I can only hope that someday you won’t be mistaken.
One must contain a disease to cure it. Since your happy-face dithering will continue no matter what is said to you, best to keep it in just one place.
We labeled it nice and prominent-like so you could find it.
Damn, it almost makes me wish that I hadn’t accepted Jesus as my Personal Saviour. The company on the other team looks like more fun. Maybe I could enter into Satan’s Grasp for a little while, and then go to Confession, to clear it up.
Personally, I feel that Satan (or however you wish to anthropomorphize anti-social thoughts and actions) has a firmer grasp upon those who are prideful in their ignorance and intolerance of the sincere beliefs of others.
So, this thread is like a little holding pen? Or a little chamber where I can be free to say whatever I want? Heaven forbid that I might break free, and contaminate the entire board with my "happy face dithering!"
Ahhh, sometimes you guys crack me up.
Adam
Are you like dense or something? The thread “Hey ARG2200, Over here!” was created to further call you on your un-Christian-like attack on another faith, not to give you more bandwidth for your preaching.
I admittedly joke about WWJD, but getting down to your level, do you honestly feel that Jesus would show the hatred and intollerence for others like you have shown on this board? I would like you to answer this question, purdy please, with sugar on top?
As far as complaining to Lynn? I haven’t - yet. Continue to witness, and I certainly will.
If you would pull your head out of your heavenly butt for 5 seconds and start paying attention, you would know that I was the person who publicly thanked her for deleting your witnessing (go back and read the thread.)
I am a staunch supporter of freedom of speech, but just as Lynn said, your witnessing garbage does not belong on this board. I enjoy a good religious debate, but I don’t appreciate wading through your prophetizing bullshit. Witnessing your personal gospel contributes nothing to the board except taking up space and by all appearances, the owners of this board and it’s readers don’t want it here.
Comprehende’?
I thank her again for removing it and I trust that she continues to do so.
>^,^<
KITTEN
He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius
I think Adam’s really a nice guy who wants the best for others, as he sees it. But, as Lynn has pointed out several times, this is the BBQ Pit, not the Heaven Daily Journal. I had the same problem when I first came onto AOL’s SDMB about a year and a half ago–preaching my religion, that is. I still sometimes forget what this forum is supposed to be about and wax didactic, but I try not to. After all, there are only a billion or so Usenet newsgroups to preach to, if I wanted to.
Adam, I suggest you go to the newsgroup called talk.religion.misc if you really can’t hold back. They will probably welcome any views you wish to share, or at least not complain that you are witnessing to them. I’m sure there are also Pentacostal Christian newsgroups, as well as general ones. And if you really want to cause trouble (g), you can invade the alt.atheism NG and start preaching to them.*
*Actually, I don’t recommend you preach to anyone, period. But at least learn a little about other religions before you attack them. It makes folks grouchy when you purport to understand their religions, yet cannot even get the names of their founders correct (e.g., it’s Joseph Smith who founded the LDS church, not John Smith).
Reading ARG’s posts, I have wavered between being amused and being irritated (nothing in between). However, his incessant witnessing has become tiresome.
Personally, I’m just glad he doesn’t have my phone number or address, like the “Christ Dude” (imagine a cross between ARG and Keanu Reeves) I met my freshman year in college. This guy tried to tell me that my (Methodist) beliefs weren’t enough to get me into Heaven. He’d call me and try to get me to drop whatever I was doing to come to Bible study (“Sorry, Christ Dude, God want’s me to study for my Physics final now”) and tell me that it was urgent that I start spreading the “Good News.” After I finished finals and went home, I figured I had gotten away from him. Not so. I got a call one day from the Christ Dude, “Dude, I didn’t have your home phone number and it was, like, a lot of trouble to get it (no shit, Sherlock). It’s like, urgent (he used that word a lot) that you become like Christ’s disciples and start spreading the word of Jesus and baptizing people or you’re going to Hell.” I blew him off and thankfully never heard from him again.
My point is this. Contrary to PLD’s statement
I honestly think that ARG believes that if he doesn’t do everything he can to show us all the path, that he himself will not be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. i.e. he not only has to try to enlighten us, he has to be unrelenting in this pursuit, or face dire consequences.
Unfortunately, people like ARG invariably induce more people to shun religion than embrace it. Fortunately, despite the harassment of the Christ Dude, I remained true to my beliefs and continue to do so to this day.
