Christianity and the End Times

Keep in mind that he (jar) thinks that mainstream Christianity...even historically, has largely been a marketing con job. He has made up his own theology which, granted, has Biblical support, but his blatant dismissal of apologists and preachers alike has me wondering why he trusts so few people. I'm guessing that it is a combination of his Jewish influences in early childhood coupled with the Socratic wisdom of Episcopal school teachers who emphasized critical thinking and logic, reason and reality over historical apologetics.I have no quarrel with the basic message of Matthew 25, but I hardly think it is enough with which to base one's entire belief. ringo and Tangle, both atheists, seem to embrace it adamantly and can't figure out for the life of them why we don't value it more.Little do they know that I have likely helped as many people in my life as either of them and not simply to gain an eternal reward nor please some church. Granted I could always do more.My main beef with this Matthew 25 cult is that it can equally apply to atheists and secular humanists and is marketed as the basis for doing the best that one can do. Tangle loves the idea of it as it does not involve a necessary relationship with Jesus Christ nor a need to surrender ones free will to a higher power. He can go fishing with a clear conscience. ringo is a lifelong skeptic who nonetheless advocates Matthew 25 as the essence of the message.jar does have a point that the basic message he pushes...namely trying to do your best for others, admitting when you are wrong, and modifying your behavior to an innate sense of right and wrong...is a message for all people and not just Christians. I can't say that he is wrong---my main beef with him is his accusation that the Biblical Christians are conning people. We believe that He will meet Jesus someday, and we can only hope that jar fesses up to being a bit arrogant rather than laughing in the face of an omnipotant Creator.

As I pointed out recently, it's not an isolated passage - it's a trend that goes back to the Old Testament.What's frustrating about you guys is that you don't think what the Bible SAYS is "enough" - you have to make up a lot of garbage like original sin and blood sacrifice to confuse the issue.

There is no such thing as a dated prophecy. The closest thing to that is Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks, 69 of which count to the time of Christ's first coming, but even then most of the Jews missed it. Prophecy includes descriptions of signs to look for in order to know it's close; we have the responsibility to figure it out ourselves, and if our calculations and guesses are wrong that doesn't make scripture wrong.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

"This generation" might not be a calendar date but it's definitely a deadline - and well past its best-before date.

The Bible SAYS those things: original sin is in Romans 5:12: for by one man sin entered the world and death by sin; and blood sacrifice is in Hebrews 9:22: without shedding of blood is no remission of sins.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Unless you read it correctly.

You're not reading it correctly. You're just making up what you wish it said.

I know it didn't say what you think it says because Jesus couldn't make a mistake like that. That's all I need to know. Therefore it is to be understood some other way. Either it refers to the Jews as a whole as "this generation" or it refers to the generation at the time of the prophecy's fulfillment. I have no problem because I know who Jesus is and whatever He says is true. We are to read the Bible in the light of all its parts and revelations and Jesus is infallible. Period.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

We've been through that already. The Bible says a lot of things. You're just cherry-picking the ones you like.

No shit! I wonder why that is? Yeh, where a week isn't 7 days. It's something else. And even when it's something else, it still didn't work.And when a generation isn't a generation - it's now 2,000 years and counting... Pish. It's the responsibility of the prophesier to say when the prophecy will be fulfilled in unabiguous terms. Otherwise it's just yet another idiot with a 'the end of the world is nigh' sign strapped to his back. So that for thousands of years you can say the prophecy is about to be fulfilled in your personal lifetime and be wrong over and over and over again.

They specifically answer your false complaint.

They will point to what they embrace in the Bible and then turn around and discount what Paul says as marketing.Essentially they are marketing the idea that we don't need a relationship with God and that we are simply charged to do our best to help each other...precisely what a secular humanist would advocate.Of course, if original sin were simply a marketing con job they would have a point, but I see evidence that there is ongoing sin in the world and that humans and their socialist ideals will never overcome it by sheer will alone.

Why not? He was prone to a lot of human foibles.

the word "week" is a translation of the Hebrew word for "seven." It doesn't take a lot of thought to figure out that it's referring to years in batches of sevens.

Jesus had not one human foible.