Results 341 - 360 of 465
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Parable Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
341 | Who believes the Bible? | 2 Tim 3:16 | Parable | 48890 | ||
Amen! Parable |
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342 | A Christian View of Science | Acts 17:28 | Parable | 48861 | ||
Lionstrong, perhaps this will clarify my meaning. Consider: 1. Something is true because I believe it. 2. I believe something because it is true. To me, #2 is the Christian world view. From what you have said, I think we agree. Yet, #1 is important to understand, for the world thinks this way. For believers, our faith confirms truth, and as a result, we make it the basis for our decisions and actions. Unbelievers lack faith because, in their estimation, there is nothing to believe in. As a result, they have no basis for their decisions, so instead, they live unto to themselves. After considering what you have said, I am drawn to Romans 10:17, which says "....faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Clearly, as you have said, without logic, we cannot understand the word and without this understanding, we cannot come to faith in Christ. I realize this sounds contrary to what I have tried to express, but I was not referring to faith in Christ. I was talking about faith in logic, e.g. without the belief that language carries meaning and meaning can be rightly understood through logic, logic becomes little more than an intellectual exercise with no bearing on our decisions. Parable |
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343 | A Christian View of Science | Acts 17:28 | Parable | 48796 | ||
I'm struggling to see where we disagree. You make excellent points. You asked "2 Cor 5:7, do you quote this verse to mean that Scripture teaches that faith is irrational?" Quite the contrary. I'm just suggesting that faith is the first premise in any line of reasoning, even if we are not aware of this crucial first step. My point is people depend on faith, in one form or another, even when they argue against it. I agree that our faith in things unseen is not irrational. For example, in science, we have faith in things unseen, such as magnetic fields, which are well established, but no one has or will ever see one directly, yet we see how they exert their influence. It is no different for our faith in Christ. He is well established and we who see and understand His influence have faith in Him. You said "Phil 4:7 says the peace of God transcends OUR understanding, not logic. It does not teach that God's peace transcends logic; it transcends the limits of our ability to understand it." As I read it, the verse says "all" understanding, not "our", but this is hardly the point and in fact I may agree with you. However, I'm not sure logic exists without us to think it, so I'm not sure what you have said makes any real sense. That is, if we can't understand logic at some point, it might as well be gibberish, so all we have at that point is faith in God's providence. You said "Logic is the structure of God's mind. God did not create it and then gift man with it. It is eternal because God is eternal." These statements seem like a good summary of your opinion. Clearly, you have strong faith in the divine nature and integrity of logic. I'm with you. "We are rational because we are created as the image of a rational God." That we are rational is debatable. :) Finally, the centurion's very logical request followed from His faith in Christ's authority. Parable. |
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344 | "This subject of election...." | 1 Tim 2:4 | Parable | 48437 | ||
Perhaps this analogy illustrates what you have said: Imagine that we are a crop grown by God. He prepares the soil, plants the seeds, waters them and warms them with the light of His love. Some of the seeds open to germanate. Some that germanate send out roots to take in water and food. Some that establish roots grow enough to break through the soil to the surface, where the light can shine directly on the seedling. Some of those seedlings survive to maturity. Then God harvests them. The question of election is, did God decide which to harvest only after they were mature, or, before, at the time of planting did he select which ones would reach maturity? If the former, our freedom to choose God out of love is real and meaningful. If the latter, we have no real choice and as a result, we do not have what God wants from us. The parables in which the Kingdom is described as a crop or fruit harvest depend on the idea that it is up to the crop or fruit to grow, albeit not on its own. How can we justify the idea that the work of sowing is just a formality? What is the point of sowing if the harvest is already established? I have no problem accepting that God can make these arrangements for us, even if He knows and/or somehow determines in advance who of us will choose Him. After all, in Christ He was able to become fully human yet retain His divine nature; this is one of the great mysteries of our faith, that He could experience every temptation and have each of them be as real for Him as they are for us. Yet, He did not fall into even the smallest one. Finally, election becomes relevant only if we think it matters to how we should respond to God's call. Do we believe that it is right for people to think that their rejection of God can be justified by the belief they are not among the elect? Or, that to justify unbelief, faith is a gift and God has not given it to them? I see no love nor justice in either of these. Parable |
