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Ultrahighgain

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  1. I've had some gay friends. Some were really nice people. Most were pretty immature and didn't have a whole lot of honor i.e. a promise is made to be broken/the world is an evil place so do what you must to get an edge kind of thinking... Being born gay isn't a sin...shoot I like to drink, smoke weed, and listen to music that at times is openly blasphemous....we all have our temptatations, even Jesus was tempted...but we cannot always submit to temptation and the worship of idols...that's a dead end road.
  2. Originally posted by charliedango A long time ago I lost faith in the church I hear you man. I'm not going to church right now either. I try to remember that all things of this world will fail you (and me) and that includes friends, family members, and the church...but God is still good. I know, I know...sounds like a bunch of petty dogma BS here in the trenches...press on...ever we press on.
  3. Originally posted by guitar shmoe I've been MOST happily married for 21 years and happen to be in the category of Christians that believe that The Bible is absolute, 100% accurate and inerrant. I'm just sayin'
  4. Originally posted by guitar shmoe For people that 'claim' to be Christian the divorce rate is: 54%..... For those that believe that the Bible is God's inerrant Word and absolutely true, the divorce rate is: maybe there's something to that Bible I think a lot of people, Christians included get married because it's the "right thing to do." Perhaps far too many people of all walks in modern society are looking for a relationship with another person to complete them and get married or otherwise committed out of fear and insercurity with themselves. They can't imagine a life alone being complete and fullfilling. Our culture places tremendous pressure on us to marry, have a home, and a family. If a person chooses to remain single, it must be because he or she is undesirable or has some other "issues."
  5. Regarding free will: I suppose that God gave us free will because of the reasons for which he created us; love, worship, and companionship. To create is an act of love. Consider how valueless love and worship are unless they are given freely.
  6. Originally posted by peehoo Hm, I'm sorry I really don't get this but am kinda interested in your points and understanding. Now i live in Europe and maybe we understand things a bit diferent here, so I would be grateful if you would explain who has the right to consider themselves Christian and why. Maybe also put it in some kind of historical and theological perspectve, because right now I really don't understand who has the exclusive rights to claim themselves "Christian" or where do those rights come from?! Why are Catholics not Christian? ( I'm not sure you are saying that, if you're not than just ignore this last question...) OK...I'll give it my best shot. Being a Christian really has nothing to do with going to a certain chruch, or reading and memorizing the Bible, or saying a bunch of Hail Marys. It has nothing at all to do with any of this "outward appearance" that we normally associate with "religion" or "religious people." Remember that the Pharases we very religious men, and Jesus pretty much tore them a new one. For the purpose of discussion, consider that "religion" and "faith" are two different things. A man can be very "religious" and not come close to God at all. Being a Christian is about putting Jesus first in your life, NOT the church, the Virgin Mary, and not religious dogma. A new Christian is "reborn" as they say when they accept that Jesus was the son of God, lived amoung man for a time, lived a perfect, sinless life and then was crucified and died on the cross for our sins, after which he rose again...but you already know this story I'd imagine. A Christian grows as they learn more about Jesus' nature and try to become more like him. Oh, and just because someone uses the phrase "born again" does not mean that they are directly referring the the "Born Again Christian" affiliation...different meanings. The Old Testament isn't really invalid, it illustrates over and over again that man cannot save himself from death which is the penalty of sin...you know blood sacrifices and all the silly rules about diet and such? All of the OT is a demonstration over and over again that man cannot right himself with God on his own. So back to the point...how can you tell if someone's a Christian or not? At a glance you can't. Anyone can claim to be anything. Anyone can believe themselves to be anything. A real Christian has a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, an intimate, trusting close relationship, and it's that that defines a Christian. The world is filled with liars and deceivers that have used the church and used God's name to manipulate others and to do evil, but God sees the heart and the soul, and in the end His judgement will prevail. Christians read the Bible to learn more about God's nature. Just reading it and regurgitating a bunch of dogma is pointless.
  7. Originally posted by peehoo Now we can get into different definitions and semantics here, but the bottom line IMHO is that those who believe in Christ are Christians. I have yet to hear a Catholic say that he is not Christian. Or a Protestant for that matter or an Orthodox... They all consider themselves Christians. I could "consider" myself to be James Brown.
