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Topic: Faith versus Fear
msharmony Joined Mon 08/31/09 Posts: 61041	Sat 03/19/11 09:21 PM
These thirty-one papers (Part I, The Central and Superuniverses)* depicting the nature of Deity, the reality of Paradise, the organization and working of the central and superuniverses, the personalities of the grand universe, and the high destiny of evolutionary mortals, were sponsored, formulated, and put into English by a high commission consisting of twenty-four Orvonton administrators acting in accordance with a mandate issued by the Ancients of Days of Uversa directing that we should do this on Urantia, 606 of Satania, in Norlatiadek of Nebadon, in the year A.D. 1934. (354.8) 31:10.22 perhaps,. for entertainment I might browse it, but I will pass on accepting it as authority,,, Really I don't think ANY book should be accepted as a sole authority of truth, cause no one book can contain all of God's truth in it, and surely man has added lies and falsifications to suit their own needs as well along the way. neither do I think any book is a SOLE authority, as information in books is often repeated in other books I just think THIS book, by its description which includes a calendar date in the twentieth century, purported to be devised by 'celestial beings;, is not necessarily something Im going to refer to above the ANCIENT writing of the bible, purported to be inspired of God and written by men whose names are given

msharmony Joined Mon 08/31/09 Posts: 61041	Sat 03/19/11 09:23 PM
To me, the Bible is the greatest book ever written. It is a handbook on how to live your life. What I do is read a piece of scripture, and read it, and read it, until it talks back to me. Until the message in those words resonates within me. Here is an example: What is the opposite of faith? Fear. A person cannot have both faith and fear. So, if you have faith, you cannot have fear. And, if you have fear, you do not have faith. To lose your fear, you simply need to get faith. In fact, fear is faith in the negative. You believe that something will go wrong, and, sooner or later, it will. Faith is believing in the positive. You believe that something will go right, and sooner or later, it will. If you read the Bible, you hear, time and time again, Jesus saying,” Do not be afraid. Have faith.” That is because Jesus knew that a person who is filled with fear has no room for faith. So, first, you make a conscious decision to eliminate fear in your life. Then, in the pit that remains, you fill it with faith. Unfortunately, today, people have turned from faith, and if a person turns from faith, there is nothing left, but fear. To reiterate, a person either has faith or fear. There is no other option. And so, people reek of fear. They are afraid. Afraid of losing their jobs. Afraid to take risks. Afraid to do anything that makes them extraordinary, and so, instead, they amble through life, being all-too ordinary, until they die. If that’s you, you can stop this. Simply make the choice to kill your fears. Just as a gardener uproots weeds, fear is a weed that chokes your heart and prevents you from being who you are meant to be. Eliminate your fears, and you begin your walk to being extraordinary. There were some very imaginative authors in the bible stories granted. But faith is the result of fear. If people had never had a fear of what they did not know which included why people die and what happens in death there would probably be no religions at all ever. There would be no need unless you wanted to control people without them knowing it. In that case if you make them fear the invisible guy in the sky they will follow what you tell them is his wishes. Makes you think about what they old guys of old really thought about huh? I disagree with an absolute statement like 'faith is the result of fear' those I have faith in I have faith in because I have been able to TRUST them to be consistent in their word and their actions it has nothing to do with fear,,,for me