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345 | A Christian View of Science | Acts 17:28 | Parable | 48432 | ||
"If you're not confused, you haven't been paying attention!" Forgive me if I have appeared to suggest that logic should be discarded or is in any way less than trustworthy. Indeed, I agree logic is a fundamental part of productive thought, as is imagination. Without imagination, "if" has no meaning. Rather, my point is that logic itself cannot be derived logically or logically proven to be valid. You said "To proceed rationally (i.e. logically) is the ONLY way to proceed." I disagree, we are to proceed by faith. "We live by faith, not by sight." -- 2 Corinthians 5:7 Let me "prove" my point: You presented the notion that any attempt to refute the fundamental laws of logic fails because that refutation makes use of them. I submit that in like manner, any attempt to establish those laws also fails because that derivation must also make use of them. What comforts me is knowing logic is a gift from God, yet it is surpassed by the peace of God. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 4:7 |
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346 | A Christian View of Science | Acts 17:28 | Parable | 48413 | ||
This Christian's view of Science: There is no logical reason logic is valid, i.e. to use logic as a means of making decisions or deriving understanding, yet we seem to think that in many areas, logic is the best way to proceed. Obviously, there are things to which logic is not so quickly applied, e.g. art, music, culture, fashion, relationships. I hesitate to say this about faith, for we are called to love God with all our mind, meaning with the fullest conviction of our intellectual capabilities, and this no doubt includes that part of our mind that depends on logic. truth (small t) and falsehood are fundamental elements of logic, not derivable from the rules that govern analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction. They are assumed, not proven. Such is not the case for faith, except these basic elements are not merely assumed, with all the potential for error that assumption entails, but rather they are recognized when we encounter them. When God shows us Himself, through His Creation, His Word, His Incarnation as Jesus and His Presence as the Holy Spirit, He show us absolute Truth. Jesus said "I am the truth." Hence, it's only logical to conclude that if it's not of God, its not true. We need God to show Himself to us because we live in a fallen world that can be described thus: all experience is understood in terms of theory and all theory is derived from experience! Without God, there is no firm ground on which to stand, we are just vapors. Science is a human endeavor, a process based in experience, built with logic. Remarkably, it serves us well so long as we are mindful of its fundamental limitations, which are a direct consequence of our human condition. Science has only recently come to understand the profound implications of this. On its own, science is just as lost as we are without God. With God, we use science to reveal His Creation in ever more profound ways, and thereby glorify Him. That is this Christian's view of science. Parable |
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347 | The Bible and Science, #1 | Gen 1:1 | Parable | 48402 | ||
p.s. Lionstrong, I intend to answer your earlier question about Dr. Ross' method, but I need to get that book back from a friend | ||||||
348 | The Bible and Science, #1 | Gen 1:1 | Parable | 48400 | ||
Depending on the overall mass of the universe, either 1). if the mass is low, the current expansion of space-time will continue indefinitely or 2). if the mass is high, the current expansion will slow down and then the universe will begin to contract, presumably back into the infinitely dense, zero-dimensional singularity from whence it came. If 1), the universe will simply unwind, like a clock-spring, eventually reaching what has been termed "heat death", when everything cools to absolute zero and its all over. However, this presumes the universe is closed, i.e. that there are no external energy supplies feeding the system. If 2), either the Big Crunch will be followed by another Big-Band or the resulting singularity will simply disappear into nothingness. So, Cosmology suggests the fate of the universe is either "heat death", oscillations of Bang/Crunch, or a one-time sequence of Bang/Crunch/goodbye. The mass question is why so many people are interested in the so-called "dark matter" currently topical in the field. Estimating the mass of the universe with what we can see results in a mass that is low, but if we can estimate how much matter exists that we cannot see directly, then we have a better idea of what direction the theories should go. Parable |
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349 | The Bible and Science, #1 | Gen 1:1 | Parable | 48366 | ||
