rchristian
24p21 comments posted · 0 followers · following 0
9 years ago @ Faith Footprint - Opinions and Advice · 0 replies · +1 points
I am not saying we cannot learn things from those who aren't "professionals", or that 24 year-olds cannot teach us anything--only that the reality is many people have little of value to teach on a given subject. The 24 year old clearly was not able to teach what he thought he was able to teach--only that he was in fact not qualified and that others should ignore his opinions. As for the kids, you are correct, they taught us great lessons on love--but in reality it was God teaching us through them, and through our interactions with them. The kids themselves had little understanding or mastery of love. Their love for us was entirely dependent on how they felt about us at the time--which was frequently not positive:-) (all discipline is unpleasant for the moment...). On the other hand, today we see them teaching us a great deal about love as they have matured and shown themselves to be able to love others as God loves us.
10 years ago @ Faith Footprint - Please don't shoot me. · 0 replies · +1 points
Like most people today, I find myself appalled at the genocide commanded by God in the Old Testament. I think I understand why He did, but my understanding is not necessary. God is God. He is the standard of righteousness, and I have learned that this "pot" can't judge the "potter". Now, how does that differ from our circumstances? First, and most important, God isn't doing the commanding in the American army. In fact, it isn't necessarily even someone who follows God who does the commanding. Second, the reasons we go to war and kill people certainly aren't the reasons God had for his people. His plan was always centered on the fulfillment of his plan of salvation through the Messiah. Everything that happened in the OT led to this. That certainly isn't true of any army today. Finally, God commanded His people--a nation chosen by Him for a specific place in history that would literally be crucial for the salvation of every person who comes to Him. No modern nation can claim this (many Americans' opinions not withstanding). So, is it ok for a person to defend himself as a soldier in war? I would ask first, why is that person a soldier in war? I can envision scenarios where a case could be made that it is "righteous" to go to war. However, I don't believe we can simply say that any soldier is automatically in God's will simply because he is serving his government. I believe Christians have a responsibility to their King first, and should make no commitment to a worldly government that might lead him to disobey his King.
11 years ago @ Faith Footprint - About Me · 0 replies · +1 points
11 years ago @ Faith Footprint - Does prayer "work"? · 0 replies · +1 points
11 years ago @ Faith Footprint - Does prayer "work"? · 0 replies · +1 points
12 years ago @ Faith Footprint - The problem with worsh... · 0 replies · +1 points
I think you\'re mixing truth with untruth personally. No question the church can get sloppy--and to worship God in a way that is \"sloppy\", not giving our best, is like offering the lame bull as a sacrifice--it just shows that God isn\'t important.
However, you seem to be saying that worship is ONLY individual (our personal life given to God at all times--the living sacrifice of Romans 12:1). This simply doesn\'t fit scripture. Worship is both individual AND corporate. To separate myself from the body and not worship with the body, OR to say that Christian gatherings are only for the purpose of \"connecting with other like minded people, not to worship God\" is just wrong. It ignores the value of corporate worship (NOT corporate connecting) and makes our times of corporate worship times of self-focus. If the Holy Spirit is driving the bus, the bus isn\'t about us.
12 years ago @ Faith Footprint - What exactly is "faith"? · 0 replies · +1 points
12 years ago @ Faith Footprint - We really don't believ... · 0 replies · +1 points
12 years ago @ Faith Footprint - We really don't believ... · 0 replies · +1 points
13 years ago @ Faith Footprint - We really don't believ... · 0 replies · +1 points
I’ve never been comfortable advocating for Satan, but I’m good with taking the opposing thought for discussionī.
A complete answer to your question (exactly what does the Bible teach about hell?) would be a book, not a post. However, I think there are several points that are hard to argue with:
1. our word “hell” refers to several Biblical terms: Hades, Sheol, Gehenna among others, and what God has revealed about hell has increased over time (progressive revelation)
2. hell is real—it is referred to too often to believe otherwise
3. hell is a really bad place—seems absurd to put it that way, nevertheless the one common thread to all the references to hell is that it is basically the worst we could imagine (examples: fire—Matthew 5:22; a garbage dump [gehenna] Matthew 23:15; a pit [falling] Psalm 5515). In fact, I think it would be fair to say that both heaven and hell are described with imagery in scripture something like this: think of the best thing you could possibly imagine—heaven is better than that. Think of the worst thing you could possibly imagine—hell is worse than that.
4. hell is a terrible place and is a place of punishment (Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 8:11-12; Matthew 10:28 to cite a few passages). Jesus himself (in each of these passages) uses the threat of hell to motivate people (something many contemporary preachers seem to feel is beneath us).