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posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
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Do you mean his saying christ was the lord and god? Yes, i read that too. Do you realize this very discuss is the mechanism used to justify the slaying of christ?.... John 12 16- At first his disciples did not understand. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize / they had done these things to him. ? Oh, your back to the Jesus was God thing.
it doesn't say Thomas actually put his finger in His side. in fact, Jesus says to him, "because you have seen"
- not '
touched' -
"
seen"


i.e. "observed"

i fairly admire Caravaggio's work -- but i have the distinct impression that he didn't quite get the scene right.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
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from then till christ appeared, the lord is synonymous with vengeance, violence, abasement and division
wow, there really is a lot of the Bible you are unfamiliar with!

i am wondering if there are in fact any passages you actually understand?


how good it is for you, that you've been brought to join the forum :)
 

Blade

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2019
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"I really don't believe in getting into discussions about what men believe "

And yet you posted this..what you as man believes.
 
Mar 28, 2016
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it doesn't say Thomas actually put his finger in His side. in fact, Jesus says to him, "because you have seen"
- not '
touched' -
"
seen"


i.e. "observed"

i fairly admire Caravaggio's work -- but i have the distinct impression that he didn't quite get the scene right.
Catholics use that with doubting Thomas in the same way to justify the idea that his kingdom does by comes by observations .The things seen .

They offer a understanding . Show us a miracle then we will believe..( No faith)

John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

The commandment as a directive (not a choice) worked in Thomas to both will and do the god pleasure

Be not faithless, but believing .Previously having no faith

John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing

Having believed the work of God working in him he answered

John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

He was not reckoned by lord my God by what the eyes see. But by the words that faithfully worked in him.
 
Aug 12, 2020
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it doesn't say Thomas actually put his finger in His side. in fact, Jesus says to him, "because you have seen"
- not '
touched' -
"
seen"


i.e. "observed"

i fairly admire Caravaggio's work -- but i have the distinct impression that he didn't quite get the scene right.
I see what you mean, rather like bilbo showing his stolen smaug trophy to the dwarves...
 
Aug 12, 2020
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wow, there really is a lot of the Bible you are unfamiliar with!

i am wondering if there are in fact any passages you actually understand?

how good it is for you, that you've been brought to join the forum :)
And yet, when i walk outside, the consensus of the forum changes and my ignorance remains.
 
Aug 12, 2020
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it doesn't say Thomas actually put his finger in His side. in fact, Jesus says to him, "because you have seen"
- not '
touched' -
"
seen"


i.e. "observed"

i fairly admire Caravaggio's work -- but i have the distinct impression that he didn't quite get the scene right.
I was show Bill Blake and Dante by Thomas Harris and came to recognize the subversive nature of art in general and its impetus despite its appearant "given to the glory" pretense. The more you read into things, the more you think you understand the more you undermine your faith and your objectivity.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
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Catholics use that with doubting Thomas in the same way to justify the idea that his kingdom does by comes by observations .The things seen .

They offer a understanding . Show us a miracle then we will believe..( No faith)

John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

The commandment as a directive (not a choice) worked in Thomas to both will and do the god pleasure

Be not faithless, but believing .Previously having no faith

John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing

Having believed the work of God working in him he answered

John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

He was not reckoned by lord my God by what the eyes see. But by the words that faithfully worked in him.
Although on the surface it sounds like you have the right understanding of this, some of your comments make me think otherwise.

"Having believed the work of God working in him he answered..."

That is not supported by the text. Jesus is saying to him, "Look at the evidence! Observe the reality of My risen body!" Thomas did so, and his immediate response was a declaration of faith. There simply is no room in the story for what you claim. This is further supported by Jesus' declarative question, "Because you have seen, you have believed?"

By the way, Jesus did not criticize Thomas for believing only upon seeing. The other disciples had done exactly the same thing, only they had already seen the risen Jesus and so had already believed.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
24,973
13,520
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I was show Bill Blake and Dante by Thomas Harris and came to recognize the subversive nature of art in general and its impetus despite its appearant "given to the glory" pretense. The more you read into things, the more you think you understand the more you undermine your faith and your objectivity.
Art is a medium for communication as much as the expression of talent and skill. This is particularly true in art prior to 1850 or so. Paintings in particular were carefully composed to tell a story, not merely to capture a scene. That story may have been truth, or it may have been the story that the painter (or, more likely, the patron) wanted to tell.

