Dan56

Not necessarily.... God never defaults on a promise, nor did He set a date.. Perhaps its our understanding of God's plan that falls into default on May 14th? Keep in mind that the anti-Christ has yet to appear, the 7 years of tribulation need to occur prior to Christ return, and that can't happen before May.

My grandma always use to tell me; "If you've got food, shelter, and your health, stop bitching, because everything else in life is just frosting on the cake".. So I suppose that a guy living in a cardboard box under an overpass would consider every one of us as living the "good life".. A persons perspective on what's constitutes a good life, is dependent on his vantage point.

I suppose that what constitutes a "good life" would vary between people. But typically, I'm guessing most people would respond with 10 common or similar answers; Health, wealth, and happiness. Family, friends, and a loving mate. Contentment, achievement, purpose, and a passion for life. But being a weirdo, I don't subscribe to all that b.s, because my religiosity demands more; "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26). So while the 10 things I listed may quantify as a "good life", for myself it would not suffice, because as I opined in another thread, life without inspiration does not provide true peace of mind. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) Imo, you can have it all, but there will always be an empty void in your soul until your true destination is realized. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15-17). This to me, would be the definition of a life well spent. “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.” - Star Trek, Spock

In ancient cultures, people without any means of supporting themselves, sold themselves as slaves (indentured servitude). The alternative would have left a person destitute, starving, or even dead.. In such cases, it could be said that any culture forbidding slavery, was morally flawed. Today, we have welfare, government housing, food stamps, medicaid, etc.. But consider a society where none of those things exited? Being a slave to someone who provided food and shelter would likely be preferable to dying on the streets. Slavery provides the necessities of life when a culture fails to provide the fundamental essentials to live.

I hate that pick-up line, and I'm a Christian.. If it happens again, just tell them that you don't believe in good news.. And if they say something like "Jesus loves you", just tell em your straight and don't swing that direction. Christians & Muslims prefer to define others... Your all either lost souls or infidels

My point in the analogy was that the life preserver was already thrown, nothing was withheld. It wasn't predicated on a promise, or any assurance that a victim would accept it. Its the same with salvation, given unconditionally for anyone who would accept it. An offer can be unconditional, but not automatically implemented if ignored or rejected. If I offered to rent or loan you a car for a month free of charge, and your response was "no" because you didn't want or like that type of car, my offer was still unconditional, it was you who assigned conditions.

That's good to hear, hope he continues to improve and fully recovers.

Its not wishful thinking, the truth can't change. If it could, it wouldn't be the truth.. But of course, if you alter the circumstances by which a truth is established, then a truth can be altered or canceled.. e.g; I tell you that a lit stick of dynamite is about to explode, but you pull the fuse out preventing an explosion. What I said was true, but you changed the parameters by which a conclusion was derived. So if you told me that its raining out, and I'll get wet if I go outside, that's the truth,. But if I take an umbrella and don't get wet, did you lie? No, I just added a dimension (umbrella) to the equation which preventing your truth from occurring..

Its unconditional in the sense that you can't pay for it and you can't earn it.. Its conditional because you must receive it.. If you were drowning and someone threw you a life preserver, the only condition to saving your life is your willingness to accept it. That's the essence of John 3:16, everlasting life is promised to whosoever believeth. An unconditional offer to any who will receive it. A hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another, its knowing what's right but going the opposite direction. God doesn't forgive hypocrites until they repent, and neither should we... jmo

Very true.. The honest truth is an evasive thing, and in my experience, people who demand it, often have a negative reaction when they get it. Kind of like Trump saying that Haiti is a crappy hole, then being branded a racist for stating the obvious.

God is good, we aren't, so its very realistic to hold Him to the highest plane. The bible doesn't teach to forgive those who forgive you, but to forgive those who repent of their trespasses against you. From my biblical understanding, both love and forgiveness are conditional. In your scenario, its not robbing Peter to pay Paul. Our debt (sins) against God have already been paid for, but it is contingent on our willingness to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Its just saying that we can't expect God to forgive us of all our faults, while we refuse to forgive anyone ourselves. We wouldn't be a follower of his example, but a hypocrite. "I will cancel the debt, as long as you pay it off first.".. No, our debts (sins) were already paid in full on Calvary, and it was paid unconditionally for anyone who willingly accepts it.

I wouldn't say "on the same level", sin is sin, but we can't expect God to forgive us if we refuse to forgive others.. Its like expecting God to love us even though we hate everyone else. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15). The parable of the Unforgiving Servant spells it out in Matthew 18:21-35.