The Bible teaches that there was a beginning of the Universe (i.e. the heavens and the earth). One theory in the science of Cosmology suggests that Matter, Space, Energy and Time all had a beginning and they are all derived from the same ultimate primordial "stuff". Furthermore, we cannot derive anything whatsoever about the nature of the universe before the beginning of Matter, Space, Energy and Time because those four fundamental building blocks are what we use to describe everything that we can test with the scientific method. Parable |
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350 | what are mormans beliefs | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 48356 | ||
heresy? | ||||||
351 | Can anyone answer these simple questions | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 48348 | ||
I'll try. Your question: "If a stranger invades your home and beats, rapes, mutilated, brainwashed, and/or kills your family, can these type of demons be trusted?" My answer: You can trust them to remain true to their nature. If they are alive to sin, you can trust them to be sinful. However, with God all things are possible, so if they die to sin and are born again, the old nature dies and God gives them a new nature in Him. So long as they abide in Christ and obey His commandments, you can trust that they will live according to His nature. Your question: "How or why would we think that The True Loving God would allow his name to be defiled by having such DECEIVERS BRING THE WORD OF GOD TO THE WORLD." My answer: God gives us our freewill so that we may freely accept Him. Some choose other than His ways, including what you have described. If He did not allow this, our choice to be with Him would have no meaning. People defile the Name of God in many ways, including the one you describe. Yet, God can turn every curse into a blessing; I note how persecution of the Jerusalem church caused the church to grow. Had the first Christians not been persecuted for their faith, it is doubtful they would have ever left Jerusalem. Did God persecute the church to make this happen? All that we beleive tells us the answer is "NO". Rather, we believe He did find a way to use that wickedness for His purposes. Unfortunately, the rest of your post seems to violate term #2 of this forum not to attack "the authority of the Bible". However, at the risk of promoting further violations, I respond: You said: "in order to spread the WORD OF GOD, you first have to mentally destroy an individual and then try and rebuild planting a whole new way in their head." My response: Ironically, you have described a perversion of what the Bible teaches, i.e. that we must die on the cross with Christ, then be resurrected to new life. You said: "The Truth is so powerful that all you have to do is speak it!" My response: A liar will not be believed even if he is telling the truth. I'm not sure if this statement, or anything like it is in the Bible, but it seems true enough. You said: "we don't have to pray to a priest, or minister in order to get to God." My response: True. However, we have access to God the Father only through Christ. Without the righteousness bestowed upon us by Him, we cannot enter the presence of the Father. You said: "Your spirit is your real truth, for it is God speaking to you." Jesus said: "I am the truth." You said: "No book in this world can limit, or DEFINE GOD." The Bible does neither, rather it teaches that God is real, loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. Indeed, the Bible teaches that God is limitless and cannot be defined. Parable |
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352 | READ ALL THAT YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON! | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 48329 | ||
Perhaps the Bible agrees with you...about knowledge, that is. "Test everything. Hold on to the good." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:21 So, here are some things to hold on to! "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." -- James 1:5 "But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." -- James 3:14-17 "To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his" -- Job 12:13 "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air." -- Job 28:20-21 "God understands the way to it (wisdom) and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens." -- Job 28:23-24 "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." -- 1 Corinthians 1:25 and perhaps most significantly, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." -- 1 Corinthians 1:18 Parable |
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353 | Luvconquers, do you confess Jesus..... | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 48320 | ||
Perhaps 1 John 4:20 is the best answer to Luvconquers' historically based objections to the authority of Scripture. Those who did violence and justified it in the name of the Lord were not acting according to the command from Him to love others, as indicated by srbaegon's response. Parable |
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354 | Let's explore this in more detail. | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 48155 | ||
