Religion: Christianity & relationship with God.

From my experiences, 90% of christians are. Yes you could say that theres that 10% that are different, but the majority affects us more than the minority summonerbrandon. I wish there were more of those different Christians, but there just aren't.
As for studying other religions, well, you either go big or go home. Go all out and learn, or stick with your little box. There is no inbetween. That, or your inbetween cant rival the freedom of learning, the freedom of an open box. You didn't know what Druj was or a daevas, and Kairi star only knew what it was because she looked it up on google or something. Thats proof that you haven't gone all out. So continue in your studies (i really encourage this), or just stop all together and become another soulless zombie just like your Christ wants.

They were all given the Holy Spirit (according to your theory that they receive the Holy Spirit). They are all equal, because they are all taught to teach the same thing. Thats my ultimate question to you concerning all of this. Does god make them all equal? Or does he make some better than others? And why would he do that? Why wouldn't he make all of his sheperds equal? Hm?
My personal opinion is that they are the same as us. They aren't any better, in any way. We are ALL born equal. But time gives our souls color. And those colors show us for who we REALLY are.

 

Hmm... I suppose He would base them on their rank. The Pope, being the highest, would be above any other priest. Then the Cardinals are below the Pope. Then Bishops. Then regular Priests.

 

so no one is equal? god made everyone with a purpose, others more important than the rest? Thats what your saying.

 

Also every person is equal, with different destinies however, we're all equal in each other eyes. However we will all face different challenges different from one another.

 

Hmm.... How can I explain this? Them being the Pope, or a Bishop or something is based on their rank in the church. It's a matter of authority. The Pope is the leader of the entire church. So I suppose in a way you could say that not everybody is equal.

Wrong. The Pope is the highest because he is the head of the church. And (I do not mean to offend people by this next comment) because it's God's church, the Pope is made highest in the church by God.

 

What I believe is that we are all born equal, we are all born the same. But time gives our souls their color, time shows others around us what is really on the inside. And what makes that inside, that soul that we all posses? 2 things. One, we're all different, and so to be equal and different God made us all special to the degree that we all posses the same amount of soul and spiritual well being, but (#2) that we can change in different ways, and our outcome through out life is different from the nxt guy.

And that is the truth summonerbrandon. I aplaud you, good job.

And that belief, my friend, is pure evil. The pope is no better than you or me, it is as summonerbrandon said, the people give the pope power, not god.
And we can not give men such power, EVER! Why you ask?
Because "Absolute power corrupts absolutely".

 

And that is where the belief thing I mentioned before proves right. What we believe, we think is right. You guys think that people give the Pope power. I believe that God gives the Pope the power he has. Humans do not have the power to give the power that is given to the Pope.

And as a side note, God is the only one with absolute power. So that kinda makes your statement wrong, since God is perfect and cannot be corrupted. But give a regular human absolute power, they'll be corrupted.

 

Ok, i dont do christianity, so I need someone to explain this to me. God is perfect right? and Infallable? And he created everything that exists, including the angels right? So the where the f*** did Satan come from? It doesnt make sense to me. Could anyone clarify this for me?

 

...wow, I have a lot more explaining to do...I'll address it as I can without double posting. This post is going to be it for right now, though, because it's super long

I’m sorry this is ages late…but it still needs to be addressed, along with the other stuff ^_^'

Yes, I agree; we are not taught some bird/ghost that the Church made up, and that God teaches us. The Holy Spirit is God. Three Persons in One. Father, Son, and Spirit!

Scripture is Spirit-breathed; inspired by the Holy Spirit. Followers of Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit; we are the temple of the living God. As you probably already know because you’ve read the Bible through five times, there are several passages of Scripture that reveal this.

I would like to post a number of these passages on this thread as we continue to speak to one another for the reasons I expressed in my last post. (Thank you very much, by the way, for your answer. I appreciated it.)