Faith that is built on error or fantasy is undermined by truth. Genuine faith is built on the solid certainty of truth. I have faith in the nature and promises of God because He has both told me in Scripture that He is faithful, and He has demonstrated it in my life. If you were to ask people like the researchers at Answers in Genesis, you'd find that their faith is edified by their research, not undermined by it.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
24,973
13,520
113
Catholics use that with doubting Thomas in the same way to justify the idea that his kingdom does by comes by observations .The things seen .

They offer a understanding . Show us a miracle then we will believe..( No faith)

John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

The commandment as a directive (not a choice) worked in Thomas to both will and do the god pleasure

Be not faithless, but believing .Previously having no faith

John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing

Having believed the work of God working in him he answered

John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

He was not reckoned by lord my God by what the eyes see. But by the words that faithfully worked in him.
You have often claimed that signs are for those without faith.

What do you make of John 20:30 "Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book"? Consider the context previous.
 
Mar 28, 2016
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I see what you mean, rather like bilbo showing his stolen smaug trophy to the dwarves...
The kingdom comes not after the temporal things seen.(observation) those of men.

Yes, he is not suggesting we make the law of faith (the unseen eternal) without effect,

Thomas doubted. Doubt is not the opposite of faith .No faith is, not little faith, none.

Because the word of God is Spirit and life giving .There were two commandments the first a sarcastic rebuke. (Sarcasm = meaning tearing of the flesh or get under ones skin ) and the other a loving commandment; "Believe and be not faithless" .Therefore having the power to beleive as a anchor to ones soul . The prophecy being filled. It filled Thomas with the Holy Spirit and moved by the Spirit Thomas declared . . "My Lord and my God". God working in Thomas to both will and do the good pleasure.

John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing

Again he was not destroying the faith as a work or labor principle he was building on it.

No man can serve two masters in that way. (1) the flesh the things seen and (2) the unseen eternal Spirit.
 
Mar 28, 2016
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You have often claimed that signs are for those without faith.

What do you make of John 20:30 "Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book"? Consider the context previous.
Yes wondering, marveling is for those wonder .Faith for those given the understanding of God who faithfully works in us.

The sign of the rebuke?

Signs as metaphors follow after one that can believe in God not seen . We do not seek after them to self edify oneself. Christians understand after the unseen things of God, things of faith.

The context of that parable in John 20 is not . . its OK to start lying rumor's like that of Peter as a oral traditions of men . Christ did the work of rebuking Peter. If every time the Holy Spirit was recorded dismissing lies the whole world would not hold the volumes that could of been written One warning should be enough .Peter had plenty
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,293
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I see what you mean, rather like bilbo showing his stolen smaug trophy to the dwarves...
More like, you said 'what an observer sees' - and here is an observer with eyes that see.
 
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Well, for starters, I think I remember what you put in Post #39 (Page 2):



Just for clarity, are you saying that you believe "the devil" was behind the writings of the New Testament ONLY [Matthew through Revelation] or behind the writings of BOTH? [Genesis through Revelation], or with the division being between the Gospels and the Epistles (esp those of Paul in particular--since you are pointing out the "distinctions" between these--meaning, do you view the Gospels as "from God" but Paul's epistles having been written "by the devil")?

I am unsure of your intention, could you please clarify?

My view is that the writings (both... ALL OF IT [Genesis thru Revelation]) are supernatural and could therefore not be attributed to "the devil" having written it... I'm just not sure what you are meaning, exactly. If you could clarify, I'd be grateful. Thanks! = )
I am going to give you the most valuable phrase i have learned thus far from all language. A distillation of all faith and love and angst reduced from the entirety of my lexicon. I dont know. Now, with this preface, and, having piqued your interest i had to dash it upon my ignorance. I hope you can relate to my intentions, which are; to share said ignorance with whoever will listen and perhaps find contemporaries who are as eager as i am, if we must live, to live in the truth, as it lives in us.

