# My Amazing Encounters with Jesus Christ **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 2, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774 "2016-03-02T22:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 34
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/661 "2016-03-13T22:08:07Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > You are not making sense. Lucifer was a fallen angel going against God’s will. **Never did God want evil in this world.** And he was powerless to stop it? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/662 "2016-03-13T22:14:49Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > That was only one testimony. There are a number of people witnessing to have seen the orb with their naked eyes. This dismisses your claim of them being photographic anomalies. > > Again, I am discussing spiritual orbs here and not merely something ball shaped. There are people who claim to have seen with their naked eyes, such things as the Loch Ness Monster, Fairies, Bigfoot, Reptilian humanoids, UFOs, Grey aliens and any number of other things. Should we believe them all just because they say they saw something? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/663 "2016-03-13T22:16:47Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > It is a [big-headed fool](http://i.imgur.com/1aJOQhS.jpg) who believes that they are something and their Creator is nothing. > > Psalm 14:1. The fool has said in his heart, “_There is_ no God.” Why did you post a link to a cartoon of the President? When has he ever said anything like this? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/664 "2016-03-13T22:19:17Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Free will, eh? > > So if a person exercises that free will by living a good life. Does not do evil deeds. Follows the principle of the golden rule. But does not believe in god nor follow any religious practices. > > Does god send him to hell? What I understand of Catholic theology, almost all souls arrive out of this life in what they call “Purgatory”. Some may have an opportunity to achieve redemption which had not been offered to them in the prehereafter. It might be possible for, say, Pol Pot, or a priestly pederast to get into heaven, but it would be a very high bar for them to get over. And I think some souls may spend eternity in that vestibular place, waiting for their number to be called. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/665 "2016-03-13T22:19:36Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > Worship is not a requirement. > > Romans 10:9-10. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. This deeply Protestant idea that a single, one-time profession of belief and fidelity is sufficient to salvation is, IMO, an immature and naive one. It does not account for the context of Romans 10 as a whole, nor even of the entirety of Romans. It does not delve into the original sense of the words used, which imply not a one-time event but an ongoing one. Ongoing, persistent confession and belief is fundamentally indistinguishable from any definition of worship. Regardless, **watchwolf49** has it exactly right: > [@watchwolf49](#): > > So you would set your throne beside The Lord Our God’s, and point to Lucifer and say “See how the evil one should place his own throne above mine”. **ScottRP** , you see through a glass darkly. So do I. But I know I am in darkness, whereas you believe you see clearly. You are wrong, and in your delusion you serve not the Christ but His opposite. I’m not a praying man, but I do hope and fervently wish that you find a way to focus on love, “the greatest of these,” and not on your own greatness. ---
**Author:** ![ScottRP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ScottRP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRP)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/666 "2016-03-13T22:19:51Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Do you have a Biblical reference for this … Isaiah ch 14 doesn’t say anything of this sort. Just that Lucifer thought to set himself above The Lord Our God, and was cast down. According to the Catholic Bible Dictionary, “Lucifer was a name commonly given to Satan.” Revelations 12:9. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ---
**Author:** ![ScottRP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ScottRP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRP)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/667 "2016-03-13T22:22:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Remember the plagues on Egypt? Tell that to the Pharaoh. All he had to do was release the Israelites from slavery and he would have avoided the plagues. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/668 "2016-03-13T22:25:52Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > All he had to do was release the Israelites from slavery and he would have avoided the plagues. [QUOTE=Exodus 9:12] But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses. [/QUOTE] So - he couldn’t have avoided the plagues, because GOD didn’t want him to avoid the plagues. He (the Pharoah) had no ‘free will’. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/669 "2016-03-13T22:26:58Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > All he had to do was release the Israelites from slavery and he would have avoided the plagues. [Exodus 9:12](http://biblehub.com/exodus/9-12.htm) > [@](#): > > And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.(KJV) So God predicts that Pharaoh wouldn’t listen and then makes that prediction come true. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/670 "2016-03-13T22:35:42Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > According to the Catholic Bible Dictionary, “Lucifer was a name commonly given to Satan.” > > Revelations 12:9. