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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | IneffableUniverse | 45974 | ||
Hank, I guess I goofed. I thought this forum was for logical discussion. Instead, I find people just reinforcing over and over their irrational and illogical beliefs. Perhaps you are all a bit insecure, so you need to do that sort of thing, convince each other that you're "right." I thank you for your invitation to "stick around", but I find it really not worth my time as it is obvious I do not share all of your convictions and cannot even ATTEMPT to make a dent in any of them with logic or reason. I have to keep reminding myself that "faith" is an emotional thing, that human kind has ALWAYS tried to explain the unexplainable by resorting to supreme beings, and that once convinced, their minds become closed to other options. I guess I'm in the wrong place. My mind is open to anything, but please don't INSIST that YOU(Christians) have the monopoly on truth. There are many truths, depending on the culture into which you were born.........nancy |
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2 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | Hank | 45977 | ||
Nancy, we who profess to be Christian subscribe to the definition of truth that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God laid down in the book of John, chapter 14, verse 6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." Nancy, I don't know your age -- perhaps you are a young woman seeking your niche in life. Be that as it may, I happen to be a man who is 67 years old and have been a Christian for 53 of those years. My mind is not closed to "other options" as you have called them, because there really are only two options: to believe in Christ or not to believe in Christ. To have life and joy through Him or to suffer the wages of sin without His redemption, and the wages of sin, the Bible tells us, is death. I would urge you to read the Bible for all that it is worth, beginning perhaps with John's Gospel. I have friends who once called themselves skeptics. A young man I know was once called the town's brightest atheist. He is now a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Read "Mere Christianity" by C.S.Lewis, a one-time atheist who became one of the most celebrated apologists of the faith in recent times. Nancy, I submit to you that there are no real skeptics, no genuine atheists, because even they believe in something. They may believe that God does not exist, but they can no more prove it than I can prove that He does, and they therefore have faith. It's simply a mis-directed faith!..... I mentioned before that I had been a Christian for 53 years. Am I sorrowful, do I feel cheated and deprived of life's richest offerings because my faith has made my life austere, miserable, and unfulfilled? Not for a second! Suppose I'm right to believe in God and you're wrong not to believe. Suppose there really is a heaven and a hell? Suppose Jesus Christ really is our only way to heaven and suppose rejecting Him really is the certain way to hell. At least please do think on these things. I suppose you will be going on your way and quitting the forum. It is my prayer that God will visit you somewhere, sometime, in some way, and will lead you to Himself. --Hank | ||||||
3 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | IneffableUniverse | 46013 | ||
Well, Hank, I'm 53 years old and very happy to be a Unitarian Universalist. I'm sure you will find some meaning to the fact that you have been practicing Christianity for 53 years too. Actually, I wrote an apparently "too long" essay once already, but was told to shorten it by 385 characters. Now, I see it is completely gone, and I don't want to have to write it over and can't possibly edit it if I can't see it. The gist of what I was trying to tell you is that I believe in universal salvation. I do NOT believe a loving, creative, god-like entity would discriminate against allllllllllll the other religions in the world and send all of their practioners to hell. To me, hell is right here on Earth. How can anything be worse than war, famine, disease, etc.? We Americans live in a privileged society with most of the creature comforts taken care of so that we have the free time to think about and debate these issues. I have tolerance for YOUR beliefs. I wish you had tolerance for mine. Stop tellin me I'm going to hell! Stop coming to my front door. Stop shoving literature in my face, and STOP using MY tax dollars to fund YOUR schools! Christianity is the only religion I can think of that thinks it is superior to all others, and persists in trying to convert those of us who are "less enlightened." I'M HAPPY! I HAVE "LOVE AND JOY" IN MY LIFE! And I have it WITHOUT believing in the divinity of Jesus, or the "absolute" truth in every word of a document written thousands of years ago in a different time, under far different conditions. I'm going to stop now because I know my beliefs won't make a dent in yours. You'll no doubt respond by saying that I don't REALLY know what happiness is, yadda, yadda, yadda. If THAT is possible, then it's possible YOU don't either. ....sincerely in love and compassion....nancy | ||||||
4 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 46020 | ||
