Results 341 - 360 of 701
|
||||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Sir Pent Ordered by Date |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
341 | How can anyone be saved? | 1 Cor 2:14 | Sir Pent | 60957 | ||
Return To The Question ...................... Thanks for the clarification about Calvinist perspective. I don't think that I actually misunderstand it, but rather that I didn't explain my thought completely enough. I will try again. ................................... We both believe that God is sovereign and all powerful. Therefore, He could have created beings (humans) such as you have just described. They were all completely corrupted after the fall of Adam, and completely incapable of desiring relationship with God. Therefore, they would not choose God and would deserve Hell. Then God could, within that system, choose some of those beings as exceptions to that rule, and change them in such a way that they had to desire a relationship with God. Therefore, they would choose God and would deserve heaven (only by God's grace of changing them, and providing a way to salvation through Jesus). Thus everyone gets what they deserve (at least in one sense) ................................... However, it is also possible that God being sovereign and all powerful could have created beings (humans) that were actually capable of either desiring a relationship with God or not desiring it. Their nature could be partially corrupted so that they have a tendancy to choose to reject God, but still have the ability to overcome that first instinct. Then some of them would choose to love God and would deserve heaven (only by God’s grace of providing a way to salvation through Jesus). But others would choose to reject God and His salvation and would deserve Hell. Thus everyone gets what they deserve (in a greater sense). ................................... So now to the original question. How does believing the second option to be true limit the sovereignity of God? Since God could have set it up either way, He is in complete control either way. For that matter, assuming the Arminian perspective is correct, God could still change His mind at any point and remove the freedom to choose again. Although we don’t believe that God would ever do that, He could. I am not asking you to believe Arminianism is correct, I am simply trying to explain that it is a possible explanation that keeps God’s soveriegnity intact. ................................... It seems to me that it is like a parent watching their child on a playground, but letting them choose whether to go down the little slide or the big slide. The parent is bigger and stronger, and could easily bar the child from one slide or the other. But it doesn’t make the parent any less big or less strong for them to allow the child pick either one. |
||||||
342 | How can anyone be saved? | 1 Cor 2:14 | Sir Pent | 60952 | ||
A Different View ..................................... I agree with John that Scripture is and should be a higher authority than our ability to reason. However, I would suggest that the Bible is not completely clear on some subjects such as predestination and free will. In these cases, it makes the most sense to interpret the scripture with the meaning that is most logical, fits with church tradition, and our own personal experience (in that order). ..................................... I understand that my colleagues Joe, John, and Lionstrong have a way of seeing scripture that supports Calvinism. At the same time, my colleagues Mekarios, Tim Moran, and EdB have a way of seeing scripture that supports Arminanism. I don't think that any of them would say that the others are blatantly ignoring or contradicting an obvious teaching from the Bible. If it was obvious, it would not have been an issue for centuries in the church, for people smarter and closer to God than us. ..................................... So since both sides have extensive Scriptural support, it does not benefit anyone for either side to simply claim that their view is in the Bible and it doesn't matter if it makes sense or not. |
||||||
343 | How can anyone be saved? | 1 Cor 2:14 | Sir Pent | 60951 | ||
Personal Note .......................................... Lionstrong my friend, It is good to be in a thread together after so long. I'm really glad that you wrote this post, not that I agree with much of it, but after all these months I finally understand why you started that whole discussion we once had on the "rationality of animals" :) |
||||||
344 | Can I come home again, or apostate? | Luke 15:24 | Sir Pent | 60888 | ||
Encouragement ...................................... Welcome to the forum GJH, I understand your concerns regarding the loss of salvation. I too, rejected Christ's forgiveness at one point in my life, after I had already been a Christian for many years. I shared some of these concerns on this forum in the past, and received a very good answer from Tim Moran. I would encourage you to read that thread. Just do a quick search (top right) for the number 25332. God bless! |
||||||
345 | How can anyone be saved? | 1 Cor 2:14 | Sir Pent | 60877 | ||
