What are you 90? It’s like 7:16 on the west coast.
And my mother is presumably at her house, unaware of the sordid details of my computer usage.
How are your parents?
Have I ever, EVER stated that I have read the Bible in its entirety? I am ashamed that I have not. I am working on it and participate in Bile study’s.
I have a very hard time reading some of the books. They are hard to understand.
That is why it is so helpful for me to attend Sunday worship service. Pastors Karl and Fred help me understand what is written. That is their gift from the Lord.
What caused you to;
Was it something like raking the leaves, you just had to get it done so that the neighbors would look and say, “Wow” look how hard he worked, or was there a underlying reason.
The reason I ask, and do not interpret this as anything but an example, but I wonder what someone who was abused by a pastor of priest would do to try and understand why something like that happened to them?
You’re assuming that the bible is the word of God and you haven’t bothered to read it? That’s like saying a movie is the best film you’ve ever seen after only having seen the trailer.
I’ve read the bible. If you did read it you’d find it was poorly written, full of contradictions, and generally seems like the sort of thing ignorant primitives would write.
Has it ever occurred to you that this whole ‘some prayers are answered, some are not, even the really good ones or the ones where a lot of people prayed’ thing is exactly the same as if you were praying to something that wasn’t there? Or as if you did not pray? I don’t pray, and yet sometimes good things happen and sometimes bad, exactly the same as you.
Well, here’s the thing. If prayer had an effect, then you would be better at what you did. Noticeably. If prayer worked for this kind of thing, it would be quite easy to see. I don’t know if a study has ever been done on the effectiveness of pray and EMTs, but I do know that every single study of the effectiveness of prayer on medical concerns show that it’s no better than, well, doing nothing.
Again very elementary!
When the pager starts to vibrate. I always have it set to vibrate. (Don’t like beep’s)
Somehow you are trying to corner me with some judgmental thing.
I was not always like this, there was a time that I didn’t have very nice thought about some of the people we deal with. We are dealing with then at a very difficult time in their life. Today I would like to think I am more than a so called cafeteria Christian like someone made reference to, and I also would like to think that I do not have to have a PHD in Bible knowledge to be a Christian.
The qualifications are believing that Jesus died for our sins, and that he conquered the Grave! Jesus was a flesh and blood man that was crucified, pierced with a sword did not stay dead.
That means to me that when I die, and I will as will all of you, that my faith is that there is eternal life for those who follow Jesus.
Sound just like the kind of guy I want to follow!
And for anyone who is reading and not posting, God be with you. These non- believers here are to be prayed for, not hated or despised. I did not start this post on this forum. I did not care if anyone replied to this post. I was just Praising the Lord for my brothers recovery and posted this in the GQ forum knowing that it would get placed in this viper pit but not by me.
I only reply back to be neighborly.
Yes some are crude and rude, but that is the nature of the world.
Gbro, you still haven’t answered my question from post #68 as to when the divine intervention you claim in your OP took place.
There are many that will say they want that big guy that (They say saved me the last time) but I say the guy that just did his job, But I also say, No they want my daughter, she is way better than me. And she is. She is a fantastic EMT.
I could never be as good as she is:D:D:D:D:D:D:D (It’s a Dad Thing)
Now I confess, i never prayed for her specifically to be a good EMT but when she is on a call I do pray for all involved.
I will have to remind on how study’s can be quite biased.
Kind of like Ter Drihs
statement that;
Like what is pointed out on the board means anything, NOT!
You do realize that if we take that statement seriously it means we should dismiss everything you have said as meaningless ? It’s on the board, after all.
Just because something is written here doesn’t make it wrong anymore than it makes it right. And whether you like it or not, it HAS been repeatedly discussed why Jesus “dying for our sins” makes no sense at all.
Sorry I read your post as it could have been answered by anyone, not me specifically, that is until you called me out on it Just as I was going to retire for the night.
I guess i would argue the imperfect part. We, well some of us, do not take the best care of our body’s and we do break down, but we are all going to die, its just a matter of when and how.
I believe the Creator, GOD made a pretty good body for us, Hey he made it in his image!
Don’t know if its at birth, However if I were to say, Mom, I want to be a doctor and mom says ok Greggy we will send you to school and don’t worry about anything we will make sure you get through, Well there are those out there and some of them just are not as good as one who has that driving desire to be a doctor, damn the barriers, I am going to do it as there is nothing else in this world that I ever want to do, Well Some of them might not be the best doctors either, I believe its with the doctors that really make a difference. Some of the others may make a good living but hey they may be a better (just an example) sailor than anyone else and that is truly what their gift is. I do not know what my true gift is, The Lord may not have given it to me yet??
I have been told that I am a good Mechanic. and others have said that I am a good Crane operator?
Pastor told me that I am a good teacher. ( I teach firearms safety).
I do not know what my gift is. Maybe we(you, me) never actually know and its in the others around us that see the distinction. Hey I do Not Know! I trust the Lord!
- We do not know the heart of that other. We pray for him/her. that is our part.
- No amount of praying seems to help. That is what we sense, We do not know what the Lord has in store for any of us. My prayers many times are for the family to find peace. How can we deal with the Evil, when a little girl is rapped and murdered. Why did that have to happen?. We have to believe that the victim is in a better place, a place where there is no more sin. A place where we will again be joined with them, a place we want to to go to. Faith in what Jesus has told us when said,
And I copped out 36 years ago!
Good Night!
So you think that the creator of the universe really is a badly designed balding ape like us ? If we were created, by God or aliens, we were sloppily made, with lots of defects.
