Things you want to know about Christianity

plo30360 SG

I agree with you dragg but I'm getting tierd of Christian-fundis telling me that Catholics are not Christians, that Catholic teachings are not based on the Bible, that the Catholic church is the whore of Bablyon...

dragg SG

like i explained earlier catholics and christians dont share the same bible. basically they believe in the same GOD and Jesus. strictly speaking catholics can be called christians but christians are definitely not catholics. if not why protest and breakaway.

ntu slacker SG

err dun get what ya mean... perhaps could you explain to me what your point is? Mr. Green

thanks ah

sorry cos im a lil slow upstairs

stupidissmart SG

err Jesus didnt only say "Love your neighbor". In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a teacher of the law asked Jesus for what God wanted of us in order to be born into eternal life. The man said "`You must love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love him with all your soul. Love him with all your power, and love him with all your mind. And you must love your neighbour as you love yourself.'" but was puzzled who was his neighbor. Our neighbors, in the Christian context, are all of mankind. You even. Even Saddam Hussien, Osama etc. its a tough choice but note in Jesus parable, He deliberately used the context of a Samaritan helping a Jew (?) for during that time there were *lots* of bad blood between these two.

do u show love to your neighbour when he send people to hell ? Probably all muslim, taoist hindis goes to hell if christianity is right. Tat isn't very loving if u ask me. U show me tis parable for wat Rolling Eyes

to sum up,

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV)

we can never take God's word for granted and therefore should not quote them piecemeal. always consider the context of the situation.

thanks and god bless!

if u ask me, u just see only the verses which u agree and totally ignore the other parts of the bible. Frankly if u read the quran, hindu, buddhist scripture and consider only the things tat made sense to u, they too will sound good. If u want u can probably hear many touching stories tat speaks of being fillial etc if u read these stories as well.

gosh. thats too extreme. the thoughts you have about killing people, burning all their possessions... thats too extreme. Shit happens when we try to play God. Don't you feel that you are judging other people by over generalising them as immoral, filthy, pagans? First and foremost, Jesus taught us NEVER to judge,

Tat is extreme right ? U don't have to blame me for it, it is written in the bible as such. I didn't write tat verse down. U ask people not to judge, but the law clearly ask people to judge people. So how can one keep both verses true at the same time ?

The Jews might be justified when they wanted to kill Jesus to preserve the sancity of God's name. But did they? I tell you, those Jewish priests were overly concerned with their high position and society... and too terrified to consider the prospect that God is now opening up and becoming a free for all. The Jewish people simply acted out of blatant selfishness and arrogance. Various examples i can cite include the blissful ignorance of the poor and needy while living in ivory towers, trying to entrap Jesus, denouncing a man of true faith and SIGNS/MIRACLES which they are unable to duplicate. What Jesus felt was those Jewish elders were too concerned about tradition rather than the reason/heart behind it or to put it succintly, the right thing to do.

if u just read the OT, they already provided ample laws to kill jesus. They tell them to kill off any person who claim they r prophets and lead the people to other religion, which jesus truly does. U say they r selfish etc, tat is because u do not choose to see the picture from the other side of the story. Why don't u answer according to the OT at tat time, does the priests have the right to kill jesus ?

Did it says that coming to the Father means entering Heaven and basking there? Jesus had warned us on several occassions that when we come before the Father Himself, we will be weighed. I believe in Purgatory despite being a Methodist. There will be a time when we have to atone for our venial sins (not mortal meaning sins that do not go against the concept of pro-life)

why not ? Rolling Eyes U mean the person who cannot go to his "father" can stay in heaven with him ?

concerning Deutronomy, i suggest taking the Bible in chronological order... as in New Testament after the Old. just IMHO... because i feel that God has softened substantially after He sent His only begotten Son for us to die for our sins. He would never like to see us destroy ourselves but help ourselves be what we truly are meant to be. And when Jesus was on Earth, he did not destroy anyone! Even the false prophets who denounced His divine powers as of Satan's were rebuked. That was the very most Jesus did.

Isn't god perfect and don't change with time ? So the other people who had lived in the harsh laws of OT victims ?

stupidissmart SG

because he was speaking to a crowd gathering around him. Would you think people in the crowd would dismiss him as a raving lunatic if He were to say things like "But those people who havent heard of me - this is what will happen to them". Jesus is always to the point. And He did have the uncanny ability to communicate. I think it would be irrelevant to Him to include people not in his listening audience. It was in His priority to save people who saw, talked, ate, interacted with Him.

