Faith backed up by observation that following the teachings of Jesus makes our lives better. It brings us into the Kingdom of God.
Observing what? Certainly not the words Jesus says and all the surrounding context of them. lmao.
Jesus's teachings are not merely some self-help book.
Your posting have accomplished it.
Well, your "kiss" principle ends up making claims or statements that are just flat out irrational.
Like this one:
On a more serious note, some claim we must seek an eternal life in Heaven after death. It is the same, fervent belief of every suicide bomber and the 9/11 killers. It is what motivates the Russian commanders to send their people to their deaths. It was fed the Irish conflicts for centuries.
What is this even supposed to prove? Rich comment coming from someone who's killed in a war before (I don't think that's inherently wrong, but your comment implies it) and who also thinks its absolutely necessary to let women murder their babies for personal material gain, but I'll answer it anyways.
- Christianity and Islam are both fundamentally different worldviews that make different truth claims and have different moral systems. Why even lump them together as if they are the same? Its intellectually dishonest and its illogical. All world religions make claims that make them mutually exclusive, so they can't all be true or even "partially true".
If the Quran and the hadiths tell muslisms that they can get special favor or rewards for killing infidels (which it does) and a muslim does so, they are acting in accordance with the moral system of Islam. If Islam is true - ie its claims are actually true (lmao) - then it would mean the morality of the Islamic god would be the morality the universe is held under. If that were the case, then any moral critiques would be irrational. So any objection would just be stupid.
Islam is not true for all sorts of reasons, but I don't care to get into it now. Christianity is true, so what does Jesus actually say regarding violence?
Matthew 10:34–39
Not Peace, but a Sword
[34] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. [36] And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. [37] Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [38] And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [39] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (ESV)
Matthew 24:6–8
[6] And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. [7] For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. (ESV)
Jesus here is saying that violent conflict is inevitable as the Gospel is spread across the world. This is because of the fall. Everyone has a fallen sinful nature - including Christians. Jesus is quite literally saying that Christians may experience persecution for what they believe - even from within their family. Families will be torn apart as people come to Christ or as people raised in Christian households reject Christ and split from their families (those 'refugees' you enable to live in unrepentant sin).
Christians have fought just wars and they have fought unjust wars. It happens and its a fulfillment of what Jesus said would happen. There will be wars and rumors of war.
- Hypocrisy is a character flaw, not a logical flaw. If a man pulled out a gun and shot another man to death because he believed so strongly that the earth was round, would that invalidate the claim that the earth is round? No. Same goes here. Does Christianity claim that Christians cease to sin? No. Christianity has never claimed that Christians suddenly cease having a sinful nature after coming to Christ, but that God's just punishment for their sins is fulfilled on the cross.
Strange, I am a student of Jesus and follow his teaching every chance I get.
You claim this but flagrantly ignore many of Jesus's teachings. I don't mean imperfectly holding to them in your personal life and then repenting. I mean flat out ignoring them entirely because you don't believe they are relevant to you.
Examples:
Matthew 28:16–20
The Great Commission
[16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)
Jesus completely BTFOs your belief system with this single quote. Unitarianism and universalism destroyed. Jesus is quite literally telling the disciples to go make other people believers of the Triune Christian God. Not to be vaguely nice and selectively follow teachings you assume are not unique to Jesus because you ignore the context on why Jesus said what He said.
Matthew 19:1–12
Teaching About Divorce
[1] Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. [2] And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
[3] And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” [7] They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” [8] He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
[10] The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” [11] But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. [12] For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” (ESV)
Jesus didn't have to define marriage to answer the pharisees, but he did. His answer is that marriage is between a man and a woman because God created marriage to be that way in Genesis. Jesus is not saying that marriage is a cultural construct here either - it is something established by God. Gay fake marriage not allowed here either. Not only this, Jesus completely destroys no fault divorce. No divorce because people aren't feeling it any more or any other similar nonsense. The exception that Jesus refers are eunuchs who are people who are lifelong celibates for various reasons. Your fake church has defied Jesus's teaching here and treats gay fake marriage as a super duper moral good and treats no-fault divorce like its a moral necessity to allow. It would be better to say that your fake church doesn't at all believe in both marriage and sexual morals as Jesus defines them. Deliberately telling people that they can commit sin and live in unrepentant sin...
Matthew 18:1–6
Who Is the Greatest?
[1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” [2] And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them [3] and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
[5] “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, [6] but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (ESV)
Wow. Pretty damning thing to say about someone who deliberately teaches people to sin or teaches people that its ok to live in unrepentant sin, like your fake church does. Jesus is saying here that heretics can be punished - up to the point of execution. So yeah, kind of hard to bring about the Kingdom of God when you actively tell people they can live in unrepentant sin.
