Proof you say !

[Railroad]

Yeah. People will look for any excuse not to believe the Bible especially when their life does not agree with what it teaches.

Yeah, it's like they're standing on a shoreline with their backs to the water, a tsunami's rolling in, and they're saying, "Nope, don't believe in tidal waves, nope, nope."

I'll bet the highway to hell has a lot of circular skidmarks on it - people pausing on the way down to do a few donuts chasing their tails and trying to look smart in front of their fellows.

But even the devil believes in God - and that's where the laughing stops.

 

[Penn]

2nd A, Railroad - confirm or deny this for me:

As I understand it, God the Father, The Word(Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit were ALL there in the Beginning.

Each would have a significant role throughout Biblical history, but all three would form the universe, man, animal, plantlife, laws, etc.

God the Father would reign over events in the Old Testament;

The Word - Jesus - would do the same in the New Testament, ultimately give His life for ours, and -

The Holy Spirit, sent to the Disciples by Jesus, right before His Ascension into Heaven - is with us at this moment.

Do I have that correct?

 

[Kizzy]

RR & 2A

I don’t think anyone is chasing their tail here or anything like that, just being analytical, like Alice in Wonderland going after something in the rabbit hole, and we all know whenever we do that, it leads to more and more questions.

 

[Tonio]

I don’t think anyone is chasing their tail here or anything like that, just being analytical, like Alice in Wonderland going after something in the rabbit hole, and we all know whenever we do that, it leads to more and more questions.

That makes sense. Personal religious faith is not objective truth. As I see it, faith is about the individual's search for his or own answers. It's about the individual's gnostic experience of grace. Those answers and experience can't be quantified. There is nothing objective or empirical about personal faith, and that's the way it should be.

 

[Railroad]

2nd A, Railroad - confirm or deny this for me:

As I understand it, God the Father, The Word(Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit were ALL there in the Beginning.

Each would have a significant role throughout Biblical history, but all three would form the universe, man, animal, plantlife, laws, etc.

God the Father would reign over events in the Old Testament;

The Word - Jesus - would do the same in the New Testament, ultimately give His life for ours, and -

The Holy Spirit, sent to the Disciples by Jesus, right before His Ascension into Heaven - is with us at this moment.

Do I have that correct?

Sounds right to me, but I'm in a hurry and will leave the "real" answer up to 2A. Sorry!

 

[2ndAmendment]

2nd A, Railroad - confirm or deny this for me:

As I understand it, God the Father, The Word(Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit were ALL there in the Beginning.

Each would have a significant role throughout Biblical history, but all three would form the universe, man, animal, plantlife, laws, etc.

God the Father would reign over events in the Old Testament;

The Word - Jesus - would do the same in the New Testament, ultimately give His life for ours, and -

The Holy Spirit, sent to the Disciples by Jesus, right before His Ascension into Heaven - is with us at this moment.

Do I have that correct?

The Word (Jesus) was with the Father and the Holy Spirit before creation. It was by The Word that the universe was created. The Word was made flesh.

John 1

<sup id="en-NASB-26059">14</sup>And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. <sup id="en-NASB-26060">15</sup>John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"

<sup id="en-NASB-26061">16</sup>For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

<sup id="en-NASB-26062">17</sup>For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

<sup id="en-NASB-26063">18</sup>No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Jesus is The Word, God, in flesh. The Father, The Word, and the Holy Spirit are throughout the Bible. The Holy Spirit, as the Comforter, was sent originally to the apostles, but the Holy Spirit is sent to and lives in every Christian.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

<sup id="en-NASB-28486">18</sup>Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. <sup id="en-NASB-28487">19</sup>Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

<sup id="en-NASB-28488">20</sup>For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The Word, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are different aspects of the same one God just as we have different aspects, spiritual and physical.

I hope that helps.

 

[2ndAmendment]

That makes sense. Personal religious faith is not objective truth. As I see it, faith is about the individual's search for his or own answers. It's about the individual's gnostic experience of grace. Those answers and experience can't be quantified. There is nothing objective or empirical about personal faith, and that's the way it should be.

A Christian has been provided the answers in the Bible. It is by faith that a Christian accepts those answers. It is lack of faith that makes people question those answers.

 

[gumbo]

Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

OK but did God not come in the flesh to understand Man's sins.
So then why the need for the Son and the Holy Spirit before the creation of Man ?

If you created the forums and you were the only member, would you need two MPD's before hand

BTW on't you or RR question my faith because your both to blind and your faith is to fragile to recognize a folklore when you read one.

 

[2ndAmendment]

OK but did God not come in the flesh to understand Man's sins.
So then why the need for the Son and the Holy Spirit before the creation of Man ?

If you created the forums and you were the only member, would you need two MPD's before hand

BTW on't you or RR question my faith because your both to blind and your faith is to fragile to recognize a folklore when you read one.

