If you could have a word in gods ear

[Churchill]

I am not deeply religious but I do think the 10 Commandments are not a bad guide to live by, if people are happy with following a faith belief fine by me, those who don't believe in faith and happy again fine by me, what I don't like is being told what I should or should not believe in

[patman post]

If I could have a word in Gods ear I'd ask: Why do you allow the myth to perpetuate that the Devil has all the good tunes?

There's some great gospel singing in church, and gospel crossover music out there...

[Baron von Lotsov]

This is not true. The adversary runs wild and ever more desperate as time goes by. His aim is to take as many souls as possible before the second coming, and then again before the end.

If we look world wide we see the affects of evil in it's many forms everywhere.

One of those famous Hollywood actors lives close to me. Some girl I know has been hanging about with him, but I certainly do not want to meet him. His latest film involves filming a black magic ritual in an ancient abbey. It's done on purpose to defile a sacred place. It's just an example, where i could give you millions more. Americans worship Satan in popular American culture - fact.



They are on a losing streak there.

[T00ts]

Satan runs America and Hollywood. Fools copy it.

This is not true. The adversary runs wild and ever more desperate as time goes by. His aim is to take as many souls as possible before the second coming, and then again before the end.

If we look world wide we see the affects of evil in it's many forms everywhere.

[Baron von Lotsov]

Far be it for me to question your understanding but the Gospel is incredibly simple. Surely it is man, misguided by all the sins of the world stoked so dangerously by the adversary,  that has taken the gospel and twisted and turned it until it suits them?

Satan runs America and Hollywood. Fools copy it.

[T00ts]

Two versions of a crucial story, with omniscience and eternity to get it right - even newspapers written by humans and working to a deadline take more trouble than that.  'God' must have known that his devotees would burn, impale and eviscerate each other over their different interpretations of His Holy Word, and His only defence for this sloppiness is "Well whaddya expect - no-one's perfect."

LOL. Sorry to laugh. You seem to think that God is there waving His arms about dictating what we will all do. He has hopes but will not compel. That's the whole point of free will. Even those who were pre-ordained for certain roles had to prove themselves worthy, even Jesus, and even then many took a wrong path. We have free will to allow us to understand the difference between good and evil. Without that knowledge we could not learn anything. That was the reason for eating the apple right at the beginning.

It is the easiest thing in the world to take excerpts out of the Bible to present any argument, but the Bible was written by man, with human memory, with human 'education' or lack of it. It has been translated so many times it has become like Chinese whispers but, and it's a very big but, the essence of what is the most important message to mankind is there for all of us to study and understand. If we choose to not believe, to not understand, or to defile it, then that is our free will.

[Paulus de B]

As far as the nativity stories go - when did 2 people ever tell a story the same way? How sure are you that the translations are absolutely correct. Surely this is hair splitting. It is the overall plan which is important

Two versions of a crucial story, with omniscience and eternity to get it right - even newspapers written by humans and working to a deadline take more trouble than that.  'God' must have known that his devotees would burn, impale and eviscerate each other over their different interpretations of His Holy Word, and His only defence for this sloppiness is "Well whaddya expect - no-one's perfect."

[Barry]

As far as the nativity stories go - when did 2 people ever tell a story the same way? How sure are you that the translations are absolutely correct. Surely this is hair splitting. It is the overall plan which is important

Exactly.  :tick:

[T00ts]

"the Gospel is incredibly simple"

The GospelS can't even agree on the basics of who they're writing about.  Check the two nativity stories in Matthew and Luke, and the two versions of the trial and death in Mark and John.



"Shouldn't man take some blame?"

It depends what sort of blame you mean.  If we are to assume a conscious, omnipotent creator and ruler of the world, then that being gets all the praise and all the blame; we're just passengers along for the ride.  If, in the world that actually exists, we're apportioning moral blame per species, then never mind some of it, of course man should take - should demand - all of it.  We should demand all of the praise, as well.  Humans are, as yet, the only moral species we know about, we're the only ones capable of either doing or judging right and wrong.  To praise or blame God or Satan is shirking responsibility.

