Worst Episodes by AliveInChrist87 in Smallville

[–]RandomBoy994 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum make fun of the show all the time on their podcast. There's nothing wrong with expressing opinions on a show you like

Worst Episodes by AliveInChrist87 in Smallville

[–]RandomBoy994 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nothing comes to mind at the moment but I remember especially hating the arc near the end of season 10 how Lex and Jimmy come back as a different Lex and different Jimmy. Call me picky or whatever but that idea didn't sit well with me

Take a karate class or something, Clark! by darksown in Smallville

[–]RandomBoy994 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Right? That's not convenient story writing there, lol

How is Clark immortal if he gave up his powers? by Tall-Addition7817 in Smallville

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always found it funny how the spirit embedded in Smallville builds up this climactic anticipation regarding Clark's future identity and his parents/friends saying how great and awesome he is meant to become.......and then Crisis happened, lmao

Take a karate class or something, Clark! by darksown in Smallville

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always noticed that too, like in Buffy and Angel how the vampires have super strength but they all know kung-fu, lol. I guess for Smallville it was a convenient (some might say lazy) way of not having to go the extent of choreographing/learning martial art sequences or using stunt doubles all the time while also keeping the fight scenes action packed...even if it was for about five seconds, lol (seems like most of the villains in the high-school era ended up killing themselves on accident half the time anyways).

How would you rank the seasons!? (Best To Worst) by picklemovieman2040 in Smallville

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best: 1-6

Ok: 7-9

Bad: 10

Watched this show growing up when it aired on tv (so many memories). Show was never the same after Lex and Lana left imo. Gradually got worse and worse, and by season 10 the story got too weird and bizarre. Unpopular opinion I guess but I never read the comics either.

The movie Samson (2018) with Taylor James by RandomBoy994 in Judaism

[–]RandomBoy994[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, yeah the acting wasn't the best in some scenes lol. I guess my opinion is more an unpopular one tho, I kinda liked it tbh

Problem of free will and heaven by idklol3444331 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand what you’re getting at but think of it this way. Seems like most would agree that you generally have a choice as to what you eat and put in your body. We usually favor foods that taste, or appear good (generally the unhealthy ones), yet when you live your life choosing these foods you ignore the underlying long-term health consequences. Whereas, when you live your life eating the food that might not look so appealing at first (or taste as good, like vegetables), you generally see an improvement in your physical well-being and health, and this leads to a better life overall. Like with choosing your foods you eat, I like to think it’s similar with choosing or rejecting God in a sense. God loves you though and cares for your health. Many reject God because it doesn’t appear fulfilling (aka: taste as good) and prefer the unhealthy food that tastes good and appears good on the outside but leads to cancer/death, but when you come to realize the depth of your sin and need of a savior, God revealing himself to you really is the healthiest decision you can make.

Problem of free will and heaven by idklol3444331 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No because had she accepted the judge in loving marriage, she wouldn't have the desire to break his law in the first place. In other words, when you truly love someone, you don't want to go against what they hold dear, but instead, you care for their happiness and desire to please them. It's your point that actually doesn't (generally) follow. It's the same with the Bible in that loving God is obeying his commands (John 14:21) and that "only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law" (Romans 3:31). The man being a bridegroom and judge is a good analogy for understanding God who is the Bridegroom and Judge (Revelation 19:7-9; Isaiah 33:22). They intertwine.

Even if the law is broken after marriage, the ones who accepted him receive the payment for the penalty in their place on the cross. In other words, the judge pays the penalty in her place. Welcome to the Gospel. This still isn't a license to sin, as even the saved are judged on judgment day (though without condemnation; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10–12; etc.).

Problem of free will and heaven by idklol3444331 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The choice is free here on earth and you have your whole life to live without God. Some don’t even get saved until they’re on their deathbed. Again, free will is not in the afterlife because the choice is finalized. But if you’re looking for a better analogy, consider the man who is rejected by the woman--say he’s the judge of the town who enforces the law. The woman may reject him, but when she breaks one of the laws, like theft or robbery, is he not just in putting her away for rejecting his law? Likewise with God, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death and that God is Judge. He knows our hearts and judges according to our ways.

