No, he called to be overwhelmed with his miracles so we can believe. So you are suggesting that faith is attained by means of fear of the infamous "Lako del Fire?" If not, how does one attain faith in God?
************* M*W: IAC, exactly what have you been saved from? Does the name Ed Young mean anything to you?
Excerpt from the "The Gnostic Gospels" ,Elaine Pagels. Prior to Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in 323 c.e., the antagonism that existed between the hierarchy of priests an bishops and the followers of Gnosticism is well documented. When Gnostics met for church, they drew lots to see who would assume the various roles. Unfortunately, Constantine sided with the hierarchy of priests and bishops. Now they had the Roman Empire at their disposal and dispatched it to eradicate Gnosticism. When the book burning was ordered, some Gnostic Christians hid existing scriptures in burial urns hoping that God would one day return them to the world. Many of these lost scriptures resurfaced on October 4, 1946, when a sheepherder discovered them. The scrolls were found buried in a three-foot tall clay urn in a cave near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Since then these scriptures have been called the Nag Hammadi Library and they are now available to anyone who cares to go exploring. Corruption and re-editing indeed! :bugeye:
************* M*W: I can appreciate your admission that you don't have all the answers, so you keep searching. That's all one could ask. I have a couple of questions for you. Why are there some 34,000 christian denominations? Why do they fight amongst themselves? Which one is right true church? If Jesus were here today, which one would he be a member of? He would know, wouldn't he?
There was one denomination just after He resurrected, so there will be one denomination when He returns.
It's sort of like the Deluge legends from hundreds of seemingly disparate people groups, the true story, recorded in Genesis, was added to or changed somewhat according to man's desires in the other renditions, as the Catholic church has added to the canon, and the Mormons have changed it, very strange, but it will all get sorted out when He returns.
************* M*W: Well, what is that one denomination? Please answer the question that I addressed to JimHR. (Jim, I'll also await your answer, and then we'll compare notes).
************* M*W: Thank you for saying that. I had a conversation just today with a Southern Baptist (my best friend, as it were). Her belief is that catholics added to the canon. I agree with you.
Certainly not Moses, considering it details his own death. By the way, the originator of this argument was a Christian - Thomas Hobbes.
Could not have a subsequent writer ended the Pentateuch with the description of Moses' end? And if Moses didn't write it, Princie, then who did, and when, and what is your evidence for that?
IceAgeCivilizations: Several authors, representing different religious viewpoints: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentateuch And to say "it was written by Moses" then to say that "it was finished by someone else" is to discredit it immediatly as a book of Moses.
Uh no NDS I never said that, did I? Please don't just throw out random things--let's stick to the topic. I hope that doesn't offend you but I'm going to be honest. What method should we believe? Answer me that. What method could encompass the entire earth and be accesible to every individual who has ever lived? The young, the old, the poor, the rich, the smart, the dumb, Africans, Chinese, Arabs, Americans. Those who lived two thousand years ago--those who lived during the wars in Mongolia and the famines in Europe--those who live today. What method other than faith could each individual on the face of the earth discover him? Remember that He gave us a free will--and He's not going to force us to believe in Him. The answer is faith. It is completely the source of salvation. It is perfect. Have faith in Jesus by simply asking Him. Read Luke 11:9 in your Bible--you do have one since you personally discovered those contradictions, and didn't just search Google did you?
First off, I never said you said that. You're the one who said that I said that you said that, when really I was trying to make a point. Jim, why did the early Christian fathers (Peter, Paul) and Jesus perform miracles? Thanks. Whatever method IAC lays out, because he is omnicient. Okay, faith is the source of salvation, but what is the source of faith? Also, "faith" in terms of people's faith, is far from perfect. For example, I have a 10% strength of faith in the fact that Global Warming is being caused by man. Such a low faith level in that fact is not nearly enough to persuade me to alter my energy consumption in any way. Similarily, 90% of people who call themselves "Christians" have low strengths of faith, meaning they don't alter their lives in any way in relation to that "belief." It's great to say "I believe in Jesus," but I could also say "I believe eating too much beans will give me cancer" and then eat beans like they're going out of style. So there is a difference between "kind of thinking something in the back of your mind," and "having a strong belief in something."