I totally disagree. To admit an omnipotent God has absolutely nothing to do with blame/praise. Do you take all the blame and praise for your child's success or failure? Why should God? We are His children, he has set us free with freedom of choice in how we choose to live our lives, what we choose to believe. 'In my Father's house are many mansions' - as we make our choices here we will eventually be judged both for our good and bad choices. It will not be a simple in or out judgement but degrees. Our hell will be recognising that we could have done better. Did we succumb to the pressure of the adversary or hold fast with the help of the Holy Spirit? Far be it for me to assume how it will be judged but the Gospels tell us that He will judge not us. One thing is for sure - we won't escape that day.



As far as the nativity stories go - when did 2 people ever tell a story the same way? How sure are you that the translations are absolutely correct. Surely this is hair splitting. It is the overall plan which is important

[Paulus de B]

Shouldn't man take some blame? God's directions are clear and unchanging but we need to question what mankind is doing. God asks us to do nothing that He doesn't do Himself. We are in His likeness so why would we imagine that He is not like us? Why the supposition that He makes moral rules for us that do not bind Him? Why do we assume to question His guidance? Jesus said to follow Him so that we might return to His Father's house. He told us to do as He did, to live as he did. No-one said it would be easy. No-one said it would make us materially rich or popular, or clever or have any advantage over others. No-one said that everyone would follow His path and no-one promised that others would not scoff and insult those who believe.

Far be it for me to question your understanding but the Gospel is incredibly simple. Surely it is man, misguided by all the sins of the world stoked so dangerously by the adversary,  that has taken the gospel and twisted and turned it until it suits them?

"the Gospel is incredibly simple"

The GospelS can't even agree on the basics of who they're writing about.  Check the two nativity stories in Matthew and Luke, and the two versions of the trial and death in Mark and John.



"Shouldn't man take some blame?"

It depends what sort of blame you mean.  If we are to assume a conscious, omnipotent creator and ruler of the world, then that being gets all the praise and all the blame; we're just passengers along for the ride.  If, in the world that actually exists, we're apportioning moral blame per species, then never mind some of it, of course man should take - should demand - all of it.  We should demand all of the praise, as well.  Humans are, as yet, the only moral species we know about, we're the only ones capable of either doing or judging right and wrong.  To praise or blame God or Satan is shirking responsibility.

[T00ts]

He sets strict moral rules by which He is not himself bound.  If He weren't the Ancient of Days, it would be called hypocrisy.  But fortunately, He is.

And how loving and kind He is to give such clear guidance to everyone whose country has been conquered at no more than one remove by Rome, and how imaginative to give such clear but different guidance to everyone whose country has been conquered at no more than one remove by Mecca, and which of us can question His wisdom in including just enough ambiguity in each set of guidance that each set of devotees can lovingly and righteously despise and slaughter each other - all praise His Holy Name!

Shouldn't man take some blame? God's directions are clear and unchanging but we need to question what mankind is doing. God asks us to do nothing that He doesn't do Himself. We are in His likeness so why would we imagine that He is not like us? Why the supposition that He makes moral rules for us that do not bind Him? Why do we assume to question His guidance? Jesus said to follow Him so that we might return to His Father's house. He told us to do as He did, to live as he did. No-one said it would be easy. No-one said it would make us materially rich or popular, or clever or have any advantage over others. No-one said that everyone would follow His path and no-one promised that others would not scoff and insult those who believe.

Far be it for me to question your understanding but the Gospel is incredibly simple. Surely it is man, misguided by all the sins of the world stoked so dangerously by the adversary,  that has taken the gospel and twisted and turned it until it suits them?

[Baron von Lotsov]

He sets strict moral rules by which He is not himself bound.  If He weren't the Ancient of Days, it would be called hypocrisy.  But fortunately, He is.

And how loving and kind He is to give such clear guidance to everyone whose country has been conquered at no more than one remove by Rome, and how imaginative to give such clear but different guidance to everyone whose country has been conquered at no more than one remove by Mecca, and which of us can question His wisdom in including just enough ambiguity in each set of guidance that each set of devotees can lovingly and righteously despise and slaughter each other - all praise His Holy Name!

