Christianity......what I have learned on here.

Bless you too. I do ask God to guide me. I,m more into the mystical way of interpreting the message of Christ. Quite often I'm lost; sometimes I get glimpses of something beyond and more beautiful......

Ah yes, dear Angela 5150.....she certainly lets me have it......but may she be blessed too! X

Since your not shure how, lets clear up that we have all done it. The fruit of the tree of knolege is close to home, someone said it this way: we have encountered the enemy and it's us. "For while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us." The rebelion was desiring control; having knolege of good and evil divided us from God. "Without Love I am nothing." Salvation is growing in the Love of God as we learn of Him and find rest "He that is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him."

Ours is a relationship with the greatest power in existence. Don't ever let anyone tell you you are not beloved by the Creator.
God knows you, because He knitted you together in your mothers womb. The illusion of organized thinking is that we could ever be separated from that which is in all, because all that is is within and of God. Just as He told us. Believe Him, not other people who think their ideas are capable of editing God's own words.

The Book of John chapter 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men.

(Hug) The hateful you encounter anywhere at all are also a lesson God has sent you. To hold fast to His truth, and pray for them as they remain embedded in the lies of the enemy. Because God's peace and love indwelling the faithful is incapable of making enmity masquerade as one who is in Christ, and that has Christ within them.

I espescielly like what you clear up, that our ideas are incapable of edyting God"s word. Along with that: we are not saved by understanding the Truth, but entering the wisdom of God. We need to aquire understanding but wisdom is the ability to do and teach without desiring control. Some of the most overlooked Words by Christians. "All maner of sin shall be forgiven to man but rejecting the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven to man." And the same in reverse, "Without Love I am nothing."
A christian man with an income of half a milion a year woke up in the midle of the night and while he was up in his kitchen saw a vision of himself in a prison in hell, so real and from where he was, saw the lake of fire. He asked the lord to show him again the next day if this was the case and saw it again. He quit his job and preaches what he saw. You would be amased the amout of verses he found that back what he saw. It sais in Revelation that those in hell await judgment. Much more could be said about seelective hearing, and about elective salvation. The Elect are called chosen and Faithful. these tree groups can be described as litle children who are forgiven, and those who know the Father as friends, and those who ovetcome the world. This is from the letter of 1John. Those who. overcome the world through Christ will rule in Love with Jesus in the first Resurrection, the rest of the dead are not raised until the thousand years are fulfilled. "The sea gave up the dead that are in them, death and hell gave up the dead that are in them, and everyone was judged according to their work. The man who found himself in hell would not have came to a place of forgiveness at the time. Why people are not interested in searching things out for themselves? when we are cought up with ourselves in adiction we only have time to be full of ourselves.
During the first year i came to the Lord (42 years ago) I asked Him for a Word of direction for my life. He said: Be. wholehearted in my Word and I will accord the a portion with the greath.
These are the servants of the Lord whom He cals friends. A couple monts laiter when i was taking pride in hearing from Him, He said: Your going to fall, that you may learn to contonually repent. The fall involved most of my life, in an out of adictions.

Not sure how you define fundamentalist? What fundamentals as foundations? Do they lead you for a thirst in more fundamentalism?

What is the mystical way? How do you discover the unseen spiritual truths? Would it resemble the mystics in Catholicism as to what they call private revelations as something beyond the words written the bible ?

Hi Garee,
I would think of it as something personal rather than private. I meditate and contemplate to catch a glimpse of something beyond words and thought, to which words can only dimly point. I seek self knowledge and knowledge of God in a direct sense; more in line with what the philosophers and mystics of old sought.
When Jesus came he did not come to start a new religion or embroil people in a new doctrinal belief system. It was love of God and love of our neighbour as ourself; if we are to love our neighbour as ourself, then we need to know ourself.
To me something has gone very wrong with christianity ( which is why I no longer class myself as one). It has become about dogmatic, doctrinal positions that means people will condemn each other for the wrong beliefs. Hence, me starting this thread.

Fundamentalism is adherence to a doctrinal position regardless of new evidence, or whether it causes suffering to others. It is an "us" versus "them" mentality in which one thinks the best of oneself and the worst of others. A direct opposite to Jesus teaching to love our enemies.

I read The Dark Night of the Soul, and other mistical books and find it consistent with "Let us go on to perfection and this we will do if God permits," as it is writen in the bible. Going on to perfection can not be thought by man or learned in understanding.
Ascending in contemplation worship, by St John of the Cross
To see ourselves there, without knowing where we are; unknowing in profound solitude, transcending all knowledge: experiencing Peace and Holiness that can’t be held; stammering and withdrawn from senses, overwhelmed and absorbed with thanksgiving beyond words; entering into Wisdom transcending knowledge. To seek union with God alone, whose Love transforms us into new creatures in Christ; dying with Him daily in the reconciliation of the cross, that we may live in Him; wounding our soul in its deepest desire, to bring us in union with Him. He who overcomes is free of himself and his knowledge seems worthless; forgetting created things, feeling abandoned, to ascend in the Love of God whose purpose in creation is for us to share, in fellowship with God whose Joy is for us to be with Him in eternity.