Searcher, you have a knack for getting to the heart of the issue! Excellent citation! Regarding #3, about which NT ideas are necessary, you said "all of them" and I totally agree. Of course, as we often see in this forum, there are diverse opinions about what those ideas are and how they influence us. 3a. Can you list a few that you feel are central to our relationship with Christ and/or are generally accepted as uniquely definitive of Christianity? Regarding #2, about which OT ideas are necessary, you said "we need to understand how the OT points to Christ". Again, an excellent answer. 2a. Can you describe a few ways how the OT does this? Regarding #1, about which ideas are necessary to accept the authority of Scripture, you said "because one accepts Scripture as the Word of God does not mean one is saved" and "without the Spirit, His Word is confounding". How true! 1a. Is there any hope for those who do not have the Spirit? In other words, is there anything they can/must do so that He may/will reside in them? Your Brother in Christ, Parable |
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355 | What does God accomplish in us? | Not Specified | Parable | 48103 | ||
I ask three questions, in reverse order, that you may see the logic I am suggesting. 3. What NT ideas must we hold before we can accept, serve and abide in Christ? 2. Since the OT points to Christ, what OT ideas must we hold before we can accept NT ideas? 1. What ideas must we hold before we can accept Scripture as the Word of God? For the sake of illustrating what I'm asking for, I suggest that before we can accept the Bible as the Word of God, we must accept that God exists and can speak to us through the inspired writings of others. Then, we must accept that He actually did so and the books of the Bible are indeed inspired by Him. My interest is to describe in bullet points what the Bible says is our path as we move from unbelief to abiding in Christ. Also, perhaps there are some conditions that must be in place, but are understood rather than explicity described in Scripture. I acknowledge it may not be a stepwise process, as the Holy Spirit may bring us to Christ in any way He chooses; my thought is to express in brief terms what is accomplished in us by Him. Parable |
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356 | What does God accomplish in us? | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 48134 | ||
I ask three questions, in reverse order, that you may see the logic I am suggesting. 3. What NT ideas must we hold before we can accept, serve and abide in Christ? 2. Since the OT points to Christ, what OT ideas must we hold before we can accept NT ideas? 1. What ideas must we hold before we can accept Scripture as the Word of God? For the sake of illustrating what I'm asking for, I suggest that before we can accept the Bible as the Word of God, we must accept that God exists and can speak to us through the inspired writings of others. Then, we must accept that He actually did so and the books of the Bible are indeed inspired by Him. My interest is to describe in bullet points what the Bible says is our path as we move from unbelief to abiding in Christ. Also, perhaps there are some conditions that must be in place, but are understood rather than explicity described in Scripture. I acknowledge it may not be a stepwise process, as the Holy Spirit may bring us to Christ in any way He chooses; my thought is to express in brief terms what is accomplished in us by Him. Parable |
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357 | another hypothetical, applied ethics | James 4:7 | Parable | 47992 | ||
Your objection is noted and illustrates why considering hypotheticals can be instructive. I did not intend to imply that Satan was the source of evil, I meant only to offer an incentive for selfishness, which is always present in every situation we face. I agree that our disobedience is the reason for the Fall, yet in order for our choice to have meaning, there must be a real alternative for us to choose over God. We can choose life with God or without Him and by definition, life without God is evil and wicked. In line with your position, in Matthew 15:19, Jesus said evil deeds spring from our hearts. Yet, from whence that evil came to be in us is a mystery. We acknowledge that God's nature is not compatible with evil, yet also we acknowledge He is supreme. Fortunately, the origin of evil is irrelevant to its reality for us and to the fact we must reject it. Finally, while heaping insults upon his head is biblical, Proverbs 25:22, I submit that is not only reason to render aid. I cite Exodus 21:24, which limits revenge to be proportionate to the offense. Yet, in Matthew 5:39, Jesus tells us to submit to the offense and not retaliate at all and in 5:44, He instructs us to love our enemies. In the case of rendering aid to enemies, the OT would have us do kind deeds so that we may heap burning coals upon their heads, but Christ updates that by having us act out of love for them. Parable |
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358 | another hypothetical, applied ethics | James 4:7 | Parable | 47917 | ||
