The Bible Study Thread

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EEmain said:
:) I could never build a house by tearing my neighbors down. But hey that`s just me.

WS thanks for reminding me of the book you mentioned. I read it before and now after pulling it out again see that I made it maybe 75% through before moving on. First half grabbed me but the second.. Well I am not really sure why or what came next.

Hell is here on earth. I lived there for many years. Gehenna! You know what the hardest part of being an addict is? The cover up! I lied to everybody... even when the truth would do. After you tell so many lies to so many people you then have to recall what you said to each. That is a full time job! Then there comes a point where you have lied so much YOU begin to believe your own bullshit. Every waking moment is spent in defense of your addiction. Protect it at all cost!
There is no time to relax. Except maybe when your stoned but even then you need to worry about your next high. Peace?!? The only piece I needed was of the rock... which I crushed and stuck up my nose. Lying, cheating and stealing thats what I did.
Guilt? Remorse? Or any E-motion for that matter. Washed them away with the perfect solvent. Oblivion!
Or so I thought. Then things turned.
I could not do this dance anymore.

I surrendered...

It amazed me the first time I realized that there didn`t need to be anymore LIES! Talk about a stone being removed. This one hung around my neck for years. The overwhelming relief can`t be put into words. Except maybe to say it felt like a fire inside my being was extinguished.:woohoo:
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Which book
 
B5150 said:
I would like to reiterate this statement in the opening post. At the risk of sounding too PC I would like to encourage us to share our testimony rather than debating our particular doctrines. God is big enough to deal with us regarding our differences in doctrines, but unfortuantely we are too small to disolve them. Lets focus on what we are in agreement on and not on what we disagree.
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Tell me what God done done in your life lately. Who can give testimony of a transformed life because of a personal encounter with the living God.

EEmain: I had a revelation today. There are two kinds of people. There are addicts who know they are addicts and are in recovery, and there's everybody else.
 
B5150 said:
There are two kinds of people. There are addicts who know they are addicts and are in recovery, and there's everybody else.
poopypants said:
well B seeing as ive been there too id have to tell you all addicts know they are addicts, its just about admiting it, to others and themselves. its not a fun situation to be in.
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The emphasis is on recovering. This is the difference. I knew I was an addict long before I was in recovery. I am still an addict. The recovery is what makes me different and sets me apart from other addicts.
 
poopypants said:
well B seeing as ive been there too id have to tell you all addicts know they are addicts, its just about admiting it, to others and themselves. its not a fun situation to be in.
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I have no experience with hardcore drugs but when i was a stupid sophomore in high school i was weed/beer record contender.
During lunch EVERYDAY i would smoke up to a bag of chronic and drink between five to ten beers.......and then go back to school. :jaw:
Fortunately i had no addiction, one day i just randomly took a break due to lack of fundage as this is an expensive habit (especially at that age) and never started back up again after
 
My point was (directed at EEmain because we have some history) is that God changed our lives and we know it. We don't preach our doctrines, or our philosophies. Our higher power (as we understand it) [who I call God] changed our lives. We pass on the message of a changed life...not the doctrine from which that changed life was delivered. I do have a very specific doctrine that I believe and live, but if the preaching of it (and I believe it to be truth) will hinder my brother from getting the message of faith, hope and love...I keep it to myself. God gets the glory even if I do not verbally and outwardly proclaim it for Him.
 
B5150 said:
Tell me what God done done in your life lately. Who can give testimony of a transformed life because of a personal encounter with the living God.

EEmain: I had a revelation today. There are two kinds of people. There are addicts who know they are addicts and are in recovery, and there's everybody else.
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:rofl:

What I used to call a curse has become my greatest blessing;)
 
W-Steve and poopy,

I mean this respectfully when I say it so don't misunderstand me. When one has participated in some substance (ab)use for a couple few years and then one day it is over is not what I and some other recovering addicts are referring to. Yes, you may have saw the beginings of some potential addictive behaviors and tendancies, and to be no longer actively engaging is the 'bad habit' is very commendable.