msharmony Joined Mon 08/31/09 Posts: 61041	Sat 03/19/11 09:27 PM
These thirty-one papers (Part I, The Central and Superuniverses)* depicting the nature of Deity, the reality of Paradise, the organization and working of the central and superuniverses, the personalities of the grand universe, and the high destiny of evolutionary mortals, were sponsored, formulated, and put into English by a high commission consisting of twenty-four Orvonton administrators acting in accordance with a mandate issued by the Ancients of Days of Uversa directing that we should do this on Urantia, 606 of Satania, in Norlatiadek of Nebadon, in the year A.D. 1934. (354.8) 31:10.22 perhaps,. for entertainment I might browse it, but I will pass on accepting it as authority,,, Really I don't think ANY book should be accepted as a sole authority of truth, cause no one book can contain all of God's truth in it, and surely man has added lies and falsifications to suit their own needs as well along the way. I am not asking anyone to accept anything as an authority. My point is that there are some other amazing inspired writings besides the Bible. You can accept any authority you want. I don't accept any book as an authority. If I were to keep offering the Urantia book to you (msharmony) or anyone, as proof of Jesus, God, or anything, why on earth would I expect you to accept it as authority even if I believed it, which I don't. I do think it is an incredible account or story of the life of Jesus, if Jesus ever existed at all. It actually makes a lot more sense than the Bible, and it is very well written. duly noted. I apologize for coming off as I did as I trust your intention is not to put forth your source as an authority. I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. So it is no more useful to me in this thread than just reading the opinions my fellow minglers already express.

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Sat 03/19/11 09:48 PM Edited by Jeanniebean on Sat 03/19/11 09:49 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Just because a writing is old does not give it more authority, and just because a writing is more modern, should not count against its worth or authenticity. I imagine I have read a bit more of the Urantia book than you have and I would have to say that it was either written by an other-worldly being or an extremely creative and imaginative author. But I have always tried to judge the work itself, rather than question the source. I have never been fond of channeled writings, but I am not going to say that they don't exist. I read and love the works of Esther and Jerry Hicks on the Law of Attraction and personally they help me understand a lot. I love Wallace D. Wattles writings and I don't even know who the guy was. Paul Twitchell founded a religion with his books and most of them were found to be plagiarized works. It doesn't matter though, they were still very deep and spiritual truths compiled by him and I did learn a lot from them.

Kleisto Joined Tue 05/13/08 Posts: 5704	Sat 03/19/11 09:53 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age.

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Sat 03/19/11 09:55 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health.

Milesoftheusa Joined Fri 10/27/06 Posts: 5122	Sat 03/19/11 10:08 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. You are very right.. I questioned from an early age.. attended every different denomination that was around. what really was sad is most ministers know they are teaching Tradition and not the bible. Like the Sabbath. clearly says is the 7th day of the week. went to several different ministers and they told me yes you are right. I said why don't you change then. thier answers were unbelievable in my eyes. One said if i told the congregation that the Board would vote me out and how would I feed my family. wow why did you become a minister if you have no faith. I was run out of a church from the pulpit for questioning the sabbath. He told the congregation I was thier to cause trouble when i had never said anything to anyone but him. and he said i was right. one said people would not understand and I am here to save souls and they might leave. is that so. what soul are you trying to save.. I did not know you could save anybody. complete craziness. but i found what i was looking for and believe it or not 90% of them have the same story and experience. I challenge people to ask your ministers questions in private.. most will tell you the truth but don't think any thing will change. they do need thier pay check.. Blessings..Miles

Kleisto Joined Tue 05/13/08 Posts: 5704	Sat 03/19/11 10:16 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. You are very right.. I questioned from an early age.. attended every different denomination that was around. what really was sad is most ministers know they are teaching Tradition and not the bible. Like the Sabbath. clearly says is the 7th day of the week. went to several different ministers and they told me yes you are right. I said why don't you change then. thier answers were unbelievable in my eyes. One said if i told the congregation that the Board would vote me out and how would I feed my family. wow why did you become a minister if you have no faith. I was run out of a church from the pulpit for questioning the sabbath. He told the congregation I was thier to cause trouble when i had never said anything to anyone but him. and he said i was right. one said people would not understand and I am here to save souls and they might leave. is that so. what soul are you trying to save.. I did not know you could save anybody. complete craziness. but i found what i was looking for and believe it or not 90% of them have the same story and experience. I challenge people to ask your ministers questions in private.. most will tell you the truth but don't think any thing will change. they do need thier pay check.. Blessings..Miles You raise a good point, but bear in mind something. Even the teaching from the Bible itself is a tradition. Whether it comes from the book or other men, it really is the same in the end. It's silly to argue about such minute things anyway, it was all intended to divide and control. And it's done that very well.

