What is Christianity?

Straightshot writes: Packing it into your brain would be fitting .....

You clicked the wrong reply button again. My post was not about bollox, it was about your ignorance of ignorance.

"Actually, the man who swallows hooks, lines and sinkers without testing them knows little."

Well that is a biblical fact ringo ..... good thinking .... or did you misfire? [2 Peter 1:16-21; 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1; 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 John 1:7; Revelation 22:18-19; John 8:44; 2 Peter 2:1-10]

"You clicked the wrong reply button again. My post was not about bollox, it was about your ignorance of ignorance."

Is your name "tangel" ringo?

Do you read the posts, or just follow your nose?

Who is ignorant? .... tell me who is ignorant

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Edited by Straightshot, : No reason given.

Edited by Straightshot, : No reason given.

Straightshot writes: Who is ignorant? .... tell me who is ignorant

The guy who keeps clicking on the wrong Reply button is ignorant of how the forum works. You clicked on my message and replied to Tangle's, so I get the notification and Tangle doesn't. You made the same mistake when you clicked on your own message to reply to me.

This forum has excellent software and it's worth learning to use it properly.

Straightshot writes: Well that is a biblical fact ringo ..... good thinking .... or did you misfire? [2 Peter 1:16-21; 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1; 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 John 1:7; Revelation 22:18-19; John 8:44; 2 Peter 2:1-10]

You seem to have misfired because you ignored the text that I quoted:

quote:

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1Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

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Test all things.

No, you just tried to be clever with your evaluation

.... the truth is that you actually shot yourself in the foot [a nice term]

Around and around you go .... ringo

Actually, you are being tested

Edited by Straightshot, : No reason given.

Edited by Straightshot, : No reason given.

Starightshot writes: Actually, you are being tested

And so are you.

Paul told the Thessalonians to test all things. Do you think you're doing that?

I have tested you and your rotation is going to come to an ending ringo

Why are you acting like such a jerk?

Straightshot writes: I have tested you....

You don't get to test me:

quote:

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Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

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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.

I believe that there is a Creator of all seen and unseen...an overseer of the universe who is far greater than we can imagine yet Who opened a communion with humans...though we be ants on a dust speck. I believe that Jesus was with God in the beginning. Jesus is Gods character expressed through a human vessel for the purpose of God for humanity. I believe that humanity has a purpose and that we were given brains (and neocortexes) for a reason. Though we are animals, we find God through emotion and reason rather than instinct. I believe that other forms of life know Him through instinct yet not through emotion or logic. I believe that the Bible is inspired through men who were inspired by God and not simply out for their own agendas, although...being human, they showed some selfish traits.

I am aware of the fact that I tend to prefer (and even imagine) a God whom favors humanity over other life forms and admit that this is illogical from a neutral observers perspective.

jar writes: This is not meant as much as a debate as a question and answer session.

I'll try and be polite.

jar writes: hopefully this will not descend to quote mining the Bible or other sources since there are quotes to support any and all positions.

Duly noted, though I hope you understand my position on redactors and human authors regarding the Bible(s).

jar writes: For me a short summary would be: In the beginning, billions and billions of years ago, GOD created this universe. Most likely, the primordial singularity was a thought of GOD. This may not be the only universe and if there are other universes, they are within GOD and He is within them. GOD is. The God of the Hebrew, the GOD of the Muslims, in fact all of the various GODs out there are GOD.

I agree with your first two beliefs yet disagree with the third. There is only One GOD regardless of how many "GODS" are imagined by humanity. There is no reason for there to be more than One, unless you support the idea that GOD appears to cultures as they imagine Him to be. I suppose it would be theoretically possible...though as our forum member Jon points out, Mohammed is not the same type of prophet as Jesus is. I believe that Jesus is in communion with and actually a character of GOD, and hesitate to grant any other cultural figures similar status.

jar writes: Two thousand years ago Jesus lived and died for ALL mankind. The promise given, the gift of salvation, was not just for Christians but for ALL. It includes, Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, Atheists and Agnostics.

I agree that this is logical. The gift is for everyone.

jar writes: The only conditions are twofold (with the second commandment being a two part one), Love GOD; Love others and love yourself. You may not succeed, but to be saved you have to try to live up to those commandments.