The addict that EE and I refer to are those who have used longer than you have been alive. Those of us who have destroyed marriages and carreers. Those of us who have been to prison. Those of us who have been in the grips of an all consuming lifestyle that slowly destroyed every good thing around us. Those of us who could not 'stop' regardless of the consequences, the shame, the guilt, the cost. Those of us who had the behaviors and activities of an addict out of control manifested so deeply in our lives that we knew no other life. Those of us who were destined to use on until the bitter end. Sure we were functional...at least we thought. To be delivered and restored to sanity from this sort of life...this is a story of what the healing power of God can do. No rehab could do it for me, no self help group could do it for me, no other power than the power of God...who saved a wrech like me...I once was blind and now I see.

Ironically we consider it a blessing to have been through what we have to have been able to know first hand the power of God at work in our lives. The Deliverer has a way of making us see things that way when He is working in us.

This of course make no ones testimony any less meaningful or truely God at work in their lives.
 
B5150, I was not comparing myself to you, I know that you have been through pure hell with your addiction. But now you have experience that none of us have and that is something to treasure.

I know that i know nothing of drug addiction.
 
I guess I am just trying to lead this thread back to the "What has God done in your life today" direction that it was headed. It was nice to see us share the way we were.

Lets get back to that again...it was tremendous.
 
Actually i have had some serious bouts with germophobia. If you have seen the movie Aviator then you have a perfect example of my behaviors. I have had this for ten years and i am coming out of it but i still dont like eating off of silverwear (i use new plastic) and my hands often bleed from washing them too much.
 
B5150 said:
I guess I am just trying to lead this thread back to the "What has God done in your life today" direction that it was headed. It was nice to see us share the way we were.

Lets get back to that again...it was tremendous.
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True dat
 
B5150 said:
To be delivered and restored to sanity from this sort of life...this is a story of what the healing power of God can do. No rehab could do it for me, no self help group could do it for me, no other power than the power of God...who saved a wrech like me...I once was blind and now I see.

Ironically we consider it a blessing to have been through what we have to have been able to know first hand the power of God at work in our lives. The Deliverer has a way of making us see things that way when He is working in us.
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this i whole heartedly agree and had seen my life going in no other direction then the same you have described were it not for the goodness of God.
 
You guys are welcome to continue to argue about what you were previously argueing about; my religion is better than your religion. The nice part of it was that I was not party to it. I won't be a party to it an arguement now either.

Good night all.
 
you know, im sorry ill help myself out.

edit: hey B im sorry i did not mean to be contentious and i think the fact is we both had an aweful experience with addiction, to whatever degree it may be but i just didnt think what i experienced should be made light of when it was far from it. again im sorry and respect everything youve said in this thread and your efforts to keep it on track, im sorry to have been a reason for topic hijacking so in that light ive left behind my testimony and anything i think others may stand to benifit from and removed anything that had a direct resonse to a question, my stronger views on religous doctrine and anything else that some might find offensive, please remove them and this post and ill take my leave for real this time, its become far too off track for me here and i feel i have been personally attacked many times so thank for those that have shared without judgments or ignorance of others.
 
I have a question I have been pondering for quite some time that relates specifically to one of the titles Jesus applied to himself. He refers to himself as 'The Son of Man.' I have a pretty good hypothesis on what this means but am curious to know others' ideas of possible interpretations of this title as it appears quite frequently in the New Testament when Christ speaks of himself.
 
Parzival said:
I have a question I have been pondering for quite some time that relates specifically to one of the titles Jesus applied to himself. He refers to himself as 'The Son of Man.' I have a pretty good hypothesis on what this means but am curious to know others' ideas of possible interpretations of this title as it appears quite frequently in the New Testament when Christ speaks of himself.
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That is a wierd thing for him to say, because he was the son of God. The fact that one of his parents was mortal and one the other was immortal makes me wonder what that made him. Maybe thats why he was able to go through this life perfectly; maybe his mind functioned at a higher capacity/understanding than ours and from the very beginning he had less of a vail upon his mind.
 
