*["What are you talking about? Didn't God love us so much that Jesus His Son died for us?"]
***Absolutely...but God's LOVE is NOT the issue here. It is OUR self-image that is the PROBLEM: we think we DESERVE God's LOVE...believing we are something SPECIAL.
The apostle Paul wrote: "But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" [Romans 5:8]. The POINT of this verse is NOT merely God"s LOVE...but OUR sin. To ignore this is to embrace the LIE about ourselves...that contends we are BASICALLY GOOD...and with God's help, we can make our DREAMS come true. This is a FAIRY TALE right out of the pit of Hell.
Marchello
marchello, your mind is even sicker than JIA. thinking of innocent newborn empty slate conciousnesses as SINFUL by nature. undeserving of anything good. and your oh so great savious dying FOR you and unfairly giving naturally undeserving and evil being a way to reach heaven for which they should be ETERNALLY gratious to him/her for.
its no wonder you talk the way u do to people as if they were pathetic bad wretches. your mentally sick. and so is christianity.
if there was goodness embodied in a higher being, man by defalut at birth would be deserving of it and part of it. it wud only be after tainted actions and intentions that he/dhe wud move away from it.
your soul is void of anything of substance/beauty/joy/value. only filled by dogma, fear, hate, narrowmindedness, and self righteousness. not to mention self contemp to the point of loathing as you believe yourself undeserving by nature of heaven/goodness etc.
*["marchello, your mind is even sicker than JIA"]
***Thank you...I consider that a COMPLIMENT!
The Scriptures declare the following about your OPINION as to WHOSE mind is SICK [i.e., foolish]: "For the preaching of the cross is to THEM that PERISH foolishness; but unto US which are SAVED it is the POWER of God. For it is written, I will DESTROY the WISDOM of the WISE, and will bring to NOTHING the UNDERSTANDING of the PRUDENT. Where is the WISE? where is the SCRIBE? where is the DISPUTER of this WORLD? For after that in the WISDOM of God the WORLD by WISDOM knew NOT God, it PLEASED God BY the FOOLISHNESS of PREACHING to SAVE THEM that BELIEVE.
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*["...thinking of innocent newborn empty slate conciousnesses as SINFUL by nature"]
***It is NOT what you or I or anyone else THINKS that DETERMINES the INNOCENCE or GUILT of the newborn...it IS what the Word of God says about it. Here's what King David says about it: "Behold, I was SHAPEN in INIQUITY, and in SIN did my mother CONCEIVE me" [Psalm 51:5]...and again "Among whom also we ALL had our conversation in times past in the LUSTS of our FLESH, fulfilling the desires of the FLESH and of the MIND; and were by NATURE the CHILDREN of WRATH, even as others" [Ephesians 2:3].
When Adam SINNED the WHOLE human race FELL. We, as his OFFSPRING, are BORN SINNERS by NATURE...we INHERITED his fallen NATURE. He [i.e., Adam] was a SINNER by NATURE...and he BEGAT SINNERS...we ALL beget CHILDREN AFTER our OWN KIND by NATURE...BORN SINNERS by NATURE.
You may not like to hear that...but it does NOT change the FACT that we are ALL sinners: "For ALL have sinned and fall SHORT of the glory of God" [Romans 3:23]. Your problem is that you DON'T think that you are a SINNER...that mankind is capable of RIGHTEOUSNESS without God...but the Scriptures declare the OPPOSITE.
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*["...and your oh so great savious dying FOR you and unfairly giving naturally undeserving and evil being a way to reach heaven for which they should be ETERNALLY gratious to him/her for.']
***You are CORRECT...man does NOT deserve ANYTHING from God because he [i.e., man] is a SINNER worthy of DEATH [Romans 6:23]. But God in His MERCY towards us sent His Son Jesus to REDEEM us who were WORTHY of DEATH: "For the WAGES of SIN is DEATH, but the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord" [Romans 6:23]. He [i.e., Jesus] took the PENALTY for OUR sins upon HIMSELF [who knew NO sin] and became SIN for US [2 Corinthians 5:21] so that WE might be made the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God IN HIM.
As for your allegation that God is "unfair"...that is the natural response of one who does not KNOW the Scriptures nor BELIEVES them. God is the SOVEREIGN of the universe...and, as such, He can do as He wishes with His creation. It is He ALONE who makes the decisions on who He will REDEEM, HOW He will go about the plan of REDEMPTION, and WHOM He will send to REDEEM. One thing is certain...ANY decision that He makes is JUST and GOOD even though we mortals may not fully understand it.
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*["its no wonder you talk the way u do to people as if they were pathetic bad wretches. your mentally sick. and so is christianity.
if there was goodness embodied in a higher being, man by defalut at birth would be deserving of it and part of it. it wud only be after tainted actions and intentions that he/dhe wud move away from it.
your soul is void of anything of substance/beauty/joy/value. only filled by dogma, fear, hate, narrowmindedness, and self righteousness. not to mention self contemp to the point of loathing as you believe yourself undeserving by nature of heaven/goodness etc"]
***N/A
Marchello
Originally posted by Marchello
...[B]*["its no wonder you talk the way u do to people as if they were pathetic bad wretches. your mentally sick. and so is christianity.if there was goodness embodied in a higher being, man by defalut at birth would be deserving of it and part of it. it wud only be after tainted actions and intentions that he/dhe wud move away from it.
your soul is void of anything of substance/beauty/joy/value. only filled by dogma, fear, hate, narrowmindedness, and self righteousness. not to mention self contemp to the point of loathing as you believe yourself undeserving by nature of heaven/goodness etc"]
***N/A
Marchello [/B]
I like this response. The closer to the mark, the more "N/A" shows up.