Keeping Church and State Seperate...

[newb]

Not a rude question...I promise. But how to Gays still consider themselves Christian??? Im not saying that they are wrong or right...thats not my decision. But when I read the Bible it is Leviticus 18:22, which reads: "You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, it is an abomination". Clearly the words of the Bible are not those of acceptance. I personally am not one to judge somebody on their CHOICE, I have many gay friends, but I have just never asked how some still pronounce themselves a Christian. Sinners still do the same, but as long as one is truely sorry for the mistakes they have made then God can forgive them for that sin...a gay person cant be truely sorry for it if they do it everyday of their lives. I know this is a touchy subject, but as a casual question I just never brought it up for fear of losing some friends of mine.

[myjohnson]

Read "Liberty, Equailty, Fraternity" by James Fitzjames Stephen as a rebuttal to John Stewart Mills "On liberty".

Government is like a religion. In the US we worship a sheet of paper called the Constitution.

[geoff_tropheus]

If anyone can explain a miracle, then is it considered to be one anymore? That's the mystery of God, only God can reveal these things.

Lots of times, I think people say they do not believe or know God, it is because they do not know what to look for or they cannot recognize his works in them or others.

I do not think Theocracy is a good government at all. People should be given the chance to exercise their free will.

[myjohnson]

Lots of times, I think people say they do not believe or know God, it is because they do not know what to look for or they cannot recognize his works in them or others.

Speak on brother!

At the root of determinism is the beinging cause of all effect.

That's my reasoning for how God exist.

[FrontosaurusRex]

I personally do not believe in CHURCH...I hate to be the one to break it to you man but in your bible, it tells you that CHURCH is important and if i'm not mistaken, it also tells you that you NEED to go to church in order to fully experience what God has to offer....

...nowadays there are a lot of Weird churches out there... preaching the Word, they are not... I know friends who have gone and left literally freaked out...people shouting out demons, passing out on the floor, hollering out jiberish...complete nonsense...I know I paraphrased alot of what you said, but this was the jist. In your bible, it talks about speaking in tongues. It tells you that people that accept the "Holy Ghost" will speak in a language that only they and God can understand. It also talks about Jesus laying hands on people and casting out diseases and making people see and walk again. This is another example of when I said Christians play fast and loose with the words printed in their bibles.

...I dont think we all are gonna find God at the same time. God reaches some at the oddest of times....and not on deathrow after killing 30 people. Things like this are what fuels the fire to non-believers...you're killing me man. In your bible it tells you that ALL sins are forgiven if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Those words are printed in black and white. Every church i've ever been to preaches this. You cant just pick and choose who gets saved and who doesnt...

.

[myjohnson]

Y'all know y'alls' mama would be pissed.

[FrontosaurusRex]

LOL

[geoff_tropheus]

atleast we live in the United States of America, where some crazy hyprocite slave owning white Christian dudes, gave us the freedoms to have this discussion.

Otherwise most of us here would have been jailed, stoned, or some other form of execution by now.

[FrontosaurusRex]

atleast we live in the United States of America, where some crazy hyprocite slave owning white Christian dudes, gave us the freedoms to have this discussion.

Otherwise most of us here would have been jailed, stoned, or some other form of execution by now.

Probably by other Christians. LOL.

[newb]

you are wrong on every statement you just listed. It is proven that Hebrew in not completely translated in English. It is also proven that King James had the Bible written to some extent to his liking. Church WAS government back then so why not write that people must pay money and must attend all meetings. Like I said...I dont believe in church. The words of the Bible reach everyone differently. Its not picking and choosing which verses are best, but that one passage may grab your attention more than another.

as for language...Alexander the Great conquered many lands during the times of many scripts. As he took over lands his language was brought along with him. He called that language "Macedonian"...aka Greek. Greek was in fact used for many of the early Bible writings. People in other areas did not speak this language, yet instead they spoke in different dialects from group to group. So as Christianity became known to writers...the language only understood by followers was actually Greek...since these areas were the only ones learning Christianity. Sorry for the history lesson, but that is what the Bible is...a history book.

All sins are forgiven if you are truely sorry for what you have done and fully accept Jesus into your heart. I guess some murders can be truely sorry for the things they have done. Many times I dont see it that way. I see it as a way to grasp at the hearts of a caring group of folks. At some point I think todays law has to be rolled into what is right and wrong. We cant just sit back and wait for people to die to face God...sometimes you gotta have an exress lane for people like that. I cant pick and choose...God does. God will Burn those who dont follow his laws. It is not my position to claim who is true about being sorry for sinning....but I am human, so I do sin as well.

[geoff_tropheus]

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself. God does forgive those that repent, but you must also forgive your neighbors and this includes yourself.

[geoff_tropheus]

You do not have to have Church to enter heaven. God does say that when two or more are gathered in my name he is there, BUT...what that means is that you need fellowship. Fellowship feeds the soul, as does your faith. If you dont have fellowship, this can lead to self validation, which can be a bad thing.

Church for me is the spiritual food, I know I dont need church for salvation, but it keeps me strong and re-charges my batteries. Without it, it can be really tough easy to loose hope and become weak.

[Mzungu]

I havent been to school since I was 19 but I never learned that Evolution was a fact. It was taught as the Theory of Evolution. Its no longer a theory. Its scientific fact.

I haven't read past this post yet, but I just wanna say that it's still a "theory." So is Relativity, BTW. "Theory" does NOT equal "hypothesis."

[Mzungu]

Okay. 2 things. Risky, but don't care. )

Please, stop saying "your" Bible. There's 1 Bible. Sorry. Whether you accept it or not, it's still there. That's like saying, "In YOUR Grapes of Wrath...In YOUR War and Peace..." Different translations, yes. All trying to get the same literary meaning out of one book, yes. :biggrin:

Second...I love hearing others complain, and don't get me wrong, I love complaining! But really, if you hate it so much, why not move? I'm not at all being antagonistic or anything else it may sound like. I've seriously always wondered this. There are so many that complain so much about the U.S. But would they actually take it to the next step and move out of the country? Or are they simply exercising their right to free speech that this country gives us?

Man, this forum...! I'm loving it.

[newb]

Im not liking it at all...its the only interesting thing to do on here. It has pulled us all away from REAL fish conversations. Im joining in on it cause it is the only threads that are interesting and active.