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[Paul G West Sr]

I have written a book, that I believe is from God. Over my lifetime I have become more and more conservative in my political beliefs, and yet more and more liberal in my Christian beliefs. It seems to me, that much of the reason for this spiritual change is because Hell has become more and more real to me, and I cannot bear the thought of anyone going to Hell! As I discuss Christianity, especially Regeneration/Conversion with others, I long for more and more inclusiveness in God's family, which drives me toward tolerance in discerning God in others.

Sadly, I once doubted entrance into Heaven for almost everyone who did not believe everything, exactly as I believed. Not because I wanted to do so, but because I understood the minimum list of Gospel beliefs to be much longer that I now believe it to be, and Preachers I've sat under, were nearly all very conservative in describing Conversion to Christianity. As years have gone by, and I have learned more & more, there seems to be less and less doctrine that others must absolutely believe, to be Saved. And with that in mind, I suspect that 10 years from now (if God allows me to live) I should have even more understanding of Him in scripture, and will believe that others need to believed even less than I now believe, for them to be Redeemed? Therefore, I'll likely be even more liberal and inclusive in recognizing Believers, than I am today. I greatly desire to include more people in God's Family; more people who will avoid Hell, therefore I pray for less requirements by God, and more mercy for others, including myself.


It is my love for others, and my hope for God's mercy on humanity that causes me to long for inclusiveness, regarding whom God will accept into His family, bound for Heaven eternally. Along with the greater capacity of love the Lord has given me, the longer I live, the more I recognize how sinful that I too am, and how much need I have always had, for God's mercy. This also drives me to be gracious in my discernment of others. My constant cry was once, "Lord come quickly, but today I say, oh Lord, No! Not until my brother is saved!" Not until my friend is saved! How can anyone wish for the end of time, while there are so many who have not come to a saving knowledge of our God? For that reason, it seems very selfish for anyone to say, "Lord, Come quickly".


And also, over time I have discovered more and more antinomies and mysteries in the Word of God, which cause me to hold less and less tightly, to the things that I absolutely "know" about the Gospel. Therefore, I am less ready to teach, or to even share, my beliefs because of the growing number of questions in my own mind. Not doubts about His Message and His Salvation, but doubts that I am qualified to teach the message, and doubts that I have all of the answers. This creates a shorter and shorter list of required beliefs, that I absolutely cannot compromise on. The primary incontrovertible message for the Christian masses is, Christ and Him crucified, as Paul said:! "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" - I Cor 2:2.


Another is "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know". Interestingly, these are two of the very first things I was taught in Sunday School. So that all that I needed to know of the Gospel, I learned by the first grade! It seems to me, that still other possibilities exist for the uneducated Believer, which I am unable to describe.



I have come to suspect a few things that I have not been taught by man, especially what I have written in this book regarding Salvation. With great fear and trembling, I include some of these suspicions, which I describe as: - It Seems To Me - here for my reader's consideration. As with most other beliefs, I hold these beliefs very loosely, because I am not a trained theologian. Please be gracious toward me as I present these suspicions and beliefs to you. I would hate to cause anyone to stumble because of what I have written here! Each of us must go to the Word of God, and to God Himself, for answers. That is why I have named this book, "It Seems To Me" rather than " The Truth"! Do not trust me, or any other man for the entire truth. Only God knows the entire truth!


It is my prayerful hope to bring more truth to believers, and more believers (as well as unbelievers) to truth. This is especially true of my own family. If even one person is drawn a little closer to God by my writings, it will be well worth my time & work.

 

[“Paisios”]

I have written a book, that I believe is from God. Over my lifetime I have become more and more conservative in my political beliefs, and yet more and more liberal in my Christian beliefs. It seems to me, that much of the reason for this spiritual change is because Hell has become more and more real to me, and I cannot bear the thought of anyone going to Hell! As I discuss Christianity, especially Regeneration/Conversion with others, I long for more and more inclusiveness in God's family, which drives me toward tolerance in discerning God in others.

