by clueless » Tue 03 Oct 2006, 12:27:40
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') thought I wasn't going to fall for it again, but here I am responding to another one of your obtuse comments. I have come to wonder Clueless if you are just baiting us, that you are not who you make yourself out to be. You embody too perfectly the cliche of some bible thumping christian from some rural Kansas town. I suspect that you have crafted and invented a persona on this website that is fake. There is just something in your mechanical knee jerk responses that just doesn't ring true or following what I would consider compassionate christian values. So Whats up? Your either a fake or following some bizarre sect. Care to comment or elaborate on your particular brand of christianity or fess up to having invented this fake persona.
Actually Ibon, that is a very fair question...Having been a person who was was saved later in life and did not grow up in church, I can identify with your comments much more than you may want to admit. I really don't claim to have any new insight of my own, and my only responses when discussing issues about Christianity must come from the bible, just as when discussing the legal system in the United States one must be intimatley familiar with the US Constitution and Bill of RIghts.
I am of the belief we are only temporarily born into this fallen (from an original perfect state) world, and that after death we enter into a stage of judgement which will determine our eternal destiny ; those who are perfect go to a perfect place filled with Joy called Heaven, and those who are imperfect go to a place filled with torment called Hell.
Assuming one can believe that, the next question has to be how can we be made perfect ? The answer is we can't because perfection requires us to have lived a perfect life by fullfilling all aspects of the Old Testamant law (which there are 633 of ).
In order to provide a way of salvation (or pardon) from God's judgement and eternal separation from him, there had to be perfect sacrifice (a sacrificial unblemished Lamb) , which was Jesus Christ who was a righteous person judged by God as an unrighteous (or sinner). And all who recieve his rigtheousness (through belief in him) can be saved (or pardoned) from God's wrath.
Ibon - I am not at all demeaning Christian Charity, Love, Loving our Brothers , caring for the poor etc... But the main focus of my life is trying to explain:
1) After this life we do have a destiny
2) That destiny is not the same for everyone
3) The decisions we make here affect our eternal destiny.
If one had knowledge of a cure for aids and didn't make it his life committment to sharing that cure most would probably call him a monster - The same principle applys in my life. I am not a wacko (in contempory sense of the word), I am 41, have a wife and two kids, I work in marketing in the technical field, and I live in Eugene Or. and just moved back after being in California for 20 years.
Peak Oil is very intruiguing to me in many aspects, the most being the population/production curve, and more importantly what will happen on the backside of that curve. I won't take the time to go through them all, but many symptoms of oil depletion are eerily similiar to the description of the Horseman, Plaugues and Bowl judgements in the Tribulation.
Anyway - My focus is trying to get people to look past this life and consider the one to come. Jesus did heal the sick, feed the poor, etc. But was most concerened with people's eternal destiny. As I said before, if a Dr. has to tell a person he has cancer that is not a very pleasant thing to do, but something he must do nonetheless, If he knew and didn't provide a cure (or at least try), by thinking "I don't want to tell this person, it will make them sad" any rational person would call him a killer...In the same sense I am trying to share the same type of message, only mine deals not with the temporary life here, but the eternal life to come.