Something just hit me..... i believe Adam to be God due to various books and scriptures i have read. Adam means man(or first man), this is a hint towards Adam-God doctorine
He was the son of God who at one point played the role of Adam(first man)

To also help you understand my train of thought realize that i am mormon and i believe in a Trinity. That God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all separate beings. God and Christ have bodies but the Holy Ghost does not because this would prevent him from being able to perform his duties.



i am also getting pretty tired of members using the invisibilty mode in this thread
 
Also there is a mystery to be found in both Testaments in the Bible. The Name of God. There is no equivalent in English for this Word so it appears in the Old Testament as "The LORD." In Hebrew, this Word is spelt Yod He Vau He, YHVH, the Tetragrammaton or fourfold word. Roughly translated, it is a sustantive (meaning it encompasses past present and future tenses) form of the verb to be, but in my study of the work of the Jewish sages it is not just a name but "The Name which rushes through the Universe", and can be viewed as a formula for existence. The easiest to understand is that the Yod is the Father or positive(+) principle, the first He is the mother or receptive principle(-), the Vau is the Son or product of their interaction(neutrality), and the final He the Daughter or full manifestation of the relation of these three cosmic principles. There are an infinite amount of things which can be corresponded to It, such as DNA base pairings (Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine), chemical elements(Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen) as well as metaphysical elements (Fire, Air, Water, Earth). Its original pronunciation is said to have been lost, and even when it was pronounced it was done by the high priest in the Holy of Holies of the temple in a low tone under the ringing of bells. Most Jews when reading the Torah will replace it with 'Adonai' (Lord) out of reverence for its sanctity. It is said that he who pronounces it correctly causes 'Heaven and Earth to tremble' at its power. I have studied much and will continue to study more and I feel there are many ideas such as these which permeate the pages of scripture and which will reveal themselves to the honest seeker. Hope this makes some people think.
 
Whiskey Steve said:
Something just hit me..... i believe Adam to be God due to various books and scriptures i have read. Adam means man(or first man), this is a hint towards Adam-God doctorine
He was the son of God who at one point played the role of Adam(first man)
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Dude you, I believe, are uncannily correct in this hypothesis. In Jewish thought there is a very high concept called Adam Ha Kadmon or Heavenly Man. This I think equates to the Logos or Word of which John speaks in his gospel. 'In the Beginning was the Word,etc.' For lack of a better description, the Logos is the first born of the infinity of God or God's first 'idea' in creation. The miracle of miracles is that the 'Word became flesh' in Jesus. This of course leads me to wonder about our heritage as men and women are we heirs to a heavenly inheritance as well?
 
Parzival said:
Dude you, I believe, are uncannily correct in this hypothesis. In Jewish thought there is a very high concept called Adam Ha Kadmon or Heavenly Man. This I think equates to the Logos or Word of which John speaks in his gospel. 'In the Beginning was the Word,etc.' For lack of a better description, the Logos is the first born of the infinity of God or God's first 'idea' in creation. The miracle of miracles is that the 'Word became flesh' in Jesus. This of course leads me to wonder about our heritage as men and women are we heirs to a heavenly inheritance as well?
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i havent though about that you said there at the end, i have wondered with Christ but i have not considered it with ourselves. Thats probably why we have such (well we can obtain such) phenominal power with our subconscious mind. If we have even the faith of a mustard seed we can tell a mountain "be removed and cast into the sea" and it will obey. (im not sure where that scripture is but im sure you know what im talking about.)
 
Im working on a post right now that should make the Adam-God concept concrete in everyones mind
i have to go run an errand but ill be back very soon

my post will contain verses on: Adam, The Ancient of Days, and God.........maybe you (parzival) can take a crack at it while im gone
 
Methinks I got carried away with this thread maybe I should chill out with my ranting, I don't want to be seen as arrogant or like I think I know everything. I just have a passion for these things and have been, by no act of my own, gifted with the ability to percieve things that are to most abstract or meaningless. I will try to not get so serious but will leave with a quote from a man named Israel Regardie: "Despite being born in our age and time, those few individuals who are aware with a certainty in which there is no doubt of a destiny propelling them imperiously to the fulfillment of their ideal natures, constitute perhaps the sole exceptions. These, the minority, are the born Mystics, the artists and poets, those who see beyond the veil and bring back the light of beyond. Included within the mass, however, is yet another minority who, while not fully conscious of an all-compelling destiny, nor the nature of its deeper self, aspires to be different from the complacent masses. With an inner anxiety it is restless to obtain an abiding spiritual integrity. It is mercilessly ground underfoot by the social system of which it is a part, and harshly ostracized by the mass of its fellows. The verities and possibilities of a reintegrating contact with reality, one which can be instigated here and now, during life and not necessarily upon the death of the body, are blindly ignored... Mankind is slowly accomplisahing its own suicide. A self-strangulation is being effected through a suppression of all individuality, in the spiritual sense, and all that made it human... The result is inner lethargy, chaos, and the disintegration of all that was held to be ideal and sacred."-Israel Regardie The Tree of Life pp.3-4
 
