Dan56

True, its not necessarily the message or the messenger, but how those who receive the message respond and interpret it that determines whether its good or bad . Santa is coming, so do you load a shotgun and prepare to meet the uninvited intruder when he barges into your home? Or do you graciously anticipate a man bearing gifts? And if you don't believe in Santa, what difference does it make? The message "Santa is coming" is not the problem, but those determining whether the message is bad or good.

I happen to agree with you on that.. I don't believe that particular prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD, but is yet to happen.

An apple tree may produce good apples, but if you pick the apples and throw them at someone else, it doesn't make the good tree bad. Exodus 22:18 was not an order to go out and attack (kill) all witches, but an order not to allow them to live among the Hebrews. Entertaining sorcery around the temple was idolatry, tantamount to an Imam inviting a Christian into a mosque to preach Christ. So the command not to suffer a witch to live was to prevent the bad fruit from corrupting the good. Witches could live, just not on the steps of the temple. jmo

Jesus was not talking about his second advent in Matthew 16:28. "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light" (Matthew 17:1-2). Later Peter reiterated the meaning; "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount" (2 Peter 1:16-18) Also, Christ came in His kingdom when he arose from the dead, glorious and magnified in his own power, ready to ascend to heaven. Those men Christ spoke to that day in Matt 16:28 were alive to see this day too; "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).

Just chiming in while I'm waiting for my meal.. A warm but rainy turkey day here in Illinois.. A great day so far, but I suspect it will end poorly as the Bears lose to the Packers later tonight? Go Bears.

That happens a lot ... But on a related note, the apostle Paul was beheaded for an unpopular belief too. Not a whole lot of freedom in the old days, unlike today when religious tolerance is respected and we see no radicals spouting such terror

God didn't write anything except the ten commandments. It just says; "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16)."For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter1:21). So clearly, the bible only claims to be authored by men who were guided by the Spirit of God.

My sympathy and condolences... Glad she went peacefully and not struggling. Even though its expected, it certainly leaves a void to lose a parent, but I'm glad her struggle is over and she's with the Lord now.

No problem.. Admittedly, my thinking on such subjects is pretty transparent, and rather unshakable. But feel free to state your opinion without thinking you need to engage in an argument. What you wrote seemed extremely illogical to me, so I was just trying to analyze what you meant. God gave no order not to kill, in fact He often inspired his people to kill. Yes, God killed, and yes, I believe it was necessary and justified. No, its not okay to kill those who think differently, you may be confusing Christianity with Islam? . God killed heathens for their wickedness, rebelling, attacking his people, and a host of other things. All righteous kills imo, but of course, I'm biased. Christians believe that God is good, and there's no split personality about it. Satan is not God, never was his twin either . Your correct, they are polar opposites, but Satan is a fallen cherub angel and God is God. I honestly don't understand why people don't get that, its not a difficult concept to grasp? We are not good, we are all sinners who freely chose to be disobedient, so we were introduced to evil (our choice). God created everything and it was good, but God separated himself from sin and Satan became the prince of this world. It may seem like God split himself into 2 beings, but the story clearly indicates that it was us who split from God. But the good news is that God did not forsake us, he made a promise and Jesus kept it.

Yes, correcting children who misbehave, along with order and beauty in the world, are excellent reasons not to believe? Would you prefer a god who said "Do not murder" and then after you go out and commit a murder, that same god says "Good for you"? That to me is chaos, and just plain crazy. Christians don't see a psychopath because they don't think that punishing sin is crazy. God corrects those he loves (Hebrews 12:6), just as any good parent would discipline their own children. So from that perception, there's nothing to reconcile. What would be difficult for me to reconcile is if God allowed people to sin, commit evil, and harm others with impunity.

Or maybe both are right........ If God loves and God hates, perhaps we're just explaining it from different directions. There's good and bad, we can focus on all the bad and blame God for it, or we can notice all the good and thank God for it. Yin and yang, what would our prospective on good be if we knew no bad? It would be hard to have an opinion or answer based on half of an equation.

I had a similar thought a while back when someone said how terrible God was for letting children starve to death.. But there's plenty of food in the world, enough that no one needs to starve, so who's fault is it if anyone starves? As you mentioned, God gave us dominion over the earth, so many of the hardships that exist are the result of sloppy stewardship. I guess if God gives us all the food we need and we burn the meal, its God's fault. God gives us the bricks and mortar, but we have to do the work. If God gave everyone a new car, most would complain that it didn't come with a full tank of gas.

