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Post by Paul on Apr 7, 2011 13:33:19 GMT -5
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Post by Maarten on Apr 9, 2011 14:25:54 GMT -5
But don't you never wonder why you - and every other human being - have always been sinning?
Why does mankind sin so much while we're created by God?
To answer these questions, I do think original sin is a very important subject one should care about.
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Post by Paul on Apr 10, 2011 13:27:46 GMT -5
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Post by willasher on Jul 19, 2011 1:24:38 GMT -5
Two final statements: 1. If you ever reach a point where you understand God, Scripture, and the minutia of the God's story interacting with humans and the rest his creation throughout redemptive history, and it isn't a paradoxical mess that seems beyond you, then you are wrong and need a reality check. 2. We ought always approach God's Word with a deep and profound sense of humility. On one hand, I have this strange urge to contrube something that would probably be controversial to this faith, beliefs & opinions forum. On the other, I don't want to create controversy for its own sake. But I did want to say "Bravo" to Behemoth's post (except perhaps to the length aspect). I think it's important to keep an open mind about our beliefs and the long-held beliefs of tradition, always being willing to admit that we may be wrong in our interpretations of the Bible. To quote the Greg Boyd article, which I thought was good*: "...questions surrounding the nature and duration of hell and the possibility that all will eventually be saved are not questions Christians should be afraid of. What does truth have to fear?" I think Christians should be okay with exploring questions, as long as we do our best to listen to and follow God in doing so. Here's something I've heard another Christian say and I agree with: "If you believe the same things you did years ago, you're not growing in your walk with God." *I haven't read Rob Bell's book and will therefore not comment directly about it or about Rob Bell himself.
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Post by Maarten on Jul 19, 2011 12:56:08 GMT -5
To quote the Greg Boyd article, which I thought was good*: "... Here's something I've heard another Christian say and I agree with: "If you believe the same things you did years ago, you're not growing in your walk with God." I think this statement has little thought put into it. I'm quite sure if I want to grow in my walk with God I need to cling to the gospel that He has revealed to me in the scriptures and through the Holy Spirit. That means, I plan to continue to believe and cling to and put my faith in the same thing, for all years to follow, until the day I die. If you move away from the truth revealed to you by God under the guise of self-criticism and being open-minded or whatever, you certainly will not grow in your walk with Him in the least. If, except for some secondary issues, you don't believe the same thing you did years ago, then either you've been converted in the years in between, or you're not walking with God at all. Under the influence of post-modernism some people have claimed self-criticism to the point of doubt is a good thing, but I assure you, it is always strongly condemned in the Bible - the infallible word of God. James 1:6-8 "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. " EDIT: Don't be discouraged by my critical comment btw, if you have something controversial to say, as long as it isn't for the sake of being controversial, you should certainly say it! So .. uhh... welcome to the boards and, even though I seem to disagree, thank you for your reply!!
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Post by willasher on Jul 19, 2011 13:07:52 GMT -5
To quote the Greg Boyd article, which I thought was good*: "... Here's something I've heard another Christian say and I agree with: "If you believe the same things you did years ago, you're not growing in your walk with God." I think this statement has little thought put into it. I'm quite sure if I want to grow in my walk with God I need to cling to the gospel that He has revealed to me in the scriptures and through the Holy Spirit. That means, I plan to continue to believe and cling to and put my faith in the same thing, for all years to follow, until the day I die. If you move away from the truth revealed to you by God under the guise of self-criticism and being open-minded or whatever, you certainly will not grow in your walk with Him. The statement isn't saying you should abandon the gospel or change your core beliefs every year. Perhaps it should say "If you believe _all_ the same things you did years ago, you're not growing in your walk with God." There are lots of aspects of Christianity which Christians disagree about and changing beliefs doesn't always mean leaving behind a core truth of the gospel. I did say we should do our best to listen to and follow God when we explore questions. It would be pretty arrogant to say that we are completely correct about everything we believe.
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Post by Maarten on Jul 20, 2011 4:22:55 GMT -5
The statement isn't saying you should abandon the gospel or change your core beliefs every year. Perhaps it should say "If you believe _all_ the same things you did years ago, you're not growing in your walk with God." Right. I still disagree with the statement though. You see, if you don't touch the foundations of the Christian faith, revealed to us by God through His word, but only some secondary issues, I doubt this change of what you belief will affect your faith much at all, whether for the better or for the worse. I reckon we ought to make a difference between a deeper knowledge and understanding of God and actually changing the things you belief. If your faith and belief is static in the sense that you do not grow closer to God and do not seek to know Him better, than that clearly is wrong, and I agree that this is a problem for a lot of churchgoers. But the solution for this problem is not 'changing the things you believe'. In my experience growing closer to God does not in any way involve 'changing the things you believe', but rather a better understanding of the truth that God has al ready revealed to you. Compare it to getting to know a friend better. Would having a growing friendship involve 'changing the things you believe' with regards to that friend? Off course it involves getting to know the friend better, but I think it is impossible to have a reasonable friendship if you keep on 'changing the things you believe' with regards to the friendship.
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