Parzival said:
I have a question I have been pondering for quite some time that relates specifically to one of the titles Jesus applied to himself. He refers to himself as 'The Son of Man.' I have a pretty good hypothesis on what this means but am curious to know others' ideas of possible interpretations of this title as it appears quite frequently in the New Testament when Christ speaks of himself.
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I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7.13-14
 
EEmain said:
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7.13-14
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That right there is enigmatic to say the least I have begun recently to learn the Hebrew language as I feel it holds the key to understanding prophetic books like Daniel and Ezekiel. I think the structure and style of English is not suited to translation from Hebrew, nor the Greek of the Septaguint for that matter. There seems to be something here in this verse that is very obscure that may come to light with reading the original Hebrew text. What do these words mean to you?
 
Parzival, I noticed you have read the book "The Tree of Life",,, i believe my father has read it. What are your thoughts on partaking of the Tree of Life in this lifetime, and of course then you i guess the way to put it is "come off" the Tree of Knowledge of Good Evil.

again i will post in a sec about the Adam-God concept



TheCrownedOne, as we were talking earlier about hell being a state of mind or a physical place or maybe both. ....What about Lucifer and his following (1/3 of those who were in heaven) who will be cast into hell in the last days. How can physical pain be inflicted upon them, they do not have a body.
 
As you know Adam is the ancient of days.

Daniel 7: 9-10
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened."
-why would Adam be judging..... Because God was Adam.


I had a big list of verses typed up but i seem have lost them..... They talk about Michael (God), The Archangel (Michael/Adam/God). The meaning of "Archangel is that he arched from a previous world into this one. He once lived on a world as we have and he had a God and a Savior. Then he became immortal and could not die. He was placed on this world not born into it, he like wise did not die on this earth. It makes perfect sense, why would God not be the Father of his own world/children both spiritually and physically.
Part of this concept was taken from "The Pearl of Great Price",,, it says that God (our Gods God) caused a deep sleep to come upon Micheal(God) and when they awoke him they called him Adam.
 
poopypants said:
you can state it as nicely as you want TCO but tell me what were you thinking when you posted this? id like to ask that you remove it. anybody with half a brain and some resources available here on the internet can concoct sucha website and it is beyond me why you would post a link to that and make the statement you did. i can say the same about j-dubs catholics and everyotherreligion in between i can point out faults make accusations and try and find fault through false records as much as any one can, but posting it freely in what is suuposed to be a thread on shared beleif and testimony is out right wrong and shows a little more light on your true character TCO. again id like to ask that it be deleted and then this post as well. thank you.


just like he said. come on here TCO i allready told you that this existed out there and the church has had its antagonists from before its foundation, its just as likely any thing they do try to reference as records or proof from personal interviews that are authentic were not factual to begin with and were much like what this website is here in our day. this has really upset me. im out.
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Hey man, relax. I work at night so I just got here.
First of all, you don't know me or have any room to conjecture to my true intentions about anything I say or do. I do my best to be honest as often as I am able, so if I say that I'm posting something in the spirit of free discussion, that's exactly what I mean. I don't know everything about Mormonism, so I posted an antagonistic site in an attempt to have you and any other willing followers refute the assertions made therein. If I wanted to offend anyone or call your religion a crock, I would have done just that. I'm sorry you misunderstood me and took offence, as offence was not my intent - believe it or not. I tried to post the link a couple pages back when it was more OT, but at that time AM was having hiccups and no one could post links.

Many who know me well know the path I take when choosing any belief. I take both sides of the argument. For example, many continue to argue over whether or not the King James Bible is the preserved and inerrant Word of God to us in English today. So what I did when examining the two sides was take the side of those in favor of the KJB and those opposed to the assertions of the "KJ only activists." After ardent prayer and a careful weighing out of the facts brought to light by each side, I chose to believe in the King Jame Bible alone.
And so I intended to do with Mormonism. But again, sorry you took offence to it. I was NOT in any way trying to start any kind of "my religion is better than your religion" debate as that would not be allowed here. But for future reference, note the attitude and action taken by Whiskey Steve. He chose not to fly off the handle at me and carried himself with meekness and courtesy. Bravo Whiskey Steve.

