First post to this board...looking for some insight

[MuAndNu]

#1) I don't know what a geocentrist is.
#2) I don't know what a backsliding heliocentrist is either.

So, at the present time, I cannot provide clarification on your statement.

Look here: http://www.nwcreation.net/geocentricity.html

Remember, they're serious.

 

[MuAndNu]

This is the site I really wanted: http://www.geocentricity.com/

 

[Lilandra]

just insinuating she is not.

Who decides who is a Christian or not?
You?

Jesus spoke about this many times. He told Pharisees who thought being religious put them in a different category from other people that they should follow the intent of the law not the letter of the law.

To be clear, I am not saying you aren't a Christian. But I am making the point that if one believes in free markets yet calls himself a communist, he is not a communist; he is a confused capitalist.

 

[Sinai]

To filly, rafael_aa, randomguy and others...

Why are you Christians?

I am a Christian because I recognize the truth of what the Bible has to say about sin and my relationship with God--and I have taken the necessary steps to accept the redemption and salvation God has offered and to build a relationship with God. This is probably the wrong forum to go into greater detail, but I can discuss it with you either privately [PM me] or publicly in a forum that would be more appropriate for such discussion.

More and more I'm seeing people who believe in God but realize that much of modern science is hard to dispute.

If you read my prior posts that were attempting to answer filly's questions[posts #s 16-18 on this thread], you will note that I do not dispute it--but neither do I dispute the Bible. I know of no reason a Christian cannot accept both the evidence of modern science and also the biblical account of creation.

You believe there is a god. Fine. Why the Christian god?

You haven't met Him, have you? If you had, there would be no need to ask. But since you haven't, it will probably be difficult for you to understand the indescribable peace I have had in my soul since I have come to know God. But again, this is probably the wrong forum to attempt to discuss it. PM me to discuss it privately, or we can continue the discussion in a different forum.

 

[Robert the Pilegrim]

To filly, rafael_aa, randomguy and others...
Why are you Christians?

You believe there is a god. Fine. Why the Christian god?

Originally because that was how I was raised.

If you are going to pick and choose which parts of the bible you want to believe, why believe any of it?

I at least provisionally believe that all parts of the Bible contain truth.
I believe God has allowed free will to extend in part to the transmission of the Bible and therefore there may be uninspired passages in it. But I generally work from the assumption that everything, including the editting is inspired. Perhaps even, in a way, the scribal errors.

Explore other schools of thought. Why not Deism, Pantheism, whateverism?

Modern Deism I reject because in my experience God speaks and is not remote.
I don't see how Pantheism allows for a personal God either.

The evidence is that Jesus existed, and that he taught at least some of what was transmitted in the New Testament. The Apostles had to know they were risking life and limb to spread the Word after Jesus's death, and for very little gain.

What Jesus taught did not appear out of thin air, it was an outgrowth of Judaism, in a some ways radical and in some ways not so radical outgrowth, yet it has its roots there.

I have prayed and felt listened to, I know very rational academicly talented people who are certain of times of God's presense in their lives.

C.S. Lewis's "mere Christianity" makes an interesting case, not quite as concrete as he presents it, but interesting none the less.

And there is the possibility that the values of physical constants are uniquely suited to the creation of life.

Are these proofs? No, not proofs, there is a reason they call it faith after all. But that is where I am.

But there are lots of folks that would say you aren't "true Christians" then.

I alternate between feeling anger and profound sadness in response to that.
Oh, and just a touch of "Just wait". Not very Christian I'm afraid.

 

[Robert the Pilegrim]

#1) I don't know what a geocentrist is.
#2) I don't know what a backsliding heliocentrist is either.

So, at the present time, I cannot provide clarification on your statement.

On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."​

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

For rough 3000 years every believer who heard or read these verses believed that they meant that the Sun stopped moving. For the last 400 years or so most believers have assumed they meant that the Earth stopped rotating.

Except for the true Bible believing geocentrists who try to convince us that weather patterns, stellar parallax and Foucault pendulums don't mean a thing.

 

[Robert the Pilegrim]

However, Genesis is certainly not allegorical. The literary style of Genesis is a "Hebrew narrative" and you should read it as such.

Talking snakes with legs, people not having children until they were 130 years old, God worried that a physical tower might reach heaven...

These don't strike you as, maybe, mythic? As stories that are intended to teach truths but not necessarily intended to be taken as factual?

 

[Linux98]

This is the site I really wanted: http://www.geocentricity.com/

It assumes that whenever the two are at variance, it is always astronomy—that is, our "reading" of the "Book of Nature," not our reading of the Holy Bible—that is wrong. - geocentricity.com

​

Very strange viewpoint to take. For example if they made a literal interpretation of Revelation 8:10-11 then they would be saying that a star would hit the Earth and only destroy 1/3 of the water. In that case their interpretation would be at fault because if a star hit us the Earth would just flatten out on the star and all the elements lighter than Lithium would become fuel for fusion (assuming we got hit by a small star).

But that is why I think understanding literary context is very important to proper biblical interpretation. In addition, Robert is simply misguided to call me a "geocentrist" - In the words of GW "I think there has been an exaggeration" (MuAndNu - I would like to take this opportunity to say that the duo election victories of GW is yet more convincing proof for the existence of God.)