Sadly, I once doubted entrance into Heaven for almost everyone who did not believe everything, exactly as I believed. Not because I wanted to do so, but because I understood the minimum list of Gospel beliefs to be much longer that I now believe it to be, and Preachers I've sat under, were nearly all very conservative in describing Conversion to Christianity. As years have gone by, and I have learned more & more, there seems to be less and less doctrine that others must absolutely believe, to be Saved. And with that in mind, I suspect that 10 years from now (if God allows me to live) I should have even more understanding of Him in scripture, and will believe that others need to believed even less than I now believe, for them to be Redeemed? Therefore, I'll likely be even more liberal and inclusive in recognizing Believers, than I am today. I greatly desire to include more people in God's Family; more people who will avoid Hell, therefore I pray for less requirements by God, and more mercy for others, including myself.


It is my love for others, and my hope for God's mercy on humanity that causes me to long for inclusiveness, regarding whom God will accept into His family, bound for Heaven eternally. Along with the greater capacity of love the Lord has given me, the longer I live, the more I recognize how sinful that I too am, and how much need I have always had, for God's mercy. This also drives me to be gracious in my discernment of others. My constant cry was once, "Lord come quickly, but today I say, oh Lord, No! Not until my brother is saved!" Not until my friend is saved! How can anyone wish for the end of time, while there are so many who have not come to a saving knowledge of our God? For that reason, it seems very selfish for anyone to say, "Lord, Come quickly".


And also, over time I have discovered more and more antinomies and mysteries in the Word of God, which cause me to hold less and less tightly, to the things that I absolutely "know" about the Gospel. Therefore, I am less ready to teach, or to even share, my beliefs because of the growing number of questions in my own mind. Not doubts about His Message and His Salvation, but doubts that I am qualified to teach the message, and doubts that I have all of the answers. This creates a shorter and shorter list of required beliefs, that I absolutely cannot compromise on. The primary incontrovertible message for the Christian masses is, Christ and Him crucified, as Paul said:! "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" - I Cor 2:2.


Another is "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know". Interestingly, these are two of the very first things I was taught in Sunday School. So that all that I needed to know of the Gospel, I learned by the first grade! It seems to me, that still other possibilities exist for the uneducated Believer, which I am unable to describe.



I have come to suspect a few things that I have not been taught by man, especially what I have written in this book regarding Salvation. With great fear and trembling, I include some of these suspicions, which I describe as: - It Seems To Me - here for my reader's consideration. As with most other beliefs, I hold these beliefs very loosely, because I am not a trained theologian. Please be gracious toward me as I present these suspicions and beliefs to you. I would hate to cause anyone to stumble because of what I have written here! Each of us must go to the Word of God, and to God Himself, for answers. That is why I have named this book, "It Seems To Me" rather than " The Truth"! Do not trust me, or any other man for the entire truth. Only God knows the entire truth!


It is my prayerful hope to bring more truth to believers, and more believers (as well as unbelievers) to truth. This is especially true of my own family. If even one person is drawn a little closer to God by my writings, it will be well worth my time & work.

Welcome to the forums. I hope you find fellowship and friendship here.

 

[Mark Quayle]

I have written a book, that I believe is from God. Over my lifetime I have become more and more conservative in my political beliefs, and yet more and more liberal in my Christian beliefs. It seems to me, that much of the reason for this spiritual change is because Hell has become more and more real to me, and I cannot bear the thought of anyone going to Hell! As I discuss Christianity, especially Regeneration/Conversion with others, I long for more and more inclusiveness in God's family, which drives me toward tolerance in discerning God in others.

Sadly, I once doubted entrance into Heaven for almost everyone who did not believe everything, exactly as I believed. Not because I wanted to do so, but because I understood the minimum list of Gospel beliefs to be much longer that I now believe it to be, and Preachers I've sat under, were nearly all very conservative in describing Conversion to Christianity. As years have gone by, and I have learned more & more, there seems to be less and less doctrine that others must absolutely believe, to be Saved. And with that in mind, I suspect that 10 years from now (if God allows me to live) I should have even more understanding of Him in scripture, and will believe that others need to believed even less than I now believe, for them to be Redeemed? Therefore, I'll likely be even more liberal and inclusive in recognizing Believers, than I am today. I greatly desire to include more people in God's Family; more people who will avoid Hell, therefore I pray for less requirements by God, and more mercy for others, including myself.