And moreover, what difference does it make if something is on the internet? Anabolic Minds is on the internet.
 
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in addition to post #232
Also with what me and parzival were saying earlier; our God was not the God of this world yet when he fathered the human race. Therefore i believe Christ was in a more advanced state of being than us. When God fathered Christ he was the God of this world. When he fathered our race his God/Father was the God of this world because a world must have a God head(trinity) at all times. When Adam(Micheal/God) was taken off of this world he took his place as the God of this world.
 
Whiskey Steve said:
TheCrownedOne, as we were talking earlier about hell being a state of mind or a physical place or maybe both. ....What about Lucifer and his following (1/3 of those who were in heaven) who will be cast into hell in the last days. How can physical pain be inflicted upon them, they do not have a body.
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Well, who said you must have a temporal body to feel pain?
 
TheCrownedOne said:
But for future reference, note the attitude and action taken by Whiskey Steve. He chose not to fly off the handle at me and carried himself with meekness and courtesy. Bravo Whiskey Steve.

And moreover, what difference does it make if something is on the internet? Anabolic Minds is on the internet.
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I was just getting people to consider the validity of the site. Im sure there are sites with perfect truth but there all also sites that are a totally false(as i am sure that link was)

Brothers; say no more on this but carry on where me and Parzival are
 
There is no way that Adam was/is God. That isn't in the Bible anywhere.

Where does the verse say that the Ancient of days was Adam?

Romans
5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam was a human being who was the first man to be created, nothing more. If the Bible doesn't say it, don't believe it.
 
TheCrownedOne said:
Well, who said you must have a temporal body to feel pain?
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I am talking about physical pain..... i was talking about mental pain and you brought up mental pain earlier.....im not trying to prove you wrong, i am asking for your thoughts about these followers of Lucifer who have no body
 
I'm sorry if I post with vehemence, but when people try to make their opinion the Bible and not the other way around, I get upset.
 
Whiskey Steve said:
I am talking about physical pain..... i was talking about mental pain and you brought up mental pain earlier.....im not trying to prove you wrong, i am asking for your thoughts about these followers of Lucifer who have no body
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I didn't say you were trying to prove me wrong, I was just responding ;)
I don't remember mentioning mental pain, but regardless, spirits can think. Why do you think a spirit such as a fallen angel has no body? There are numerous verses that expound upon the visage of angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, etc.
 
TheCrownedOne said:
There is no way that Adam was/is God. That isn't in the Bible anywhere.

Where does the verse say that the Ancient of days was Adam?

Romans
5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam was a human being who was the first man to be created, nothing more. If the Bible doesn't say it, don't believe it.
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What about the entire city of Enoch that was translated

Well in the topical guide if you look for the Ancient of Days it says "see adam". In our Doctrine and Covenants it specifically says in section 138 verse 38 ......Adam the Ancient of Days...... however i am trying to talk with all of you using only the Bible because that is what you are familiar with so i will keep searching for scriptures in the Bible


please dont be so absolute, it obvious (or at least it seams) that you have not heard of the Adam/God concept yet. Why would you thrash and condem it before you hear it out?
 
TheCrownedOne said:
I didn't say you were trying to prove me wrong, I was just responding ;)
I don't remember mentioning mental pain, but regardless, spirits can think. Why do you think a spirit such as a fallen angel has no body? There are numerous verses that expound upon the visage of angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, etc.
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The specific Spirits i am talking about are our brothers and sisters who chose Lucifers plan and were cast out of Heaven before any of us came to earth. (actually they were sent here, but they do not have bodies....their spirits are dwelling on earth)

and i was the one mentioning mental pain,,, you were mentioning the physical aspect of it
 
I would like to say that some of you are the most scripturally knowledgeable people i have ever talked to and this is a real treat to have a conversation with you......let alone one that spans days
 
Hey guys, sorry for the shameless plug but a lot of the info and theories Ive read (Parzival and Crowned One, specifically) in this thread sound very similar to things Ive heard my Dad talk about in some of our physics/space/sci-fi related conversations.

My old man has spent much of his life studying religion, and while I dont necessarily agree with all his theories (Im not a religious person), I do have great respect for those who are true to their faith and seek to learn more about the universe we live in through it.