Kleisto Joined Tue 05/13/08 Posts: 5704	Sat 03/19/11 10:18 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. Oh wow, care to tell the stories? I'd be interested to hear. I have changed my beliefs basically twice as well in the last 4 years or so. Never had an experience like that, but have found it's interesting how people will turn on you, when you start to believe something they don't like. Severed a family relationship, and also a friendship as well this last time.

Milesoftheusa Joined Fri 10/27/06 Posts: 5122	Sat 03/19/11 10:19 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. You are very right.. I questioned from an early age.. attended every different denomination that was around. what really was sad is most ministers know they are teaching Tradition and not the bible. Like the Sabbath. clearly says is the 7th day of the week. went to several different ministers and they told me yes you are right. I said why don't you change then. thier answers were unbelievable in my eyes. One said if i told the congregation that the Board would vote me out and how would I feed my family. wow why did you become a minister if you have no faith. I was run out of a church from the pulpit for questioning the sabbath. He told the congregation I was thier to cause trouble when i had never said anything to anyone but him. and he said i was right. one said people would not understand and I am here to save souls and they might leave. is that so. what soul are you trying to save.. I did not know you could save anybody. complete craziness. but i found what i was looking for and believe it or not 90% of them have the same story and experience. I challenge people to ask your ministers questions in private.. most will tell you the truth but don't think any thing will change. they do need thier pay check.. Blessings..Miles You raise a good point, but bear in mind something. Even the teaching from the Bible itself is a tradition. Whether it comes from the book or other men, it really is the same in the end. It's silly to argue about such minute things anyway, it was all intended to divide and control. And it's done that very well. Its only minut if u do not believe the scriptures as the sole authority of Yahweh. To me a minister is suppose to be an example. Dedicated to what they are saying is what they truly know to the best of thier knowledge. when they will not do that I say they need to find a new proffession.. Blessings..Miles

Kleisto Joined Tue 05/13/08 Posts: 5704	Sat 03/19/11 10:25 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. You are very right.. I questioned from an early age.. attended every different denomination that was around. what really was sad is most ministers know they are teaching Tradition and not the bible. Like the Sabbath. clearly says is the 7th day of the week. went to several different ministers and they told me yes you are right. I said why don't you change then. thier answers were unbelievable in my eyes. One said if i told the congregation that the Board would vote me out and how would I feed my family. wow why did you become a minister if you have no faith. I was run out of a church from the pulpit for questioning the sabbath. He told the congregation I was thier to cause trouble when i had never said anything to anyone but him. and he said i was right. one said people would not understand and I am here to save souls and they might leave. is that so. what soul are you trying to save.. I did not know you could save anybody. complete craziness. but i found what i was looking for and believe it or not 90% of them have the same story and experience. I challenge people to ask your ministers questions in private.. most will tell you the truth but don't think any thing will change. they do need thier pay check.. Blessings..Miles You raise a good point, but bear in mind something. Even the teaching from the Bible itself is a tradition. Whether it comes from the book or other men, it really is the same in the end. It's silly to argue about such minute things anyway, it was all intended to divide and control. And it's done that very well. Its only minut if u do not believe the scriptures as the sole authority of Yahweh. To me a minister is suppose to be an example. Dedicated to what they are saying is what they truly know to the best of thier knowledge. when they will not do that I say they need to find a new proffession.. Blessings..Miles That still doesn't address the point of it being a tradition. People accept the Bible as God's word cause for years that's what people have been told, much like everything else in the religious sect. It doesn't matter what is being taught, it's ALL tradition.

