by elocs » Sun 16 Apr 2006, 22:21:33
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndDays', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Atlantean_Relic', 'H')ere is my Belief on the matter. God will not grab the faithful before his wrath is unleashed. So we are not spared from war,famine, and death. We are spared from giant Scorpion locust and hail stones the size of Buicks. .
I'm with you on this one.
Elocs, you made alot of assumptions about my beliefs. I in no way intend to rape and pillage this Earth, in fact I'm very responsible.
I also fully expect to be here through the tribulation. Many Christians have the idea that they'll be removed, but I don't think so. They've assumed the scripture explaining the "Rapture" events will happen before the Tribulation, but I think it'll happen at the middle or most likely at the end.
With what has happened to Christian martyrs in history, it makes no sense to be removed before the suffering begins.
ED
My assumptions were based upon the nic you chose, "EndDays", and that most of the Christians who believe we are in the "end days, or times" and who believe in the "Rapture" believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture. You would be hard pressed to find a lot being even mentioned about a post-Tribulation Rapture.
All of the publicity, novels, hoopla, and preaching from the pulpit is nearly all about a pre-Trib Rapture and those who will be left behind. It is ever so much more dramatic and great for scaring people into believing. The pre-Trib people are not responsible in their attitude towards the earth and anything they can do to hurry things along, well in their eyes, all the better.
Thirty years ago I belonged to a church that was very big about prophecy and the pre-Trib Rapture. So I set out to back up my belief in a pre-Trib Rapture and to be able to defend those beliefs using the Bible, not reading Hal Lindsy or Timothy LaHaye. I read and studied all of the scriptures from the Old and New Testament that are strung together to make the doctrine of "The Rapture", using Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and studying the original language also. The biggest fly in the ointment for all of this is that although I wanted to prove the pre-Trib Rapture, I went at it with an open mind, which is a big no-no when dealing with Christian doctrine.
I came through on the other side. The current doctrine of the Rapture, in all of its flavors (pre, mid, post Trib), pretty much came about in the early 1800s and really took off in the last 40 years. It makes little consideration for prophecy that was fulfilled in the first century. It is a great tool for scaring people into accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior so they will not be "LEFT BEHIND!!!" After serious study I also found that a lot of scriptures have to be twisted, tortured, and forced together to come up with the doctrince of the Rapture. After time, what really bothered me was the attitude and mindset of the vast majority of people who believe in a pre-Trib Rapture of taking joy in the bad that happened on earth because it was a "sign of the end times" and the imminent return of Jesus to Rapture (a word not found in the Bible, by the way) them out of this world and away from all trouble. Therefore, they feel free to abuse the earth however they like in order to hurry and help things along.
There is no way to prove or disprove the existence of god or gods. Religious belief is a matter of faith and requires not proof. There is plenty of evidence for a nonreligious person to use to justify their not wanting to have anything to do with religion. Christians will argue that there is a god because the Bible is the "Word of God" and says there is a god, so there must be a god and what the Bible says is true because it is the "Word of God". Circular reasoning, right?
Religion is a comfort for many and if it helps get you through the night, then that's fine. It is though, entirely possible for somebody who is even an atheist not to be afraid about PO and its consequences. After all, doesn't god help those who help themselves? Well, actually--no, and that is a totally unscriptural idea because if you can help yourself, why do you need god?
I'll opt for being prepared and unafraid, god or no god.