Your point has merit; if we are to apply Biblical teachings, we must consider only situations the Bible would grant as possible for us to experience. In that light, we recognize that parables and allegories in Scripture cannot be taken too far beyond the main point(s) they intend to teach. If we do, we create the problems you have described. For example, we could debate the meaning of the oil in the lamps of the 10 virgins in the night. The point of the parable is "watch!" and the oil is incidental. Given that, in my opinion, Chynna's scenario, hypothetical as it was, is similar to a situation we often face, i.e. when we must "shake the dust off our sandals" and move on to the next town, knowing the people have rejected the Lord and what the consequences will be for them. In that situation, we are powerless to intervene directly on behalf of the unbeliever. I felt Chynna's scenario was designed to give us that chance. This is not necessarily unbiblical in that the Lord sometimes offers the opportunity to die for the sake of the Kingdom. Chynna's question asks us what would we do if given that chance and perhaps more profoundly, what would we want the believer to do if we were the unbeliever on trial? Regarding MY hypothetical, of course literally it too is "impossible", yet don't we face similar situations when we are in a position to help a stranger or enemy who is down and there are tangible benefits for us if we don't help them? My point in choosing the injured party to be Satan and the removal of evil as a benefit, was that the lesson of the Good Samaritan, like all God's truths to us, are not defined by circumstances but rather true for all circumstances, even the impossible ones. |
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359 | I'll wait on God, there's always a way | Deut 5:16 | Parable | 47863 | ||
No, there is not ALWAYS a way. With God all things are possible, but you must accept that sometimes His answer is NO. If you don't accept His answer, you are going nowhere, ON YOUR OWN. You cannot agree and disagree at the same time. You are not being honest when you say you don't understand how you are disobedient to your parents. Not only that, you are disrespectful to the owners of this webpage who clearly require that you be 18 years old in order to be granted the PRIVILEGE of posting to this forum. Basically, you have STOLEN this privilege and broken trust with them. As Jesus said, give to Cesar what belongs to Cesar and give to God what belongs to God. In this case, you need to give the webmasters their due respect by obeying their "term thingys" and give to God your obedience to his command that you honor your parents. If you disobey your parents, you are dishonoring them and God. You don't want to call a pastor because you don't want to be accountable to anyone for your decisions, which you know are selfish and unwise. This is the kind of pride that leads to the notion that YOU are in charge. Don't wait to see what you THINK God is telling you, read the Bible and KNOW what God is telling you. But knowing is not enough. You must have faith and that faith will bear fruit. Jesus explains it quite simply: "if you love me, you will obey my commandments". If you don't like these terms, that's too bad. No one ever said being a Christian was easy. Finally, don't do it. You know what I'm talking about. Just don't. You're wrong. Let it go and don't pick it up again. |
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360 | God blessed me! | Deut 5:16 | Parable | 47834 | ||
Teengurl, This development should be a red warning flag to you. In the spirit of telling the truth in love, you are seeing only what you want to see and you are being played. So, you disobeyed your father again by continuing to communicate with this guy? You know that nothing good can come from this. God does not call us to disobey what you know is right in order to do His will. Let me explain. So, your friend is a rapid learner, he read a little from the Bible, now he's counseling you, and now you see the Bible in a whole different perspective? I don't think so. Liars adapt to fit the needs of their victims. Open your eyes to what is really happening, not what you want to happen. Talk to someone about what is going on. Even if what you say is true, most of the time, a little knowledge is more dangerous than none. Like when first semester physics students think they can wire a house for electricity becuase they can solve the equations for the circuit. Everyone has needs, but we depend on Christ to fulfill them, not some guy who knows what to say to get you to trust him. You best be careful, what a 19 year old man wants from a 13 year old girl is not Godly or in the interests of the 13 year old girl, who by the way, is disobedient, willfull, inexperienced in the ways of the world and playing with fire. If your perspective on the Bible has changed, does it by any chance now tell you that it is OK to meet with this guy? If so, then ask him if its OK for your father to go with you. If your friend is really what he says, he should be fine with that, in fact, he would want to meet him. But if he's hiding something, he'll talk you out of that idea. Do yourself a favor, stop using the computer until you tell all this to an experienced pastor. You have no excuse, they are listed in the phone book, so call one and tell him your story. If you are obedient to Christ, you will obey your father. Stop communicating with this guy, get off the computer and reach out to the people you know in person. |
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