U can omit facts but u can't state something which is wrong. If everyone can be saved regardless of whether he believe in him or not, he shouldn't tell people tat only people who believe in him can be saved. Isn't tat lying ?

When Jesus was crucified, and suffered and finally died... During Pentecost, if im not wrong, He appeared before all His disciples and urged them to go forth and spread the word. It brought the wave of the Christianity we know of today... our knowledge of our salvation has been brought to us by the missionaries. and the missionaries did not just stay in one capital and just sent out pigeons, telegrams, tv broadcasts... but instead "WENT FORTH" and "SPREAD THE GOSPEL" for we now were guided by the Holy Spirit.

And the point is ?

what i meant was that maybe science is very different in God's world compared to ours.....................

Okie, where do u get tat info ? Why do u come to tis conclusion ?

it is not right to compare OT and NT. in order to understand the scriptures one has to many factors. (time, people involved, situation, culture etc) we can only understand what is written literally.

OT is suppose to be as good as the NT. Christian cannot abandon the OT, even jesus say it so. The words in the scripture was meant to lat all time. It shouldn't be one tat need revision and changes over time.

in order to understand the scriptures it is better to join the cell groups organised by the church.

And let them brainwash me ?

Belief in God is not the mere acknowledgement of Gods existence. It is to follow the commandments of God and the commandments of God, to put it simply, is to love as Jesus said.

u r not answering the question. How does keeping the sabbath day holy related to loving your neighbour. If we have to follow the commandments of god, then clearly one, who does not believe in him nor do any acts toward him is not loving jesus

This passage first and foremost talks about a group from the Israelites to whom God revealed himself to going against him. And on top of breaking a commandment made known to them about not worshiping false gods, they lead other Israelites to do the same.

If a person who truly believe in christian god, he will not go around and tell other to believe in other god. BTW u forgot abotu the second part

you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, [a] both its people and its livestock. 16 Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt

Isn't tat an indication tat these people probably live in other tribes and villages ? Otherwise how r u gonna kill everyone if u r part of tat town ? It is about treating people from other faith.

For Christians, the same would apply. Any baptised Christian knowing this commandment of God and breaking it does the same thing as what the Israelites did. So yes it applies to Christians as well.

so does a baptise christian allow to change faith. If he decide to be a buddhist later and tell people to convert to buddhist, u should kill him and burn his possessions ?

What does it mean to follow this way and truth of Jesus? It comes back to obeying Jesus commandment to love.

Jesus has said a lot of things, and many things r about how to treat god as well. The way and truth of jesus also includes your obedience to god as well. So it is still true tat non-believers go to hell since u can't obey something tat don't exists to them

more later

loseagain SG

then where did u get the idea that nothing can be created out of nothing?
the idea of things like conservation of energy is merely an assumption.

if nothing can be created out of nothing, then where did everything come from?

mach10 SG

I believe in God.

not evolution, if man really come from apes... WHY then, there are still so many monkeys, gorrilas, orang utans, and chimpanzees around?

Charles Darwin, who wrote the evolution theory believed in God before he died. and said all that he written are false theories.

For those who mught think about Big bang theory... if u guys ever heard about that...
Let me ask... if all matter comes together to a force... den how come it exploded if its gravity in nature?
Just like magnet dun disperse in force, matters that it attracted.

can anybody think for a moment, why we on earth, and not mars, or venus, or other planets? why specifically earth? if everything happens like Big Bang Theory says, den there jolly well be life in other planets... but as far as so, scientists found no life there...

loseagain SG

the universe is how big.........our scientists only can search on a tiny part of it.
not having life on the places searched doesnt mean there arent any in those that our tech cannot reach

ntu slacker SG

err Laughing first i show u this parable cos earlier on u said

stupidissmart:

Personally i see nothing about loving neighbours to keeping the sabbath day holy

Jesus commanded us to love God AND our neighbors. Two commandments. Not just one. And loving our neighbours is out of obedience and love of God. So the second can encapsulate it.

