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Author Topic:   What is Christianity?
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 166 of 451 (760658)
06-24-2015 12:26 PM
Reply to: Message 165 by jar
06-24-2015 10:29 AM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
Seems we all have differing ideas on what it means to be a Christian. In examining this old topic from the first post--You started the topic in 2004 with this opening line.
quote:
It's pretty obvious that many of the posters here are Christians, yet seem to hold vastly different ideas of what Christianity means. Perhaps it would be good if those who called themselves Christian defined their personal concept of Christianity.
This is not meant as much as a debate as a question and answer session.
Admins, it is requested that any posts of the type "You're not a real Christian" be sanctioned.
If someone does not accept another's beliefs, fine. But this is not the thread to attack them, rather present your case for your own beliefs. Let the readers make their own decisions.
Posters should accept questions related to their belief and give reasoning for their particular position, but hopefully this will not descend to quote mining the Bible or other sources since there are quotes to support any and all positions. Rather it is hoped this will be a logical discussion of positions held.
Our beloved Asgara added this caveat:
quote:
Christians -
Post your thoughts and beliefs WITHOUT knocking the beliefs of your fellow posters
My beliefs are the sum of my experiences. I have always taken an interest in yours since you articulate them so clearly, as I shall quote.
jar writes:
IMHO, Christ's Death and Resurrection is a promise to ALL people, even Atheists and Agnostics. It was the gift of salvations and a promise of life everlasting, freely given, from GOD to all mankind.
Others argue that we are to at least follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to be Christians.
Personally, I have always believed in church and fellowship of the brethren. I grew up that way. Whenever I would ask Dad why we went to church, however, he would simply say "Because it makes you feel good."
Others of us have different opinions on how to determine what to think---apart from what our parents thought.
jar writes:
I asked Joe what I should think, and he told me right away that only I could decide that. Even if I decided not to get confirmed, I was growing up and so it was time I started deciding what I was going to do and believe, and not have others decide it for me.
1.61803 writes:
Christianity use to be a renegade sect of Judiasm, eventually becoming organized into the universal church hence known as the Holy Roman Catholic church. The people who risked they're lives to worship Christ were Christians. Then I believe the tenets of "The Church" before the protestant reformation are what dictated what a Christian was. The definition of Christian it seems has changed into what ever the person in question was raised to believe. Unfortunately God and Jesus have been replaced as the objects of worship and the Bible has taken they're place for many Christians. I believe a Christian is a follower of Christ. Someone who accepts the Nicene creed. Someone who endeavours to be Christ like.
As for myself,(Phat) The church I grew up in was a bit uncomfortable for me, because I was expected to socialize and i am by nature a notorious loner. It may have made Dad feel good to be there but not so much myself. After that, in my early twenties, I was even in a cult.(so they say ) which followed a man named Victor Paul Wierwille. I was doing drugs at the time and would go to their little home meetings high as a kite! They had lots of propaganda and I read it and absorbed it, however. I never took it seriously,however. Only after I was born again in 1993 did I begin to really feel what I thought it meant to be a Christian. I question that whole experience---including many "Chapters of Christianity" to this day. Perhaps you feel as if I dont have enough gumption to state my own beliefs enough or that I simply listen to what others teach (or sell )
Comments?
Edited by Phat, : fixit

God created war so that Americans would learn geography. —Mark Twain
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 165 by jar, posted 06-24-2015 10:29 AM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 169 by jar, posted 06-24-2015 2:10 PM Phat has replied