Milesoftheusa Joined Fri 10/27/06 Posts: 5122	Sat 03/19/11 10:38 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. You are very right.. I questioned from an early age.. attended every different denomination that was around. what really was sad is most ministers know they are teaching Tradition and not the bible. Like the Sabbath. clearly says is the 7th day of the week. went to several different ministers and they told me yes you are right. I said why don't you change then. thier answers were unbelievable in my eyes. One said if i told the congregation that the Board would vote me out and how would I feed my family. wow why did you become a minister if you have no faith. I was run out of a church from the pulpit for questioning the sabbath. He told the congregation I was thier to cause trouble when i had never said anything to anyone but him. and he said i was right. one said people would not understand and I am here to save souls and they might leave. is that so. what soul are you trying to save.. I did not know you could save anybody. complete craziness. but i found what i was looking for and believe it or not 90% of them have the same story and experience. I challenge people to ask your ministers questions in private.. most will tell you the truth but don't think any thing will change. they do need thier pay check.. Blessings..Miles You raise a good point, but bear in mind something. Even the teaching from the Bible itself is a tradition. Whether it comes from the book or other men, it really is the same in the end. It's silly to argue about such minute things anyway, it was all intended to divide and control. And it's done that very well. Its only minut if u do not believe the scriptures as the sole authority of Yahweh. To me a minister is suppose to be an example. Dedicated to what they are saying is what they truly know to the best of thier knowledge. when they will not do that I say they need to find a new proffession.. Blessings..Miles That still doesn't address the point of it being a tradition. People accept the Bible as God's word cause for years that's what people have been told, much like everything else in the religious sect. It doesn't matter what is being taught, it's ALL tradition. Thats your opinion and thats fine. But I believe the Scriptures are the word of Yahweh. The Torah has been a Blessing.. Its the measuring stick to let you know where the scriptures have been messed with and where tradition starts and ends. Its a command of Blessings from Yahweh for a good and Healthy life. Blessings of Shalom..Miles

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Sat 03/19/11 10:42 PM
Miles, Yes I once asked a preacher what his church believed or taught about a certain issue and he answered every question with another question. He asked.."..well what does the Bible say?" He simply would not answer any of my questions. I was trying to compare the different churches in my town and what they believed. If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. That is what I was trying to find out. Where do the differ? Where do they agree? Why are there separate churches? Yet all he would say was: "What does the Bible say?" Hey dumb guy, every Church uses the same Bible.

Abracadabra Joined Thu 04/12/07 Posts: 17851	Sat 03/19/11 11:00 PM
If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. Truly. The whole religion is extremely fragmented, everyone knows this truth. And we really need to look at the WHOLE RELIGION (i.e. the Abrahamic Religion), not just the Christian off-shoot. I mean, Christianity has plenty of opposing and disagreeing sects and denominations as it is. But the fact that even the Jews and Muslims didn't agree with the Christian offshoot needs to be taken into consideration as well. The whole religion is fragmented and broken. That's just the pure hardcore fact of the matter.

Kleisto Joined Tue 05/13/08 Posts: 5704	Sat 03/19/11 11:08 PM
Miles, Yes I once asked a preacher what his church believed or taught about a certain issue and he answered every question with another question. He asked.."..well what does the Bible say?" He simply would not answer any of my questions. I was trying to compare the different churches in my town and what they believed. If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. That is what I was trying to find out. Where do the differ? Where do they agree? Why are there separate churches? Yet all he would say was: "What does the Bible say?" Hey dumb guy, every Church uses the same Bible. This is a good point. To take it further though, all these religions that tend to control what one can do and what one cannot, they all have one thing in common. They all use the Bible in some way in their teachings. Coincidence?

