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Originally posted by queenannie38
Have you ever heard the saying 'you can catch more flies with honey instead of vinegar,' James?
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Originally posted by Machine
Queenannie38,
I prefer:
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Your sweet lies are made for your listeners to hear and accept. My audience will hear God’s truth which may be bitter at first but brings about salvation and eternal life.
Originally posted by AkashicWanderer
Why would you want to catch flies?
How does one hate God?
Originally posted by AkashicWanderer
What is the truth?
How do you go about accepting Jesus into your life?
Fair request. For the sake of keeping this inline with scripture, I will offer my definition as the same given for the Greek word translated 'religion' in the NT, according to Strong's Concordance.
Originally posted by junglejake
I suspect we really need to define "religion." Unfortunately, Annie never explained what she meant on the other thread (name escapes me) by there being no religion.
Fellowship is not worship. Worship is adoration. Getting together for strength and edification can certainly honor God's name--but it doesn't constitute 'worship.'
The book of Acts, and all the epistles explain that fellowship with other believers is paramount in our walk with Christ. At the same time, Christ advocated "religion" as the Jews knew it, because every Saturday he would be in a Synagogue teaching. When He was a youngin', He would discuss deep theological things with the Rabbis, as well.
But we are not told we need any other anointed teacher other than the one we have already been given...
So if you mean that religion in the sense of fellowship with fellow believers, and having teachers anointed by God preaching and explaining the Word, the Bible, from the Gospels to Revelation says otherwise.
If, by religion, you mean man's attempt to corrupt the message for political gain, please say so. Religion, in my mind, is following God's calling for yourself in the church, because we clearly need fellowship. The entire New Testament is clear on that.
And yet the very same things he admonished against continue to this very day!
Paul did make clear that a church can be corrupted in First Corinthians, though. The Corinthians were accepting people who were preaching a different gospel into their church, and changing things to make it more acceptable to those who did not follow the true Gospel. In possibly the most scathing epistle, Paul told them to stop this behavior, and to kick those corrupting the gospel out of the church.
Where do you find a description of the 'christian religion' in the bible?
The Christian religion, as described in the Bible, is not a bad thing, it is a wonderful thing.
Yet we are told by Christ:
Before it comes up, yes, the Bible states that we must love our neighbors more than ourselves, but primarily we are to love God. If those neighbors are corrupting God's will and Word for any reason, they must be rebuked or removed from the church. To do otherwise would be to say you prefer their love over God's. That's what Paul was talking about in Corinthians.
Originally posted by Machine
A True Christian
In These Last Days,
James
Originally posted by RANT
Can I have your stuff?
Originally posted by BobDylan
Have you any idea how ridiculous it is using a CHRISTIAN TEXT , written by CHRISTIANS to promote and glorify CHRISTIANITY to back up arguments about the orgin of Christianity and the existence of Jesus.
Do you not appreciate how scary it is for people who don't beleive in Christianity?
It's damn terrifying because we are living with around 2.1 billion people on the planet who have faith and belief that a book written by MEN...a couple of thousand years ago is 100% fact and not open to question.
Originally posted by junglejake
Ambient Sound, when you said, "The concept of one human calling another human a "sinner" would crack me up if it wasn't so blatantly arrogant and judgmental", I would agree with you if it wasn't for the fact that the person stating that feels the same way themselves. "Sin" is a religious term used instead of saying screwing up, making mistakes, or blatantly going against what you know is right. Am I to understand you've never done that before? You've never done something that you regret? I would propose that saying you're not a sinner, or one who has made and probably will make mistakes in the future is extremely arrogant. To date, I have not met a single person who does not regret something they have done in the past, and only one comes to mind who was under the belief that they would never screw up again in their lives.
To some people here, the Bible is a legitimate source
I find it interesting that you have pointed out that it's your way or the highway as far as being "intelligent" goes, and that it's frightening to you that not everyone agrees with your beliefs
Originally posted by BobDylan
Jungle Jake...
To some people here, the Bible is a legitimate source
The bible is not legitimate
Originally posted by Machine
My audience will hear God’s truth which may be bitter at first but brings about salvation and eternal life.
A True Christian
In These Last Days,
James