I agree that we all have to try. Try our best in life, even if we are not believers. As a believer, however, I believe that we are incapable of approaching GOD without His Grace. I don't believe that GOD sends anyone to Hell. I believe that humans are incapable of fully loving GOD or each other. I understand the arguments against the idea of Original Sin, but would call it imperfection. Humans are, in my belief, incapable of perfection in,of,or through ourselves. This does not absolve us of duty, however. I don't believe that God simply expects us to trust Him for salvation while living a selfish life.

1.61803 writes: ...God and Jesus have been replaced as the objects of worship and the Bible has taken they're place for many Christians.

What gets me is that many whom profess Biblical Inerrancy are horrible advertisements for Jesus..or GOD, for that matter. Its almost as if they are agents of Satan. As for my beliefs on GOD versus Satan, I believe that God initially created a free willed Lucifer who chose to actualize what beforehand had been only potential evil. I believe that GOD allowed Hell to exist for those who freely denied His Spirit. I DONT believe that God sends anyone to Hell. To those who argue that freewill does NOT truly exist, I will agree insomuch as you dont have a right to become Godlike yourselves. In that context, true freewill does NOT exist.

jar writes: Christians, if you are out there, how about stepping up and explaining what your view of Christianity is?

ringo writes: Any change in focus is a change in the message and Paul certainly changed the focus. If you want "the real message", why are you so opposed to going to the original instead of Paul's paraphrase?

IF all writings...messages...were written by men, what makes the first one any better than the second or the third? What makes Matthew better than Romans? Its just as easy to believe that one author writes inspired words from God as it is to believe that Jesus is Gods spokesman---if we even believe that the red letter words are inerrant.

Phat writes: IF all writings...messages...were written by men, what makes the first one any better than the second or the third?

The possibility of copying errors, the possibility of misunderstanding on the part of the copyists, the possibility of downright malicious intent to deceive on the part of the copyists.... Shall I go on?

Phat writes: Its just as easy to believe that one author writes inspired words from God as it is to believe that Jesus is Gods spokesman....

It isn't about what's easy to believe. It's about what's more likely to be true.

If I am off topic sorry, BUT NOW, no longer does the human race have to strive to attain and maintain God’s acceptance on the basis of who they are and what they can do. Our decree of judicial perfection in the eyes of God comes not through Christ’s death for our sins, but through our union with Christ’s resurrection life. If a person believes Christ died for their sins, but does not believe that God’s justice was satisfied, when Christ died for those sins, that person has not believed Christ died for their sins. 


God purchased the human race out of sins dominion, never to be returned to the market place of sin again. By removing the sin issue from the table of God’s justice, God effectively canceled Satan’s ownership of all the human race. Satan can lay claim to no person based on that persons sinfulness. 


It was God’s plan before the creation of the world, that humankind’s fingerprints would not be found on humankind's salvation. Reconciliation has to do with God’s justice being satisfied for sins, and that means all of them and that means for all the world, reconciliation is a sin issue. Justification is something entirely different, it has to do with a judicial decree of the very righteousness of God himself freely attributed to the believer’s account.

To be justified does not mean to be perfectly righteous in performance. It also does not mean to become perfectly righteous or even more righteous in performance through time. It means having Christ’s perfect righteousness freely credited to the account of the ungodly who believe. 


Our justification was something accomplished for us by God’s grace. This gift decree of righteousness comes totally apart from any and all human promise, any or all human performance, or any or all human production. God will never consider our works as a payment for God’s justifying declaration. 


Justification is God’s gift! To say your works have anything at all to do with God’s gift declaration of righteousness is to slap the giver in the face. Remember, we were given our righteous standing as a free gift.

Bobber writes: Justification is God’s gift! To say your works have anything at all to do with God’s gift declaration of righteousness is to slap the giver in the face. Remember, we were given our righteous standing as a free gift.

I agree with this. The standard argument around here, however, is that we humans are expected to try and do our best and that our behavior will be judged in the end. In other words, it is argued that we are judged by what we actually do rather than simply what we profess or believe.

I value the Pauline Epistles more than some of our other members. They claim that Paul was attempting to market a new brand and build a "franchise".

They may argue that I value Paul's message of Grace because it is an "easier sell" than for me to actually try and do my best.