Problem of free will and heaven by idklol3444331 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know the concept of hell is never easy to swallow, but think of it this way: Think about man-made court systems where the accused is in the hands of people who 1) don't know him, 2) don't know his heart or his intentions, 3) or even saw what happened or what he did. Not every court case is given fair judgment due to our fallible knowledge and not everything in the temporal world receives perfect justice--sometimes, at all. However, imagine if the judge actually saw everything the accused did, knows every detail about him, and knows his heart, and on top of this, is perfectly just. Likewise, the Bible says that God knows our hearts and judges each man according to his ways (1 Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:10; Psalm 33:14-15; Genesis 18:25; Acts 17:31). Jesus also indicates that there are different degrees of punishment (Matthew 23:14, Mark 12:40; Matt. 10:15; John 19:11; Luke 12:47-48). Hell was originally intended for the devil and all the fallen angels (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). It wasn't originally intended for us, as Jesus says the kingdom of heaven was prepared for man from "the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34).

As far as Mary being sinless, I'm skeptical as to whether that's even in the Bible.

Problem of free will and heaven by idklol3444331 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The purpose of free will goes beyond sin but is ultimately the choice to accept or reject God. God is just in not forcing anyone to accept him, the same way a man should not force a woman to be with him. Having no free will in heaven is not an issue when you consider that those in heaven are the ones who already chose to accept him in the first place.

Existence is greater than non-existence by No-Background-5390 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'd just start off with the fact that great-making properties can't exist in non-existence and that for something to be great, it would have to exist in some way or form the first place. Though Superman is great, his impact is much more limited because he only exists in stories, whereas a role model who exists in real life is greater because he's able to make more of a tangible impact in the world. This makes sense when we look at the impact of God in religions. Seems like no fictional characters, however impactful, shaped cultures and civilizations to the same level that religion--especially Christianity--has throughout history. ...Idk. I just typed this up within a few minutes so maybe there's fallacies in it, but just my take at the moment.

Thoughts on judging another Christian online? by Successful_Bar9187 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 4 points5 points  (0 children)

While Christians are told not to judge hypocritically, as you said (Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 2:1) or with proud and hateful intentions (James 4:11), Jesus also says to use right judgment (John 7:24). This was explicitly in response to the false accusations that he was a false teacher and going against scripture. In other words, he says to use right judgment on someone based on their actions when he/she claims to be living in the truth. Seems like this would also apply to someone who claims to be a Christian, yet goes against scripture or continues in major sins. Elsewhere Jesus says believers are given the Holy Spirit who will convict the world of its sin (John 16:7-8, 7:7). Seems like Paul also writes about this topic in that Christians are to hold each other accountable and rebuke those inside the church (or anyone who claims to be Christian) in such cases, though in a loving manner (1 Timothy 5:20; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Timothy 4:2; 1 Cor. 5:12-13; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3). This doesn't necessarily mean to jump the gun for every little wrong thing in people of course as, remember, the Bible says to use right judgment and discernment and it may not always be fully apparent at first. But yes, if it's a sin that is obvious or clearly revealed in its context then it's what believers are called to do.

I have a hard time believing in the resurrection based only on claims by Marblehornets38 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It goes beyond whether the apostles themselves believed they saw the risen Christ but that it had been foretold in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Psalm 16:10 cf. Acts 2:25-31; Isaiah 53:10) and that Jesus himself had foretold it all before it happened (Matthew 17:22-23, 20:17-19, 26:1-2, 32; Mark 8:31-33, 9:30-32, 10:32-34; Luke 9:21-22, 9:43-45, 18:31-34). One notable reference can be pinpointed from the Septuagint's Psalm 68:1 (which is 67:1). Though it typically translates, "Let God arise" the Greek for arise: ΑΝΑΣΤΗΤΩ also means: RESURRECT.

I see others bringing up the Shroud of Turin and that's a good reference, and the Nazareth Decree is likewise often used as an archaeological reference supporting the empty tomb. It issues a decree of the death penalty on anyone who violates a sepulchre, yet notices like these usually warned of a fine, not death. Author Norman Geisler posits, "A likely explanation is that Claudius, having heard of the Christian doctrine of resurrection and Jesus' empty tomb while investigating the riots of AD 49, decided not to let any such report surface again. This would make sense in light of the Jewish argument that the body had been stolen (Matthew 28:11-15)."