If we ignore prayer involving every area of our life, we learn in hardship as I did. "For I know that good will does not dwell in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." Rest from desiring knowledge as power to control, to enter the wisdom of God and learn of Him in humility as a friend. "Let no one turn you away from the simplicity of Christ." The dim sight we have is more valuable than knowledge and treasures of this world that won’t satisfy" He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness."

Most of us do not see the need to change until we are broken:
"Through much trouble we enter the kingdom of God."
"Whoever seeks his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake and My message will save it."

Going on to perfection does not include following mysticism' as a wonderment and therefore ignoring the warning at the end of the book of prophecy (sola scriptuptura) like some ones idea of dark night of the soul. Which is a false source of faith not coming form the Bible the mind of God but rather coming from men.

The warning is not to add to it as it is written (sola scriptura) with the private revelations as private interpretation of men called oral traditions .The Bible is the one source of perfection.

When faithless men add to it. The intent is clear which is to take away the authority of the complete law of God making it to no effect through the law of men. This is so then in turn they can develop their own doctrines like the one of Queen of heaven infusing flesh and blood into their philosophies of men .

We walk by the exclusive faith as it is written (sola scriptura) exposing the things of darkness. Mystics and mysticism is a false source of Christian faith.

The witness of God (sola scriptura) is greater that the witness of men as private revelations/interpretations

Mysticism …...Pope Urban VIII on Private Revelation

His Holiness, Pope Urban VIII stated: "In cases which concern private revelations, it is better to believe than not to believe, for, if you believe, and it is proven true, you will be happy that you have believed, because our Holy Mother asked it. If you believe, and it should be proven false, you will receive all blessings as if it had been true, because you believed it to be true."(Pope Urban VIII, 1623-44)

In other words . . even if it is not true but a lie. . . keep the door to mysticism open. Making the warning not to add or subtract from the perfect.

The Bible informs us along with the lying wonder, like the "dark night of the soul" God sends a strong delusion so that mystics can continue to believe the lie as if it had been true.

Looks like you've gotten a lot of opinions and reactions to your post. I haven't read 7 pgs so forgive my asking if it's already been said. What are you seeking here at a Christian site? Just wondering. It's obvious that you don't agree with the Christian worldview. So are you angry because of past experiences? Just trying to understand. Also, have you read any apologetics?

The Dark Night of the Soul is following Jesus in His suffering and death. If your not able to receive this understsnding hopefully you can receive it as you say reading the bible alone and no other book. But neither do we go on to pergection in our udrtstanding of the Word of God but by His Spirit. I understand that the book is hard to read as well as others on mistical teology and I tried to simplify it, only to find out that its hard to convince anyone of anything and that even as books on midtical teology admit: we know not to advise others in the inner Way, it concetns them to come of thrmselves. and just like you I have a canon of the Word at my disposal to blast anyting that stands in the Way of Truth of God.

What kind of foolishness is pope urban the 8 even talking about? Do people really believe when they talk like that? It sounds like placebo effect medicine theory. And i would never refer to someone as His Holiness, if that person isnt Jesus Christ.

What foolishness..... smh

Regardless of what new evidence? And when two disagree one interpretation must suffer loss .Iron sharpening iron. In that way there must be division seeing the kingdom comes not by walking by sight looking to the temporal things seen.

One sticking to the fundaments as a foundation the other having another kind of foundation as a interpretation .In that was both are fundamentalists depending their foundation.

It is an "us" versus "them" mentality . It would seem the bible defines the us and them that go out from us .This would include the teaching of love.

The Dark Night of the Soul is following Jesus in His suffering and death. If your not able to receive this understsnding hopefully you can receive it as you say reading the bible alone and no other book. But neither do we go on to pergection in our udrtstanding of the Word of God but by His Spirit. I understand that the book is hard to read as well as others on mistical teology and I tried to simplify it, only to find out that its hard to convince anyone of anything and that even as books on midtical teology admit: we know not to advise others in the inner Way, it concetns them to come of thrmselves. and just like you I have a canon of the Word at my disposal to blast anyting that stands in the Way of Truth of God.

It has been working for those who go above all things written in the law and the prophets. Its how they make sola scriptura God's interpretation without effect so that they can develop their own private source of faith, as a false zeal for knowing God.

Do you receieve proceeds from that book? Or do u just endorse it? Not sure what that has to do with this thread. What does that book offer that you love it so much? A mans perspective?

They WILL NEVER MAKE GODS WORD OF NO EFFECT. But yes i agree they use the Word for monetary gain and power over the flock. The greedy lead the blind, and many want it so. The bible teaches they have an itching ear. No one willingly accepts a lie when it is in your face. Unless it purpertrates your own hidden greed. Birds of a feather flock together.

No such thing as mystical theology.

Its not hard to read but offensive or what the Bible calls a "hard saying". .

The idea of a Dark Night of the Soul simply as a lie promises a higher consciousness .Obvious above the consciousness of God that he has revealed in his word .