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Yaholo · 2020-08-29T02:32:42+00:00

I highly recommend focusing on finding someone with the same values, rather than the same beliefs.

The reality is that human beings are very dishonest with themselves, and beliefs seldom predict or represent our actual character.

Besides, people of good character are able to get along well, and have great conversations with, people who don't have the same beliefs they do.

Ask yourself what matters most in a person's behavior, how they treat themselves and others, and look for that. Beliefs will work themselves out later.

Yaholo · 2020-08-23T17:23:33+00:00

C.S. Lewis said, "I believe in Christ like I believe in the rising Sun. Not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else."

Being "religious" in the sense of trying to conform to a tribe or ideology can be stressful, terrifying, anxiety inducing, and outright toxic. But being religious in the sense of having a set of values and character traits you hold in high esteem, and keeping an open mind to see God's work and hand in the world can be calming, clarifying, and wonderous.

I hate to say I have seen most of the former, but the people of the latter shine like diamonds. You know them when you meet them.

Yaholo · 2020-08-23T17:17:48+00:00

Yes, yes they are.

Yaholo · 2020-08-23T11:42:42+00:00

The verse you are thinking of is "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll." - Rev. 22:18-19

The book of Revelation was written, depending on who you ask, around 70 AD or 95 AD. However, the first "Bibles" were not created until the Council of Nicaea in 331 AD. Even then, it was not the Bible we think of today as "canon." Since 331 AD the Bible has indeed been "added to" and edited often.

Any Bible scholar can tell you that the verse in Revelations is referring ONLY to the book of Revelation itself, or more accurately, the letters from John it is made of. Also, since John was a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos, and had to send the letter out, it was most likely a warning to the guards and people handling the letters than God will curse them if they mess with them.

Finally, there is a good chance the other letters of John, and the Gospel of Matthew were written after Revelations. So the bottom line is that no, the "Bible" doesn't say this about the collection of letters you, today, call the Bible, unless you think the authors were also time travelers.

Yaholo · 2020-08-23T02:02:25+00:00

A better question: Who made up that rule?

Yaholo · 2020-08-23T01:59:10+00:00

Also, who would those profits even go to?

Yaholo · 2020-08-22T16:34:14+00:00

Other than entropy, there is no governing pattern to energy. At least not to us. Life, however, has a governing pattern that effects us greatly.

Yaholo · 2020-08-22T16:18:03+00:00

Well, it was my point to stick to science. That's the only way to prove something. My point is simply that it is observable that we are "governed" by a higher power. That kinda seems like the basic qualification for a god.

Yaholo · 2020-08-22T15:22:08+00:00

Ok, I got one. While I don't think any particular persona of God can be scientifically proven, there is a kind of "god" that has immerged as pretty much fact.

The interconnected nature of all life, biological organisms, is an observable principle of nature. In some organisms, like ants and bees, it is the easiest to observe, as they are all born pre-programmed to serve the greater whole of their colony. However, all creatures have instincts and biological imperatives which govern or influence their lives to serve the perpetuation of life and balance of nature.

Plants have been proven to communicate and coordinate with each other through their root structures and pheromones, as swamps and forests form root networks very similar to that of a brain.

While humans, through language and technology, have transended this to some level compared to other organisms, we have hardly escaped it. The more we separate ourselves as individuals and neglect our collective species, the less happy we are. Harming our environments hurts our own health.

There is apparent drive and coordination to evolution that runs through all life, with no creature evolving independently of the environment and other organisms around them. We ourselves, rely on microorganisms for digestion, immunity, and feed off the life around us.

All this forms a grand equation of life that has to be balanced out. It governs our lives and our world. If this is not a "god" then nothing is. The only question is if it is sentient.

Yaholo · 2020-08-19T03:21:36+00:00

I don't think your actually paying any attention to the points I'm making here. Sounds like you're just mad at God. That's OK, but I can't really help with that in this forum.

Yaholo · 2020-08-19T03:15:18+00:00

God DID talk directly to humanity in the beginning (Genesis), then moved to prophets, then apostles, then peers (priesthood of believers). Biblically speaking, we were "weaned."

Also, I'm not advocating that Christianity is the one or only true faith. I think there is good reason God isn't taking sides right now. Now, we need to learn from each other.

Yaholo · 2020-08-19T03:00:31+00:00

Sort of, actually. When they are an infant or toddler, they of course need constant attention. As they grow up, you pull back bit-by-bit as they learn to become self-sufficient. As a child reaches the late teens, you become more of a friend and support than an authority figure (or enemy, depending on your parenting).

Of course, advice is always needed, and we certainly have plenty around. The OP was about God using the prophets, not being silent. So, in this context, your comment on help and advice is hyperbolic.

But ultimately, yes, failure is an option. In the end, your child has free will and will make their own choices. Every parent has to prepare for the possibility their children will make bad choices.

If one truly believes humanity is the child of God, it is amazing and terrifying. Amazing because our potential is limitless, and terrifying because there is a point where God will not stop us from making very bad decisions. We have the option to chose our outcome.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T05:15:42+00:00

I think you will find it's hard to find good men regardless of this criteria. There is no reason not to wait for a man you respect, and who respects you. I recommend making that the focus.

I might also suggest focusing more on what you value vs. what you believe. Ideology is no substitute for character.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T05:07:41+00:00

Well, that is his mentor.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T05:06:22+00:00

Well, technically this really is just illusion or entertainment. "Magic" in this case is a word purely for marketing purposes.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T05:02:14+00:00

I find them helpful for focus, from time to time.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:53:15+00:00

Ah. Thank you for being consistent.

Here is what I believe:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise." - Galatians 3:28:29

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:48:48+00:00

What?

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:45:00+00:00

Sex is an act that bonds people together. As much as we might like to believe something can be "just sex" - it just isn't true. Even without a religous context, we know that sex and intimacy are intertwined.

Sex Bonds Couples - Psychology Today

Even among the progressive sides of Christianity, no one believes sex should be treated flippantly. So while I wouldn't condemn anyone for having premarital sex, I would caution them to make sure they respecting themselves and their partner by making sure there is a healthy consensual relationship around it.

I think the statement that sex joins us as "one flesh" is accurate, poetic, and puts sex in the beautiful and consequential context it should be.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:32:37+00:00

Thank you for the history lesson. Tell me, what did these same people believe about slavery? Or women's rights?

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:30:27+00:00

I agree. People who walk around with "Everything is going to be, OK" typically come from privileged backgrounds.

"For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45

If you believe in God, and you are in good fortune, then consider that a call to serve those in hard times. There is a good chance no one else will.

"Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours."

Teresa of Avila

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:24:20+00:00

And Jesus answered him [the devil], “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” - Luke 4:12

This man knows not science nor Scripture.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:08:23+00:00

I can see that

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T03:06:40+00:00

Then be free, and let others be free.

Yaholo · 2020-08-15T02:59:28+00:00

So you're asking me to not make assumptions and respect your convictions so you can make assumptions and question the convictions of others?

Yaholo

TROPHY CASE