True Christianity

Even if that was the case which I’ve read over the possible Indian and Buddhist connections to Christianity it is a foreign religion introduced in the west with Jewish leanings. Makes no level of difference whatsoever.

Fixed wrote:

Mate, give me a little bit more than that.

Are your referring to the Greek Septuagint as one of your possible translations? or

“The Jewish Tanakh follows the Masoretic textual tradition, while some Christian groups follow ancient translations based on other textual traditions (Septuagint, Peshitta, Vulgate, etc.) or combine readings from different textual traditions. The Jewish Publishing Society’s 1917 English translation is subtitled, “According to the Masoretic Text”. Eastern Orthodox translators follow the Septuagint reading. Syriac Orthodox translators use an ancient translation called Peshitta. Catholic translators regularly consult the Vulgate, an ancient Latin translation. Protestant and interdenominational translation are influenced by these sources and (since 1946) the Dead Sea Scrolls”.

Generally, the differences are minor to nonexistent, but occasionally a word or phrase will differ. Usually the translator will note such variations in footnotes.

HAS MESSIAH COME?
by Avram Yehoshua
A most amazing thing occurs in the ninth chapter of Daniel: we’re told when Messiah would come. But instead of explaining it to us, our Rabbis curse anyone wanting to find it out: ‘Rabbi Samuel b. Nachmani said in the name (of) Rabbi Jonathan: ‘Blasted be the bones of those who calculate the end.

There is a lot to respond to in here. I will address some of the things. There are copious amounts of Christians who interpret Genesis allegorically. A famous Christian apologist, William Lane Craig, does - he believes in theistic evolution, as well as many other Christian scholars and laymen. Genesis is very symbolic. Example: Eve being created out of Adam’s rib - that is very much dream-like symbolism.

Perpetual, Jesus is the greatest warrior of all-time. He was not divorced from heroic values. Heroes are people who save others from calamity, no? Beowulf saving the people from Grendel, for example. Jesus saved us from the worst monster of all: the devil. The hero is fueled by the intense love within his heart for his people. Christ’s battle was not physical (swords, spears), it was spiritual, on a higher level. Jesus is the quintessence of the heroic. He is the most epic hero of all time and he is now seated at the right hand of God, with great glory.

And Christianity is not about austerity, nor asceticism; it’s about love. Love is the essence of the gospel. Love God with all your soul, heart, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross was the ultimate manifestation of God’s love.

Erik wrote:

In theistic evolution, the Bible is regarded as a collection of documents which partially contains God’s Word. Christians who adopt evolution are inconsistent because essentially, they are telling God that they believe Him but they do not trust Him when He tells us about how He created the world.

God is not going to judge someone based off whether they believe Genesis is allegorical or literal; He is going to judge them based of whether or not they accept that Jesus died for their sins and rose again on the third day. You are saved by faith alone in the sacrifice of Jesus, you are not saved by holding to the exact same interpretations of certain denominations about how the world was created or how it will be destroyed. Faith in the Holy blood of Jesus is what saves alone.

You can still be a Christian and believe in theistic evolution.

This goes without saying but I will anyway. If you accept Jesus into your heart you will live by a higher conscience with the purity of an angel (Jesus), if you do not live by the example of Jesus then Jesus is not in your heart and you may not like what comes next especially living the lie of saying you have Jesus in your heart. It really is an impossible way to live as clean as Jesus.

Erik, I wrote a great deal to you here viewtopic.php?f=5&t=193179. Awaiting your responses. O:)

if jesus is satan i may convert to christianity

im pretty sure god is the worst monster ever made, after all he made hell… and cursed as all to live a life inside a shitty world, which he all could have prevented i might add.

Trixie,

Do you really see it that way?

I think that what created hell is our own version of the truth of things, our own interpretation of who or what God is, and our own version of the truth of what justice is.

Who could possibly believe in a god who condemns his own creations to an eternal living hell?

so your philosophy is basically, god is real but the bible is a pack of lies.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkADj0TPrJA[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ[/youtube]

Erik_

Erik, throughout the SCRIPTURES not denominations, there are references to God creating all things, one example is “thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS.” (Revelation 4:11) and there are more examples.

The Bible is the primary way that God reveals Himself to man and without complete study of the Bible, you might become confused by the teachings of some New Age cult, being taught evolution and believing that the Bible is full of fiction, fantasy, and fables. Though written over a period of 1,600 years by about 40 different authors, speaking four different languages, it delivers ONE MESSAGE and ONE VOICE.

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” —Matthew 4:4

Ultimate Philosophy 1001

lol
I will speak of God when the conversation is about God but I don’t actually believe. at all.
The closest that I can get to a concept about God is “pure energy”.
Basically for me it is a Jungian archetype.
That doesn’t mean that it cannot be a valid one - after all, we are human.

I don’t necessarily believe that the bible is a pack of lies. Some of it is history. Perhaps some of it is lies and/or aggrandized just as sometimes history does not always tell the truth of things but adorns it or plays it down.
The bible is inspiration but I do not believe that it is a God’s inspiration; rather, it is inspiration and imagination as interpreted from the hearts and minds of those who wrote it.

As I do not believe in throwing the baby out with the bathwater, there is a lot of human wisdom within it.

Trixie, God does not condemn anyone to hell, they condemn themselves by rejecting Jesus. Accepting Jesus into your heart is NOT drudgery, it is a tremendous joy. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. If you understood just how beautiful it is to know God through His son Jesus, you would realize how absurd it is to reject him.

Good things happen to good people; bad things happen to bad people.