I understand where you are coming from. Really. But I have no choice but to refute this directly, for if my testimony is true, than this means that I am not following false prophets…and my testimony is true. I seek the Most High God, the true God, and I follow the Lord.

Perhaps explaining more pieces of my life will illustrate this much better.
I don’t remember if I ever explained my background to you…but with this statement you make, it is relevant and useful to speak about it…so, here goes. I apologize for the length factor. If it’s any consolation to you, this is the smaller version

My family says that I was raised Catholic—that I was baptized, anyway—but in all honesty, I don’t understand why they bothered, because I don’t think my mom believed it anyway. I dunno about all that. It’s complicated. But the point is, I never went past baptism, and I only learned a few small things about God, like that He existed. (Actually, that’s the only thing I can remember that I learned.)

My parents separated on my fifth birthday, and they later divorced…I moved to Connecticut (from Vermont), and still didn’t know anything about God. The weird thing is, I wanted to learn about Him…well, God works in mysterious ways! I laugh about it when I think about the fact that He brought so many people into my life outside of my family that communicated to me about God, and I didn’t even really recognize it until this year…two people that I can think of specifically. My point in expressing these things: to illustrate that yes, I was informed about God (even if I was unaware of it) throughout my life, despite the fact that my family (nuclear part) has always been pretty atheistic. At any rate, they didn’t live out their faith (which translates to not having true faith). [This is just beginning to change now, and I am delighted that the Lord may be glorified in me for their benefit, that they too might know Him and be reconciled to Him.]

When I was about 11, I came across some real issues that I could no longer ignore as I might have in the past. I’m a thinker—always have been, always will be—and I needed to know why I existed. I mean really, what was I even doing here if there was no point? And so I sought to find out. My family, of course, was not any help in this whatsoever…and obviously my friends didn’t have it together, either.

I looked to outside sources like encyclopedias and other books, and did further research on the internet, actively searching for answers. I had no idea what I was looking for…and I didn’t know that where I was looking I was setting myself up for demonic “issues.” (I should explain that my family has had their fair share of demonic experiences—in my mother’s case, a direct contact with a demon “nicknamed” dj [it doesn’t generally share it’s whole name, but it did tell her]; in my sister’s, various because of her playing with the ouiji board, which acts as a portal; in my stepdad’s, same, but with more pronounced physical manifestations, like windows exploding and shadows, etc. also because of his sister’s ouiji board activities and whatever other things she did that I don’t know about.)

The New Age is not a good thing to become involved with…but that’s exactly what I did, completely unaware of the things I’d have to deal with later. I know the New Age pretty much like the back of my hand. Astrology, numerology, palmistry, tarot, yoga, aura reading/chakras, levitation, psychokinesis…some occult stuff (I personally consider certain parts of Wicca to be a part of the occult, and obviously sorcery)…you name it, I probably know what it is, how it works, etc. And I’ve probably practiced it too. People thought that I was incredibly wise and insightful (especially for my age). To many, being involved was a good thing, even if it was strange.

Well, my family didn’t know how involved I was getting. I was seriously heading straight toward being a Wiccan…anyway, the point is to illustrate that I have “been around” in terms of searching. Everything that I ever learned from the New Age was a lie, btw…and to anyone who says otherwise…well, I have the journey as evidence to the contrary. Satan is a LIAR, simple as that, and he knows exactly how to make things that are evil look pretty on the outside so that they will attract people. Deception is one of his greatest weapons.

At that point in my life I thought that I had found what I was looking for: truth. It was still empty, though, and no matter how many new things I learned and put into practice, nothing could fill it. Still, I was hopeful; maybe I just needed to learn more things. At this point I was more of a Theist than anything, although I did say that I was an Atheist simply because I didn’t really acknowledge God…even if I did go to church. (I note this because people seem to think that if one doesn’t go to church, one isn’t a Christian. Similarly, if someone goes to church that one is labeled as a Christian. Going to church doesn’t make someone a Christian by default.)