CowboyGH Joined Mon 10/05/09 Posts: 13651	Sat 03/19/11 11:10 PM
If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. Truly. The whole religion is extremely fragmented, everyone knows this truth. And we really need to look at the WHOLE RELIGION (i.e. the Abrahamic Religion), not just the Christian off-shoot. I mean, Christianity has plenty of opposing and disagreeing sects and denominations as it is. But the fact that even the Jews and Muslims didn't agree with the Christian offshoot needs to be taken into consideration as well. The whole religion is fragmented and broken. That's just the pure hardcore fact of the matter. Not necessarily true. Christianity's core is Christ"ianity". Yes there are difference among the different denominations. But regardless of all that, we follow the teachings of our Christ, Jesus. No matter the "tag" one wishes to hold eg., seventh day adventist, church of christ, baptist, and so on. That is all irrelevant, the main theme to Christianity is Jesus is the only begotten child of God and gave his life so we could have eternal life. He suffered death so we would not have to. The differences between the denominations truly aren't that significant to truly hold much strength. The main difference is pretty much the sabbath. But the focal point of the entire Christian belief is the 10 commandments which all sects agree on and hold.

CowboyGH Joined Mon 10/05/09 Posts: 13651	Sat 03/19/11 11:12 PM
I question the very explanation of who wrote the source and why and the recent date of its inception along with the explanation of all the other things it tries to explain, causes me to think it is just someone(or group of someones) personal interpretation of what other books have said. Of course you should question the explanation of the source of any religious book that bills itself at truth, especially if you are going to adopt it as an authority in your life. I wonder why people fail to do that with the Bible. Because they are taught not to. The Christian conditioning as to who God is and what the truth is, starts at a very young age. You are right, of course. It may be a difficult thing to question an authority that has been accepted from a very young age. In fact it can be quite a shock to your entire system. I have changed my core belief system twice in my life and the second time it had me sick in bed for three months. It can effect your physical health. You are very right.. I questioned from an early age.. attended every different denomination that was around. what really was sad is most ministers know they are teaching Tradition and not the bible. Like the Sabbath. clearly says is the 7th day of the week. went to several different ministers and they told me yes you are right. I said why don't you change then. thier answers were unbelievable in my eyes. One said if i told the congregation that the Board would vote me out and how would I feed my family. wow why did you become a minister if you have no faith. I was run out of a church from the pulpit for questioning the sabbath. He told the congregation I was thier to cause trouble when i had never said anything to anyone but him. and he said i was right. one said people would not understand and I am here to save souls and they might leave. is that so. what soul are you trying to save.. I did not know you could save anybody. complete craziness. but i found what i was looking for and believe it or not 90% of them have the same story and experience. I challenge people to ask your ministers questions in private.. most will tell you the truth but don't think any thing will change. they do need thier pay check.. Blessings..Miles You raise a good point, but bear in mind something. Even the teaching from the Bible itself is a tradition. Whether it comes from the book or other men, it really is the same in the end. It's silly to argue about such minute things anyway, it was all intended to divide and control. And it's done that very well. Its only minut if u do not believe the scriptures as the sole authority of Yahweh. To me a minister is suppose to be an example. Dedicated to what they are saying is what they truly know to the best of thier knowledge. when they will not do that I say they need to find a new proffession.. Blessings..Miles That still doesn't address the point of it being a tradition. People accept the Bible as God's word cause for years that's what people have been told, much like everything else in the religious sect. It doesn't matter what is being taught, it's ALL tradition. And what exactly is that to hold? In the USA we celebrate Thanks Giving. It's TRADITION to celebrate it, but it holds meaning nevertheless. What does it being tradition have to do with it's legitimacy?

CowboyGH Joined Mon 10/05/09 Posts: 13651	Sat 03/19/11 11:15 PM
Miles, Yes I once asked a preacher what his church believed or taught about a certain issue and he answered every question with another question. He asked.."..well what does the Bible say?" He simply would not answer any of my questions. I was trying to compare the different churches in my town and what they believed. If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. That is what I was trying to find out. Where do the differ? Where do they agree? Why are there separate churches? Yet all he would say was: "What does the Bible say?" Hey dumb guy, every Church uses the same Bible. This is a good point. To take it further though, all these religions that tend to control what one can do and what one cannot, they all have one thing in common. They all use the Bible in some way in their teachings. Coincidence? Not ment as an insult at all, but there are different denominations cause of people with mind sets as you and other people that debate "discuss" the Christian faith on here. They pick and choose what they believe to be true or not, what they want it to say and what they don't want it to say. People's pride, ego, hopes, and desires is what has caused the separation of the Christians. People wanting it to be this way or that way. Not willing to sit down and discuss coming to a final conclusion that makes sense between the two.