  
Rocky.C
Member (Idle past 3008 days)
Posts: 32
Joined: 06-17-2015


Message 167 of 451 (760663)
06-24-2015 1:17 PM
Reply to: Message 96 by jar
06-21-2015 11:12 AM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
The women came to Jesus' tomb very early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, and Jesus had already risen. John 20.
Of course he had. He was to remain in the tomb for exactly 3 days and 3 nights--72 hour.
We also know that Jesus was placed in the tomb right before evening; just before the Sabbath was to begin. So it isn't difficult (or shouldn't be) to figure out that Jesus was resurrected three days after being buried, not in the morning, but in the evening.
In Mark 16:1 & Luke 23:56 there appear to be two contradictory statements, but are they?
Mark 16:1
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
This verse tells us that the Women did not even purchase the spices until the Sabbath had passed.
Luke 23:56
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
This verse says the women prepared the spices before the Sabbath had even started.
In Palestine, during that time, it was time consuming to prepare spices. Being that Jesus had died so late in the day, and that the Sabbath was so close at hand, the women most certainly would not had had ample time to prepare spices before the Sabbath arrived.
So there must be an answer. And, there is.
Let's turn to John 19:31
"31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
See what it says!!! That Sabbath Day was a High Day. Nearly every Jew alive today can tell us what a High Day is.
It is one of God's annual Holy days. These annual holy days, except for Pentecost, could fall on any day of the week--Monday through Sunday.
This particular Sabbath was the "Feast of Unleavened Bread. It always come the day after Passover. Remember that Christ our Passover was scarified for us. Also remember that God's days began in the even shortly after Christ was killed.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is first mentioned in Exodus 12.
15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
(The annual holy days are also described in Leviticus 23)
Notice how verse 16 (just like the weekly Sabbath) forbade work, as well as ordered a holy gathering.
Notice carefully Matthew 26:1-5
"1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people."
Mark 14:2
1 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
The Pharisees were not about to harm Jesus on this holy day. If they did they feared an uprising among the people. It was a high day, and an annual Sabbath. They had to kill Him before then.
So, we now know that Jesus was not in the tomb while it was still dark on Sunday morning.
And, since we know that He was entombed just at the going down of the sun then we know that he was resurrected at this same time. Now all we have to do is count back from Saturday--just before the going down of the sun. And when we do, we end up on Wednesday at this same time in the evening.
There is much, much, much, much more that can be learned from studying everything written about God's Holy Days, but we have seen enough to understand that this particular week had two Sabbaths. One was an annual Sabbath; the other was a weekly Sabbath.
We now understand that the women did not even purchase the herbs and spices (as recorded in Mark 16:1) until the Sabbath (the annual Sabbath) had passed.
They purchased the spices and prepared them sometime between Thursday evening after the Annual Sabbath had passed and Friday evening before the weekly Sabbath arrived.
This is why it is recorded in Luke 23:56 that the women prepared the spices and then rested on the Sabbath--in this case the weekly Sabbath.
In 31 AD The Feast fell on a Thursday. This is within the accepted time period for Christ's death.
Jesus is the mediator of a New Covenant. Nothing can be added in the Covenant after the testator dies. It cannot be changed.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 96 by jar, posted 06-21-2015 11:12 AM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 168 by jar, posted 06-24-2015 2:02 PM Rocky.C has not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 168 of 451 (760666)
06-24-2015 2:02 PM
Reply to: Message 167 by Rocky.C
06-24-2015 1:17 PM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
Yawn.
You keep proselytizing but offer us nothing related to the topic.
Is this a case of you not understanding English? What is Christianity?

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 167 by Rocky.C, posted 06-24-2015 1:17 PM Rocky.C has not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 169 of 451 (760667)
06-24-2015 2:10 PM
Reply to: Message 166 by Phat
06-24-2015 12:26 PM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
Lots of words Phat but still no content that I can see.
Phat writes:
My beliefs are the sum of my experiences.
Fine but that still tells us nothing related to the topic which is "What is Christianity?"
Phat writes:
Personally, I have always believed in church and fellowship of the brethren.
Fine but what the hell does that mean? What does belief in church mean? What does fellowship of the brethren mean?
Phat writes:
Only after I was born again in 1993 did I begin to really feel what I thought it meant to be a Christian
What does that mean?
What does being born again mean? How do you identify someone who is born again? What does it feel like to be a Christian? How is that feeling different than a bad burrito or a warm fuzzy?
What is Christianity?

