Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I can't answer to the Christian thing, cause there are a lot of Christians that don't follow what the bible teaches. It all depends of interpretation. As far as Buddhism, if you do things that are immoral , you run the risk of being excommunicated.
And they wouldn't be considered Christians according to what God said in the Bible
Originally posted by juggerman
And they wouldn't be considered Christians according to what God said in the Bible
No, it depends on what Christian denomination you are. Example, baptism, some denomination submerge their people under water, while other sprinkle water.
So, it depends on witch interpretation of the bible you believe. One group might consider the other group to not be Christian, but from an outside point of view, they are both Christian.
Originally posted by juggerman
Notice how you said "follow" yet the definition clearly says "Professing belief" first and the "or" indicates actually following isn't needed.If I "professed belief" in Christ yet killed, raped, tourtured, slept with farm animals, never went to church, took his name in vain, forced children to do coke, and an host of other horrendous behavior; would I still be a Christian? According to the definition? Yes because I have professed belief in it with is all that's required. But according to God's own words in the Bible? Nope. Heck, not even according to the general populace I would imagine.
And that goes for Buddhists too. Would I be a Buddhist if I professed belief in it yet lived a lifstyle completely opposite of it? Probably not tho I admit I'm not sure as to what is accepted for it
I'm not trying to exclude anyone from Christianity, just pointing out the issue with the definition you provided
👆
and i literally laughed my a$$ off on:
Originally posted by juggerman
slept with farm animals,
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I can't answer to the Christian thing, cause there are a lot of Christians that don't follow what the bible teaches. It all depends of interpretation. As far as Buddhism, if you do things that are immoral , you run the risk of being excommunicated.
there is excommunication in Christianity...
"But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person."
I Corinthians 5:13
"Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,"
Titus 3:10
just saying...
Originally posted by juggerman
But that "outside point of view" would still be contrary to what's in the Bible. Just because you see things a certain way doesn't mean they are that way.
Obviously, the bible is not very clear. Why else would there be so many different interpretations, and therefore, so many different denominations? So, not everyone agrees on what the bible says.
Originally posted by red g jacks
i'm not necessarily convinced that you have the authority to say who is christian and who is not. i'm not saying you're necessarily wrong either but i am not sure. does the bible explicitly give a guideline for determining who the real christians are beyond vague "you shall know them by their fruits" type verses? you would basically have to presume that you have the 1 correct interpretation of scripture to make this claim authoritatively.
With the possible exception of the Seventh Day Adventists, who have organized Bible verses into question/answer segments they entitle "Amazing Facts Study Guides", I don't know of places that seem more Bible-based, straightforward, or detailed than some of the churches that identify themselves AS "Church of Christ" churches.
And although they are famous for doing things a fairly traditional way, they nonetheless have informative web pages online.
Here's the summary of perhaps the most pertinent one for your question.
Note that if you visit the actual webpage, which I provide a link for below, you will find it backed up with the appropriate Bible verses.
Note that each of the five points is actually as detailed as the fifth one given here, but that I did not provide the expanded version of the other four simply for space considerations.
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What does one have to do in order to be forgiven of his sins?
He must:
1. Hear the Gospel of Christ
2. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
3. Repent of all his past sins
4. Confess that Christ is God's Son
5. Be Baptized for the remission of sins
... one must be baptized in order to be saved. Jesus said: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;" (Mark 16:16). Please note that baptism follows belief. One who does not believe that Gospel cannot be truly baptized. Therefore, babies cannot be baptized for they are too young to (1) have sin, (2) hear the Gospel, (3) repent of sins, and (4) confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Baptism also follows repentance. On Pentecost Day, Peter told those who asked what to do to be saved to "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized..." (Acts 2:38). One cannot be truly baptized who has not truly repented.
Baptism is a burial in water (Romans 6:3,4; Colossians 2:12). Therefore, sprinkling or pouring are not proper baptism. Baptism is in order to be saved (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21). One is not saved before he is baptized! Baptism is "for the remission (forgiveness) of sins" (Acts 2:38). Just as Jesus shed His blood for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28), so we are baptized in order to receive the remission of sins. In baptism, the sinner's sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus (Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5).
When he does this, he is added by the Lord to His church (Acts 2:41,47). He is born again (John 3:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17). He is in Christ where all spiritual blessings are to be found (Ephesians 1:3; Galatians 3:26,27). In short, he is a Christian (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16).
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http://www.oceansidechurchofchrist.net/BibleBasics/what_must_i_do_to_be_saved.html
Originally posted by Digi
We have other threads for creationism and evolution. This is also a bit US-centric. Which, I get it, you focus on what you know. But the fear of the US falling behind in education isn't necessarily going to galvanize the comparatively multicultural KMC masses like you might think.This is probably your most coherent thread in a while, in that most of your others are strawmen that misrepresent entire religions, or all but the most niche interpretations of them, and therefore miss any potential target audience. But this also doesn't tread new ground in the educational debate. However, to throw you a bone, sure, a more international approach to education, in both this and other areas, would undoubtedly be beneficial in most cases.
A few less Jihadists.
