Yes but there have always been disagreements in those churches without them splitting as well. The disagreements I'm talking about are when a person says well if somebody is a catholic you know they have never read the bible yet I know they used to go to a church that every single time I visited i heard unbiblical preaching. They didn't leave because of the teaching however. They left because they needed somewhere close to home.But how many Christian denominations are there, all of which cane from a single church? Those divisions certainly predate millennials.
No. Stone hearts, hearts of stone - total lack of empathy or sympathy for others.Like "stone hearts" = don't obey, don't hear , don't live ? ignore the Shepherd or just can't hear Him ?
I think her point was more along the lines of:Yes but there have always been disagreements in those churches without them splitting as well. The disagreements I'm talking about are when a person says well if somebody is a catholic you know they have never read the bible yet I know they used to go to a church that every single time I visited i heard unbiblical preaching. They didn't leave because of the teaching however. They left because they needed somewhere close to home.
Now I know a number of catholics and they most certainly have read the bible. So his claim was wrong. Should I as the letter suggests leave the church as a result? What purpose does that serve?
It's being your authentic self: being on the outside who you are on the inside.There is a lot of misunderstanding of what hypocrisy is and I know some younger people think it is sometimes less hypocritical to live by their feelings, that is wrong. Also public personas and the like are normal part of life, it makes life more bearable if we use a little politeness and courtesy in our social interactions, its not hypocrisy. On the other hand I have been with people who decended into a lived out of their feeling being alot of the time and they are hard to be around for any length of time.
When I was in high school, a million years ago, gay people were laughed at, jokes made,etc. They were mistreated.
What do you understand to be the Truth of the Gospel, and how does it contrast with what others profess that truth to be?Believers shouldn't be mistreating or bullying gay people. It's because we care about them that we tell them the truth of the gospel. But we tell them our sins that the Lord Jesus had forgiven us from too. 'All have sinned'. We are all in need of God's mercy.
Those who really hate gay people are those who do not tell them the truth, that they must repent, change their minds and turn to Christ, thereby condemning them to a lost eternity. God Bless
Your second video raises the question: how do we deal with disagreement? Christian tradition says there's one answer to every question, God rejects everyone who doesn't accept it, and so the right thing to do is condemn people I disagree with. This means that Christians are our own worst enemies. We can be friends with non-Christians, but not with Christians we disagree with.My question is, what is your reaction to the Christian who understands that Jesus died for our sins, but doesn't agree that the verses used to condemn gay relationships are valid because the are usually mistranslated, do not take context into consideration, etc.
Just looking at this forum, there are people who say you are saved by grace, some say that you are saved by choosing to do good works, some say that you are saved by keeping the commandments, and still others that say you are saved by grace, but must keep it through works or you will lose salvation. So, even within Christians, there is disagreement on a very fundamental part of the religion, making finding the path very complicated.Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
I don't think there will be many people who find the path toward salvation because they keep twisting scripture and making excuses for their behavior.
When I was younger, I had lots of ideas about what God was. And now I realize I'm not conscious enough...
to truly understand what that concept means. That I am at one with the great being that made me and brought me here...and that formed the galaxies and the universes, et cetera--
How did that get taken out of religion?
It was not hard. Most of the problems that religion and various philosophical movements, down through the centuries
have produced...have been errors because that's where they're started -That God is a distinct separate being from us...to whom I must offer worship,
whom I must cultivate...humor, please and hope to attain a reward from at the very end of my life.
That is not what God is.
That is a blasphemy.
Today, the Holy Spirit was showing me the person honored in stories and parables were the people condemned at that time.
Just looking at this forum, there are people who say you are saved by grace, some say that you are saved by choosing to do good works, some say that you are saved by keeping the commandments, and still others that say you are saved by grace, but must keep it through works or you will lose salvation. So, even within Christians, there is disagreement on a very fundamental part of the religion, making finding the path very complicated.
My belief is that Christ came to the world to show us how to love: to be kind to one another, to forgive others without end, to not seek revenge when someone acts against you but pray for them, to humble yourself before everyone, from celebrity to the homeless person, as if you were speaking to Christ himself, speak out against people in power who use it to oppress others, even religious leaders, although you will be hated, called a child of Satan, maybe even killed. Speak out against people who claim to speak the word of God when it is twisted scripture meant to harm like a weapon. But above all, in praying for love, the love of the HS flows through you, and the Kingdom of God is already within you, not something you must wait for death to see. Rather than a list of laws one must follow, trying to "thou shalt not", Christ tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, how to love actively - helping those in need, comforting those who are mourning or have lost hope, giving more than asked, and asking nothing in return, behaving as literally on body, working together. Rather than worrying about a misstep, I believe God shows us that we have endless possibilities before us. He wants us to live in joy, not fear. He offers us freedom, not enslavement.
A quote from a priest in What the Bleep Do We Know:
And the thing that has had me scratching my head since childhood is listening to so many Christians talk about their religion and relationship with God, Christ and the HS, like it will start in heaven, when they die, rather than focus on the gift of life given to them now, and the fruit of the spirit that grows from the Tree of Life planted in our hearts. But instead, there is this equivalent of "you're gonna get it when your Dad gets home." But we've been texting all day, and we good.