A Different View ....................................... Dear John, I know that your question was not addressed to me, but when I read it, I had a thought that I really wanted to share with you. The Calvinist perspective often gets hung up on the idea that if a human has to “accept” God’s free gift of salvation, then it takes away from the sovreignity of God or the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice. I do not believe that this hang up is neccessary. ....................................... Rather than seeing Christ’s sacrifice to be insufficient, and perceiving that as a bad thing, why not look at it as a grace of God instead. Here’s what I mean. God is almighty, and He COULD have made Christ’s death on the cross completely sufficient for salvation regardless of how any particular human responded to it. God could have said that because Christ died for the sins of the world then Tom over here is going to believe in Me and be saved no matter what Tom’s personal choice would have been. Meanwhile I will leave Jerry over there unable to believe in Me, and Jerry will go to hell, regardless of what his personal choice would have been. In my understanding this is the Calvinist perspective. My point is that God had the ability and COULD have set things up that way. ....................................... However, I believe that instead God chose to have Christ’s death on the cross be sufficient to take away the sins of anyone who accepted that forgiveness. This does not take away from God’s sovereignity at all. It is not that God was unable to save people without their “help” (even using the Calvinist perspective that simply accepting a gift is “help” or “work”). Instead it is that God chose to have salvation work that way. He could have set it up either way; He is in total control. Arminians just believe that He set things up to allow His creation to truly choose whether to love God and have a relationship with Him or not. |
||||||
346 | Consuming alcoholic beverages: ok or not | Deut 14:26 | Sir Pent | 60868 | ||
A Different View ........................................ Welcome to the forum Tepridemore. I personally believe that it is wrong for a Christian in America to drink alcohol. There have actually been some very good discussions on Christian consumption of alcohol. I would strongly recommend that you take a little time to read some of what is written. A great place to begin your search would be to do a quick search (top right corner) for the number 10288. |
||||||
347 | Is it wrong to preach against sin? | Matt 7:2 | Sir Pent | 60655 | ||
A different view ......................................... Dear Norrie, In your post you mentioned that the Bible was translated using incorrect words (like kill instead of murder, and judge instead of condemn). I know that you mean well here, but, I think that your idea is incorrect and very dangerous to some whose faith is not strong. It could lead them to question everyting in the Bible, and cease to believe that it was authoritative in their lives. ......................................... I believe that the Bible was translated correctly, and that God has protected its accuracy and truth throughout the centuries (I would recommend reading the thread #15780). I believe that the problem is not with the words at all, but rather with how some people choose to interpret what they mean. The Bible is always right, but the same can not be said of us :) |
||||||
348 | Feel so lonely and down over this burden | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 60266 | ||
Personal Note ...................................... Dear Mae64, I also praise God with you for this happy reunion. This is the beginning of an answer to yours, mine, and probably many other people's prayers. Your son is blessed to have a mother who cares so much for him, and I hope that he comes to realize that God cares for him even more. I hope that he does decide to turn his life around. After all, the easiest place to turn around is at a dead end in the road, because there's no traffic comming the other way. |
||||||
349 | LEFT BEHIND? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 60246 | ||
Suggestion to switch threads .................... Dear John and EdB, In your last post John you asked for scriptural support for EdB's belief that it is possible for a human to reject God's truth. I would suggest that Matthew 23:37 is a good example. God sent His truth through prophets, and desired for the people to be saved, but they rejected and killed them instead. ............................................................ I would also llke to suggest that since this branch of this thread is not really on the topic of the Left Behind books, and since there is a relatively empty thread on the verse Matthew 23:37, that you both continue this discussion there instead. Just an idea :) |
||||||
350 | Justify Leviticus 20:13 | Lev 20:13 | Sir Pent | 60240 | ||
Warning, this thread does not appear to be a question of someone truly seeking to learn about the Bible. It seems to just be one persons attempt to stir up trouble and insult Christianity. | ||||||
351 | How Judas Iscariot died? | Acts 1:18 | Sir Pent | 60227 | ||