Regards
DL
Originally posted by Star428
Yeah, continue to promote the ridiculous notion that there is no god or devil. I'm sure that'll fix everything. LOL... NOT. So many people like you having no belief in a divine creator is one of the things that's wrong with this once-great nation. I'd much rather make sure our children are protected from the influence of ignorant atheists who think the universe just "happened" accidentally from an explosion of absolutely nothing.
I did not say it just happened. God makes it happen as you can easily see.
New evidence of God’s creation of the Big Bang.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmD9ZWDUsNY&feature=youtu.be
Regards
DL
Originally posted by Digi
I won't resort to insults, and there's little value in conversing if we start off on that foot. To be clear, however, I only mentioned that a more worldly approach to some matters would be beneficial. Xenophobia and ignorance, whether religiously motivated or otherwise, is a far greater potential evil than any implications of either side of the creation/evolution debate. For example, I'm much more concerned with your tone toward atheists than I am with our disagreement on evolution. The latter is an academic matter; the former is an approach mired in negativity, a personal grievance instead of merely an intellectual one.I'd also point out that the US remains one of the most stridently religious nations in the world. If it is "once great," the decline has little to do with a decline in religiosity. Atheism represents somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-3% of the total population; hardly the critical mass needed to do much of anything.
Strident, yes. Especially those who look at the dismal U.S. jail stats. The worst in the world when it is from a Christian nation.
One wonders why atheist nations do better. As you say. It cannot be because of the few atheists. It must be Christianity's influence that creates criminality above the atheist threshold.
Regards
DL
Originally posted by ares834
I do believe it would be beneficial for schools to teach at least the basics of contemporary religions. Not as fact of course, but rather in taught in a similar vein as mythology. It is ironic, I think, that we learn about a few ancient religions in school but many people are left completely ignorant of religions such as Islam or Hinduism. Hell, I'd expect that more people in the US know who Zeus is than Allah. It seems that much of the religious bigotry in the US is due to ignorance of other religions and teaching the basics of all the major religions to kids in schools would be quite a beneficial step.
I agree.
Regards
DL
Originally posted by Star428
Because the OP (not Diji) is the one who continues to talk trash about God. I mean, just look at all the disrespect threads to God he's made to get an idea of why I don't like him. I called atheists "ignorant" in that post but I really didn't mean to call all atheists that. I was mainly just upset with his continual trash talking about God.
Yet you do not defend the prick.
Because you know he is a prick.
Who but a prick would torture a baby for 6 days before finally killing it because of anger towards the father?
Defend you God prick's actions. Justify the torture of a baby.
Regards
DL
Originally posted by bluewaterrider
With all due respect to Star, "Greatest I am" is about as atheist as the Pope.He subscribes instead to something called Gnosticism. It's a form of Luciferianism, and its tenets, having names as exotic as those found in the Bible WITHOUT the name recognition of that work for most people, sounds like something from a bad drug trip.
Have you ever wondered how God could allow bad things to happen?
Have you ever wondered how the Bible could have God speak as if He Himself is the author of calamity in certain places?Gnostics believe they have the answer.
A being would have to be so conflicted as to be mad in their view, and so the God identified by Christians as Jehovah, Yaweh, God the Father, etcetera IS mad in the Gnostic view, he is, in "fact" a being called the "Demiurge" or, more formally "Yaldabaoth", and is literally insane.By contrast, however, Gnostics believe that the serpent of the garden, ie Lucifer, is actually a being who was concerned with the en[b]light
enment of man, wisdom, hence the name "Light Bearer". The Bible is, in the Gnostic view, a sort of twisted propoganda form of the "real" story of God and Satan (ie Lucifer).Hence, light is dark, black is white, good is evil, etcetera.
Re-examine what you see from "Greatest I Am" with this knowledge.
Better yet, examine the first 2 minutes (or as much as you choose) from the 7 minute clip below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_OZtVxNQtc
Better still, do just a little research on your own by Googling or Wikipedia-ing "demiurge" and Gnosticism.
Greatest I Am is not an atheist. He just believes, or at least claims, that the God of the Bible is the deceiver of mankind, not Satan. [/B]
Better to ask what I believe instead of putting up what is not the truth.
We do not believe as you say we believe. You have us believing woo and Satanism and we are not into the supernatural at all. We are naturalists.
You have interpreted our myths about right but call them beliefs when they are not.
They are myths and all myths and Gods are unreal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR02ciandvg&feature=BFa&list=PLCBF574D
The thinking shown below is the Gnostic Christian’s goal as taught by Jesus but know that any belief can be internalized to activate your higher mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alRNbesfXXw&feature=player_embedded
This method and mind set is how you become I am and brethren to Jesus, in the esoteric sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdSVl_HOo8Y
When you can name your God, I am, and mean yourself, you will begin to know the only God you will ever find. Becoming a God is to become more fully human and a brethren to Jesus.
Regards
DL
Originally posted by Star428
[B]LOL@Shakyamunison. You're persistant. I'll give you that but no, he is not a myth and yes, they are the same being. It's just that after Lucifer was kicked out of heaven he became Satan, the devil.
The Vatican depicted Satan as female. Ever wonder why?
Also. Tell us why God cast Satan into Eden of all places. That was really stupid of God. Right?
Regards
DL