Can i ask you where in the Bible it states that God will send other religions to Hell? Is Hell even a place to speak of? Hell is merely the absence of God and Jesus Christ. How do you even reach Heaven if you refuse to acknowledge it exists? Even Jesus Christ explains that Hell is the absence of joy and happiness. Not really a "torture chamber".

And furthermore, we are not God. Why do you wish to use our yardstick as a mere mortal to judge someone who we Christians can't even describe in tangible wordly terms?

honestly i feel insulted. i believe in the entire Bible. its the word of God. and may i know why i do give you the impression that i ignore parts of the Bible? i may hear stories, real life accounts, touching stories, and they are proof to me there are some good in this world. Sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks to us through events, works, and even in the most adverse of situations!

i did explain about the dangers of taking the Bible out of context. would you compare Adolf Hitler to Julius Caesar? Different times, different scenarios. And things would be done very differently. For example, in Exodus, the LORD God made Isaac's wife appear before Abraham's servant as a lady drawing water out of a well. It might form the bedrock for today's romantic relationships where we may believe that God has chosen a partner to complement us. But does that mean we need to go scoping for every lady near a well? Here, you are referring to the book of Deutronomy. If you were to look at the NT with a fresh perspective, you might notice Jesus Christ did no such things? Who came later? Jesus. At a different time. Because times had changed.

why refer to OT? OT is irrelevant because Jesus did not exist then. Not joking here. For example, consider our laws? During the time of the British, there were many laws regarding the usage of horses (obviously no motorcars then). All these laws no longer exist. Would you say we reinstate them and make them applicable to all recreational horses (i.e. the ones at the Turf Club)? hope u get to see my idea here. Even during the OT times, the priests can't even harm Jesus. Why? Thou shalt not murder were one of the commandments Moses brougt down!

why not ? Rolling Eyes U mean the person who cannot go to his "father" can stay in heaven with him ?

Err, if you dun acknowledge God exists. Your soul go to a place where there is no God. I would not bother describing that place for I have acknowledged Him, and that knowledge would be irrelevant. The place is described in the Bible anyway... i think its called limbo according to catechism. Its a place where there is an absence of God.

If you do acknowlegde God exists... you have a heavy responsibility already for you are expected to live a life worthy of Him for when you come before Him, you will be judged. By not who you are. But of your faith. A lackluster faith leads to impurity in the heart. For Jesus warned that there were some He would not acknowledge despite their proclaimations of faith.

And i think u misunderstood me. If the person does not acknowledge God, God does not exist to his knowledge, his/her soul will take up permanent residence in Limbo (IIRC). If a person acknowledges God, he/she will be weighed. He/she will have to undergo the fires of purgatory where his past deeds will be held accountable. Its a test of the purity of faith. What's good of a faith based on lip service? God is fair. I believe stongly, though a murderer may reach Heaven's door, if he's not truly repentant, he will be punished severely. Even if he's repentant, he need to make good the misdeeds he did.

Isn't god perfect and don't change with time ? So the other people who had lived in the harsh laws of OT victims ?

God is perfect! God never changes! But we do! Our world changes! Our status quo keeps changing! Thats why Heaven is paradise because there is true happiness and its constant! I mean during Moses' time, a burning bush would be considered something miraculous... but that effect would be lost on us today? Even so, our hazy skies would hide the star that led the 3 wise men to a lowly manger one clear night? Its us who change. God accomodates us by making His laws all the more clear to us for us to understand His laws in out current culture and timeframe better

ntu slacker SG

err what facts did i omit? everyone DURING and AFTER Jesus' time, MUST believe in Jesus to be saved. For He paid the ultimate price.... to die for our sins. There is a distinction made between unbelievers and people who have not heard of Jesus Christ. unbelievers are those who do have a choice to believe in Jesus Christ! but they intentionally refuse it. those people who are unaware of Jesus like people in remote areas... God did send missionaries to spread His word. He cared! However the Bible does not mention about those who unfortuately do not hear the word of the LORD... thats for the missionaries and we Christians to answer to God

Unfortunate. But does it mean they'll go to Hell? But if you are holding the Bible.... would a section on what would happen to those who do not hear the Bible be irrelevant?

my evidence He cared for everyone... and really wanted those who were unaware of Him to accept Him... thats my point, sis

quote:When Jesus was crucified, and suffered and finally died... During Pentecost, if im not wrong, He appeared before all His disciples and urged them to go forth and spread the word. It brought the wave of the Christianity we know of today... our knowledge of our salvation has been brought to us by the missionaries. and the missionaries did not just stay in one capital and just sent out pigeons, telegrams, tv broadcasts... but instead "WENT FORTH" and "SPREAD THE GOSPEL" for we now were guided by the Holy Spirit.