A Different View ................................. Hello again my good friend Mekarios. It has been a long time since I have had the pleasure of talking with you. However, not as long as the topic of Judas’ death has lingered on this forum :) I see that you answered this question over a year ago, and yet had to answer it again today. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people refuse to use the search tool to check their question before adding redundant threads. ................................. Oh well, after looking at the posts from the several times that this question has been asked and answered, I see the there seems to be complete agreement (rare on any forum) that Judas hung himself, then the rope (or branch) broke, he fell on rocks, and his guts came out. This is possible, and is what I believed for years about this issue. However, I have recently heard another explanation which is also possible. ................................. The basic idea is that the accounts in Matthew and Acts are not sequential events, but the same event. How can this be, you might ask. Well the explanation that I heard was the the use of a rope for hanging was actually a relatively recent custom, and was not used back in Jesus’ day and culture. Hanging meant something very different to the people back then. For instance, Jesus HUNG on the cross, yet He was nailed to wood, no rope involved. Another type of HANGING that was common in that time was to impale someone on a long sharp pole, and then stick it in the ground so that they are high in the air. ................................. Therefore, Judas could have set up a sharp pole, and then climbed a tree, (or a hill, etc.), and then flung himself headlong onto the pole, impaling himself. This would have been viewed in the culture of his day as HANGING himself, and would at the same time of course lead to some spilling of guts. |
||||||
352 | Do we display consistency to the world? | Matt 11:7 | Sir Pent | 60093 | ||
Hypothetical Situations ...................................... I would like to discuss a few hypothetical situations between two hypothetical forum members named Tom and Jerry. ...................................... 1. Tom submits a post interpreting a single verse of scripture. Jerry AGREES with the interpretation and compliments Tom on such a profound thought. 2. Tom submits a post interpreting a single verse of scripture. Jerry DISAGREES with the interpretation and rebukes Tom for failing to look at the overall context of the passage which clearly shows that Tom is totally wrong. ...................................... 3. Tom submits a post interpreting a single verse in the context of several paragraphs preceeding and following it. Jerry AGREES with the interpretation and compliments Tom on such a profound thought. 4. Tom submits a post interpreting a single verse in the context of several paragraphs preceeding and following it. Jerry DISAGREES with the interpretation and rebukes Tom for going through mental gymnastics to change the clear meaning in the verse itself. Jerry reminds silly Tom that he has to look at the totality of scripture to get a full understanding of God’s message. ...................................... 5. Tom submits a post interpreting a single verse in the context of several paragraphs preceeding and following it, and within a framework that incorporates the entirety of scripture. Jerry AGREES with the interpretation and compliments Tom on such a profound thought and such thorough research. 6. Tom submits a post interpreting a single verse in the context of several paragraphs preceeding and following it, and within a framework that incorporates the entirety of scripture. Jerry DISAGREES with the interpretation and rebukes Tom for stretching scripture to the point of no return just so that it will fit into Tom’s flawed theology. ...................................... Granted, these are completely theoretical situations, and would never happen on this forum. However, they probably happen on other forums, and I’m interested in why everyone thinks that they would happen at those other places. |
||||||
353 | How do they relate | Matt 12:29 | Sir Pent | 59962 | ||
My interpretation ......................................... Prayon, I interpret Jesus comments here in the context of the accusation which preceeded them. The religious leaders were accusing Jesus of working for Satan “He cast out demons by Beezelbub”. Jesus defends himself by saying that a house divided against itself shall fall, and by this analogy of the “strong man’s house”. ......................................... In the analogy, the “house” is the person who Jesus is casting demons out of. The “goods” are the demons themselves. The “strong man” is Satan. Jesus seems to be simply saying that it is not possible to take goods out of someone’s house unless you tie up the person first. Therefore, He is not working with the Devil, but is directly opposing Him. |
||||||
354 | Do you have to be baptized to be saved? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Sir Pent | 59558 | ||