Only bad people go to hell.

The way you live your life, how you treat other people, will be reflected back at you, in the next life. Jesus is the source of all that is good and when you reject him, you reject the good.

Arcturus, you should believe in Jesus; he is the Truth. Everyone knows this deep within their hearts

God is not pure energy. Energy is something He created.

God is the highest reality and He is personal and conscious.

Just ignore Trixie’s post above, while it is in the process of being deleted.

Read what I posted before her asinine comment.

Erik, you are making some extremely radical claims about peoples lives.
Okay, if you were God, you would have that prerogative. But you are merely a believer.

Perhaps you can show us how Jesus has improved your life, your world, made you wholesome -
because just proclaiming your absolute knowledge about what humans need to do, is not going to turn anyone toward your Jesus, I expect you are aware of this, as you are a smart kid.

What has Jesus done for you?
Don’t come with things like “he made me happy” -

Can you provide something actual? An experience that we can relate to?

No one on a philosophy site will ever respond positively to being lectured.
The only reason I lecture is to piss people off and to get my ideas archived online.

I dont delude myself into thinking people accept anything that they are being told to accept.
I don’t care who does and who doesn’t accept my truths - I just care to express them. I consider that my duty.

In this sense your evangelizing is respectable, as your responsiveness to what you consider duty.
But if you wish to save people and get them in the arms of Jesus, you wil have to be more empathic and imaginative, more welcoming and creative -

Show us a Christian world that is awesome, that trumps the world of us sinners down here.
Employ your powers for your values.

Now that is interesting! So, what sort of god would be more impressive?

If you had all the power in the universe that there is to have, what would be the most difficult thing for you to do? The answer would be your most impressive accomplishment.

I proclaim Jesus as the Truth, because of personal experience and because there is good evidence to do so. The gospel accounts are valid testimonies.

What has Jesus done for me? Jesus died for my sins, so that I could be reconciled to God. He suffered excruciating pain, in my place, so I could have peace and everlasting life in the presence of God. I am eternally grateful for this and I live each moment of each day in profound devotion to him.

I am not merely a happier person, but a more loving and compassionate person. My heart has been regenerated by the power of The Holy Spirit. I am in touch with who I really am. I am made in the image of God. This is not a mere happy feeling, but profound inner-harmony. I am in communion with ultimate reality, with the source of all things, with God.

In a world, where people are all genuinely Christian, there would be no more wars, nor suffering - there would be world peace. People would radiate beautiful loving-kindness, the light of Jesus Christ. Not only would there be world peace, but people would be in touch with the Highest level of reality: God. True Christians will spend eternity discovering greater and greater levels of God’s beauty.

You forgot the examples of personal revelatory experiences which swayed you into Jesus’ forgiving arms. My personal experiences with God were of God speaking in my head telling me where to go in unfamiliar territories, the exact person or persons with whom to speak to in a crowd of strangers, and sometimes the exact words, His words, to start a conversation that would share His meaning in human terms I could understand, then he would point me to His further reasons in the Bible.

My example:
Often, God would place me into unnerving situations with strangers who I would never approach on my own. Once, God told me to pull over at a Quickmart at 4 am near Washington DC to ask for directions to Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, but He pointed out the individual I was to ask for help who was a large/tall black man with a severely disfigured face who was wearing ragged clothing. I was scared shitless being a woman alone lost in an unfamiliar place late at night asking an intimidating person for directions. That man God pointed me to was the kindest, most helpful guy who gave me verbal and written directions, so God smacked my preconceived notions based on my fears down and taught me that I could trust His will. I made God prove Himself to me many times over and God tested my belief in Him as well, it was a give and take of God’s divine plans for me and me overcoming my human fear enough to trust His superior judgement. :wink:

Why not share God’s power to transform you through relaying your personal experiences?

There’s way more to that story if you ever care to hear it. God works in miracles, small miracles, but miracles none-the-less.

Personally Erik, I always thought that you were a pretty nice guy, more or less happy. I don’t know.

But one sure-powered way to show how Christ has changed your life is to spend it a bit toward working for others, even volunteer.
Someone who is actually a spiritual person, who experiences Christ in his/her life will not self-focus so much or in-focus, if that’s an actual word, but their focus will be toward other people.
You consider yourself to be a child of God and a follower of Christ - what does the bible show that Christ did? He went out to meet the people, to bless them, care for them, give them what they needed.
He fed a multitude with fish and bread too I think ``` because he took compassion on the people. He didn’t just speak about feeling compassion - he became compassion and gave it to others.

When I was a believer the one person who I admired more than anyone and I don’t believe he is a saint was Fr. Damien of Molokai. Priest or no priest, that is my idea of a spiritual person.
He wasn’t solely about himself in his spirituality. His spirituality was both inward toward His God and outward toward God’s people.

encyclopedia.com/people/phil … ies/father

When we do nothing but speak about our great love for God and how this God has changed us, made us happier, more compassionate - in a way I see that as hubris, or even spiritual pride. I do believe that there is such a thing.

You might try volunteering at a soup kitchen, or a hospital or with the elderly or with young abused children. You know how to box. You can teach young boys how to box and how to grow into more self-esteem.

Perhaps your God might be much more happy with you in this way than in your focusing so much on how you love God. If the NT teaches anything, it’s about how loving God brings one to loving God’s creations.

Otherwise, it might just be about how wonderful it is about the loving of God.
In other words, it might be no more or less than how we love the feeling of being in love. But is it really Love.

biblegateway.com/passage/?s … rsion=NKJV