I want my money back.
>^,^<
KITTEN
He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius
Guys, I think we now know the utter hopelessness of this enterprise, if in fact we didn’t already. Adam is a BABY! he’s only 21! Doesn’t nearly EVERY 21 year old believe utterly in whatever it is they believe in, whether it’s Marilyn Manson, Quake, or Christ? 21 year olds are, as a group, the embodiment of ignorant arrogance. (With some exceptions, of course.)
Check back with him in a decade or so and see what’s what. I imagine the story will be very different.
Stoidela
Boycott shampoo! Demand REAL poo!
And in ten years how will we find him? There’s a lot of Wal-Marts, and all their Assistant Managers look alike. We could start searching through the red-neck wife beaters out bass fishing, but the odds of finding the right one are long. I know, we could just take a random sample, as they all sound alike, if we can get one to put down his beer…
Diane- Jesus DID show hatred and intolerance, of a sort. Remember the moneychangers in the temple?
quote: And in ten years how will we find him? There’s a lot of Wal-Marts, and
all their Assistant Managers look alike. >>
Funny, I had the sucker pegged for a Denny’s Regional Manager.
The thing about this Adam guy, or Arg, or whatever the heck he calls himself, is he’s a dime a dozen. I’ve seen this guy, or a cheap replica, at every freakin’ message board I’ve ever visited. This one’s a wooden-headed Christian with a blind spot a mile wide; another one’s a mysogynistic freak who gets his kicks baiting feminists; yet another is a gun-toting militia wacko with a flag pole up his bum who rants and raves and foams at the mouth about the mud people. You know these guys - they’re the ones who speed dial their favorite talk radio shows at the same time every day to hear themselves shriek over the airwaves. Too bad they never hear a word anybody else says. They might learn something. Heck, they might even find somebody to talk to other than their dozens of cats.
Diane: I admit that I have not behaved just like Jesus would have. He would speak the truth to you in love, and not poke fun, or ridicule any of you. He would be infinetly more eloquent than I am. And when he spoke, you’d truly know that you were listening to THE greatest teacher of all time. But as someone else pointed out, Jesus is capable of anger. I’ve been frustrated at times with all of you. But it’s no excuse to act the way I sometimes have. So, I humbly apologize.
Strainger said:
This could not be farther from the truth about me. My way to heaven is paid, in full. I've been saved. My "preaching," or witnessing to you is not my ticket to heaven. I'm not doing this because I'm scared of going to hell if I don't. I'm doing this because I simply want to. Jesus tells us in the Bible to preach the good news to every nation. But He never even implied that it was the way to get to heaven. I'm doing this out of love. Plain and simple.
Now, some of you have had your fun by insulting my age, or my age group, or whatever. I readily admit that I have some growing up to do...both mentally, and spiritually. But I garantee you all this much: As I grow older, I will also grow closer to God. And with spiritual maturity will come a closer relationship with Jesus.
You also think I'll be working at a Wall-Mart, or Denny's...etc. Ok, for one thing, there's nothing wrong with those types of jobs. If a job at Wall Mart is the best thing a person can achieve, then there's honor in that position. But I'd rather not go into that too much...it's a different thread altogether.
As it is right now, I feel like God wants me to be maybe a counselor, or perhaps a psychiatrist. I feel it's my strong point, and I plan to go to school again and maybe be a Christian counselor. But, I'm still undecided, and need to pray a lot more. Just thought I'd let you all know that I don't plan on being a Wall Mart manager.
Adam
ARG220 wrote:
Could you answer a question for me about your faith, Adam? What happens when someone who has been “saved” commits an unspeakable act, such as murder, or decides they don’t want to be saved? Does your concept of salvation imply that once one is saved, one is always saved, regardless of their subsequent sins? What if they reject God after being saved?
Bill, you've pinpointed one of the most dangerous concepts in Christianity. What you're basically asking is if I believe in the "once saved, always saved" doctrine. (I know there's a specific word for this belief, but it slips my mind right now.) The answer to that, is a RESOUNDING NO. This is an extremely DANGEROUS thing to believe in.
Let's not talk about murder, or rape, or "big" sins. Let's say that I fall prey to a common occurence in Christianity known as "backsliding." Backsliding is when a saved person stops serving God. (Usually they will stop coming to church, stop praying and reading their Bible, and they may reject God...etc.)
