War on Christmas

It is not so much care as in telling him he is wrong I am just interested. I have never met a seperatist puritan before.I am intrigued to know more and the topic is celebrations of a religious nature so I just thought I would ask......Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

So you would celebrate your own birthday just like anyone else then?And how do you celebrate? Music, food, booze.......?What is off limits and what is on limits and what is the rationale for anything that is off/on which might be deemed unusually so by an outsider?

From what I have read the offices of Presbytery, Elder and Bishop are equivalent. I am no scholar of theology and am still new to the reformed faith so I know I am just scratching the surface of the topic..LOL. When Timothy was writing, the word Bishop comes from the Greek episkopē that means by implication superintendence. A man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly, any curator, guardian or superintendent. This is the same as the "Elder" of the church.

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

I don't celebrate my birth. Yes.. all of the above. I am a beer snob of sorts, and enjoy a puff on my pipe or a nice cigar as well. However if some one around me has a drinking problem or addiction I will not drink as to not hinder them. Well I guess orgies would be out of the question...LOL I guess what I mean is that we have a good time, but I cling to certain morals mostly involving the 10 commandments and Christ's instructions to living a holy lifestyle. I know that a lot of modern secular Christians like to point fingers at people and tell them they are going to Hell for the things they are doing.. I don't believe that. I don't believe our salvation is based on works.

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

Wow! I thought every culture celebrated birthdays.How about weddings? Oh well....... I have never got to grips with the cold, watery fizzy stuff you guys tend to call beer. More of an "ale" snob personally. Do you eat shellfish? Do you eat pork? If we are not judged on what we do then, if one believes in judgement of any sort, on what are we judged? Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

yes Woah woah woah!! LOL.. Ale is my preference. Guinness is my ale of choice. Stouts, Red Ales, Pale Ales, I like some Lagers as well. (Killian's) as much as humanly possible. I wasn't talking about judgment, I was talking about salvation.Edited by Separatist Puritan, : better spacing

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

I thought those things were frowned upon as a result of strict biblical interpretation? Oh. If one does not seek salvation is one not adjudged on that basis?Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

Some do, but these things were a spiritual representation. Peter's vision in Acts 10:9-16 (in which he was told by the Lord to kill and eat the unclean animals) was a repeal of the Jewish dietary laws (however there is a critical teaching of this passage as well) When it comes to salvation I believe in the biblical "predestination" that John Calvin and many other reformers and puritans preached; Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints. I believe in His judgment. But I believe according to the Bible that we are already fixed, foreordained to Heaven or Hell from before the creation of the world. In other words I believe that one can not change God's mind on our judgment. Salvation by God's grace not works.

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

Another member here (Grany Magda) has a signature which I think has alot of truth to it:"The Bible is like a person, and if you torture it long enough, you can get it to say almost anything you'd like it to say." -- Rev. Dr. Francis H. WadeHow do you react to that line of thinking? Do you think that there is any truth in that quote? That is depressing! I might as well have that orgie I was planning after all.....If God knows our future do we have any free-will in life? Or not? In your opinion.

Wow.. that is awesome.. I do agree with that statement, you can see the evidence of it everywhere. I love Textural Criticism, Etymology and Hermeneutics. be sure to bring a camera. (and cream for chafing) No free will in salvation. I believe that God controls the desires of our hearts.. I believe that he is the creator and controller of all creation. I believe wicked men are instruments in the hand of a mighty God to carry out his pleasure. But lets say I want to pick up this Shiner Hefeweizen I am drinking and pour it on the floor, that would be my free will at work... But if I "choose" to follow Christ, that is because God put that desire in me. This is the big debate in Christianity known as Calvinism vs. Arminianism.

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

This means that your deity specifically creates souls with the intent of torturing them for eternity.This would be similar to a human being creating a sentient artificial intelligence, granting it the ability to feel pain, and then making it feel nothing but agony and despair forever.That strikes me as the very definition of "evil."

I know I could look this stuff up but:A) I am lazy despite being interested.
B) Having someone who actually believes this stuff willing to answer questions is so much more relevant and "fun".So could you choose to suddenly stop following Christ of your own free-will?I am intrigued by this dividing line between that which is able to be chosen and that which is immutably foretold to all practical intents and purposes.I have never followed Christ. In your opinion is it beyond the scope of my free-will to do so?Are those (some here) that have declared that they wish to "save me" by convincing me of God wasting their time? Is it just a case of "If you will you will. If you won't you won't". God has already decided so just get on with your life and don't worry about it.Is that what you are saying? Yours is not an evangelistic religion?Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

Many times in the Scriptures we see where God sends evil and makes evil things happen. He created it and is in control of it. This is one of the many reasons we are instructed to fear God. His wrath is not something we color in Sunday school. We also see where the Scripture talks of the elect of God and the reprobate. So Yes I believe God creates some men to suffer eternally to make his wrath manifest and bring his Elect in to submission.

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

Yes, but if you are chosen (Elect) by Christ, you will eventually come back to him.. Like the shepherd will bring his sheep back to the flock when they stray off. But a Sheep can not just decide to become a goat by it's own free will. This is why we are not to judge people .. some might be sheep running away from the flock at the time. If you ever decided to follow him, it would be because God has given you that desire , it would be irresistible like something you felt like you had to do. We are commanded to preach the gospel to every one, but we have no power at all of our selves to "save" any one. In fact that is a very dangerous train of thought. No one can make some one elect. only God can make people aware of their election.

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-Separatist Puritan-"If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing." - C. H. SPURGEON

Once he has them in submission what does he do with them?
Send them forth to defend Christmas?