Kleisto Joined Tue 05/13/08 Posts: 5704	Sat 03/19/11 11:21 PM
Miles, Yes I once asked a preacher what his church believed or taught about a certain issue and he answered every question with another question. He asked.."..well what does the Bible say?" He simply would not answer any of my questions. I was trying to compare the different churches in my town and what they believed. If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. That is what I was trying to find out. Where do the differ? Where do they agree? Why are there separate churches? Yet all he would say was: "What does the Bible say?" Hey dumb guy, every Church uses the same Bible. This is a good point. To take it further though, all these religions that tend to control what one can do and what one cannot, they all have one thing in common. They all use the Bible in some way in their teachings. Coincidence? Not ment as an insult at all, but there are different denominations cause of people with mind sets as you and other people that debate "discuss" the Christian faith on here. They pick and choose what they believe to be true or not, what they want it to say and what they don't want it to say. People's pride, ego, hopes, and desires is what has caused the separation of the Christians. People wanting it to be this way or that way. Not willing to sit down and discuss coming to a final conclusion that makes sense between the two. That may be, but what I was getting at was, religion in general is used to control one's behaviors in different ways, whether one realizes that or not. And all your different branches of Christianity, as much as they differ, all share that. It says a lot about how the Bible itself is a huge control mechanism, given that.

CowboyGH Joined Mon 10/05/09 Posts: 13651	Sat 03/19/11 11:27 PM
Miles, Yes I once asked a preacher what his church believed or taught about a certain issue and he answered every question with another question. He asked.."..well what does the Bible say?" He simply would not answer any of my questions. I was trying to compare the different churches in my town and what they believed. If they all teach from the Bible there should only be one church. That is what I was trying to find out. Where do the differ? Where do they agree? Why are there separate churches? Yet all he would say was: "What does the Bible say?" Hey dumb guy, every Church uses the same Bible. This is a good point. To take it further though, all these religions that tend to control what one can do and what one cannot, they all have one thing in common. They all use the Bible in some way in their teachings. Coincidence? Not ment as an insult at all, but there are different denominations cause of people with mind sets as you and other people that debate "discuss" the Christian faith on here. They pick and choose what they believe to be true or not, what they want it to say and what they don't want it to say. People's pride, ego, hopes, and desires is what has caused the separation of the Christians. People wanting it to be this way or that way. Not willing to sit down and discuss coming to a final conclusion that makes sense between the two. That may be, but what I was getting at was, religion in general is used to control one's behaviors in different ways, whether one realizes that or not. And all your different branches of Christianity, as much as they differ, all share that. It says a lot about how the Bible itself is a huge control mechanism, given that. How is that any different then our laws? Bible tells us not to murder, the government tells us not to murder. The bible tells us not to steal, the government tells us not to steal. Wow the laws are a huge control mechanism, given that. Yes I agree, laws are generally used to control the masses. It is to keep everyone safe, to live in peace with one another, and not cause harm to others. So how does that make it any less of a possibility the bible is truly the word of God? It contains the laws of God just as the law books contain the laws of the land. How are the two any different? How does it become a "control mechanism"? And what profit would a government have for making a fable to scare the masses? The masses would first have to put faith in this "fable" before it would/could work. It would be much more sufficient/effective if the government just flat out said "You will have your hand cut off if you are caught stealing" or any other possibility. It wouldn't require a person to put faith in something first, it would already sustain power over the people.