Matthew 5:17–20
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
[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. [18] For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. [19] Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [20] For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
Jesus is clearly saying that the Old Testament scripture is still relevant and that the law itself is not irrelevant and that the old testament is still scripture because Jesus treats it as so. I have yet to see where you actually believe that scripture is scripture or even if you believe anything is scripture. Kind of easy to "follow Jesus's teachings" when you disregard most of them.
Matthew 7:21–23
I Never Knew You
[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (ESV)
Two things here. It is possible for people to not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (the Kingdom of God) - eg if not heaven then they go to hell, which you don't believe in. The second part is that its possible to do works and not get into the Kingdom of Heaven. hmm. That is interesting. So works alone aren't enough? So clearly there is something else that gets someone into the Kingdom of God.
Also, the entire Gospel of John. lol. All of it. Not copying and pasting it all. It is exceedingly clear from Jesus's words in the Gospel of John.
Was there anything in particular?
Luke 4:1–13
The Temptation of Jesus
[1] And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness [2] for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. [3] The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” [4] And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” [5] And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, [6] and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. [7] If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” [8] And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
[9] And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, [10] for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
[11] and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
[12] And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” [13] And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (ESV)
Matthew 4:1–11
The Temptation of Jesus
[1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2] And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple [6] and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
[7] Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” [8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9] And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
[11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (ESV)
Note the text in bold. What satan is offering Jesus is dominion over the earth to establish His kingdom if Jesus were to bow down and worship satan. Jesus's response is no because this can ONLY be done under the name of the Triune God. The Kingdom of God cannot be established under the name of any false deity. Not allah, not krishna, not oden, not zeus. Only the Christian God. Even if someone tries to warp this scripture into saying that satan was offering Jesus material stuff, it still doesn't change the point that Jesus is clearly saying that worshiping pagan gods is wrong. You don't believe this. You truly believe that the Kingdom of God can be brought about by rejecting the Triune God and doing vague ' good works'.
Which is why comments like this:
Along with what the Latter Day Saints, Islam, and Hindu believe. I would even include Buddhusts beliefs and practices.
Really kind of prove that you don't get it. God's law is not in these other texts. Jesus's teachings are not in these other texts. That's not how it works and it doesn't make sense to do this.
It was about 'hypocrisy' of trying to correct someone else when completely ignorant about what they are doing.
This in no way shape or form is what you are doing. I am a hypocrite. Ok so what? I can't point out what is sinful in scripture now? I am no longer qualified to say what is right or wrong in God's law anymore? Please.
What did I do wrong then? crickets. no verse nothing. Just "You say X is wrong? Well you are a HYPOCRITE so i don't have to listen to you." Yeah real productive for understanding anything.
No problem from me. I forgive you.
>I forgive you
>>for what?
>telling the truth.
k
Not every Christian as some are almost Unitarian in actions and teachings, Others, I'm glad they have Sunday services so they won't be out and about persecuting the poor and others.
I am under no obligation to support a massively corrupt bureaucratic welfare system that never brings the Gospel to people and enables mass unrepentant sin. There is no love in that.
I will also not support a mass wealth transfer from my people to foreigners either. I will not trade my inheritance for a meal. There was a man in the Bible who did that and God was uh
not very pleased with that decision. lol
Is there a web page with an online quiz?
Use words. You are retired and have no job.
I enjoy the irony of how many think they can "convert" in their last breath as payment for a life of sinful acts
This is quite literally what happened with the thief on the cross. Whether or not Scott Adam's conversion was legitimate or not I won't know because I can't read his heart. The Gospel is offensive to the world. Nobody deserves salvation, yet God saves who He does through mercy by Christ's death and resurrection. It is what it is.
Luke 23:39–43
[39] One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” [42] And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [43] And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (ESV)
One criminal's statement to Jesus hearkens back to the same temptation that satan presented to Jesus. The thief turns to the man and rebukes him because the punishment for their crimes was fully justified. He then turned to Jesus and asks for Jesus to remember him. The thief understood who Christ is. Jesus heard the thief's plea and Jesus Himself said that the thief was saved. Quite literally a deathbed conversion.
Justification through faith. Faith produces works. Works sustain faith. Works done out of love for the Triune God and for the Glory of the Triune God. Sola fide, Sola gratia, Sola Christo, soli Deo gloria
John 20:24–29
Jesus and Thomas
[24] Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
[26] Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” [27] Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” [28] Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” [29] Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (ESV)
Don't be consistent with fake unitarianism. Stop doubting and believe. lol
