Quote

Originally posted by Robert Cairns
:confused: This could be a very long story, however i have no intentions of making it so. The gist of this story is simply this. I was born in Belfast Northern Ireland an illegitimate child of a waaf (for you foks that don't know this an acronym for the womens branch of the royal air force) as a result I became a burden to my mom because of the social mores of tha time. as a result I was shifted from pillar to post and finally adopted by amaternal aunt.My name was changed and this sinful child born out of wedlock was thrust into a very extreme religious family whose main ambition in life was to create a son that would perform all of their ambitions. As it turns out I came far short of their expectations. Sure some pluses and negatives in this envirenmont, to cite one. At the age of four I could read quite well simply because the only book in the house was the king james version of the bible. The awful tradgedy of the Irish religious wars is my main reason for being involved in this forum. the trotal insanity of any 'HOLY WARS' in the name of god or allah sometimes makes me wonder about the rational thinking of this human race. I could easily ramble on , however Iwill keep my promise about brevity and conclude with this:-I certainly do not know all of the answers, therefore why should I think anyone else does!

Quote

Originally posted by letGodbetrue
I see that some of those persons that post here are hurting immensely from some experience they've had with 'organized religion'. I would encourage you to consider that you are victims of men, not God.

Quote

Originally posted by letGodbetrue
I appreciate what you are saying about 'organized religion'. I agree that any time men are involved trying to 'organize' anything, people always get hurt. I do attend church regularly for corporate worship with other believers, and so we can encourage one another, but I don't consider myself to be a member of any 'organized religion'. What I do have is a personal relationship with the Creator of this universe. And I'm forgiven.

Quote

Originally posted by letGodbetrue
"And as far as forgiveness goes, well it depends on what you do right and wrong. If you done anything major, like having killed someone, I don't believe that God forgives you that easily... it's a matter of degree. I don't believe that just because a thief now accepts Jesus that he's off the hook. It's just not that simple. Amends have to be made, hurt people have to be recompensed, etc.."

With God, it's what's in he heart that truly matters.
(RMG's reply: Maybe in Protestant Xianity, but Catholics would disagree and so would Jews. "An eye for an eye" was invoked here in terms of restitution for damage. If your ox gores someone or you hurt someone, you have to recompense them. This category of sin is "between man and man". In classical Judaism and it's derivative forms courts of law would come into play).

Consider Psalm 51, which David wrote after Nathan confronted him about Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, her husband. David said, Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— (Psalm 51:4) Now why would he say that, when David's sin affected the lives of so many? Starting with Uriah, who was a Godly, honorable man.
(RMG's reply: Well, I don't believe in the Bible literally and I don't take this example seriously. King David was a very complicated character and I believe him to be fictional and not real and historical).

To have the bare minimum of faith, to accept that Jesus died in your place, and paid the price for your sin. You can't keep your pride and do it. It's a heart condition.
(RMG's reply: My belief in God has nothing to do with a man-god or a person who walks on water. And if I wanted to worship a
pagan deity, I'm more into Thor and Odin from Norse myth. -Marvel comics is doing a real bang up job on creating new myths there. And my pride has nothing to do with it. I just simply don't buy the whole Xian theory.)

Quote

Originally posted by letGodbetrue
First of all, are you getting this information about who the Jews accepted and rejected from the Bible? (RMG's reply:The Jews have a whole host of commentaries on the Bible (Torah as they call it) many of which were written a long time ago. I don't believe in the bible and it's miracles. I believe the Bible is the work of man not God.)

You digress... You stated that the Jews rejected the idea of God incarnate, but you don't say where you got that from. Did you get that from the Bible (Torah)? If you will read Genesis 18, you will see that the LORD (meaning YHWH) appears to Abraham in the form of three men. It seems to me the concept of God incarnate might be familiar to them after all.

(RMG's reply: I'm well aware of this Xian interperatation. The rabbis have plenty to say about it. You might want to try Jews For Judaism or Shmuel Golding. They have materials. Please understand I'm not new to Born Again Xianity. I read loads of tracts, proof texts, etc., when I was involved until I read the refutations.)


Jesus cursed the fig tree to demonstrate that he was the Son of God as well as the Son of Man. He did many miracles in front of His disciples to build their faith.
(RMG's reply and what was the point? Figs weren't even in season and since when does a tree have free will to reject a command of the supposed Lord of the Universe?)