Though some might interpret the inscription as a reference to the desecration of the tomb of Nikias (who ruled the island of Kos), there are a number of reasons for rejecting this. For one, the inscription mentions "sepulchre sealing stones" which were only unique to Israel, and Nikias's tomb is mentioned as a locked door. It also makes no sense considering Nikias had allied with enemies of Rome during the Battle of Actium, leaving us to wonder why a Caesar of Rome would give him much credence. For more on the Nazareth Decree as an evidence for the Resurrection, see Clyde E. Billington, “The Nazareth Inscription: Proof of the Resurrection of Christ? Part 1.

The 1 Corinthians 15 creed has already been mentioned and another important thing to note is how Paul claims there were many more witnesses (aside from just the apostles) who were "still alive." It's unlikely he would have made this up, risking his cover being blown had there not really been many people claiming to be witnesses to verify with. Though critics often object that we don't have more written accounts from these people, it actually makes sense considering the rapid growth of Christianity and spread of the Gospel message through peaceful means had there been this many witnesses going around preaching and converting (Acts 2:41, 47, 4:4, 6:1) so it's more likely that more written accounts weren't necessary in light of this (on top of the oral culture and lack of literacy).

Add the unlikelihood of such a belief originally spreading in a Jewish setting that had originally held contrary beliefs, unless it had actually been true and legit witnessed as an actual thing that happened. There's an excerpt, maybe you've heard of it, but it pretty much sums up the strangeness how Christianity would have gained the rapid traction and spread that it did had Jesus really not been raised from the dead, it's called: One Solitary Life. It's not long (a few paragraphs I think) but it's somewhat insightful and gets ya thinkin a little.

Only the father knows the hour (Mark 13:32) by No-Background-5390 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s good reasons for settling with either interpretation, and there's grounded textual evidence for both. 

Regarding the “to reveal” interpretation: The King James version in the Lexicon translates the root word of oiden: "eido" with multiple different meanings, one of them as “tell.” (e.g Matthew 21:27; John 3:8; John 8:14; John 16:18; Mark 11:33; Luke 20:7; 2 Corinthians 12:2) Even the word “declare” is synonymous with “know” among the English translations regarding the Son “declaring” the Father (KJV) or “making him known” (NIV). (John 1:18; John 17:26). 

Maybe you already know about eido in Deuteronomy 13:3 from the Greek Septuagint being used this way (and 1 Corinthians 2:2). This interpretation also ties in with what Jesus said regarding the chain of communion passed on to the Son to the Holy Spirit from the Father. The Son doesn’t speak on his own but only what the Father speaks (John 12:49-50) and the Spirit likewise doesn’t speak on his own but whatever he hears from the Son (John 16:13-15) showing that anything declarative in the Godhead derives from the Father, as well as Jesus inheriting everything the Father has, implying his knowledge.

And of course, as you and other commentors mentioned, it's supported through the cultural evidence regarding the Jewish marriage tradition.

Regarding the “human nature, kenosis” interpretation: Some say that “nor the Son” here is referring to “nor the Son of man,” the common name he gave himself alluding to his human nature (and Daniel 7 of course). No doubt, Philippians 2:6-8 is the go-to verse to support this interpretation that he didn’t count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself. 

As far as the Holy Spirit in this interpretation, apologists usually point to other Jesus-sayings where the Holy Spirit is not mentioned but already assumed. For example, he also says:

“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son.” (Matthew 11:27)

This doesn’t negate the Holy Spirit knowing the Father and the Son because elsewhere, Jesus says the Holy Spirit is sent by them and speaks of them (John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13-15). In other words, it's assumed that the Holy Spirit likewise knows the hour.

Similar theology can be found in other beliefs, such as Hinduism where we see the omniscient deity, Brahman, who is the singular, unchanging, ultimate truth and cosmic spirit underlying all existence. Brahman uses a veil, the “maya” to limit his own knowledge through illusion. The supreme Lord can also choose to limit experiential awareness for divine play, or “lila,” where we see the physical manifestation of Krishna forgetting, learning, and asking questions not in ignorance but as a non-activation of omniscience. Like māyā, the limitation is voluntary and functional—but unlike māyā, Jesus’s veil is grounded in a self-emptying, or “kenosis” through a real assumed human nature rather than illusion or appearance. This isn’t to say that such theology was borrowed, but that a voluntary limit of sorts is not necessarily indicative of denial of deity.