And the point is ?

Chin Eng SG

I am a Methodist, have been for the past 20 odd years. Strange that I am defending RCs...??? I have heard too many holier-than-thou judgement pronouncement on Catholics. It's like Protestants don't have our own theological issues.

[email protected] SG

die la die la all die go hell best la

ntu slacker SG

hi [email protected], rem mi...
hows UK

aiyo why talk liddat...
dont u even feel your conscience telling you that you are really being too frivolous in a serious discussion concerning what drives us Christians in life.

if u feel otherwise, i encourage you to try to just lurk here instead of passing snide remarks here and there. its not really a very nice thing to see people deliberately trying to make their boredom, disinterest obvious especially when we are participating in candid, non offensive as well as earnest discussion.

thanks so much for understanding.

anyway seems i not been here for sometime eh. so hows ya... and wheres ur airtrek? shipped to UK? Razz okok im digressing

ntu slacker SG

catholicism have been a much maligned denomination. as christians, we all have a duty to protect truth with love.

im a methodist too! nice to meet you. looking forward to more discussions abt our faith.

protestants do have religion issues. look at the Charismatic church. its been drawing quite alot of flak of late... because of their unusual practise of praying in tongues and its rising popularity with the young.

nevertheless let us all resolve our differences peacefully and focus on the main thing, our religion CHRISTIANity.

cheers.

fandango SG

ntu_slacker, i totally disagree with you about the point about the irrelevence of the Old Testament.

It is as important as the New Testament.

Chin Eng SG

thanks a million. Very Happy
I fully agree with your statement that Catholicism is a much maligned denomination.
Over the years I have read and seen various claims from so-called Christian writers who make many dubious claims and allegations ranging from the "whore of Babylon being RCs" to scriptural evidences of the health and wealth ministry. So even within the folds of mainstream protestant Christianity, we have our share of controversy.
My position with EH is to provide my opinion as a Christian to anyone willing to discuss amicably anything that tickles their fancy. I hope to bring enough peace and understand among all those who visit EH.

Chin Eng SG

I don't think ntu_slacker is saying that the OT is irrelevant. I think the issue is to respond to another writer's regular reference to OT's law. In that sense, it is irrelevant because the laws in the OT is no longer relevant to us in a practical sense.

ntu slacker SG

i am just saying the more importance should be placed on the New Testament rather the old. Christianity is NOT Judaism

i wont start debating the merits of each religion. its for the individual to decide. since i believe in Jesus Christ, i place equal importance on the New Testament.

And IMHO, most of the things in the OT ARE now made irrelevant by the arrival of Jesus Christ. And Jesus did not just do away the OT, He brought it out of mothballs and breathed new Life into God's Word. The Bible was no longer God-inspired or records of the saints of old (some may argue Abaraham, Moses etc arent saints but u get the idea)... but a real life account of the life of the people living with the Son of God.

Honeybunz SG

This I will really agree with you.

When I was a Protestant, I have been hearing not so nice comments about the Catholic Church and they were said in very unchristian manner by my ex church friends.

Nevertheless, during the many years with the Protestants, while I saw many unchristlike Christian Pastors and Teachers brainwash the members by making unfair & judgemental statements about the Catholics, I did come across a few Pastors who made very fair statement about the Catholics and even had retreats with the Priests.

I still love the Protestant Church because it has given me a great insight of the bible, without which, I would not have known the importance of the scripture. The Catholic Church has, on the other hand, given me a perceptivity of what the bible teaches : Love and Peace.

What also touches me about the Catholic Church is the way they address the Protestant Church. In some sermons, the Priests will refer to them as "Our Seperated Brothers". This loving name for the Protestants was advocated by none other than our late Pope John Paul II.

[email protected] SG

no. instead my conscience tells me that there are too many people who are too fixtated on being "right" and dismissing others as being wrong. Who cares if u're protestant, catholic, atheist, satanic, whatever. u'll get to know if u were right when u die. now argue so much also no use. u wait. later both protestants and catholics go hell because the jews are the ones who are right then u know.

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