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 166 by Phat, posted 06-24-2015 12:26 PM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 172 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 2:17 AM jar has seen this message but not replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 170 of 451 (760704)
06-24-2015 8:26 PM
Reply to: Message 158 by jar
06-23-2015 2:58 PM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
Not sure that helps much either. ISIS might be looking just as we are to find a way to determine who is a Christian and who is not. Would your proposal help them?
I don't follow your point, jar. Given that I said ISIS would be using a different definition that my own, why should my proposal be of any help to them? ISIS might very well consider everyone who failed to share their world view to be either a bad Muslim or a Christian. I personally don't think I have to agree with their determination.
And to be frank, I'm not all that concerned that my definition does not work for ancient Christians. I will say that whether or not an individual believes in pre-destination or the the trinity is not an issue for me. Nor is it much of an issue that some Christians did not have access to a Bible what with the Bible not being written and all.
The first "Red Letter" version of the Bible was only printed around the turn of the last century
I'm not sure what to make of this statement. I'm sure you are correct, but it is not the color of the words that is of any import. The colored words simply identify words supposedly spoken by Christ in the first person. I'll bet that you can pick up an uncolored KJV, NIV or ESV Bible, and a red highlighter and correctly color 99.9% of the red words in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. FWIW, my own Bible has only black and white text.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

This message is a reply to:
 Message 158 by jar, posted 06-23-2015 2:58 PM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 171 by jar, posted 06-24-2015 8:44 PM NoNukes has replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 171 of 451 (760706)
06-24-2015 8:44 PM
Reply to: Message 170 by NoNukes
06-24-2015 8:26 PM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
NN writes:
I'm not sure what to make of this statement. I'm sure you are correct, but it is not the color of the words that is of any import. The colored words simply identify words supposedly spoken by Christ in the first person. I'll bet that you can pick up an uncolored KJV, NIV or ESV Bible, and a red highlighter and correctly color 99.9% of the red words in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. FWIW, my own Bible has only black and white text.
Yup, but that still tells us nothing. The different Gospels have Jesus saying different things so we cannot take them as being literally what Jesus said. In addition people over the ages have interpreted "Jesus teachings" in totally different ways.
If you ask Faith if she tries to follow Jesus teachings I would imagine she would claim that she tries.
The goal of this thread was to see if some clear definition of "What is Christianity" might be possible but so far the answer is "No!"
I had suggested using the criteria of "Someone who is a member of one of the chapters (even self identified chapters) of Club Christian but you and others have pointed out that someone could be a Christian even if not associated with any such club. Others has suggested it could be anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus but again, that itself is undefined beyond your suggestion of it being the "Red Letter" passages.
NN writes:
I don't follow your point, jar. Given that I said ISIS would be using a different definition that my own, why should my proposal be of any help to them? ISIS might very well consider everyone who failed to share their world view to be either a bad Muslim or a Christian. I personally don't think I have to agree with their determination.
And to be frank, I'm not all that concerned that my definition does not work for ancient Christians. I will say that whether or not an individual believes in pre-destination or the the trinity is not an issue for me. Nor is it much of an issue that some Christians did not have access to a Bible what with the Bible not being written and all.
Again, the goal of the topic was to see if one definition of "What is Christianity" would be possible. Saying that there are different definitions and that not everyone accepts the other definitions simply underlines the difficulty.
So are we any closer to being able to say "What is Christianity?"

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 170 by NoNukes, posted 06-24-2015 8:26 PM NoNukes has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 173 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 4:15 AM jar has replied
 Message 181 by herebedragons, posted 06-25-2015 9:38 AM jar has replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 172 of 451 (760725)
06-25-2015 2:17 AM
Reply to: Message 169 by jar
06-24-2015 2:10 PM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
Fine but that still tells us nothing related to the topic which is "What is Christianity?"
This topic is really "What Is Christianity To Me"?
I can't say what itr is for any of you---though I strongly believe that GOD, Creator of all seen and unseen and Who Is a Spirit chose to commune with me. I don't claim to be special, but I felt as if a major change occurred at one point in my life..which was that I became aware of an inner joy which seemed to transcend my daily feelings and spoke to me within my conscience.
I have no way of knowing if this feeling was because of any other explanation, and though I have talked with many who had similar experiences, I have found few at this particular forum who had such an experience.
Critics have said many things about me and my experiences, and I realize we will not discuss them here.
What does belief in church mean?
It means that being in a room with a lot of people who all sing to the same GOD or the same idea of GOD gives me a sense of community...not only with them but most importantly with the GOD I believe in.
In other words, I wouldn't feel comfortable in a union meeting or a building picnic or a low country boil. People don't have a shared experience that I can trust nor relate with.
What does fellowship of the brethren mean?
Fellowship of the brethren can only happen if we all believe in the same God.
jhar writes:
IMHO, Christ's Death and Resurrection is a promise to ALL people, even Atheists and Agnostics. It was the gift of salvations and a promise of life everlasting, freely given, from GOD to all mankind.
The promise is to whosoever. It is important to believe, in my opinion. I cant be in communion with a room of people who 20% believe in Loki, 15% in the US Dollar, and 35% in random chance. We may all have smalltalk discussing football, the weather, or how important it is to recycle, but i have never given my whole heart to any of those things. The Spirit just isn't there.(in my opinion)
jar does have a point in that i honestly would have a tough time differentiating between this feeling of Spirit and warm fuzzies.
I could definitely tell whether I had a bad burrito or not, however.
Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

