Date: 5/24/2002 10:16:00 PM
From Authorid: 42539
great post sis!!! (slowly backing out of room)  |
Date: 5/24/2002 10:23:00 PM ( From Author )
From Authorid: 15070
thank you, K of C....I liked your post, too.Even though Bob is interrupting my typing skills.....  |
Date: 5/24/2002 10:25:00 PM
From Authorid: 53961
IMHO-The Spirit will reside within IF we live worthy of this Gift. It will not stay in unclean or inappropriate situations. As for scripture reading, always a good idea to begin with prayer to "invite the Spirit in". The Spirit will confirm truth or not; Free agency still is our's. So many denominations due to so many interpretations... IWCC91  |
Date: 5/24/2002 10:26:00 PM
From Authorid: 7830
Once again a post after my own heart! Im going to sit back and just watch...*smile*....  |
Date: 5/24/2002 10:58:00 PM
From Authorid: 50435
Ummm...I believe I was one of those people...LMAO. And it's so late that I can't get m'noggin goin'. But I will add this. I am a decent person. I KNOW I'm a decent person. Vain? Absolutely. But I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. I treat others with respect. I am always there to listen and offer assistance. I give when others need, and have the courage to ask for help when I need it. I stand up for others who may otherwise not have a voice. I encourage respect, courtesy, and friendship to anyone who will listen. I do not call myself a Christian. So, although I treat others in a way that would make God himself smile, I will burn in hell, or whatever, depending upon who you ask. Sounds pretty fair to me. Take care and I hope this post is still here tomorrow so I might have a REAL go at it *clicks the 'great' rating option*...LOL...Gallytuck.  |
Date: 5/24/2002 11:34:00 PM
From Authorid: 3125
Hi LSG..Good post..  Since God instructions are to ALL and He calls ALL to repentance,then ALL can understand His instructions..The first approach to reading,studying and understanding His Word would be to begin with a sincere study..There are a few vital principles which should be done. 1. When studying,realize that God speaks through the Bible and the Words of the Bible should be respected as if He spoke orally.. 2.In studying a verse observe closely the verses preceding and following. Do not lift verses out of its surroudings to make it mean something not intented by the writer.The historical context should be kept in mind,such as what were the circumstances or situation. A basic historical background of all the books of the Bible helps to better understand.. 3. Pay attention to whom a statement is made. All commandments are not made to all people.We must determine what God commands under the Old Law(Mosaical)and the Christian law. We must "rightly divide the Word of truth"..4. We must study with the idea of letting God speak and not of trying to verify preconceived ideas. We must be open-minded and be willing to let go of what we would want God's Word to say,and accept it for what it does say.. 5. Since the Bible is a Book of unity,-not conflicting,then we cannot hold to an interpretation of a passage that discredits or conflicts with other passages.(For example: Eph 2 and Jam. 2:17-18. Passages such as these are notin conflict with each other when studied and analyzed properly.).. 6. Knowledge without an intent to act profits very little. God knows our hearts and our intents..God does lead those who are seeking Him. With God's help one can understand His instructions.God gave His instructions to us to be understood.They are only hidden to those who refuse to seek them with a sincere desire to know them. God's will is meant to be understood by all men.We should apply ourselves with dedication and prayer.God says, "Ask,and it shall be given you;seek,and you shall find;knock,and it shall be opened unto you. For EVERYONE that asks receives;and he that seeks finds,and to him that knocks it shall be opened. As to your last question..As you said,"There are many teachings out there which bears no resemblence to each other"..The best way here is study their teachings and compare them with what God does teach. There are many denominational teachings that can be easily recognized as teachings not found in God's Word.The leaders of these denominations often uses the same Bible that their own teachings contradict.God says that these are man-made doctrines and we are to flee from them. Many people are willingly blind. They let the blind lead them..Many will put too much emphasis on WHO is teaching than on WHAT they are teaching. We would think that by now,we would all realize that there are MANY false teachers out there..Try turning the TV to a religious channel and pull out God's Book and compare..Put it this way..We not only shall know them by their fruits..We shall know them by their contradictions to God's Word. Most can easily be weeded out by a process of elimination..Hope this helps..   |
