reply to post by halfoldman
I totally understand where you are coming from. Many of the self-proclaimed followers of God have committed many atrocities and have been very
violent.
But you must understand that it is not right to judge God based on the actions of those who falsely proclaim Him their King.
If I told people that I followed you and believed in you and then I turned around and posted in another thread that I think some people should get
kicked in the face to receive the Holy Spirit; is that your fault or mine?
You must also make the distinction between violence and vengeance. The Lord says, "Vengeance is mine." How He goes about that vengeance is His
decision because He is the Maker of mankind and also the Maker of vengeance. But notice again how I said that the Lord said, "Vengeance is mine."
We must make the distinction between God commanding a person or His people to perform an act from a man of his own accord performing an act -
particularly an act of violence in this case.
Some of the largest arguments against Christianity is that our God is blamed for the many deaths by war that took place in the Old Testament, for the
prophesied destruction to come, and for what people believe is an eternity in a place of burning called Hell.
While these arguments appear valid at first, upon further inspection we understand the justification of our God and the reality of His mercy and also
His willingness to give people exactly what they ask for throughout the entirety of human history.
I will start a thread explaining all of this in full so that I do not make a mockery of this particular thread.
But I reiterate: I know exactly how you feel.
However, true Christianity, which hardly exists at all anywhere anymore (except maybe in less popular countries in which Christians are having their
heads lopped off literally no sooner than they convert), is not violent. It is written, "You shall perform no violence." When Jesus Christ was to
be taken by the guards of the Jews, Peter defending Him by striking the ear off of a guard with his sword. Jesus said, "Put away your sword. For he
who lives by the sword
must die by the sword."
And as a final note for this post, please be extremely careful to associate Christianity with genocides and slaughter. The catholic church has not
and never will be Christian. In fact most all denominations are no longer Christian but are overrun with pagan rituals and beliefs - society has had
its way with my church.
We do not march against people. We do not attack people. We do not judge anyone except those that claim Jesus Christ as their Saviour and yet are
liars. We do not spread hatred or lies; but we only present what seems right and hopefully with only the most humble attitude. We are well-read in
general and also near perfect in our understanding of the Scriptures because that is our life. We only share with those who wish to learn. We listen
and understand and relate because we are also human beings with like passions and desires. We understand both sides of every story. We don't judge
the rich man for his riches, neither how he spends them, neither do we covet it, but we are glad that he is rich. We don't judge the poor man that
he uses his begged dollar for a beer; his life is hard, why shouldn't he desire a break from it? Do we lead these people into their desires?
Absolutely not. We only understand them. If someone chooses to be led, then we will lead. If not, then we will not.
This is how I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt that God's stance on this particular situation is easily discerned. Let the man do what he
is doing. Let the state write proper laws in order to preserve the children. Give to people what they want so they understand the consequences of
their wishes and prayers. Be readily available to everyone that changes their mind so that we can mend them and give them a chance to clearly make
their own choices again.
If you would like to read an example for yourself, I suggest you read Romans. This is the only way that you're going to be able to form a valid
opinion anyway. We wouldn't expect you to argue against String Theory unless you had at least studied some of the most important principles of it.
So then how can you make an argument against Christianity until you attempt to read at the least what I claim is the best human-sinner (as opposed to
the perfect human Jesus Christ) example of a Christian: Paul. Read Romans for your education.
I will let you know when I post my thread regarding peoples' argument concerning God's seemingly violent behavior. I hope to justify my Father so
that you understand that everything He did, someone received mercy and justice in the process; and perfectly so.