It puzzles me when Christians quote with glee that the path is narrow, most won't make it, but they of course will, while the Good Shepherd leaves the 99 to find the one.
I don't understand when Christians, faithful to every word of the Bible, don't seek God for guidance in prayer, but only Scripture, and only their interpretation of it. I have always assumed God speaks to everyone, that quiet voice within us.
And I don't understand beliefs that man has a sinful nature. We were created in God's image, and also have a divine nature. A First Nation's story tells of a boy explaining to his father that within him there seems to be two wolves, one who wants to do good, and the other who wants to do evil. Who will win? His father replies, The one that you feed. And in acknowledging the two sides of us: a lower and higher self, a human and a divine self, we are empowered to overcome our human nature of revenge to forgive, selfishness for giving of self, for self-righteousness for humility.
I'm confused why Christians that portray a God that demands you kneel and tell him how great he is, can't understand how arrogant that makes God sound to nonbelievers. Rather than walking through town in Royal garments, telling people to kneel before him, Christ humbled himself before us, showed mercy, showed kindness, gave love rather than demanded it. And he gives us love first, that we may extend love to others first, Forgives us without deserving it, so that we will do the same to others.
And in loving our neighbor as ourselves, we love and honor God. I believe salvation is that simple, which Christ referred to as "becoming like a child."
But the reason the path becomes narrow is that they feed the wrong wolf. In believing themselves holy, which the dark wolf tells them, they condemn others. The dark wolf tells them that they are choosing to obey, congratulates them, and tells them they are better than those who they believe disobey. In fact, those who disobey are enemies of God, so if they go to hell, good riddance!
They look to Scripture but it only reflects their heart, and tell nonbelievers God hates them, maybe even commands them to execute them, and are pleasing their god, encourages them to lie if the end justifies the means, and as they push people away from God, distort what God is, trying to keep souls lost, they are definitely serving the god.
We just serve different gods.
So your solution is to leave those people rather than demonstrate love and try and win their brother & sisters over? Doesn't sound real great to me.It's bigger than "fine! I'm going home and taking my toys with me!" It's a real problem, an Us vs Them that build walls, not bridges, and harms the misled follower as much as turning off potential people coming to God
So back in the 1980s when there was a christian conference and they took up a collection for victims of AIDS they were being callous were they? I know there are certainly those who are however to claim that is how all christians act like you are is the same action as what you are complaining about.showed judgement and callousness in the rise of AIDS rather than compassion or empathy,
Having seen the way they treated gay christian groups who wanted to take part in gay pride marches. They even told them to go home and not join in! When they refused they were shoved down the back. Looking at the signs many had that day I saw hate. Stop pretending it doesn't exist. You can claim they idn't start it but when you look at the actions of people like Ghandi or Mandela their excuses don't fly.Because many of the older generations may not know openly GLBTQ people, they see the community as a faceless boogey man, no nothing about us, so believe all the slander fed to them, are told GLBTQ are attacking the church, so take an offensive stance, thinking it is a defensive move. And believe that their "tough love" that is often experienced the same way as just non-religious folks who hate gays and believe they are justified.
Yep seen those. There are assumptions made which means they can not support their claims. They also ignore certain context such as Lot and his local knowledge. I am aware of the passage that says lack of hospitality was their sin. How was that lack shown though is the question they won't answer.With the internet savvy generation, it is quite easy to look at youtube videos, like Unclobbering the bible, of websites, that examine the verses used to condemn, but show the context, the translation, concluding that it is not a sin, but referring to something else. This is important, because in Jesus' day, people were dependent on the Pharisees, not having access to Scripture some not being literate.
I'll look at the video. You can imagine that is how Christ reached out to others. Lets look at some stories. He spat on the ground to make mud and put it on mans face.The love of Christ radiates from her. It's how I imagine Christ reached out to others.
So back in the 1980s when there was a christian conference and they took up a collection for victims of AIDS they were being callous were they? I know there are certainly those who are however to claim that is how all christians act like you are is the same action as what you are complaining about.
Having seen the way they treated gay christian groups who wanted to take part in gay pride marches. They even told them to go home and not join in! When they refused they were shoved down the back. Looking at the signs many had that day I saw hate. Stop pretending it doesn't exist. You can claim they idn't start it but when you look at the actions of people like Ghandi or Mandela their excuses don't fly.
Yep seen those. There are assumptions made which means they can not support their claims. They also ignore certain context such as Lot and his local knowledge. I am aware of the passage that says lack of hospitality was their sin. How was that lack shown though is the question they won't answer.
I'll look at the video. You can imagine that is how Christ reached out to others. Lets look at some stories. He spat on the ground to make mud and put it on mans face.
He called a woman a dog.
He drew attention to a woman when she was trying to hide.
Said get behind me satan to one of the disciples.
None of those are gentle. Certainly Christ was gentle at times but lets not create a fairy tale version of Christ. It does a diservice.
As another poster said if you focus on people and what they do wrong then of course you will be disappointed. On a message board that created dialogue between pagans (religion) & christians one christian said they were going to walk away from the church because of behaviour of others. One of the pagans actually pointed out Christs actions is the example we should follow and of course imperfect people will do the wrong thing.
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