Date: 5/25/2002 12:13:00 AM
From Authorid: 48993
the holy spirit lives in us all in some way .... it is different with each person ,,, well because we are all different>>>>>>>> free will is a gift , you already have a map , you choose the road >>>>>>>>>the holy spirit is just as strong in a christian , or a jew, or a pagan , its the spirit of God , it is the good conscience within you >>>>>>>>any scripture has any meaning depending on the one reading it , people have different needs spiritually so they will take what they percieve to be note worthy >>>>>>> everyone that reads the bible does "get with the program" but in their own way .. not in the way you or I or anyone else thinks they should but how that person needs to get with the program>>>>>>>> any written word cant have the same meaning to every person , but the basic idea is there and all that seek answers will find them>>>>>>>>all denominations bear one resemblence , a higher power that one shall serve for his or her own purpose........ this is the way i think  |
Date: 5/25/2002 1:11:00 AM
From Authorid: 27678
The tools needed are the willingness to be patient, as God doesn't reveal His multitude of treasures to everyone who studies, at the same time, or in the same way. One needs to pick a version of the Bible to study. I use the King James, exclusively, minus the italicized words, in order to be as close to the Chaldean and Greek meanings in English, as possible. A Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is also a great tool, because sometimes words have lost their meaning in the translation, and Strong's offers a reference that can trace the English version back to Chaldean for the O.T., and Greek for the N.T. For example, did you know that "cloud," actually means "vehicle," or "transport?" The HOLY SPIRIT is not essential, but helpful in guiding you to understanding. I've been studying the scriptures for about 12 years, and frankly, every time I read it, no matter how many times I have read a chapter or book, there is always something new to think about when I reread it. The Bible holds an amazing amount of spiritual information, about having hope and peace of mind, about God and His plans for mankind, and about promises He has made to mankind. There are laws about governing your country, how to treat family and friends, and strangers and about the monetary system. God told people how to avoid and deal with tempations of all sorts; sexual, anger, grief, or just plain old doubt. Doubts about what is truth. We all have differing stages, or "levels," if you will that we are on - spiritual plains, as a believer in the Bible - hence the many denominations and points of view about what is right and wrong, and what God wants from us, even within the CHURCH. The Scriptures are considered the "living word," in that the keys to life and happiness are within it. Simple, good, and honest ways of living are in it's pages. However, I feel that one must be willing to "reprogram" themselves, rediscover wonderment and awe, like a "little child," in order to understand the most simplest of God's word. One must want to know what TRUTH is, and not be afraid to change their views about what they think is right and wrong, or good and evil. The Scriptures are perfect - it is us who are not. The Bible is just a simple guide to having a happy and prosperous life, but from our first Christmas tree bib, we are thrust into a world of physical, earthly idolatry, passions, and temptations, and we lose that "childlike wonderment," and the scriptures become a bogged down, rulebook, impossible to follow and discern, and we give up. Don't give up - just be patient, prayerful, and hopeful, and God will ALWAYS help those who LOVE HIM.  |
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Date: 5/25/2002 1:14:00 AM
From Authorid: 27678
And Rusure is absolutely correct - God IS for ALL PEOPLE. |
Date: 5/25/2002 1:22:00 AM
From Authorid: 3125
Danie..This is what I mean when I say, "Process of elimination"..Does God's Word teach what you stated?..Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent,and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye 'shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost'..Does this teach that all no matter who we are that we have the Holy Ghost?..Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things;and so is also the Holy Ghost,'whom God hath GIVEN TO THEM THAT OBEY HIM'..Acts 19 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?..It is obvious that God says that we must believe and obey before we receive the Holy Ghost.We all can understand this very claearly..According to Acts 2:38 God says that we must repent and be baptized then we will receive the Holy Ghost..So..We have..believe,repent,baptism and obeying,before we can receive the Holy Ghost..Not ALL have done as God says..God is not to be ignored. |