I have heard the bible called a puzzle, i have heard it described as the untranslatable, a love letter, a weapon, a testament. I have seen it used to bring peace, bring profit, elicit truth, and consummate unions. I have seen men used to hurt and to heal, build nations and destroy them, set fires and put them out, praise God and curse him. To that end, the bible is part of the world, just as the men who transcribed it were. The muse they claim is not, however, and if i stare at the bible long enough, it is a catalogue of the destruction of mankind and even the son of God. A picturebook of a people trying to live on earth against someones wishes, but God is credited with saying fill the earth and subdue it. Not by the bible, but by the will of God did christ live and love, and by the bible was he killed. (torah) words written and attributed to God. By the bible also is the end of billions required to establish Gods kingdom on earth, but the kingdom of God IS men and the earth is where we live. Do i believe the entirety of the bible can be described as the work of the devil? No. The bible is the binding of men. You and me, we shall either witness Gods people manifest or continue to live in a world surrounded by all we disdain until we, like the foolish woman, tear our world to pieces with our own hands. If God wanted subjects who spend night and day genuflecting and chanting on their knees, he could have just created that. Coulda skipped right to revelation and never showed us a man who lived as we should, and never once bowed before Him but said, I praise you, for you have hidden the things from the wise and revealed them to children. The intent of the bible was make us believe in a God, and you may find him either at the point of a sword, on your way to damascus, or at the bottom of a sistern, perhaps even hanging on a cross. If fear of the lord is the begining of wisdom, and the knowledge and virtue of life is saying "who is the lord" and the way of peace is self control and perseverance unto seperation from the world, though "God has put eternity in mens hearts but they cannot fathom it" then gee, i guess someone killed the author of life and wrote a book about it as christ is all these virtues and more and was before the world (fear of the lord) began. He did not need to suffer to earn/grasp them. All scripture may be God inspired but not all scripture is God be praised.

About the supernatural devil you doubt, I cant say, however, when christ (gave paul the epiphany) paul became an instrument of leadership and healing, noone fell dead at his feet, children were not slain 40 at a time, men were brought together, empowered and made weary of supernatural beings who in contrast, divided mens' language, set up other men before them, gave them laws they could not live by, demanded blood sacrifice, throw men in prison, tear unborn children from their wombs, start our wars and then feed our armies to the birds and the sharks and trampled the son of man underfoot. Not every iniquity you suffer in life will be at the hands of a proud man or a vain woman, that just what they do to us, not every rebuke you receive is sent from divinity to help you. Hurting people makes them feel good somehow and they cannot rest till they have made someone fall i don't know why but christ said they refuse to come to him for life. Perhaps, the only way they want to be exposed to virtue is by virtue of suffering, missing the greater, more powerful forces of virtue exibited in the life christ should have had and did have and called out for saying, father, bring me into the glory we had before the world began!
 

awelight

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2020
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Hi Rosemaryx. I think the majority of Christians hold that same view. May I make some observations, not to be argumentative, but just to set the record straight. We're all in a learning process so I don't mind you objecting to anything I write. Here is the text of Matthew 25:1-13:

1 "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."


First, some general observations;
  1. The ten virgins ALL rose at the coming of the Lord. According to 1st Corinthians 15:23 they must then ALL belong to Him
  2. The ten Virgins ALL went forth to meet the Bridegroom. They ALL sought Jesus
  3. The ten Virgins were all Virgins. Even after their failure, the five foolish are still called Virgins
  4. Virgins in the New Testament are Christians (2nd Cor.11:2)
  5. The ten Virgins ALL had Lamps burning. According to Proverbs 20:27 the spirit of man is his Lamp. So the condition spiritually of the five foolish was the same as the five wise
  6. The ten Virgins all had OIL in their lamps. Oil, in Type, is the Holy Spirit
  7. The ten Virgins ALL slept because the bridegroom delayed. That is, they died
I all these points the Virgins were the SAME. Now, some specific observations;
  • The wise Virgins are DIFFERENT in three aspects
  • They carried extra oil
  • They carried extra oil, not in their lamps, but in their VESSELS
  • They understood that extra oil would cost them dearly
  • These differences do not address them being Virgins, them seeking the Bridegroom, them having burning Lamps, them being raised together, them being raised when the Bridegroom comes
  • Faith and salvation are not mentioned (which would be logical if the foolish were the same as the wise in six aspects).
  • The word "KNOW" in verse 12 does not mean intellectual knowledge. The Greek word "eido" means, "to know by sight", or "to know by perception". In Matthew this word, used in 82 verses, is overwhelmingly translated "saw" or "seen". So when our Lord said to them, "I do not KNOW you", it means "I haven't seen you around". It would be like a young woman who was so busy getting her act together for the wedding that she had had no time to spend with her fiancé.
  • If the oil typifies the Holy Spirit, then the Virgins all had had the rebirth (Jn.3:6).
The decisive issue was that the foolish Virgins did not PAY for the oil that let them into the Wedding Feast. This point strengthens the fact that FAITH and SALVATION are not mentioned, for they are FREE GIFTS.