Now I know that what I have to say next might sound cheesy to you, but it’s all true.
I actually don’t even know how it happened…truly, a miracle of God.

There was a girl named Sarah at my high school. She was labeled a “Jesus freak.” Um…let’s just say she was a little eccentric and slightly on the loud side…but she was genuinely interested in leading others to the Lord. Somehow as the school year progressed, Sarah got the chance to contact me. I should preface this by saying that 1) I was not friends with Sarah, and at times I could be very temperamental with her and 2) I disliked talking on the phone to the point that I would avoid it at almost any cost. Guess how she contacted me? By phone—because I gave her my number. I don’t even know what I was thinking…I likely felt bad or something…but at any rate, she called me and talked to me for 3 hours.

I enjoyed the entire conversation—she was speaking about God the whole time—despite the fact that my ears were ringing. (We had another conversation of about the same length as well.) To this day, I still don’t understand what happened when she was talking to me about God’s love. It just felt so good, as though every part of my body tingled with contentment and peace…so joyous, so loving,—like the glory of God was shining down on me, as if to verify what Sarah was saying. In that moment I just knew that He really did love me, and I will never forget it.

[This has only happened to me one other time in my life. I was at a conference—NSLC—during the summer, and I was delighted because I finally had an opportunity to seek God in prayer. I can’t explain how joyful I was…anyway, I was deeply troubled at the same time, because there were many at the conference who didn’t believe. I wanted them to believe so greatly that it was painful, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to approach them that they might believe on Him that they would have life, that they too could walk with Him. And so, with mixed tears of sadness and joy, I asked God to show me how to love them. The concept of agape, to love God, so that He can love others through you, had been on my mind as I prayed…and as I was asking this, that same contentment washed over me as before. Both of these experiences centered around God’s love.] Jesus loves unconditionally. If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus, for He is God.

I am still confused as to what happened at this point…because although I said a Sinner’s Prayer to accept Christ, my life didn’t really change at all. I highlighted Scriptures in the Bible and I read the pamphlets that I was given. But I didn’t really know Him. In fact, it became worse, because I became more involved than before in the New Age. I didn’t know that what I was doing was wrong, and when Sarah told me I shouldn’t be involved with it, I didn’t know how to get right with God. It was a bit of a problem.

Thankfully, God broke me. He led me to a Deliverance site—demonbuster.com—where I discovered the falseness of occult practices. I wanted to do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, and I learned from the Deliverance ministry that I was not doing what was pleasing in His sight by partaking in occult practices. Change was absolutely unavoidable. I cried out to Him, praying earnestly with the tears of one who is broken in spirit for help and for guidance, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Save me, O God, and I shall be Saved!” That I would be made pleasing in His sight, that I would do what He willed. And truly the LORD heard my prayers, and did not hide His face from me, but had mercy on His servant. He did lead and guide me, just as He also does lead and guide me now as I write this, that it too may be pleasing in His sight.

My life was forever changed after that moment. I listened to Him as I read the Scripture, asking for guidance, and I disposed of everything that was displeasing—all the books, the tarot decks, the idols that I didn’t know were idols—everything. I am a completely different person in more ways than I feel I am capable of explaining…
Well, needless to say, my family definitely noticed the change. The good news: they noticed. The bad news: they didn’t like it. Oh, the persecution that I faced from my family…! It was dreadful, and yet joyful at the same time, because I knew that I was genuinely seeking after God. (My stepfather is an atheist, I don’t really care what he says, until he confesses that Jesus is Lord I will not accept his saying that he believes in God.)