If you think the Bible is folklore, then you need to question your own faith.

 

[pixiegirl]

A Christian has been provided the answers in the Bible. It is by faith that a Christian accepts those answers. It is lack of faith that makes people question those answers.

I take offense to that statement. Really. I am a Christian and one of very strong faith I believe yet NO answers have been revealed to me in the bible. It's not that I haven't read it or looked it's lack of comprehending what I read. I shall not take the word of a man as to what the true meaning of the bible is. The Pope could come sit down next to me and go through the bible word by word explaining the meaning of every passage but if I don't "get it" myself then I'm not going to take his word for gold.

 

[mAlice]

I take offense to that statement. Really. I am a Christian and one of very strong faith I believe yet NO answers have been revealed to me in the bible.

Your faith isn't strong enough, or you're not sincere enough. The devil must be lurking inside.

 

[SmallTown]

faiths of the world.
argh. numbering system got messed up in the cut and paste.

1. Christianity: 2.1 billion
   
   Islam: 1.3 billion
   
2. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
3. Hinduism: 900 million
4. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
5. Buddhism: 376 million
6. primal-indigenous: 300 million
7. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
8. Sikhism: 23 million
9. Juche: 19 million
10. Spiritism: 15 million
11. Judaism: 14 million
12. Baha'i: 7 million
13. Jainism: 4.2 million
14. Shinto: 4 million
15. Cao Dai: 4 million
16. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
17. Tenrikyo: 2 million
18. Neo-Paganism: 1 million
19. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
20. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
21. Scientology: 500 thousand

 

[gumbo]

If you think the Bible is folklore, then you need to question your own faith.

Don't put words in my mouth either.

But yes I believe the OT contains Folklore's, they had there use and were good for those times.
But since then man's intelligence has grown.

Sorry that my faith is strong enough to recognize this fact and this disturbs you.

Would you like some more proof of Folklore's.

 

[2ndAmendment]

Don't put words in my mouth either.

But yes I believe the OT contains Folklore's, they had there use and were good for those times.
But since then man's intelligence has grown.

Sorry that my faith is strong enough to recognize this fact and this disturbs you.

Would you like some more proof of Folklore's.

I'll choose to ignore you since your statement flys in the face of the New Testament too. Thanks.

 

[Tonio]

I shall not take the word of a man as to what the true meaning of the bible is.

I can definitely appreciate that. When believers insist that God judges people, that feels the same as if the believers themselves judged people. I don't see a practical distinction between the two. Both amount to labeling other people as evil.

 

[2ndAmendment]

I take offense to that statement. Really. I am a Christian and one of very strong faith I believe yet NO answers have been revealed to me in the bible. It's not that I haven't read it or looked it's lack of comprehending what I read. I shall not take the word of a man as to what the true meaning of the bible is. The Pope could come sit down next to me and go through the bible word by word explaining the meaning of every passage but if I don't "get it" myself then I'm not going to take his word for gold.

We've been around this before. We disagree.

 

[Penn]

This could get real interesting here:

So, I'm reviewing my New Living Translation Bible, and I'm on page 1 of Genesis, verse 1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2: The earth was empty, a formless mass, cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over it's surface. 3: Then God said "Let there be light", and there was light. 4: And God saw that it was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness. 5: God called the light "day" and the darkness "night". Together, these made up one day.

One heck of a day!

But, notice there's no mention of the Word!

There are 31 total verses in Genesis 1, but I do not believe you'll find the 2nd part of the Trinity, The Word(Jesus Christ) included in them.

It's only in the Prologue of the Gospel of John, where He is said to have existed - "in the beginning", ie., John, verse 1: In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and He was God. 2: He was in the beginning with God. 3: He created everything that is. Nothing exists that He didn't make. 4: Life itself was in Him,and this life gives light to everyone.
5: The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

How did John get that information?

 

[Penn]

What I'm trying to point out is that there are 2 parts to the Trinity confirmed in Genesis.

The 3rd - Jesus Christ, known as The Word, is not.

Why the discrepancy?

The Gospels tell us that Jesus was in fact there at the beginning, and I believe that to be true.

Me? I'm looking for answers.

 

[gumbo]

I'll choose to ignore you since your statement flys in the face of the New Testament too. Thanks.

So I suppose women are not allowed to speak in your church ?
Or is this a part of the NT you choose to ignore ?
So if you take every word literally, why not this part too ?

Point being, everything written in the bible has an intention, what that intention is , sometimes can be interpreted differently depending on how one looks at it.
Different Christan religions interpret the Scripture differently.
Speak tongues in a Catholic church and see what happens.

 

[Railroad]

Luke 12:8-10
8"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

10 "And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
NKJV