I would like to propose the following understanding of the Parable.
The Parable does not address salvation. It plainly says that it addresses the coming Kingdom that our Lord Jesus will set up when He returns. The Parable gives the requirement for being judged a faithful Christian. Over and over the Lord said that to get into the Kingdom, one had to deny himself, lose his "soul-life" and carry his cross daily. This was the PRICE of ENTERING or INHERITING the Kingdom. The Virgins were ALL the same in six crucial aspects. They were only different in the fact that the foolish did not know that a PRICE was to be paid for extra oil. This is not the oil in our spirit, but in our VESSELS. The foolish Virgins were Christians who were so busy with other things that their Fiancé "hadn't seen them around".

Have you bought oil lately? What did you pay for it? And how much time have you spent with your Fiancé lately? I am sometimes amazed. I go the a Church meeting with fellow Christians, then I'm invited to lunch and to stay on and watch the football. Do you know that from Sunday to Sunday, Jesus is never mentioned by them (i) in the Meeting, (ii) at lunch, and (iii) anytime after this. But once there was a young woman also invited. She had just become engaged. All she could talk about was her fiancé. She was starry-eyed in love and could only eat, sleep, dream and think about her fiancé. Is this how Christians feel about their Fiancé?

If this is the first time you hear this understanding, take your time to chew it. If some of my observations are wrong, just discard my version. If my observations are correct ... well ....
That is a pretty decent explanation, however I have to take exception to you saying this is "not about salvation". If it were not about salvation, then you believe that God is acting in a different way in the Old economy to be saved, than He is acting now. The Old economy were types and shadows of the New economy but salvation was the same then as it is today. That is, salvation is all of God. This is why both our Lord and the Apostle Paul quoted from the Old Testament so often, to show how the Old pointed to Christ and the New.

Only those who are saved by grace, will enter into the Kingdom which is to come, whether they be Jew or Gentile. The laws of the Old economy were never meant to save because they could never be kept, ONLY Jesus was able to keep them. Thus, the laws not only educated the saved to what sin and who the coming Savior is but condemned the lost. I could agree with you that it is not about Salvation, if the other virgins were not called "fools" ( a statement so readily applied to the religionist and lost by our Lord), and if they were not denied entrance into the Kingdom. This rejection is parallel to the one our Lord gave in Mat. 7:21-23:

(Mat 7:21-23) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
 

awelight

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2020
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John 1:3 says all things were created through him. Ironically, if you convinced me Christ is God, rather than God was christ, if i didn't change my behavior, then you would be wasting your time, but what is it you suggest i do to glorify God?
Let nothing be wasted, awelight. I believe the proper dismissive for christs teachings is altruism. If you met jesus would you tell him to keep his pearls to himself? Ignorance and objectivity are cousins- The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against godless men, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.- For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the lord, as the waters fill the sea.
It is sometimes difficult to keep up with everything that is said, so a couple of questions then: Do you believe in a triune God? Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three persons in one God?

Do you believe that in the Hypostatic Union, wherein the nature of the Second person of the God-Head, joined with that Holy one, Jesus? Two distinct natures in one man.
 
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Art is a medium for communication as much as the expression of talent and skill. This is particularly true in art prior to 1850 or so. Paintings in particular were carefully composed to tell a story, not merely to capture a scene. That story may have been truth, or it may have been the story that the painter (or, more likely, the patron) wanted to tell.

Faith that is built on error or fantasy is undermined by truth. Genuine faith is built on the solid certainty of truth. I have faith in the nature and promises of God because He has both told me in Scripture that He is faithful, and He has demonstrated it in my life. If you were to ask people like the researchers at Answers in Genesis, you'd find that their faith is edified by their research, not undermined by it.
As it relates to the topic of man/god duality in christ i must relate my concern deifying christ or denying his godwill totally are meant respectively to remove from your ability to do what he did or relegate his ministry and death to divinity and attribute those sufferings to godwill, revealing a subversion in our testament which i can find commonalities of in literature and the arts in general showing a corruption and state of entropy endemic to all human endevour with the goal of mocking God at a level of which even the very wise could not understand, as it is based on falsehood including the debate we are having... right.... now!

Its no good its no good he says, then off he goes and boasts of his purchase.
 
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It is sometimes difficult to keep up with everything that is said, so a couple of questions then: Do you believe in a triune God? Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three persons in one God?

Do you believe that in the Hypostatic Union, wherein the nature of the Second person of the God-Head, joined with that Holy one, Jesus? Two distinct natures in one man.
I believe all division is of the enemy of man. I think they merely descibe the three manifestations of divinity in the bible.
Is christ divided? were you baptized into the name of paul? was paul crucified for you?
For the word of God sharper than a two edged sword dividing soul and spirit.