  8. Originally posted by Towelie v2.0 The US got fat. It began with WWII when women became self sufficient from working in factories whilst the menfolk went off to war. After the war when the mens came back, they found their old ladies banging the strays next door. Married men tried to regain their households, but their wives had a shameless tatste of independence and the kids were fatherless and w/o structure for too long. America found itself in a newly boosted economy, and focus shifted away from traditional family life to modern materialism. Power and money were easily attainable in the new system, and drugs shifted the consciousness of abandoned American youth toward something instantly gratifying. The Age Of Aquarious finally gave young people the kind of escapism which allowed them to be completely free of traditional rules of society. A freedom which matured into the Rock N Roll excesses of the 1980's. In the wake of a newly realized disseases such as Herpes and Aids, along with an economy sucked dry by a previous generation of post-hippies and with morality at an all-time low, the youth of America gave way once again to complacency within existing social structures, and manifested itself as perhaps the most hopeless and apathetic generation in America to date; the 1990's. Music, particularly Rock N Roll of various types, was once the church of American Youth; full of energey, raw emotion, phylosphy, religion and the like, the groups they followed were unique identifiers of individuality. In the 90's, however, the lax sounds of women and acoustic ballads marked the finality of the golden years of America. We've crested the glass mountain, now heading down the other side. We've become spoiled, complacent, apathetic, without individual voice, and above all, self-serving. Morality, common courtesy, faith in God and our fellow man - the value of the spoken word - have been replaced with television, SUV's, cell phones, the Internet and chat rooms. Personal character growth has been replaced with the sense that individual opinion doesn't matter, that there's no power in numbers, and that children are the true rulers of the households of parents too busy to guide them. History most certainly repeats, and America will eventually prove to be its own demise. We're like the fattened calf heading for the slaughter. (I might be off with a few things there). Pretty good post man. Americans are born now with a great sense of entitlement. The homestead, vacation home, numerous cars, boats, and other toys are viewed as a birthright. This ain't the Waltons anymore. "The old wisdom bourne out of the west was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on herladry, or in high cold towers asking questions of the stars. And so the people of Gondor fell into run. The line of kings failed. The white tree whithered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men."
  9. Originally posted by charliedango The "Catholic = Christian" argument is a dead-end. Catholics are Catholics. Christians are Christians. It needs to be addressed, because many folks don't get it.
  10. Originally posted by indespise I know quite well what the differences are, considering I was raised a "full gospel" christian, went to christian school, and I was a very well studied, sincere christian who could've been a pastor by now if I had wanted to. I know the mindset I'm dealing with here from firsthand experience, I have the ability to look at it from the view of a conservative christian. Modern "protestant" christianity and catholocism are different, but protestant christianity has it's roots in catholocism whether or not they want to accept it. It's still based on a book that the Catholics had total control of for a LONG time, the same book Catholocism used to rule in a way not at all different from the way modern Islamic leaders use their book to rule. It's still centered around literalist beliefs cooked up by what became the Catholic church, the iconoclasts who did all they could to erase original christianity along with anything else they didn't like. If you need another example that fits our protestant christianity better, look at the US witch burnings. The fact that that could happen at all (legally, I might add) should speak volumes to you about what kind of society this was, what kind of things would be done to someone who spoke out (or lived in a way that was) against Christian beliefs? Go over to the middle east and say something bad about Allah or Muhammed, and I'm betting the reaction you'd get would be similar. All I can say is that the folks that you've cited...all those evil deeds that were done such as the witch trials... Those folks weren't exactly following the example set by Jesus were they?
  11. Originally posted by peehoo all Catholics are Christians No...not at all.
  12. Originally posted by peehoo What are you getting at? Of course they are not the same but all Catholics are Christians while the opposite isn't true. So its not like these are two totally different things alltogether:confused: Saying you're a Christian or claiming to act in the name of Christianity doesn't make it so. I realize it's a tough concept.
  13. Originally posted by indespise And let's think back to what western society was 1000 years ago...... Most of Europe was basically the same as an Islamic fundamentalist state, but Christianity was in power. That's not a world I want to live in. Don't confuse Catholicism with Christianity. I expect you'll say that they're the same, but they are not.
  14. Originally posted by indespise You don't need a {censored}ing bible to have morals. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
  15. Originally posted by DanielGassie I believe it?s just a reflection of how individualistic American society has become. It?s ?Do your own thing? taken to the extreme. I think this has profoundly weakened the Nation and is indicative of its rapidly accelerating, downward spiral. No... it won?t end next year but all the indicators of a dying empire are apparent as the USA loses all international respect. Although different groups may debate the benefits or drawbacks of our political leaders, I think they are failing to see that the society that has placed these ?leaders? in power, is who is truly to blame for the sad state of affairs. Look around you, you?re living in a country where stupidity and aloofness are to be admired...a country where ?image? rules and ?substance? is frowned upon. Yes.
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