 

[Self Improvement]

You haven't met Him, have you? If you had, there would be no need to ask. But since you haven't, it will probably be difficult for you to understand the indescribable peace I have had in my soul since I have come to know God. But again, this is probably the wrong forum to attempt to discuss it. PM me to discuss it privately, or we can continue the discussion in a different forum.

And naturally people of every religion spout that same line, why is that?

 

[Linux98]

Jesus spoke about this many times. He told Pharisees who thought being religious put them in a different category from other people that they should follow the intent of the law not the letter of the law.

Like I said, she is obviously in the light-gray area. But she is certainly free to openly express her beliefs about the person of Jesus Christ and prove me wrong. A Christian doesn't need to be shy about that if they are really a Christian, right? See, this isn't about religion, it is about who one believes Jesus is and why one believes Jesus did the things He did.

Matthew 10:32-33

"If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven."
​

 

[Frazzledmom]

Evolution is just a theory. The big bang is just a theory. I believe the bible is literal. Sure, some things seem strange to us, but lots of things seem strange to me. Like believing apes changed into people. I'm not even close to being a scientist. In fact, I greatly dislike science, but fossils have been found with food in their mouths, proving that they froze instantly. I've heard that it's possible, since fossils didn't take years to freeze, that the world isn't as old as most people believe. Don't you think this could be a possibility?

 

[Robert the Pilegrim]

But that is why I think understanding literary context is very important to proper biblical interpretation. In addition, Robert is simply misguided to call me a "geocentrist" -

So you aren't*? Then how do you justify not reading Joshua 10 literally?

*In truth I never thought you were. (Can you name that literary style?)

 

[Robert the Pilegrim]

Evolution is just a theory. The big bang is just a theory. I believe the bible is literal. Sure, some things seem strange to us, but lots of things seem strange to me. Like believing apes changed into people. I'm not even close to being a scientist. In fact, I greatly dislike science, but fossils have been found with food in their mouths, proving that they froze instantly. I've heard that it's possible, since fossils didn't take years to freeze, that the world isn't as old as most people believe. Don't you think this could be a possibility?

Gravity is just a theory.
They have found frozen bodies, not fossils, with food in their stomaches, not mouths.
The length of time it takes fossils to form (or mammoths to freeze) has no bearing on how old the Earth is.

If you want to believe in a literal reading of Genesis, that is okay by me, just realize that the physical evidence doesn't support either a young (10,000, or even 10,000,000, year old) earth or special creation of all species out of whole cloth.

 

[Sinai]

You haven't met Him, have you? If you had, there would be no need to ask. But since you haven't, it will probably be difficult for you to understand the indescribable peace I have had in my soul since I have come to know God. But again, this is probably the wrong forum to attempt to discuss it. PM me to discuss it privately, or we can continue the discussion in a different forum.

And naturally people of every religion spout that same line, why is that?

I cannot speak for "people of every religion" and do not know whether any of them have found the peace and comfort I have found. Nor can I speak for athiests such as you. But I can contrast my current life with my former life before I became a Christian.....

 

[Lucretius]

Evolution is just a theory. The big bang is just a theory. I believe the bible is literal. Sure, some things seem strange to us, but lots of things seem strange to me. Like believing apes changed into people. I'm not even close to being a scientist. In fact, I greatly dislike science, but fossils have been found with food in their mouths, proving that they froze instantly. I've heard that it's possible, since fossils didn't take years to freeze, that the world isn't as old as most people believe. Don't you think this could be a possibility?

This post is like… a joke… right? You aren't being serious, am I correct?

 

[Lilandra]

That would make your verse below more relevant. I suspect you are infering that a Theistic evolutionist denies Jesus.

Like I said, she is obviously in the light-gray area. But she is certainly free to openly express her beliefs about the person of Jesus Christ and prove me wrong. A Christian doesn't need to be shy about that if they are really a Christian, right? See, this isn't about religion, it is about who one believes Jesus is and why one believes Jesus did the things He did.



Matthew 10:32-33

"If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven."


​

 

[Self Improvement]

I cannot speak for "people of every religion" and do not know whether any of them have found the peace and comfort I have found. Nor can I speak for athiests such as you. But I can contrast my current life with my former life before I became a Christian.....

.

 

[Self Improvement]

Evolution is just a theory. The big bang is just a theory. I believe the bible is literal. Sure, some things seem strange to us, but lots of things seem strange to me. Like believing apes changed into people. I'm not even close to being a scientist. In fact, I greatly dislike science, but fossils have been found with food in their mouths, proving that they froze instantly. I've heard that it's possible, since fossils didn't take years to freeze, that the world isn't as old as most people believe. Don't you think this could be a possibility?

Why are you using a computer if you greatly dislike science?

 

[Linux98]

So you aren't*? Then how do you justify not reading Joshua 10 literally?

*In truth I never thought you were. (Can you name that literary style?)

Joshua is a narrative. And Joshua 10 is a real miracle. I'm not sure what you mean by reading Joshua "literally".

 

[Linux98]

Why are you using a computer if you greatly dislike science?

???