God created war so that Americans would learn geography. —Mark Twain
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 169 by jar, posted 06-24-2015 2:10 PM jar has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 174 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 4:18 AM Phat has replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 173 of 451 (760726)
06-25-2015 4:15 AM
Reply to: Message 171 by jar
06-24-2015 8:44 PM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
Yup, but that still tells us nothing.
It appears to directly answer the point you raised about red letters being of recent vintage. Perhaps you could have asked a different question.
The different Gospels have Jesus saying different things so we cannot take them as being literally what Jesus said. In addition people over the ages have interpreted "Jesus teachings" in totally different ways.
I submit that there is a fairly consistent message despite some differences between the Gospels. Have you in mind some people who reject one or more Gospels? I don't believe I would have an issue with those people.
If you ask Faith if she tries to follow Jesus teachings I would imagine she would claim that she tries.
I've never said that I don't consider Faith to be a Christian. I consider her definition of Christianity to be off, but I would include her in mine even if I'd spend much of the time admonishing her.
Again, the goal of the topic was to see if one definition of "What is Christianity" would be possible. Saying that there are different definitions and that not everyone accepts the other definitions simply underlines the difficulty.
Really? Because I don't see anything like that in the OP. In fact, you specifically asked for our personal definitions.
From message 1:
jar writes:
It's pretty obvious that many of the posters here are Christians, yet seem to hold vastly different ideas of what Christianity means. Perhaps it would be good if those who called themselves Christian defined their personal concept of Christianity.
This is not meant as much as a debate as a question and answer session.
It seems that this is meant to be a debate, despite what you said.
In any event neither you nor I get to dictate what ISIS thinks Christianity is nor are we bound by that. Perhaps their definition is wrong.
I had suggested using the criteria of "Someone who is a member of one of the chapters (even self identified chapters) of Club Christian but you and others have pointed out that someone could be a Christian even if not associated with any such club. Others has suggested it could be anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus but again, that itself is undefined beyond your suggestion of it being the "Red Letter" passages.
Which means that I haven't left it undefined. I agree that my definition is loose. But that does not make the definition useless.
One of my aunts likes to ask, "If being a real Christian became illegal, could you even get yourself arrested". Her impression was that we ought to be able to recognize at least some aspect of Jesus teachings in your life. She did not require that we find all of his teachings there. I suppose my definition is close to hers.
Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

This message is a reply to:
 Message 171 by jar, posted 06-24-2015 8:44 PM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 176 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 7:44 AM NoNukes has seen this message but not replied
 Message 177 by jar, posted 06-25-2015 8:00 AM NoNukes has replied
 Message 184 by ringo, posted 06-25-2015 12:29 PM NoNukes has replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 174 of 451 (760727)
06-25-2015 4:18 AM
Reply to: Message 172 by Phat
06-25-2015 2:17 AM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
It means that being in a room with a lot of people who all sing to the same GOD or the same idea of GOD gives me a sense of community...not only with them but most importantly with the GOD I believe in.
In other words, I wouldn't feel comfortable in a union meeting or a building picnic or a low country boil. People don't have a shared experience that I can trust nor relate with.
I would submit that this is a personal issue having very little to do with Christianity. I doubt that most Christians have such a complete disunity with their fellow man. Most people on this planet are not Christians.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

This message is a reply to:
 Message 172 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 2:17 AM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 175 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 7:34 AM NoNukes has replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 175 of 451 (760730)
06-25-2015 7:34 AM
Reply to: Message 174 by NoNukes
06-25-2015 4:18 AM


Re: still trying to define what Christianity is.
I would submit that this is a personal issue having very little to do with Christianity. I doubt that most Christians have such a complete disunity with their fellow man. Most people on this planet are not Christians.
I see your point, but need to explain mine. The issue is not difficulty in getting along with my fellow man. The issue is being on the same page regarding GOD.