Date: 5/25/2002 7:39:00 AM
From Authorid: 37101
What does it take to read and understand Scripture? An open mind and a good teacher. That's really all it takes to embark on a life-changing faith journey.. That's all it took for me. And religion is the same but when man made interpretations of the Bible, that's how denominations came into play. The Bible is the Word but when people think it means this, and other people thinks it means that and that we should do this but we shouldn't do that, denominations are formed. -  |
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Date: 5/25/2002 10:01:00 AM
From Authorid: 53326
In direct responce to the top, nonbelievers dont have the holy spirit at all. The holy spirit isnt with a person until they are saved. You can read the Bible and understand what it is saying and what happened without being saved. You may not believe it, but you can know what it is saying. If you are baptized or go to schurch doesnt mean that you know what the bible says more. If you go to church though the preacher or sunday school teacher, whomever, will help explain it to you, so you might understand it better. And there are dif denominations bc dif people choose to use dif parts of the Bible and not neccessarily the wjole Bible as their basis for how they do their "thnig" also Catholics have extra books in their Bible that Protestants dont, that may account for some of the dif's there. |
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Date: 5/25/2002 10:02:00 AM
From Authorid: 53326
I agree with Smooth. It also requires prayer, in my opinion |
Date: 5/25/2002 11:25:00 AM
From Authorid: 9130
All you need to study scripture is the ability to READ and comprehend... it would help if you had an open mind as well...  |
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Date: 5/25/2002 12:35:00 PM ( From Author )
From Authorid: 15070
GallyTuck, it was indeed very late when I posted this. Will you burn in hell? No, absolutely not. Hell does not exist except in the mythos of christian doctrine. I have a very difficult time with the whole "except this mavelous free gift, or burn in eternal torment" choice. My own Mother (May 15th is the third ann. of her passing), was gifted, intelligent, caring & was truly one of the most selfless & compassionate human beings every born. When I was a fundie, I shared what I perseved to be the "truth" over & over with her. She in turn would explain about our vast universe, and about how we didn't know God's gender, how the Bible was written by man, so on. Is my Mother burning in hell? What kind of God would send my kind, gentle mother to eteral torment for rejecting the "truth"? Rusure, I really appreciate everything you have shared here, and you answer shows a careful understanding of your scripture. The same with you FreeGirl, I will re-read your answers before I give a more detailed response. Thank you... |
Date: 5/25/2002 4:24:00 PM
From Authorid: 52140
I think that anyone can understand Scripture. All you need is a word of prayer. God's spirit to guide you. An open heart, a seeking soul, and a brain to understand. but the most important is a Bible. lol you can't understand scripture if you don't have Bible lol.
JesusFreak  |
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Date: 5/25/2002 10:52:00 PM
From Authorid: 50435
LOL. Once again, it's 2am and I'm ready to hit m'leaba. But I just wanted to tell you LSG, that the whole "will I burn in hell?" thing was more directed at the Christians. You and I have roughly the same standpoint on these things from what I can tell. I was just trying to see if I could get an opinion on the question. Sorry for straying from the post topic guys...Gallytuck. |
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Date: 5/25/2002 11:00:00 PM ( From Author )
From Authorid: 15070
No, problem....I should be in bed, too....see you later! |
Date: 5/26/2002 10:40:00 PM
From Authorid: 34476
I'm flattered, LSG. I would have been here a bit sooner had I known you had posted a debate which ties in with some of the replies I received on my earlier post I'm going to read all of your replies now, and see if I can add anything to this discussion.  |
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Date: 5/26/2002 10:47:00 PM
From Authorid: 34476
I think Rusure and Freegirl gave you great answers |
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Date: 5/26/2002 11:02:00 PM ( From Author )
From Authorid: 15070
no problem, Parnoid.... |