It is my love for others, and my hope for God's mercy on humanity that causes me to long for inclusiveness, regarding whom God will accept into His family, bound for Heaven eternally. Along with the greater capacity of love the Lord has given me, the longer I live, the more I recognize how sinful that I too am, and how much need I have always had, for God's mercy. This also drives me to be gracious in my discernment of others. My constant cry was once, "Lord come quickly, but today I say, oh Lord, No! Not until my brother is saved!" Not until my friend is saved! How can anyone wish for the end of time, while there are so many who have not come to a saving knowledge of our God? For that reason, it seems very selfish for anyone to say, "Lord, Come quickly".


And also, over time I have discovered more and more antinomies and mysteries in the Word of God, which cause me to hold less and less tightly, to the things that I absolutely "know" about the Gospel. Therefore, I am less ready to teach, or to even share, my beliefs because of the growing number of questions in my own mind. Not doubts about His Message and His Salvation, but doubts that I am qualified to teach the message, and doubts that I have all of the answers. This creates a shorter and shorter list of required beliefs, that I absolutely cannot compromise on. The primary incontrovertible message for the Christian masses is, Christ and Him crucified, as Paul said:! "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" - I Cor 2:2.


Another is "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know". Interestingly, these are two of the very first things I was taught in Sunday School. So that all that I needed to know of the Gospel, I learned by the first grade! It seems to me, that still other possibilities exist for the uneducated Believer, which I am unable to describe.



I have come to suspect a few things that I have not been taught by man, especially what I have written in this book regarding Salvation. With great fear and trembling, I include some of these suspicions, which I describe as: - It Seems To Me - here for my reader's consideration. As with most other beliefs, I hold these beliefs very loosely, because I am not a trained theologian. Please be gracious toward me as I present these suspicions and beliefs to you. I would hate to cause anyone to stumble because of what I have written here! Each of us must go to the Word of God, and to God Himself, for answers. That is why I have named this book, "It Seems To Me" rather than " The Truth"! Do not trust me, or any other man for the entire truth. Only God knows the entire truth!


It is my prayerful hope to bring more truth to believers, and more believers (as well as unbelievers) to truth. This is especially true of my own family. If even one person is drawn a little closer to God by my writings, it will be well worth my time & work.

You say "liberal" concerning the Gospel, but it seems to me that what you wish to describe is not liberal, but conservative. Rather, more basic than "fundamentalist".

You seem to have noted what I have, born and raised and associated within Christendom my whole 63 years, trying to figure out how this and that I was taught made sense with experience, with reason and with the Bible, how much effort and explanation and even justifying of Christendom's beliefs it takes to define and wrap the mind around the truth. No, the truth is much simpler than that.

In the course of several debates, even within my own mind, concerning the gospel and regeneration in particular, I have found it useful to narrow the gospel down to its most basic that I can, and there to discover not only this whole temporal existence and the very nature of God, but also God's reason to create. When I consider that the most incapable mind is maybe the most easily convicted and convinced of the Gospel --let's say for example the clinical idiot, who is perhaps on our level unaware of even existence-- he need not know the words we use, yet God can save him, and not because of his innocence. His mind is not complicated with the words we think we mean. He can (I think) be aware of a great moral distance between himself and God, and the nature of God in providing HIMSELF as the way for him to be with God, whom he deeply desires.

That is what I call conservative --the very basics of the gospel. The creeds and bare bones doctrines that have been anchors of Orthodoxy for so many years are purposely and rightly kept short --concise is usually more accurate than verbose.

 

[Residential Bob]

Welcome, Paul.

Everyone on these boards is a writer.

Some of us can even spell.

 

[Paul G West Sr]

Oh no! Did I misspell something? That darned spellchecker let me down again? LOLOLOLOL! Along with this, please be gracious with my writing, I am poorly educated in the formal way, especially with grammar.

I hope the form of my writing did not obscure the content, and deter you from examining the entire post?

Nice guitar, looks like an Ovation. Do you play?

I'm looking for a edit feature in the forum, but can find none. Hellllp!

You referred to the forum as "boards"? Please explain.