Now, if I backslide(and stay backsliden), will I go to heaven? No. Once you're saved, it doesn't give you free will to live an unholy life, and still expect God to welcome you with open arms in heaven.
Luckily, if you backslide, God is merciful, and if you chose to come back to Him, and live a holy life again, He will accept you with open arms.
I could go on, but I fear I may be tagged for "witnessing." So I think I'll stop at this point in my post. Oh, BTW, if you murder somebody, and then feel true remorse, and ask God to forgive you of that horrible crime, then He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin. But you can't just murder somebody, then ask God to forgive you, and then murder somebody else, and ask Him again...it's just a rediculous cycle. There has to be a point where you say, "This is it, I need to stop the trend of sinning," whether it be murder, or stealing cookies from the cookie jar.
Ok, if I don't be quiet now, I never will. If you have anymore questions about my faith, don't hesitate to ask.
Adam
ARG220 wrote:
And Diane replied:
Exactly. I started this thread in a fit of annoyance, after reading ARG’s extremely casual denunciation of someone else’s faith. In a perfectly offhand manner, he called Mormonism a “false religion”, and continued on about his topic as if there were no conceivable possibility of disagreement. That was either the most thoughtless statement I’ve ever seen or the most arrogant, and it upset me to the point where I had to react to it.
I thought that this thread might draw some personal attacks, a short argument, and maybe a few side comments before dying out. Instead, it’s now over 50 posts long, and still growing; and to my great astonishment, it looks like the large majority agrees with me. (A unique experience, to be sure. I’ll try not to let it go to my head. =B^)
I think that my intent here was to somehow convince ARG220 to stop his proselytizing, because I didn’t want to have to “hear” it, and I perceived that others felt the same way. But last night, someone happened to ask me about my personal beliefs; after talking with her, I came to a realization.
I believe that it is wrong for a person to force his views on other people. ARG220 believes otherwise. If I try to convince him to come around to my way of thinking, I am ignoring my own principles, and I don’t feel right about that.
So, contrary to the spirit of the Pit, I’m going to stop arguing. Say what you like, Adam; preach your religion if you wish. It’s your right to do so, just as it is my right not to listen.
I agreed with you up to this point.
The board monitor has made it perfectly clear that witnessing on this board will not be tolerated, so no, it is not his right to do so.
>^,^<
KITTEN
He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius
In regard to Adam’s post about his possible career choice, I must plead with him to reconsider. As a former councelor I must tell you, Adam, that you are, at present, wholly unequipped for this job. The most important thing a councelor must do is listen to the client. I mean really listen. I have not seen you once demonstrate any ability to actually hear and absorb what anyone else says.
You said that you may consider becoming a Christian councelor. DON’T. On this board, many people have asked you questions about Christianity and you haven’t answered any of them. You have not been even remotely convincing here. How do you think you would help someone who has questions about their faith?
While you’re praying about choosing a career, practice those listening skills. I’d hate to see you hobble down the wrong career path because you were so committed to your perceptions of your god that you didn’t hear what he was really trying to tell you.
“I think it would be a great idea” Mohandas Ghandi’s answer when asked what he thought of Western civilization
Adam, if you learn nothing else from visiting these boards, I wish you would learn to spell the word “ridiculous.”
Lucky: Thanks for your concern. Or maybe it’s fear that somebody like me would be giving people advice?
Contrary to how I appear on this board, listening is what I do BEST. I've had people tell me that I'd make a great counselor, or psychiatrist. And maybe I didn't make myself clear about being a Christian counselor. What I meant, was that I'd counsel Christians. They would already hold the same beliefs that I do (basically). I realize that my skills need refining. And as I mentioned, I still need to pray about this, in great depth. But thanks for the advice.
And thank you Aseymayo for the spelling tip. :) As seen here, I am a horrible speller. But at least I'll know how to spell "ridiculous."
Adam
Adam
ARG220 wrote:
[quoteNow, if I backslide(and stay backsliden), will I go to heaven? No. Once you’re saved, it doesn’t give you free will to live an unholy life, and still expect God to welcome you with open arms in heaven.[/quote]
Okay, thank you for clarifying your beliefs on that matter. It always has bothered me that some people can believe that once they are saved, they can do anything they want to do and still go to heaven. You’re right, that is a very dangerous doctrine. (Personally, I believe that no one is really “saved” until after they have done all they can do.)