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Which Catholic Dictionary are you referring to? According to the [newadvent.org](http://newadvent.org) site, which quotes it: > [@](#): > > The name Lucifer originally denotes the planet Venus, emphasizing its brilliance. The Vulgate employs the word also for “the light of the morning” (Job 11:17), “the signs of the zodiac” (Job 38:32), and “the aurora” (Psalm 109:3). Metaphorically, the word is applied to the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:12) as preeminent among the princes of his time; to the high priest Simon son of Onias (Ecclesiasticus 50:6), for his surpassing virtue, to the glory of heaven (Apocalypse 2:28), by reason of its excellency; finally to Jesus Christ himself (2 Peter 1:19; Apocalypse 22:16; the “Exultet” of Holy Saturday) the true light of our spiritual life. > > The Syriac version and the version of Aquila derive the Hebrew noun helel from the verb yalal, “to lament”; St. Jerome agrees with them (In Isaiah 1.14), and makes Lucifer the name of the principal fallen angel who must lament the loss of his original glory bright as the morning star. In Christian tradition this meaning of Lucifer has prevailed; the Fathers maintain that Lucifer is not the proper name of the devil, but denotes only the state from which he has fallen (Petavius, De Angelis, III, iii, 4). ---
**Author:** ![ScottRP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ScottRP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRP)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/671 "2016-03-13T22:39:16Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > There are people who claim to have seen with their naked eyes, such things as the Loch Ness Monster, Fairies, Bigfoot, Reptilian humanoids, UFOs, Grey aliens and any number of other things. Should we believe them all just because they say they saw something? For one, we have gotten good photographs of the Loch Ness monster. And millions of people bear witness to having seen UFO’s and aliens. You do not have to have seen for yourself nor believe that others like myself have seen Jesus Christ. You merely need to believe and have faith in Him as the Son of God, and your Lord and Savior. John 20:29. Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed _are_ those who have not seen and _yet_ have believed.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/672 "2016-03-13T22:39:54Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > According to the Catholic Bible Dictionary, “Lucifer was a name commonly given to Satan.” > > Revelations 12:9. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The “Lucifer” being referred to in Isaiah was the then King of Babylon. ---
**Author:** ![ScottRP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ScottRP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRP)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/673 "2016-03-13T22:40:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Which Catholic Dictionary are you referring to? According to the [newadvent.org](http://newadvent.org) site, which quotes it: By Scott Hahn, General Editor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/674 "2016-03-13T22:41:29Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > For one, we have gotten good photographs of the Loch Ness monster. And millions of people bear witness to having seen UFO’s and aliens. > > You do not have to have seen for yourself nor believe that others like myself have seen Jesus Christ. You merely need to believe and have faith in Him as the Son of God, and your Lord and Savior. > > John 20:29. Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed _are_ those who have not seen and _yet_ have believed.” So, you are one of the weak ones that need constant proof? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/675 "2016-03-13T22:43:04Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > It is a [big-headed fool](http://i.imgur.com/1aJOQhS.jpg) who believes that they are something and their Creator is nothing. This is a Warning: Do not insult other posters in Great Debates, not even with off-topic political jabs. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/676 "2016-03-13T22:43:54Z")
NM-Preempted by Moderator. ---
**Author:** ![ScottRP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ScottRP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRP)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/677 "2016-03-13T22:45:05Z")
> [@simster](#): > > So - he couldn’t have avoided the plagues, because GOD didn’t want him to avoid the plagues. > > He (the Pharoah) had no ‘free will’. The Pharoah was angry at God. He still had the free will to release the Israelites. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/678 "2016-03-13T22:45:55Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > According to the Catholic Bible Dictionary, “Lucifer was a name commonly given to Satan.” > > Revelations 12:9. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Can’t argue with the Catholic Bible Dictionary, I guess Catholics aren’t afraid of the non-Canonical writings like some of her Wayward Daughters are. So Catholics believe Satan has the power to create? I always figured Satan was the personification of evil for peoples who needed a personification of evil to understand it to be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/679 "2016-03-13T22:47:04Z")
> [@ScottRP](#): > > The Pharoah was angry at God. He still had the free will to release the Israelites. The Bible says he didn’t. It says that God hardened his heart so that he wouldn’t. Are you saying that he could have overcome that? ---
**Author:** ![ScottRP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ScottRP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRP)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774/680 "2016-03-13T22:49:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So, you are one of the weak ones that need constant proof? I was a lost sheep and my great Shepherd came and found me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-amazing-encounters-with-jesus-christ/747774.md?page=35)