I don't think so... When my kids were little, they'd color us pictures and we'd tell them the pictures were good and tape them on the refrigerator. The truth, the pictures were horrible, but for the sake of their self-esteem and to acknowledge their effort, we told a white lie. Likewise, If a wife thinks she looks good in some new cloths and proudly ask; "How do I look in this outfit?", we all know there is just one correct answer to that question, the truth be damned. I guess that sometimes its just easier to believe a lie. As Jack Nicholson said; "You can't handle the truth". Jesus said, "I am the Truth", and they crucified him.. Perhaps we don't value honesty in every situation? The truth is not always convenient and can interfere with how we want to perceive things.. I doubt that an honest politician could ever get elected.. We often choose to believe what we want to hear, true or not. Human emotions sometimes over-ride logic, we hope something is true even when we know deep down that it isn't.. Kind of like someone telling you, "Buy a lottery ticket and become a multi-millionaire", then we blow our money on unrealistic hope. We've all been gullible since day one; "The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!" We all want the truth, but often find a lie more preferable.

I think there's a big difference between a white lie and one that's detrimental to others. A white lie, fib, or exaggeration is usually harmless, but a lie to intentionally mislead or con someone else is never okay. I often exaggerate to make a point, or I'll say something that's not true to spare someone's feelings. A bad lie is to deliberately mislead someone to get what you want, like when a car salesman tells you a car runs great when he knows it has problems, or a politician says he's for repealing and replacing Obama Care and then votes against doing so.

The Hebrew realm of the dead is Sheol. The NT Greek equivalent to Sheol is Hades. Its where all souls go after death. My understanding is that Sheol/Hades is separated by a great gulf or chasm (Luke 16:26). On one side is Gehenna, the Greek word for hell, and the other side is paradise. So hell is not a place of eternal death that people often confuse with the Lake of Fire. Hell is simply the side of Sheol where souls/spirits are imprisoned until judgement. Hell is for the unrighteous, a precursor to the Lake of Fire, while the righteous in Christ are kept in paradise, a forerunner to heaven.

Imo, yes, sins are debts, meaning shortcomings in the service to God. While debt and sin are different words, debts used figuratively can refer to sin. In fact where Matthew 6:12 uses "And forgive us our debts" , Luke 11:4 says; "And forgive us our sins".

Imo, a bunch of bologna... Debt has a double meaning, debt as used in the Lords Prayer has nothing to do with financial indebtedness, but is related to transgressions against God. Being guilty of sin is a debt. Jesus didn't die for monetary debt, but paid the price for our sins, which are moral and spiritual transgressions against the law, and its these sinful debts that are wiped clean. This is completely different from a Jubilee, where monetary debts are erased.

I have no fear because I live with faith... And I've already invested in ammo

It depends I guess... If I made the choice to murder someone, your saying that the choice was wrong.. I agree, but I still think "the self that made the choice is to blame". A choice is just an action or result that emanates from a person. That's why we lock people up for making bad choices. If you chose to give money to a charity that helped others in need, the choice was beneficial, but the credit should go to you because it was your decision, your money, and your sacrifice.

The self that made the choice is to blame..

All true.. I guess you don't need to be knee deep in the hog pen to know you'll get muddy. An outside observer can be more objective because they are emotionally detached from a situation. But for serious mental problems, finding a professional to analyze a problem and provide therapy would be more prudent than consulting your priest. For some battered women, a minister will only green light a divorce on the grounds of adultery. So imo, consulting someone who's decisions are influenced by a set of beliefs, is not always beneficial, especially to a woman who's getting the crap beat out of her everyday. Long ago, I trusted a financial adviser who convinced me that it would be more prudent for me to trust him with my investments because I was emotionally attached to my money and prone to panic, while he could be much more objective, saw the big picture, and would keep me in solid investments that would pay-off big.. He then commenced to lose $300k of my hard earned money, without suffering any emotional issues. I've never entrusted another "professional" since then .. Now, I'm content to make my own investments, and am proud to say that I've had no trouble losing money on my own

Sometimes, there's not much of a difference .. On the Christian Chat forum, everyone's advise to someone else who is having marital problems or anything else, is to "Talk to your Pastor". If a woman is being abused, talk to your Minister, if your husband is watching porn, talk to your Reverend, if your struggling with an addiction, talk to your Preacher, and if your sexually abusing children, talk to a Priest .. Go figure? I don't have a problem with religious counseling for some superficial matters, but serious emotional or psychological disorders should be handled by a professional. Can't find a job, go to an employment agency, feeling sick, see a doctor, need money, talk to a banker, mentally confused, see a shrink, not a priest.. It always amazes me that couples ask a priest about marital issues, when a priest would likely be the last one to know anything about it.

If you've ever been to a Pentecostal or Charismatic meeting, you've likely seen a lot of people who already have emotional issues, and the church is quick to capitalize on that susceptibility.. So in that respect, psychology has been used in ministries to dupe people for decades.. jmo

I personally don't think "ministers" should engage people with deep emotional issues, simply because they aren't really trained to treat people with real psychological issues. Everyone needs to know their limits, and a minister who engages people with real psychological issues is stepping outside of their field of expertise.. jmo

Depends on the label..... Sometimes an assigned label compliments our arrogance and flatters ones ego! Jonathan H. B. Lobl Epic Being