A Different View ............................................. Dear Romans4:5, The Word of God is my guide, and I am not a Baptist, yet I agree with Hank. Your teaching that Baptism is forbidden is definately not an orthodox belief. It goes against the totality of scripture. It doesn’t make sense logically. It goes against thousands of years of church tradition, and it doesn’t fit my personal experience either. Basically, it’s just way out there, and anyone reading this thread should take it with a whole shaker of salt. |
||||||
355 | is selling in a church building fine? | John 2:13 | Sir Pent | 59518 | ||
A Similar View........................................ Dear Roark89, I pretty much agree with EdB here. You do have a point that God gives some people gifts that they could use to make money, and that money could help to enable them to do ministry. I just don’t think that they should do them at the same time. ........................................ For instance, the apostle Paul had the ability to make tents. However, I sincerely doubt that he ever tried to auction them off during a service where he was preaching the Gospel of Christ. I imagine that he made the tents and sold them during the week, and left them at home when he went to go “minister”. ........................................ I think that musicians, authors, etc. should do the same. It’s good for them to write books (so people who will never hear them in person can read their ideas), or make tapes (so people who enjoy thier music can listen to them more often). However, I believe that they should only sell these things through bookstores, or the internet, or whatever during the week, and not inside the church. |
||||||
356 | is selling in a church building fine? | John 2:13 | Sir Pent | 59516 | ||
A Different View........................................ Dear Justme, I agree with EdB that the Bible is the most important book for all Christians to read, and that too few of them spend enough time studying it. However, I would also like to say that I think your idea of a “suggested reading list” is terriffic. You are entirely correct that it would be easy for a person to be led far astray by reading some books in Christian Bookstores. Therefore, I think that it is a great idea for a church or a pastor to put together a list of good books to read for their congregation. This just seems to me to be another way of “shepherding the flock”. There is definately value in many books beside the Bible, and infact, I have mentioned a couple in my personal profile on this site. |
||||||
357 | What do you make about love between men | OT general | Sir Pent | 59514 | ||
Clarification ....................................... Dear Searcher, I just wanted to suggest that a more accurate description of David and Johnathon’s love for each other would be “platonic” as opposed to “pure”. The reason for this is two-fold. First is that “platonic” actually means what you are talking about (a love which does not involve sex at all). ....................................... The second is that by using the word “pure” instead, it implies that any sexual relationship would be impure. I know that you don’t mean that, because obviously a sexual relationship between a man and wife who God has joined together, is deffinately a good thing. In fact, I would say that it is an important aspect of their pure love for each other. ....................................... The reason why I make this distinction is because in the early centuries after Christ death there arose a heretical view that all flesh is completely evil. This view was shown to be wrong, but still influences many people today in subtle ways. It also is one of the major tenets of Buddhism. Once again, I know from previous experience with you Searcher, that you don’t support these ideas, I just wanted to clarify for others reading this thread. |
||||||
358 | Not my will? | Rom 5:6 | Sir Pent | 59511 | ||
Personal Note....................................... Dear Hank, Thanks you for the welcome back and especially for your empathy in my wife and my loss. Sadly, I had to go back and update my user profile since I was here last to reflect that we have lost one more child. We have really had to depend on the prayer and support of our relatives, friends, and church family during this time. We have both felt that God has used these tragic circumstances to draw us even closer to Himself and to each other. I would not wish this experience on anyone, but God works all things together for good. |
||||||
359 | Not my will? | Rom 5:6 | Sir Pent | 59436 | ||
Personal Note ............................. Dear Hank, I was unaware of your recent heart problems, and would like to also praise God, who is the "Great Physician", for your healing. |
||||||
360 | Baptism by water is not necessary | 1 Pet 3:21 | Sir Pent | 59434 | ||
Personal Note ........................................ Dear TRJ1221, Thank for sharing your ideas, but this topic has been debated extensively previously on this site. In the future perhaps you could do a search first and add your comments to an existing thread. Starting a whole new one just causes a hanging primary note to stick around for a while. |
||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ] Next > Last [36] >> |