romansh

Abel
How sure are you that your interpretation of the bible is correct.
Is it any better than say Og's?
How many interpretations (and contexts) have you evaluated?
(In my case it is close to zero).

To me, the traditional Christian interpretation of the Bible seems illogical.

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There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ........... Douglas Adams

Abel

Romansh
I am confident enough in my interpretation of the Bible to trust my eternal soul to it's message. I can't compare my belief of the Bible to Og's belief, because I don't know exactly what his is.

As a student of the Bible I do listen to others interpretations. I take what they say and search the scriptures themselves to see if their thoughts hold validity. Sometimes I will accept a new insight, sometimes I reject it. I let God's Holy Spirit direct me.

My interpretation of the Biblical message is simple: God loves us all. He wants us to love Him and others. Tell me what is illogical with that. And please don't judge my faith in God based on what someone else does in the name of Christianity.

xxkayxx

Have you ever had any "experiences" that might lead you to believe in a superior being? And i mean personally, not something thats happened to someone else. Also, by experiences i mean anything out of the ordinary, wayyyy out of the ordinary. I just dont see how someone can believe in something 100% they've never experienced in one way or another.

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If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing

Og

I wonder how people in western culture would respond to this if your replaced "holy spirit" and "bible" with things like astrology, the stars, tarot cards, tea leaves, etc.

What exactly is it that's different between the statement with the words exchanged. What is it that would make someone believe in the results of any of these?

It's interesting that you can replace things like tea leaves and crystal ball with "let god's holy spirit direct me" and instead of selling palm readings out of some trailer, you get millions of dollars dumped into mega churches.

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Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are

Abel

Og
The difference between astrology, stars, tarot cards, tea leaves, and crystal balls when compared to the Holy Spirit is that the former are not living entities as God is.

I can feel God's guidence at different times and in different ways in my life. I can feel His presence with me. I feel His comfort, support, compassion, and strength. I also feel His chastizement at times. I can honestly say that I have never felt any of these from tea leaves or crystal balls.

If you truely want to experience God at work in your life as I do, and feel His presence as I feel it, you can. It's up to you, but you have to experience God in His way.

BTW, we don't have millions of dollars flowing into our church. We are a small (75 member) church who are struggling to pay to have some renovations made.

john76

I some ways I envy Abel. For a number of years when I was younger I had a period when I felt very alone and empty, and tried to overcome that by going to a local Pentecostal church, basically begging to God at the time that a belief in Him and Jesus would come into my life and give me purpose and meaning. I was never granted the gift of faith, but I tried my best. I think that if you are lucky enough to be able to believe, all the more power to you.

Abel

John
A very good friend of mine used to question me about my faith. He rejected what I told him because he said that as a youngster he had prayed for God to make Himself real. He said he received no answer and therefore he concluded that God did not exsist. I really did not have an answer for him.

He continued to question me almost daily. One day he came to me at the end of our shift and told me that the night before, he prayed that same prayer to God, and this time God answered him.

He later told me that he understood why God did not answer when he was younger. He said that he did not feel that he was mature enough at the time. There has been a tremendous change in Dave's life since that night. I would encourage you to give Jesus another chance.

xxkayxx

So you're saying that you have to reach a certain maturity for God to "listen" to you? What about little kids, I'm certain they're not all that mature, so that means they can't have God's blessings? I guess the question I should be asking is, how do you define "mature" in this circumstance?

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If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing

Abel

No, I'm not saying that at all. I was relating Dave's experience. I received my salvation when I was only ten years old. God deals with people at different times and in different ways. Maturity levels vary with the individual.

xxkayxx

Are you here to converse or convert? Or maybe both

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If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing