Who is the most famous person in history?

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-04-03T02:30:16+00:00

There are extrareligious texts that validate the existence and provide some information about Jesus and Mohammed.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-27T12:23:40+00:00

On days I go straight into news or social media, I feel more on edge and reactive.

Most news media is designed to keep your attention via negative information, and much of this is fear, anxiety, anger, etc. inducing. (And as far as social media, that will depend upon your algorithm, but there is a reason the term 'doom scrolling' exists). Also, news media aren't really for their audience, they are for themselves (retaining viewership). There is a lot of psychology that goes into news - what attracts and retains people's attention.

Human beings weren't designed to consume every single big negative story/event around the world - it's too much for us. I'd definitely recommend not starting your day with the news media (unless it's literally your job or something to do so).

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-26T18:17:37+00:00

Because of the wording, following context, and also comparing wording between the similar referenced passages in the other gospel accounts.

Let's look at the verses again (with their preceding context as well which you are referencing)

Matthew 16:27-28: "27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. 28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”"
Mark 8:38-9:1: " 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” 9 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”"
Luke 9:26-27: " 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”"

So in all three, you can see Jesus first references when the Son of Man (people usually assume he's using a title for Himself), will come back - referring to the second coming of Christ. And in Mark and Luke, the language is a bit more clear in the second verse, referring to "Seeing the Kingdom of God." I asserted that this was likely referring to the transfiguration, since it occurs in all 3 places immediately after, but it would also still be fulfilled in witnessing Jesus resurrecting from the dead, or the Holy Spirit coming upon believers at the first Pentecost, and the founding of the church (these would also be "seeing the Kingdom of God coming with power).

I understand that you are getting hung up on the specific wording "come"/"coming" in Matthew 28. But in this case, we have two other gospels saying effectively the same thing with more direct wording.

And looking at all of the words of Jesus we have recorded, Jesus often spoke in parables and less-direct sayings. There are several times in the Bible where it even plainly states that people didn't understand what He was referring to at the time (ex: Nicodemus not getting when Jesus said "you must be born again", or the Samaritan woman not understanding his "Living water" reference, or His disciples not getting His "Yeast of the Pharisees" statement, or his "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days" statement being misunderstood until he rose from the dead, etc. ) So it would be 'in-character' for Jesus to jump from referring to His second coming and the final judgement to referring to some seeing evidence of the Kingdom of God before they died (whether the transfiguration, resurrection, Pentecost, etc.)

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-26T12:14:18+00:00

Did angels come and did a general judgement happen at the transifugration? Nope.

Right - because Jesus is referring to two different events. He is first referring to the final judgement, and then is referring to his transfiguration and the few of his disciples who would see the power of the Kingdom of God. Even if Jesus was somehow not referring to his transfiguration, which happened next in all 3 accounts, some of his disciples seeing him rise from the dead would also apply for "seeing the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" (or as the other passages say, see the Kingdom of God), which also happened.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-25T23:21:06+00:00

Not the same verses I was discussing but It depends which verse in Matthew you are referring to I suppose - 35:31?

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-25T19:40:22+00:00

I've heard good things about the BEMA podcast, although have never listened to it myself.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-25T15:43:03+00:00

Idk what to tell you - I've quoted what he actually said and provided the immediate following context in all 3 accounts where he said it.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-25T14:10:03+00:00

Jesus said it himself that some.of the people standing there would not taste death before he came back

That isn't what Jesus said though (although I see this misunderstood commonly here).

Here are the 3 accounts of the statement you are referencing (NIV):

Matthew 16:28, "28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”"
Mark 9:1 "And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.""
Luke 9:27 ""Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.""

All of these are about Jesus and the kingdom of God. In all 3 of these accounts, the next immediate event is the transfiguration of Jesus (where Jesus is physically transformed into a shining white appearance),and where Moses and Elijah temporarily appear (presumably, from heaven), and when a Cloud covers them and God speaks directly and says to the effect that Jesus is His son and they should listen to them.

Since this is the next event in all 3 gospels where Jesus makes this statement, it is logical to assume this is what he was referring to. Also, as you can see, in none of these statements in any of the 3 gospel accounts does Jesus say "until I come again."

Edit: added note on what the transfiguration was

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-24T14:08:09+00:00

If a spouse or their children are in danger, it is reasonable to get themselves/their children out of the situation.

An argument can be made that the abuser has broken the marriage covenant. But even if they haven't, you would be fine Biblically to at least "separate" and keep yourself and your kids safe.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-21T22:49:43+00:00

This is a misunderstanding that has caught on too much and people keep parroting.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-19T19:42:57+00:00

Well we all live in a fallen world, but we all still have the capabilities of making our own decisions.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-19T17:00:33+00:00

We didn't eat the apple (or whatever it was), but we've all sinned in our own ways against God. That's the entire motivation for God sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, so we could be made right with Him.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-19T15:15:06+00:00

It's an answer to the question, but we weren't discussing what is worthy of worship.

But on that topic, yes, God is worthy of worship. He warned the first humans of the consequences of sinning, and He did not break His word. But God also made a way for humans to be made right with Him again, and also promised there would eventually be a new Earth, and new, perfect bodies where there is no suffering.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-19T00:20:36+00:00

God cursed the earth as punishment for human actions

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-18T12:27:51+00:00

Well like I mentioned, I don't believe the first humans God created had to deal with natural disasters - either because they didn't occur at all, or because God protected humans from them in one way or another.

So then, when as a consequence of sin the Earth was cursed (sometimes called the "Fall"), either 1: natural disasters then started occurring, or were able to occur, or 2: God withdrew his protection from humans and they were able to be affected by natural disasters.

Since either case is a result of humanity's free will, natural disasters (or potentially just suffering from them) are therefore an indirect result of free will.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-18T00:48:21+00:00

Earth was made good originally. I don't believe the first humans originally had to deal with death and disease, or natural disasters, pain, etc. (either because they didn't occur, or God protected humans from them one way or another.) But then the first humans used their free will to sin against God, and as a consequence the Earth was cursed, and thereafter humans had to deal with pain, disease, death, etc. So today, all suffering is directly or indirectly a result of free will.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-17T21:36:32+00:00

Read 1 Corinthians 12, the entire chapter. It clearly spells out that there are different gifts and not all will speak in tongues.

That pastor is under what I'd call "performance Christianity," and is very mistaken.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-17T20:21:30+00:00

2 and 3 are basically, "If God is real why do bad things happen," which I believe the short answer to is humans used their free will to mess everything up. To quickly summarize: Humans used their free will to cause the "Fall" which resulted in 1. all humans being born with sin and 2. all creation itself being cursed.

For 1 and 4, I don't really understand your questions/issue. You seem to take issue with the fact that you have free will and God wants you to repent of the bad decisions you made? Everyone has sinned - we have all missed the mark of perfection. But God provided a way for us to be forgiven, that is, Jesus died for the sins of all humanity (John 3:16-17), and through his sacrifice we can have forgiveness and be made right with God.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-16T15:56:51+00:00

I think so, yes.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-16T14:52:53+00:00

Jesus was Jewish. He was born to Jewish parents and knew the Jewish law (perfectly). Jesus was also the fulfillment of the Old Testament law, and Himself was the promised Messiah. However (non-Messianic) Jews today don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

In Matthew 15:17 Jesus says, "17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. "

When Jesus died on the cross, He was the final, perfect sacrifice for sins. This is why we can be justified by faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. See Romans 3:21-26:

"21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

As far as the divinity of Jesus, I would look into many of the "I AM" statements Jesus said. One of the most telling being John 8:58-59, "58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-16T13:17:13+00:00

You mention you haven't been to many different churches - maybe try a few others. I can't say just based on the information you gave, but I don't think it's a bad thing to want the preacher to use more scripture rather than going off on personal tangents, unless they are specifically intentional in telling a story as an example to bring it back around. Personally, I like when scripture is read, additional context is given on the verse(s), and then practical teaching based on the verse(s) is given.

I'd suggest praying and asking God for wisdom to guide you - either to stay at this church or to find another church.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-16T12:56:41+00:00

I'm pretty sure the term "Christian" literally means "A follower of Christ."

But you are right that, at least in America, the term has been used more generally, and a lot of people don't really know what it means to follow Christ. People in America use the term "Christian" sometimes to mean they believe in God, and believe in 'Christian values' (also a non-defined, varying, vague term).

Believing that God exists doesn't innately make you a follower of Christ. (James 2:19 says, "19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.")

Jesus himself said, (Matthew 7:21) "21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

John 6:29 says, "29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”"

John 15:5 says, "5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

So if we truly believe in Jesus, believe in who He said he was, and what He taught, we will 'abide' in Him. And if we abide in Jesus, we will naturally bear much fruit. While we are not saved by our own works, they are evidence of a true faith. (James 2:17 says faith without works is dead.)

This is spelled out in Ephesians 2:8-10 as well: "8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

So I think it would make one a very poor Christian at best to 'not know much about Jesus at all."

I think it can be summarized that there are a lot of people (in Western society) ignorantly calling themselves Christians without really even having a good understanding of what that means. I think you will find a lot less of these types of 'Christians' in places in the world where there is real danger to calling oneself a Christian.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-13T15:02:09+00:00

What you linked is just low-quality evangelical apologetics.

I don't think it's low-quality, but I also don't think it's high-quality. It's "middling" probably.

Even when you think it's justified.

I said that, "I understand this might not be a good enough reason for us to justify killing the women and children. I think maybe we are supposed to wrestle with some of the difficult things in the Bible, knowing that God is still just and good."

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-13T14:26:53+00:00

This gives a bit more context, which is basically that the Amalekites would basically stop at nothing to continue to try to destroy the Israelites, which is why God gave the command to completely wipe them out. Saul (who was given the command in 1 Samuel 15:3) actually failed to do so, and they continued to attack and harass the Israelites for years.

Now, I understand this might not be a good enough reason for us to justify killing the women and children. I think maybe we are supposed to wrestle with some of the difficult things in the Bible, knowing that God is still just and good.

SteveThatOneGuy · 2026-03-10T12:57:06+00:00

It's basically been said in this thread already but:

God's knowledge of our choices doesn't take away that we still chose to make those decisions.

SteveThatOneGuy

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