No, we do not “have to believe” that. There’s no reason beyond wishful thinking to do so. And it’s not even a wish shared by everyone; from my perspective ceasing to exist after death is a comforting thought compared to an eternity trapped in the grip of Christianity’s demon-god.
Your green light is on as is mine, so.
I gave you credit to being a study group and you still whine!
Of course it would be hard to find any bias in your study group,:smack:
What am I thinking, I must be tired, You are not believers, well kind of heavy on the non-believer side.
Study’s can be deceiving that is all I was trying to insinuate.
I quoted you like that because you make reference to the study has been completed and there is no need for further discussion.
I made a praise. That is all. I did not put this post in this viper pit like I posted before. But here it is and I will stand my ground.
Well, I would say that it isn’t a matter of caring to believe, since I do not have a choice in the matter - I can no more decide to believe in God than you could decide not to. Out of interest, though, which part of the first verse do you feel applies? I’m slightly concerned i’m the wicked or a mocker! I hope I haven’t offended you with my question.
It isn’t the praying itself that is the final say, but rather the decision as to whether or not to pray, as I see it.
Let me have a go at an analogy. Say you have a problem. Now, you have a wise and helpful friend who’s willing to aid you with your problem, and it’s certain that with his help, you’ll succeed. Such is his like for you that he very much would like to help you; if you did ask him to help, chances are good that he’ll lend you a hand. However, you do need to ask for his help to recieve it; moreover, the sincerity and effort put into that request is more likely to impress upon him how important to you solving the problem is, and more likely to garner his aid.
It seems to me that, just as with prayer and God, the question of what will happen is based around the decision as to how or if to request aid, rather than the decision to give it. The decision to give aid seems “standard”, in the sense that it changes predictably depending on the form of the request. You have a good idea what the response might be to the request, as opposed to no request, or an insincere request, or a flippant request. Whereas, on the other hand, the request itself and whether to make it seems very much uncertain - a person has a wide range of possible choices to make, and we could not as easily guess what choices a person might make given a certain situation.
So in my eyes, it seems like the “big” decision is the one of whether to pray and how to pray; God’s reaction to the prayer is an implicit response, an assumed and predictable answer. It is the possible praying person’s decision that is the “final say”, in that it is what sets the events into motion.
Well, then i’m afraid I have another question. Obviously it’s easy to tell when a prayer isn’t answered if what is prayed and hoped for is unfulfilled. If we pray that someone comes to no harm, and they injure themselves, clearly the prayer (for whatever reason) has gone unanswered. However, it seems much more difficult to tell when a prayer has gone unanswered but what is hoped for comes to pass anyway. That is to say, if we pray that someone comes to no harm and they do not, but not due to God’s answering the prayer, how can we tell the difference between that and if he had?
On the other hand, it’s a great demystifier to imagine God with a comb over.
Sure. I have a large sf collection, and I make it a point to finish the books in it. I’m a bit behind now, but I wasn’t back then. It’s filed in my collection under God (house pseudonym.)
Why does it surprise you that atheists have read the Bible?
I haven’t read seven versions, like Locrian. That seems a bit masochistic. I have however read the first part of Genesis in Hebrew.
Gbro: I’m glad to hear things worked out so well for your brother. I get where you’re coming from. I have a very satisfying spiritual life going on as well, and I thank God often for the blessings in my life, and even for the rotten times I’ve been through that taught me compassion and made me stronger. I believe that God loves me more than I can understand, and that I’m here to have a joyful life. I understand that my life will not always be easy. Everything that I experience will be for my benefit, to deepen my compassion, strengthen my resolve, and strengthen my relationships with others as we serve each other.
I can’t prove God exists, but I believe He does. I’ve had some very personal experiences that give me faith that He is there. My atheist friend and I have deep conversations about religion, and she always asks, “But what if you’re wrong?” Maybe she’s right. Maybe there’s nothing “out there”. I won’t know for sure until I die. But in the meantime I have peace and joy and a desire to follow Christ’s example. I am happy.
I am not sure why people bother to witness on this board; they are simply going to be confronted by others who scorn their beliefs. On the other hand, this is pretty much just thread-shitting. Stick to the “rational” opposition to belief and leave the insults for the Pit.
[ /Moderating ]
I really don’t get the point of the green.
And I wasn’t talking about a “study group”; I was talking about the various threads in which the subject came up, and the fundamental incoherence of the “Jesus died for our sins” idea has been discussed and rediscussed. To point out the most obvious flaw, Jesus didn’t have to die for God to forgive us ( for something we didn’t do, at that ); he could have just said “all’s forgiven, done !”.
Thanks for the wonderful comment. You put into words what I also feel.
Wouldn’t the bigger question be to her, “What if she is wrong”?
What harm would there be living a life of loving your neighbors as yourself and giving thanks for things that happen and please you, and also for challenges we face, and finding Hope in the face of uncertainty.
Brother I will hold you both up in my Prayers.
Is there a particular reason one needs to be Christian in order to do the above?
There was a man in the 17th Century named Blaise Pascal. He was a philosopher and a mathematician. He developed what has become known in modern times as “Pascal’s Wager”, which had this basic form:
Of course, that completely ignores the possibility that God isn’t the God you think he is. What if it’s Zeus up there? Or Odin? Or what if God’s REAL true religion is Islam?
You cannot know, and therefore you cannot really make the “right” decision. Your choices in belief are just as good or bad as mine.
You didn’t answer my question. Why not?
And I will have to point out that you simply dismissed out of hand something you know absolutely nothing about. If you have evidence of bias in these studies, then bring it. Otherwise I will have to take your dismissal in the same light as your earlier obvious dodge of my questions.