It wasn’t easy. My family threatened to kick me out of the house numerous times. My mother threw my Bible away and anything that was related to God pretty much was chucked. (Except rosaries and this statue thing which I HATE because I consider it to be to eat. I was banned from the internet, and then the computer, because I found Bible sites, and was reading the Scripture online. But the Lord was with me. Even if I had taken certain things to an extreme [legalism], my family had completely overreacted…)

I wasn’t allowed to thank the Lord for the food that He provided me with. In such cases, I didn’t eat. I waited until everyone had left the table and ate at a later time when I could thank Him…I honestly think that if they could have banned me from praying, they would have. It wouldn’t have worked, of course, but they probably would’ve given it their best shot. Despite everything that has happened, I love my family dearly. Actually, I love my family more now than I ever did. God loves them.

So, I hope that at least this small piece of my testimony is evidence enough that I am not following false prophets. The Lord is my delight, my joy, my hope, my everything, and I cherish Him.

…I have other points to address, but I have posted much already. Thank you for what you have said again.

 

Satan was one of the best angels. But he got too big an ego, so he thought he was better than God. He gathered followers, and they all fought in Heaven. End result: Satan and his followers were banished from Heaven.

Basically, Satan came to be evil out of free will. God did not make Satan to be what he is now. Satan chose to become what he is.

 

Right but... wouldn't that count as a mistake? If you are perfect and you create something that isn't perfect, that should be a mistake. Idk im confused still, thank you for clarifying though.

 

Satan, well Lucifer, isn't a bad angel. Like Desert stated, he had a big ego and wanted to over throw God and Heaven. That is why he became a fallen angel. Well like you said Zenrot, I am not a follower of God but I do read about it, I think you are kinda true with the whole perfect thing, but if you look at us, saying that God created us, we are not perfect.

I think there has some to be equal in the world. And plus, Lucifer has such a pretty meaning, in my mind, he is call the Morning Star and his planet affiliation is Venus, the planet of love, so ironic. I was reading about him on Wiki and did you know when Venus reveal itself, it only appear below the Sun, and even though it is the brightest, it never comes out during midnight, when all the other planets shine. Here read this:

----Wikipedia

 

Oh wow. Thats really interesting actually.

 

But how can you be perfect if you CREATE something imperfect? If you are perfect everything you do should be one hundred percent perfect because perfection means you can never fail.

 

i dont think i really have a religion. but i do believe that there is a God and a Satan. i also believe that they work together to test us. also that they are the one and the same person, just two completely different personalities.

well thats what i believe.

 

God could have made us all perfect. But why? If every human being in exsistance was perfect, then we'd all be like robots: Exactly the same. God gave us free will, and will never force us to do anything. He loves us that much that He will never make us stop doing something, even if it is not believing in Him.

 

Boy did we get into a great topic here!!

*One quick note, I'm sorry Waterfall, but dont put your life story on the internet. One, its not smart, two, I dont have time to read it. Please make your point....shorter. It can still be like 4 paragraphs....just not a book okay?

Humans can put other humans up high on petestals, yes. We see that everyday in polotics. You are wrong.

Interesting, very interesting. I've gone over this before though. What star rises every morning? Not Venus, we cant see that everyday. Just think about it......for a second. Many of you have probably already thought it right now.....the sun. Lucifer is given the title "Morning Star" because he has a correlation with OUR SUN. S-U-N.
Our "sun" is also known to be a star. A very big star. Well, astrological theories show that our "sun" was actually a star that kinda "went of course"...meaning it was in a different gallaxy than ours before it came here. Now I need to read up more on this, I only heard this on a History Channel program about stars, but it was given the Title (in this star/sun theory) "The Fallen Star". Now, who is known to be the "Fallen Star" in religion? Lucifer.
Who is known to be the Morning Star in religion? 2 figures. Lucifer and Jesus.
Now I've already given you all my whole shabang on Jesus = Lucifer because of what it states in Isaiah 14:12 and Revelations 22:16, but what I wish to point out here is that in religion there seems to be a reoccuring theme with a (usually male) hero/savior that is correlated with the sun.

Is he essentially "good"?
Is he essentially "bad"?
I guess thats up to each individuals opinion/beliefs/religion.
But I believe in a correlation. That is fact.