Greetings Nancy! Do you mind if I butt in here? If you really belive that God is unknowable, as you said in an earlier post, then what is the basis for the theological statements you have made in this post? You describe a god who would not send anyone to hell. You describe a god who does not discriminate against other religions. Yet, you deny that God is knowable! Apparently, you do believe that it is possible to know something about God. The question then becomes upon what will we base our believes about God? I have chosen to believe what the Bible says. It contains the teachings of Christ and is supported by literally thousands of copies, written by eyewitnesses to the ministry of Christ. What better way to find out about God than through His own self-revelation. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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5 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | IneffableUniverse | 46041 | ||
Tim: Your quote: "You describe a god who would not send anyone to hell. You describe a god who does not discriminate against other religions. Yet, you deny that God is knowable! Apparently, you do believe that it is possible to know something about God." My response: Touche!!! You got me on that one! :-) I guess I'll have to work on my vocabulary. |
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6 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 46092 | ||
Greetings Nancy! My objective was not to "get you" my friend! :-) My objective was simply to demonstrate that as a Unitarian, you too have a 'theology'. The signficant difference between your theology and that of Christianity is the source of your knowledge about God. Since you haven't yet acknowledged what your source is, I will have to assume (based upon what I do know about Unitarinism) that it is logic and individual human reasoning. The problem with this approach is that it in itself is illogical for several reasons. 1) If God is 'unknowable' by the human mind, then it is more logical that God could only be known to the extent that He has revealed Himself to mankind. This God did in both the life of Jesus and the Bible. 2) If all religions are equally true, then Christianity must be true as well. Yet, Christianity differs from every other religion concerning the identify of Jesus and the way of salvation. So, how can all be true? 3) If God is only known through individual understanding, then what makes your individual understanding more valid than Paul's, or Peter's, or John's? These are just some of the issues I would very much like to discuss with you my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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7 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | IneffableUniverse | 46126 | ||
Dear Tim, I wouldn't mind discussing this stuff either with you, however, I have never been able to make a dent in any Christian's thinking---AND they have yet to make a dent in MINE! We're all stuborn in our beliefs or lack of them. To me, that's what makes humanity interesting: diversity. Here's a good book to read: "A History of God," by Karen Armstrong who is a professor of theology somewhere (can't remember). The author contrasts and compares the development and theologies of the three great monotheistic religions. In the book, she writes extensively on the earlier and more mystical sects of each religion. In EACH one, she has extensively referenced ancient writings, "secret" texts, etc., that all say the same thing (this goes for Christianity as well): God is unknowable. The "thinkers" and philosophers of EACH religion agree on that! Please don't ask me to quote her directly because the book is upstairs and I don't feel like getting it. It was on the NY Times best seller list for months. Why don't you pick up a copy? It is very scholarly and is used as a text book at various universities. I and most other "students" consider Armstrong an expert. She has written several books. She makes logical sense without disrespecting current religious beliefs. I'm not going to add anything anymore to this forum because it goes no where. However, I must admit, I WOULD be intested in continuing a dialog with you. I'd leave my email address, but I'm afraid I'd be flooded with mail from people trying to save my soul. It was a mistake for me to ask the original question. I was sincerely wondering why I continue to hear from lay people that "Jesus said he was God," when objective, non-denominational scholars say: "No where in the bible does Jesus say he is God." I've heard that MANNNNNNNNNNNNY times from MANY scholars, theologians, translators of ancient texts, and others. I'll end now so as not to go over my character limit. It's a real pain to have to rewrite everything!.........take care.........nancy |
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8 | Where does Jesus say He is God? | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 46133 | ||
Greetings Nancy! If you click on my screenname, it will take you to my profile. My e-mail is provided there, if you would like to discuss these issues further. I will keep your e-mail confidential. You wrote: "It was a mistake for me to ask the original question. I was sincerely wondering why I continue to hear from lay people that "Jesus said he was God," when objective, non-denominational scholars say: "No where in the bible does Jesus say he is God." I've heard that MANNNNNNNNNNNNY times from MANY scholars, theologians, translators of ancient texts, and others." The question isn't what some theologians say, the question is what does Scripture say. As you well know, there is no such thing as an objective scholar. :-) We all have an agenda or a world view. The question is whether our worldview is established by God's word or by our own opinion? Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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