God created war so that Americans would learn geography. —Mark Twain
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 174 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 4:18 AM NoNukes has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 194 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 7:46 PM Phat has seen this message but not replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 176 of 451 (760733)
06-25-2015 7:44 AM
Reply to: Message 173 by NoNukes
06-25-2015 4:15 AM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
NoNukes writes:
One of my aunts likes to ask, "If being a real Christian became illegal, could you even get yourself arrested". Her impression was that we ought to be able to recognize at least some aspect of Jesus teachings in your life. She did not require that we find all of his teachings there. I suppose my definition is close to hers.
Great story!

God created war so that Americans would learn geography. —Mark Twain
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 173 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 4:15 AM NoNukes has seen this message but not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


(1)
Message 177 of 451 (760736)
06-25-2015 8:00 AM
Reply to: Message 173 by NoNukes
06-25-2015 4:15 AM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
NN writes:
One of my aunts likes to ask, "If being a real Christian became illegal, could you even get yourself arrested". Her impression was that we ought to be able to recognize at least some aspect of Jesus teachings in your life. She did not require that we find all of his teachings there. I suppose my definition is close to hers.
But again, that tells us nothing.
What is a real Christian and how would that individual be noticed or identified?

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 173 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 4:15 AM NoNukes has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 178 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 8:18 AM jar has replied
 Message 195 by NoNukes, posted 06-25-2015 7:55 PM jar has replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 178 of 451 (760740)
06-25-2015 8:18 AM
Reply to: Message 177 by jar
06-25-2015 8:00 AM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
For starters, a real Christian needs to at least acknowledge that jesus is alive...someplace.

God created war so that Americans would learn geography. —Mark Twain
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 177 by jar, posted 06-25-2015 8:00 AM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 179 by jar, posted 06-25-2015 8:40 AM Phat has replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 179 of 451 (760744)
06-25-2015 8:40 AM
Reply to: Message 178 by Phat
06-25-2015 8:18 AM


Re: who is a doctor or a Lion or an Elk?
Phat writes:
For starters, a real Christian needs to at least acknowledge that jesus is alive...someplace.
Yet you have never even tried to explain what that means. How can someone acknowledge something that makes no sense or has a meaning?
Consider "The hills are alive..." Well that too makes no sense but in that case there is an additional qualifier "...with the sound of music." which tells us we were right, the hills really weren't alive but rather there is the sound of music coming from the hills. And when we look a little further we realize that what we have is a signature song for a Broadway Play and the hills are simply a prop, a setting for the story.
In the latter case we can see that "The hills are alive" has almost nothing to do with the hills or the state of being alive.
So what does Jesus is alive mean?

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 178 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 8:18 AM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 180 by Phat, posted 06-25-2015 8:55 AM jar has not replied
 Message 321 by Phat, posted 03-06-2016 2:21 AM jar has replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 180 of 451 (760746)
06-25-2015 8:55 AM
Reply to: Message 179 by jar
06-25-2015 8:40 AM


WHO Is Christ?
I like your analogy!
jar writes:
So what does Jesus is alive mean?
You claim I've never tried to explain this but whenever i do I get told im tossing word salad.
I'll try yet again.
I believe that Jesus is GOD. GOD made man. Not in the sense that Jesus was a GOD. Not in the sense that Jesus could never die. Not in the sense that Jesus was superman.
I believe that Jesus was and is GODs way to communicate with humanity. Specifically me, of course. Everything is about me. Im told to love others as I love myself, however...so lets say everyone...rather than just me.
It is impossible for a human to understand GOD, as it is for an ant to understand you or I. IF GOD became an ant, however, the problem would be solved. Do I make any sense so far?

God created war so that Americans would learn geography. —Mark Twain
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 179 by jar, posted 06-25-2015 8:40 AM jar has not replied

  
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