to imagine a god who would punish those who did not worship him.

Not only that, it's even harder for me to imagine why an all powerful would even care if people worshiped him or not. It makes the Christian god seem as though he's insecure about something.

 

[kotwebck]

Sincere questions...why do you suppose god would have Christians tell people about Jesus, if "the rest is up to Jesus" anyway? Why rely on "fallen" people who obviously corrupt the message (see all the different denominations) when there is so much at stake? Does God really expect people to drop everything, suspend all held beliefs, and suddenly accept the Bible as a literal truth just because some stranger said so?

God calls us children and him the Father ... Dad's usually gives their kids little things to do - so that they can learn, even though they mess up most of the time, but even with all the different denominations the message stays the same, at that is what God want out there - People argue about little details and nitt pick over small facts, God's message stays the same: Believe in his Son and ask for forgiveness of your sins, and you will be saved.

It's harder for me to imagine a god who would punish those who did not worship him.

Yes ... I agree ... there is someone, who tries to play god that actually does that, but he's the enemy ...

You see the Christian message like this, you are in the middle of the road, partying or whatever, a truck is comming at a high speed, and will kill you and your friends. God is standing next to the road and is calling you over, and warning your to get out of the road. You can't see any danger so the choice is yours stay or go with him. There is no punishment for not going with him and the tuck comming is inevetable ... that's all actually.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

One morning I got up and walked into the hall and I heard a voice say "How would you like to be stabbed in the Valley". The Valley was the rough end of town, and the voice scared me a little, I wondered if I had done something to offend God. I had planned to go down to the Valley to ask people out to church as was my habit at the time. In the end I went anyway regardles of the fear. I walked up to the first person I met and asked him if he would like to go out to church. He said to me "I am an atheist, I don't believe in God". I just said "fine", but hoped to change his mind. He then proceeded to unbutton his shirt and showed me scar marks up and down his chest and stomach. He said to me, "I was attacked by a knife weilding man in the Valley some time ago and spent months recovering in hospital, How could God allow that to happen to me". Then I knew why God had said in the morning "How would I like to be stabbed?". God understood this man, but had a good plan for him. Some weeks latter this man came out to church and became a Christian.

Some time after the second Gulf War an Australian man Douglas Wood was capured by terrorists in Iraq, who made demands for a ransom or he would be executed. I set about fasting and praying for his release, I said to God "You know where he is....tell me". Three words entered my mind ABC, Bizaar and "A-meal". I thought "I am going crazy what has all that got to do with him. Bizaar I though "this is Bizarre". I thought maybe "A-meal" is a town so I searched a map of Iraq for a town of that name, but found nothing that really matched. Some time latter Douglas Wood was freed by US troops who came across his captors. It was not until latter that I actually discovered what the three words ment. I was on a forum libertyunites.us and came across a post by a user called ABC in the post she appealed to the captors to release Douglas Wood because he had gone to a/or the Bazaar and bought food for homless people and had provided them with "A-meal". I believe God saw this action too and blessed Douglas Wood with an escape from his captors.

One time I thought about sueing some one but felt bad about it because I did not want to give a bad impression about what a Christian is like. SO I prayed and asked God to show me clearly what to do. Latter that day I opened my bible at random, selecting a random verse and it opened to 1Co 6:7 "Nay, already it is altogether a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong? why not rather be defrauded?" So I knew what God was thinking, no lawsuite.

At one point in my life I was praying for scientific cures for illnesses like cancer. Because I was on a science kick I thought would it not be fun to create a real life dinosour. I wanted Jesus just for fun to show me how to create a Real Live Dinosaur, he can show us anything you know if he wants, but when I asked him how to start recreating a Dinosaur. Jesus spoke into my head the sentance "I bood", it entered my mind when I was awake, a term I had never heard before. I decieded to look it up on the Internet and I found out the following: You see, the children of Semai are taught from an early age, the concept of "bood." If a parent asks a child to do something and the child replies "I bood," in other words, "I don't feel like doing that," the matter is closed. Bood means gently No.

One day I was witnessing to a Muslum and he asked me why we ate pork. I used the verse out of the bible which says "It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a man but what comes out of the mouth". After some general discussion I finished for the night. I asked God to give me a verse from the bible to encourage me. I opened the bible at random and selected a random verse. It opened to the exact same verse that I had used with the Muslum. The one about food not defiling. So I knew that God was approving of what I had been talking about.
"What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean.'"- Mat 15:11

Also see John Mellor Ministries

 

[kotwebck]

Not only that, it's even harder for me to imagine why an all powerful would even care if people worshiped him or not. It makes the Christian god seem as though he's insecure about something.