Not a problem or a rant, so no apology necessary, you were just wondering about the logic of a situation.. I understand your pov, it is something that many find confusing. Thanking God for a resolution for something bad when He could have prevented it in the first place can seem illogical.. Its kind of like thanking someone for a band-aid after they've throw you down a flight of stairs.. But ultimately, no one is protected from evil, it rains on the good and the bad alike (Matthew 5:45). A big question Christians have always asked is; "Why do bad things happen to good people?".or "Why does God allow it?". God is content to allow us to suffer affliction and experience tribulation, even his chosen prophets and apostles did not escape it.. Its a faith tester for sure, but as Paul said; "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). Love for what we believe cannot be demonstrated without some hardships, but the hope we have in Christ gives us the strength to endure. Why thank God for a good meal when someone else grew the food and you paid for it? Its just because all good things are seen as a blessing from God instead of being taken for granted. Maybe I should apologize for being so preachy?

Christians thank God when good things happen and justice prevails, because God is good and God is just. God was not the cause of the murder, his law forbids it, but his law also demands punishment for murder, so Christians praise him when "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven". God commanded us to put evil (murderers) away in order to prevent evil from existing among us (Deuteronomy 19:19-20). So Christians are thankful when the police arrest a murderer and a court punishes him. We are taught to "Overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21), and putting a murderer to death is good. Free will can be used for bad or good, one is a sin and the other a blessing, so we fight against the bad and are thankful for the good which is inspired by God.. jmo

I agree.. For concrete down to earth facts, I get all my news from the ULC forum.. There absolutely no bias or exaggerated stories here.

That's pretty typical of every story on the Huffington Post

Just as I suspected, Mohammad plagiarized someones work. Thank goodness Jesus didn't write anything Actually, I'm not sure I trust carbon dating, especially when your talking about a very narrow margin of error.

I agree,.. Its no big puzzle, evil is bad and good is good.

Its symbolic, but has nothing to do with cannibalism.. Communion is taken in remembrance of Christ, who was the bread of life and by who's blood brought in the new covenant. The bread and wine are representative of his life and sacrifice. Jesus said to take them "in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19)

If Jesus supported persecuting people who were different from traditional beliefs, he would have been responsible for his own persecution, instead of the fanatics who persecuted him and demanded his life. Jesus never force fed his teachings onto others, he never held a captive audience, demanded that everyone follow his teachings, or condemned those who didn't. Christians who do those things aren't following the example of he whom they claim to believe. Its only the self-righteous that judge others in a condeming fashion, but its not something that Christ taught his disciples to do.

But doesn't your religion, at least in part, still practice sacrifice? I think that was Pete's point? Similar to the Christian God, who once ordered animal sacrifice, Hinduism has also had its episodes. http://people.opposingviews.com/hinduism-beliefs-sacrifice-4262.html

I don't think the penalty was for choosing another religion, but for trying to defile the one your in... In other words, if you want to be a witch, then go be a witch, but don't go into the temple of God and practice witchcraft. God's intent was to keep his people separated from the heathens surrounding them. He couldn't preserve them if he allowed Baal worship. That's why there were strict penalties for practicing idolatry among his people, God set them aside for a purpose, and it wasn't to be polluted with false gods. jmo In a sense, you are right.. By extension, everything that exist emanated from God, but God is not the direct source of everything that is made. That may sound like double talk, but what I mean is that God did not create cars or airplanes, they exist because we made them. If I chop down a tree and use it for firewood, did I start the fire in my fireplace, or did God? God created possibilities which allow choice, but sin cannot exist until we choose it, anymore than a car can exist until we make it. God created everything, but he didn't invent everything.

Correct, I would never intrude into another religions congregation for the purpose disrupting the belief they share. But if I was bold enough to do so, I'd expect to be thrown out and experience some serious repercussions if I refused to leave. Its not evil to throw the fox out of the hen house. God created us with free-will, but that doesn't mean he loves our choices.. God didn't create sin, that is our choice., God is love, but he is not all loving.. God is not the author of sorcery, familiar spirits, or witchcraft. These things exist because we choose them and are capable of doing wrong. God is good,

God's command against sorcery was only directed to His people, He didn't want it among them. Witchcraft was a form of idolatry that polluted His truth, so the idea was not to permit such deviations. Permitting a witch to practice sorcery among the Israelites was tantamount to a Muslim permitting a Christian to preach Christ in a mosque. A witch masquerading as a Hebrew was the offense. I imagine a witch would have the option of being excommunicated, but if they refuse to leave, your options are limited to eliminating them or allowing them to defile God's chosen. Quite a quagmire, but the answer might be that its not wise to try and ram one religion down another religions throat, because trouble is bound to ensue.

If a religion chooses to be intolerant of something, its none of my business as long as its kept within the religion itself, But if a Muslim wants to remove my head for not accepting Allah, I'd find that somewhat difficult to tolerate. Hate speech is usually protected as long as it doesn't insight violence. The bible or the koran could be considered hate speech, but no one is forced to read them or listen to those who do. I personally hate asparagus, but the people who like it refused to allow me to have it removed from the grocery store shelves. https://youtu.be/cA2j-npWsp0