16th March 2003, 4:02 PM
Sacred Jellybean, the thing is according to God no one is a good person, and no one is capable of being a good person. Wow did that sound offensive or what? But, it's basically a very blunt way of putting it. God's standards are very high indeed, he demands total perfection. As a human, it's easy to take that offensivly and be upset, but that's the case. One imperfection will build, until eventually all of heaven could be torn apart. That's why God can't allow imperfection into this perfect place. Seems harsh doesn't it? Think of it this way. Imagine you have done something so terrible you don't think anyone can forgive you for it, like, oh say, killing babies and feeding them to people, while at the same time running all the other soylent businesses to bankrupsy through immoral business practises, and then spitting on someone from a high place every night. Then, you are forgiven.
That's the idea here. AND READ THIS STATEMENT BECAUSE IT SUMS IT ALL UP. Everyone has earned eternal death, and yet, with NO earning on our part at all, we are given the gift. God however allows us to either accept the gift or not accept the gift. That's all there is to it. We can take a gift we never earned, or accept what we do deserve. That's the reality, and wow is it a sober and kinda depressing one, but also a very joyous one. That's the idea of Christianity.
The only conforming is that we should all buy our net from the same company essentially. It isn't believing as in "knowing" it, it's putting your faith INTO Jesus, as in trusting your fellow soldier that you wont' get shot. It's not knowing the tensile strength of the bridge is enough to support your weight, it's actually walking on the bridge.
Oh, N-Man, it's not just the four gospels, Jesus is mentioned many times in the rest of the new testament. "The lamb" in revelation seems to most accuratly descrive Jesus. You may say it can be interpreted many ways, but only one interpretation leaves no contradictions, and the most important part of interpretation is CONTEXT. I can't source you, so you'll have to look for it on your own, but there have been quite a few shows on Discovery with much evidence showing that Jesus at least was a real person (of course prooving that doesn't proove he was actually a part of God incarnate).
That's the idea here. AND READ THIS STATEMENT BECAUSE IT SUMS IT ALL UP. Everyone has earned eternal death, and yet, with NO earning on our part at all, we are given the gift. God however allows us to either accept the gift or not accept the gift. That's all there is to it. We can take a gift we never earned, or accept what we do deserve. That's the reality, and wow is it a sober and kinda depressing one, but also a very joyous one. That's the idea of Christianity.
The only conforming is that we should all buy our net from the same company essentially. It isn't believing as in "knowing" it, it's putting your faith INTO Jesus, as in trusting your fellow soldier that you wont' get shot. It's not knowing the tensile strength of the bridge is enough to support your weight, it's actually walking on the bridge.
Oh, N-Man, it's not just the four gospels, Jesus is mentioned many times in the rest of the new testament. "The lamb" in revelation seems to most accuratly descrive Jesus. You may say it can be interpreted many ways, but only one interpretation leaves no contradictions, and the most important part of interpretation is CONTEXT. I can't source you, so you'll have to look for it on your own, but there have been quite a few shows on Discovery with much evidence showing that Jesus at least was a real person (of course prooving that doesn't proove he was actually a part of God incarnate).
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)