Recent content by biblestudent78

GRACE_ambassor: I am not here to disparage anyone's personal testimony. Your beliefs are your own. The question I raised was not about doubts of Christianity. The question addresses how we understand christianity, how we understand the orthodoxy we have accepted. Many who were raised on one...

Burn1986: Let me see if I can expand your idea that "Jesus was all about spirit." I believe that Jesus was all about obedience. Obedience takes faith but faith is just the enabler. The "spirit" is ephemeral and open to virtually any interpretation/application. Jesus was vastly more concrete...

Burn1986: I think I understand your statement to mean after they received the Holy Spirit all differences in their understanding of Christianity and all important differences stopped. If that is what you meant, then consider: 1. There is significant differences in the life of Paul as told by...

Too often congregants are required to read the bible literally, at least in all the “places that count.” Often this requirement is the fundamental means of “group faith” indoctrination, protection and border policing. Each denomination, creed, statement of faith and catechism is based on a...

timf: I don't read enough Shakespeare to stay current in 17th century english. 33 So Pilate went back into the governor’s residence, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Jesus replied, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?” 35...

Timf: There is a danger in the "Truth" being the fulcrum of ones Christianity. Putting one's faith in one's perception of truth must recognize that from the day we begin our Christian journey till the day we slip these mortal coils, our perception of truth evolves. Too often we can only look for...

GWH: A minor amplification. In the Jesus metaphor of the fig tree (fruit) it is God who judges our fruit or lack thereof. The other Jesus metaphor that comes to mind is Christian lives as a beacon of light in a dark world drawing people to us by the quality of our lives (light)

Tablet123: It has been my experience in life that if a person is a person faith then they are easily seen and they easily see others in need of help, a friend, a kind word, a little forgiveness, a meal or just someone who will listen to them without an agenda. These are characteristics of people...

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19, a rich young man approaches Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to follow the commandments. The man replies that he's done this since his youth. Then comes the response that prosperity theology conveniently ignores. If you...

Some Christians think that if they have doubts it means their faith is weak. I find that a little bit strange because sometimes it takes a pretty strong faith not to be afraid of your doubts. Let’s look at Thomas. The other disciples tell him Jesus is alive. Thomas essentially says, “I going to...

Blade: Interesting take on Satan, daemons and devils. In Job, God's satan was His dialog partner, His satan as the prosecuting attorney working for God. In Job when used with the definite article (ha-satan, "the accuser" or "the adversary"), it functions as a title for a celestial prosecutor in...

You are doing a great job of exposing who you at at heart. Nobody ever asked you to read, or "coddle" or "defend" anything. My concern in all things is to carry out my responsibility to share the love of God. God is not the author of hate. God is not the author of prejudice. God is not the...

Psalm1 Perhaps you can look at it this way. You made some very broad accusations against a religion that is practiced differently in 53 different countries. IMHO, those accusations were uninformed and not in keeping with our core belief that God loves all people. Historically, religion has...

There is a fairly consistent application of apostasy as it relates to conversion as a capital offense. Blasphemy has legal Variations: Laws regarding blasphemy differ widely across contemporary Muslim-majority countries. Some nations, such as Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, and...

Like all writing, there is something called context or you would be killing witches today. Surah 2:191 (Al-Baqarah) is one of the most frequently misquoted verses of the Quran when stripped of its historical and textual surroundings. When read in full context, it is a directive regarding...