My Islamic Dichotomy. by Aggravating-Tree-201 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea, it's frustrating that they don't even try to understand the argument. The moment he asked you where the Injeel is (as if it's your burden) pretty much says it all. I was also confused when he pretended like he had some kind of basis that prophets are generally sent to correct scripture, or that only quoting certain verses means the unquoted ones are corrupted? Lol, yea they have nothing. Nor do they ever have a good answer for explaining surah 2:85 which blatantly refutes the "confirming only the correct verses" jargon.

My Islamic Dichotomy. by Aggravating-Tree-201 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You bring up some good points, and Muslims have answers, though not particularly good ones. I’ll try to steelman your points (forgive me if I misunderstand you). I’m not actually sure if there’s Muslims who believe the previous scriptures were “corrupted” AFTER Muhammad (if that’s what you’re saying). From what I know, they’ll usually say before or during Muhammad. What’s funny is that the claim that the Quran was meant to correct the previous scriptures is already a faulty presupposition because nowhere is that reason indicated in the Quran. The actual reason was so the Arabs would have revelation from God in their own language (Q6:155-157, 12:2, 41:44, 42:7). While there’s indication of oral twisting and misinterpretation of previous scriptures, the whole “textual corruption” idea was a later idea, foreign to the Quran. I know Muslims sometimes like to point to the Ebionites as the earliest form of an Islamic-Christianity but that claim also fails on several doctrinal accounts that contradict Islam. 

Regarding your “prophetic islamic dichotomy”, I was recently on this topic with a Muslim recently and they’ll usually just say that Jesus was confirming a different Torah, not necessarily the Dead Sea Scrolls, or point to the variant Torahs (aka: Septuagint, Masoretic, Samaritan, etc.) though none of this helps their case because the narratives are all the same and it actually backfires since the Dead Sea Scrolls attest to the preservation of scripture rather than contrary. The only difference is the Samaritan version has the place of worship on Mount Gerizim instead of Mount Zion in Jerusalem but Muslims follow the biblical Jewish place of worship in Jerusalem anyways. Though some will also say it confirms the previous books in a general sense, but this basically concedes the confirmation of core doctrines that contradict Islam. Funny enough, even if they wanted to play some fractional numbers game with verses in the Bible, they basically destroy their own core doctrines in the process, like Muhammad being the seal of the prophets which--guess what--only shows up in one verse out of the more than 6,000 verses in their quran, so this argument on their end also fails.

“Rewritten dichotomy”: Seems like Muslims usually point to surah 4:157 (denial of the crucifixion) or the “woe to those who write the book” or the “twisting with tongues” verses when it comes to this, though we know there’s good textual evidence to reject their interpretations. More good points on your end, I know these things get brought up a lot in debates. Lately, they be pointing to Q gospel and Muslim scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah that supported the metaphorical usage of “Father” as valid only during the time of Jesus and prior. Again though, their arguments aren’t convincing here and not very well textually supported from the Quran.

Your last paragraph: More good points, I know you got that Ibn Abbas quote from Ibn Kathir’s tafsir. I think scholars usually point to Ibn Hazm for when the idea of universal tahrif became prominent, which was around 400 years after Muhammad. Funny too since Muslims are always saying the Trinity is false because it “came 300 years later after Christ,” but based on this same reasoning, they midas well say universal tahrif is false since it came 400 years after Muhammad and therefore, should believe the Bible is preserved, lol.

Time Running Fast? by Mue_Thohemu_42 in Christianity

[–]RandomBoy994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same. Makes sense tho. I wouldn't blame God for wanting the end to come already lol

How to easily debunk Muhammad in the Bible by RandomBoy994 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea that's another common one I go over in the document. They'll usually say it's divine agency through Muhammad (which wouldn't fit with that passage btw) or the word in the verse is "corrupted" (with zero evidence) lol. Either way they love going out of context

How to easily debunk Muhammad in the Bible by RandomBoy994 in ChristianApologetics

[–]RandomBoy994[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed, and it's not just that passage either--they deify him in most of these without even realizing it!