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...and I kept just for reference. Figure they aren't doing any good on my hard drive.
There are two definitions of God. The one sanctified by the holy first ecumenical council of Nicaea with the adornment of all Bishops and the Roman Emperor Constantine, which is the foundation of accepted Christianity, the three major religious groups, that being Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant which is considered to be absolutely sacred. Then there is the other contradictory definition, which can be found in the Bible.
Those who say the Trinity Doctrine is a difficult concept to understand and not very comprehensible, also do not understand their own faith nor know how to comprehend it.
A miracle is something that defies all explanation nor can be proven. Faith is the belief in something that cannot be proven. Thus one can conclude creationist believe God is not all powerful, do not believe in miracles and are faithless.
Early Christianity grew and was persecuted by its own merits, that is they lived happy lives, thus people joined them or persecuted them because they were miserable. But this proved to be too controversial, thus so called wiser ones decided it would be better to share misery and Christianity exploded.
Why hasn't Christ returned yet? Would you return when every building dedicated to you had a replication of the murder instrument used on you? You would probably think they were ready to do it again.
The point of grace and salvation was to mean that if you were well intentioned but things went awry and did your best to make it right, you didn't have to feel too guilty nor sacrifice a portion of your economic well being to the temple. Now, its corrupted and used to harm anyone adversely and a person can laugh it off and say, "oh I'm saved" and he would be heralded like a hero in his church.
If more of the faith spent there time and energy helping and loving others instead of preaching, routing out heresy and condemnation; they could prove universally that they are the true faith. But then again, maybe that's the point.
I think more should divulge less into why God punished a group of people and more of helping people; He's probably wondering why you aren't doing anything to help others of a disaster he didn't cause.
What makes a Kingdom of God? Well if you have a glorious city, with magnificent buildings and streets, but no one inhabits the city, its just really good looking ruins. You need people to inhabit it, thus, you are the Kingdom of God.
Preoccupying your time and preparing for the Rapture is like preoccupying your time and preparing for the invasion of aliens from the mysterious planet X.
Fundamentalism in both Christianity and Islam are essentially the same religion when you start comparing general philosophies. Where they differ is on details, and we all know that the devil is in he details.
The use of the words cult, false, heresy, etc. in describing another religion, group or person is to say in fancy terms "I'm more holy than you and you should serve me".
The greatest accomplishment for the Roman Emperor Constantine, was figuring a way to get the Christians to aid him in war, this was also Christianity's greatest defeat.
Christ admonished and chased the money collectors and merchants away from the temple. Clergy in most of Christianity collect paid salaries and many are also merchants with speaking fee's, book sales an much more. Thus I have to conclude when Christ returns he will do the same to the Christian Clergy.
Christ said when you do something good for someone, don't tell anyone. In other words practice random acts of kindness. Too many people like to brag what they did good today.
When a person feels that they must do their best to "save you", its pretty conclusive they don't feel saved themselves. If they felt so secure then why to the feel they need another to follow their path unless they weren't sure of the path themselves.
Christianity has spent too much time trying to convert others rather than focus on themselves and helping their own. In other words, they prefer quantity over quality, and it shows.
If someone told me "God Bless You" I would say thank you. If someone called me a Christian, I would feel insulted. Why? Unfortunately I'm not ignorant of history.
Why is Christ coming back like a thief in the night? Because it will be like a boss walking in the office while he was supposed to be on vacation. He's going to see for himself who is actually doing their job and who is just all talk and no action.
Whenever someone volunteers the information that they are born again Christian in a business situation or advertise that they are a Christian Company, I grab my wallet and hold it tight.
I thank God for everything he has given me. I'm even more thankful for things he hasn't given me.
Every person that gets evangelized by someone else should be insulted, the evangelizer is accusing you of not knowing God and they do.
I'm suspicious of the most vocal in any religion, the more they shout how they are saved and draw attention to themselves is almost always a show to draw attention away from what they are hiding.
Many claim the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. If that were true then God is contradictory and cannot make up his mind, such as having four Gospels. I ascribe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God penned by man. Man is always going to mess something up or add his two cents. So how can I trust the Bible you say? Easy, the message is still intact, its the details where things fall apart and we all know who resides in the details.
The best way to evangelize to another is to make sure you are doing what Christ taught in your own life and not worry what the other person is doing. In other words, if you are a good example, people will want to be like you with no effort on your part to minister to them. So close your trap and work on your own life.
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