Now, to the meat of your comment(s):

1. Regarding Conservative vs. Liberal, I was trying to express my love and longsuffering for people who are limited in their understandings of Triune God and His Gospel. I am attempting to state that His requirements for being Saved are far less than I once believed.

2. Your statement, "No, the truth is much simpler than that." is what I was trying to convey. Simply speaking, I was trying to say that the truth in all of it is vast, but the minimum requirements to be saved is very little of the entire truth. I am tempted to say 1% of the truth, however that would imply that I know the other 99%, which is bound to be false!

And so, you and I are likely to agree on very, very much of the full story, at least the amount of the full story that we are privileged to know.

 

[St. Helens]

MOD HAT ON

MOD HAT OFF​

 

[Paul G West Sr]

OK, If you're not going to apologize, this conversation is over!

 

[Just_a_Christian]

OK, If you're not going to apologize, this conversation is over!

If you feel i have wronged you, I can and will apologize. I was going to request to know why but that doesn't matter. I apologize to you sir! I'm no better of a human than any that has ever lived!! Know this though, I am not apologizing for taking a stance for the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is power of God unto salvation. God's desires that all men be saved and it is through His gospel it is done. It changes not.
In Him

 

[Paul G West Sr]

If you feel i have wronged you, I can and will apologize. I was going to request to know why but that doesn't matter. I apologize to you sir! I'm no better of a human than any that has ever lived!! Know this though, I am not apologizing for taking a stance for the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is power of God unto salvation. God's desires that all men be saved and it is through His gospel it is done. It changes not.
In Him

All I ask is that you "love your neighbor as you love yourself". If you love your neighbor, you won't suggest to others that he is not a Believer, until you've gotten to know him and what he believes! Mere writing is a terrible way to get to know anyone.

They say that tone of voice and body language are at least 80% of communication, so we're not left with much in writing.

I only read a few lines of your previous post. I expected, and wanted, an apology, and when I didn't see one, I just ignored the rest.

Yes you wronged me, however I do accept your apology now.

And believe me, I will join you any time in defending our wonderful, glorious Triune God and His/Their Gospel, just as quickly as you, when it is needed, but it is only needed when there is an opportunity to turn someone to the Lord. You cannot do that with malice, but only love, and I sure didn't feel that in your first post.

When I want to discover where someone stands with regard to God, and especially with Jesus Christ, I like to ask probing questions to get to know them well, before I jump to conclusions!

When one loves people, he or she assumes the best, until one is proven wrong, and I suspect you've heard that all of the laws can be summed up with, paraphrased: love thy God with all thy heart & soul ... and love your neighbor as yourself?

I also suspect that you and I would disagree on some scriptures, but not the ones that all Christians subscribe to. And again, those that we would disagree on are the ones that get us (Brothers) in trouble and turn the world against us!

And so, there it is, done; finished!

 

[Just_a_Christian]

All I ask is that you "love your neighbor as you love yourself". If you love your neighbor, you won't suggest to others that he is not a Believer, until you've gotten to know him and what he believes! Mere writing is a terrible way to get to know anyone.

They say that tone of voice and body language are at least 80% of communication, so we're not left with much in writing.

I only read a few lines of your previous post. I expected, and wanted, an apology, and when I didn't see one, I just ignored the rest.

Yes you wronged me, however I do accept your apology now.

And believe me, I will join you any time in defending our wonderful, glorious Triune God and His/Their Gospel, just as quickly as you, when it is needed, but it is only needed when there is an opportunity to turn someone to the Lord. You cannot do that with malice, but only love, and I sure didn't feel that in your first post.

When I want to discover where someone stands with regard to God, and especially with Jesus Christ, I like to ask probing questions to get to know them well, before I jump to conclusions!

When one loves people, he or she assumes the best, until one is proven wrong, and I suspect you've heard that all of the laws can be summed up with, paraphrased: love thy God with all thy heart & soul ... and love your neighbor as yourself?

I also suspect that you and I would disagree on some scriptures, but not the ones that all Christians subscribe to. And again, those that we would disagree on are the ones that get us (Brothers) in trouble and turn the world against us!

And so, there it is, done; finished!

How old are you again??