You can lead a horse to water but not make it drink it. Some nations got caught up in Mystery Babylon. Actually many in my area are also caught up in Mystery Babylon and have no idea whether they are coming or going. Islam is about the worship of a mortal. Worship of any man is bad as far as the view of the bible. We see it on TV with Pop Idols. Young girls worship half gay twits rather than the almighty. It happened in Crete as well. They went too far. Evidence shows they didn't even hardly see it coming.

[Baron von Lotsov]

I knew it well.



The winter of discontent saw the dead go unburied as pickets barred the way for funeral directors vehicles to collect the dead.



One of my grandmother's relatives was among them



I went over to university hospital where I had an office, having just graduated, and told the plod watching the pickets I was going to start the JCB some builders had left, drive it straight through the pucket line and the pickets if they were stupid enough not to move, and then smash down the doors to the morgue if it was not unlocked, because by Satan's horns my great uncle was going to be taken by the funeral director who had the legal papers to take him to his funeral and if that meant others joined him so be it.



I don't think they quite believed me



But they stood back - possibly in disbelief - as I put the bucket straight through the braziers scattering pickets in all directions.



Taking the lump hammer from the toolkit, I dismounted,banged  the locked door with the shaft and shouted through it that we were going to serve the papers and take my relative to his burial with or without their cooperation ....



As I restarted the JCB the doors opened and a couple of gorillas working for the NHS came out, took the paperwork from the undertaker and took him inside and a while later shook his hand as he departed with his grisly cargo.



I parked the JCB, thanked the plod and drove off behind the blacked out van.

You might need those negotiating skills again. Gone are the pickets thanks to Maggies new laws, but now we see them morph into climate change protestors. The main difference is the pickets once did productive work.

[Paulus de B]

The ten commandments are rules for you. What god does is not the same as what your rules are. For example, the bible states god is a jealous god and does not like worship of other gods, whereas for you, jealousy is a sin. You see god is top and you are not, and never will be....

He sets strict moral rules by which He is not himself bound.  If He weren't the Ancient of Days, it would be called hypocrisy.  But fortunately, He is.

So are you saying you are 100% sure? I am certain that God  is more fair minded than any of us mere mortals can begin to imagine. I am also certain that He loves us in exactly the same way that we love our children. So the question would be - how often have you been tempted to 'save' your children from themselves or made yourself stand back and let them learn from their mistakes?

Horrid things happen but not by God's deeds but mankind's. It's called consequences. He has had to stand back to allow us to learn. We have just one job here on earth and that is to love God above all things and to obey His laws to the very best of our ability. Our Eternal existence depends on it = consequences.

I try not to be a holier than thou prig - I am as flawed as anyone, but I do try as much as I can.

And how loving and kind He is to give such clear guidance to everyone whose country has been conquered at no more than one remove by Rome, and how imaginative to give such clear but different guidance to everyone whose country has been conquered at no more than one remove by Mecca, and which of us can question His wisdom in including just enough ambiguity in each set of guidance that each set of devotees can lovingly and righteously despise and slaughter each other - all praise His Holy Name!

[johnofgwent]

What goes on down here, is mostly under our control. Can you imagine how life would be if we had no free choice, but were merely programmed to be "God's serving robot" in every way.

I reckon that the whole idea of producing flawed beings, as we are, and allowing them free choice, allows for a hugely interesting scenario, which if I had created it, I'd be pretty pleased.

He's left us plenty of puzzles to ponder, diseases to research and try to fix, and we are so good at creating conflicts and wars, He doesn't need to help with that.



Now the sermon bit. For those that believe in Jesus Christ, and are guided by the Holy Spirit, the bar is much higher than 10 commandments. For those people the Commandments given to the Jews are obsolete. (Read Romans 7 if you don't believe me). Being obedient to the Holy Spirit is much harder, and no one who does that will break the commandments.

I know.  I was a lay preacher in my mis spent youth.



That was before I encountered the individuals in those churches that turned me to my current path.



I know your position and I do respect it works for you.



But it's no longer for me ...