I'm just so glad we do not have a god that would react to power the way humans do, imagine a human getting godly powers ...

God is love, and want's to be loved by us ... he will never forsake us, and always love us ... that is not insecurity it is Godly ... for only God would give his only son, to save others.

 

[kotwebck]

"What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean.'"- Mat 15:11

Amen

 

[awitch]

Believe in his Son and ask for forgiveness of your sins, and you will be saved.

Simple, yet dangerous. The abortion clinic bombers were devout Christians. I'm an average Pagan guy trying to earn a living and take care of my family. But I'm going to hell and the clinic bombers are going to heaven?

People should ask forgiveness of those whom they have wronged.

 

[awitch]

Also see John Mellor Ministries

I'm going to guess if these events really did happen (I've seen some of those before and they sound like urban legends), they are probably only convincing to the people involved. Would you convert if I told you about my spiritual experiences?

 

[kotwebck]

Simple, yet dangerous. The abortion clinic bombers were devout Christians. I'm an average Pagan guy trying to earn a living and take care of my family. But I'm going to hell and the clinic bombers are going to heaven?

People should ask forgiveness of those whom they have wronged.

Oh I agree, never head of abortion clinic bombers, but if they plant bombs they better re-check where they will end - once forgiven does not mean you can run around like the Crusaders of old and get away with it.

It's easy to kill in the name of a god or Christianity, it's another story living the life of a Christian. I can never and I mean never associate myself with people like that - please understand that anyone can fake being saved in order to commit a religious crime (lol ... even the Pope in 1484 did it, but that is a story for another day).

Christains must answer for their deeds, now to human law and when the King comes to Him, and I for one don't wanna explain to Him way I planted a bomb.

 

[Markus6]

While I believe what exists was created by gods, I believe evolution is a completely natural process. I hope it would be because if any god is guiding it, then it's doing a really poor job. I think "theistic evolution" is just another way of saying Intelligent Design, which I flatly reject.

Any religion is fine.

I'll try and convert you to theistic evolution then .

Or actually I just wanted to point out that theistic evolution is importantly distinct from intelligent design. Ken Miller and Francis Collins are two poster boy theistic evolutionists and are both extremely critical of intelligent design. "Theistic evolution", in effect is just saying "I'm a theist and I believe in evolution".

 

[awitch]

Christains must answer for their deeds, now to human law and when the King comes to Him, and I for one don't wanna explain to Him way I planted a bomb.

So it's not just believing, it's also about deeds?

 

[awitch]

I'll try and convert you to theistic evolution then .

Or actually I just wanted to point out that theistic evolution is importantly distinct from intelligent design. Ken Miller and Francis Collins are two poster boy theistic evolutionists and are both extremely critical of intelligent design. "Theistic evolution", in effect is just saying "I'm a theist and I believe in evolution".

Well, not exactly. It's not the belief that god exists and evolution occurs. Theistic evolution is the belief that god uses evolution as a tool used by god to guide the development of life.

Do you have any evidence to show that evolution occurs according to god's plan?

 

[Markus6]

Well, not exactly. It's not the belief that god exists and evolution occurs. Theistic evolution is the belief that god uses evolution as a tool used by god to guide the development of life.

Do you have any evidence to show that evolution occurs according to god's plan?

That's mostly the difference. Intelligent design is an attempt to prove the involvement of an intelligent designer. Theistic evolution doesn't claim to scientifically prove God's involvement. The belief that evolution is a tool used by God normally comes from the holder's pre-existing theistic beliefs.

 

[Kutte]

I don't see why Christians should have a problem with believing in evolution, or recognize it as fact.
Unless, of course, the prefer instant creation, such as instant soup, instant people, or better yet, instant money.

Kutte

 

[Sorciere Gothique]

Erm...

Come be an Atheist...we have cake and nothing else to blame (except yourself) if you eat it all and feel sick


(did it work? )

Seriously, though...I have nothing to convert you with, or to. Good thread, though.

 

[awitch]

Erm...

Come be an Atheist...we have cake and nothing else to blame (except yourself) if you eat it all and feel sick

Ah, but I have cake AND ale.

 

[Markus6]

Ah, but I have cake AND ale.

So do we .

Try the Catholics for beer: Trappist beer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And the Church of England gives you freedom of choice: cake or death

 

[awitch]

So do we .

Try the Catholics for beer: Trappist beer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I thought THIS was the Catholic beer:

(note the line about witches )

And the Church of England gives you freedom of choice:

Uh... death, please.