Over the past few years, my Dad has compiled a lot of his views and concepts, tossed in a really cool science fiction slant, and finally started his life-long dream to become a published writer, check it out:

It's called 'The Creature Crafters' , you can find it on Amazon.
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booklocker.com has a brief description of the storyline...
Invalid Link Removed

Again,apologies for the shameless plug, In now way do I want to encroach on the integrity and thoughtfulness of this thread. I really thought some of you might find it interesting. Ive read a good bit of it and its really, really well done. (and Im not just saying that because my father wrote it) If you're looking for a thought-provoking science fiction epic, with a good bit of Christian theology interwoven throughout, you may want to give it a look.

Thanks,
BV
 
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BigVrunga said:
Hey guys, sorry for the shameless plug but a lot of the info and theories Ive read (Parzival and Crowned One, specifically) in this thread sound very similar to things Ive heard my Dad talk about in some of our physics/space/sci-fi related conversations.

My old man has spent much of his life studying religion, and while I dont necessarily agree with all his theories (Im not a religious person), I do have great respect for those who are true to their faith and seek to learn more about the universe we live in through it.

Over the past few years, my Dad has compiled a lot of his views and concepts, tossed in a really cool science fiction slant, and finally started his life-long dream to become a published writer, check it out:

Invalid Link Removed


This site has a description of the book:
Invalid Link Removed

Again,apologies for the shameless plug, In now way do I want to encroach on the integrity and thoughtfulness of this thread. I really thought some of you might find it interesting. Ive read a good bit of it and its really, really well done. (and Im not just saying that because my father wrote it) If you're looking for a thought-provoking science fiction epic, with a good bit of Christian theology interwoven throughout, you may want to give it a look.
Thanks,
BV
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Ya ill chech it out.....

And i realize that that link was just to show the book for sale so this has nothing to do with you but for everyone else: please do not post anymore links on this thread, it make things to complicated and knowbody on here actually wants to follow a link and read fifty pages..... this thread is enough reading in itself. If you have some info youd like to share do it here....dont make us chase around the web
 
Hey BV, thanks for that link. I dream of being published one day as well, and I count it a rare treat to find authors that interest me. I'll look into getting that book!
 
And i realize that that link was just to show the book for sale so this has nothing to do with you but for everyone else: please do not post anymore links on this thread, it make things to complicated and knowbody on here actually wants to follow a link and read fifty pages..... this thread is enough reading in itself. If you have some info youd like to share do it here....dont make us chase around the web
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Sorry about that bro, I removed the links. I started reading through this thread because I was interested in what you guys had to say - when I read through a lot of the posts it made me think of some of the passages in my old man's story.
Yeah, the post was to let people know about my Dad's work, but I wouldnt have posted it unless I thought some of you would really like it...

I'll keep this short because I dont want to clutter the thread, Ill keep an eye on what gets discussed here though...from what Ive read so far you guys have a grasp on what I feel relgion should really be about: love, compassion, understanding and trying to rationalize the source and power of the universe through faith in a greater, all powerful being.

So many times Ive been exposed to people who claim to be followers of this path but turn out to be quite the opposite of the words they preach to others. Using religion as an excuse to take advantage of good people looking for answers, or those less fortunate.

Its refreshing to me to see the Christian faith discussed as it is here, thanks for that:thumbsup:

BV
 
no i wasn't talking to you, your link was totally fine, you were promoting your dads book. (please put them back up). I was just talking about people who are posting links to other sites saying "read this thread". we dont have five hours to read that whole other thread,,, if it said something interesting in it then quickly summarize it here or forget it

but i am not really being fair, feel free to post links to threads you think we will like but do not ask us to respond to them......how's that
 
I could go on for days about the book of Genesis and some of the mysteries contained therein. However for arguments sake I will say that to me to attempt a literal interpretation of Genesis or any book in the Bible is folly. First off, the Bible as we know it was not composed by simple or unimaginative men. The Torah or the Five Books of Moses(The Old Testament), whether you believe it was written by Moses or not, contains in it secrets so sublime that they are exceedingly difficult to understand. I don't claim to know these secrets, but I do know beyond doubt that they are there and available to those found worthy of receiving. I recall a verse in the New Testament where Jesus speaks to his disciples saying (not verbatim can't find my Bible ahhh!) "To them I speak in parables so that hearing they understand not but to YOU it is given to know the SECRETS of the Kingdom of Heaven." This presents the idea of esotericism, where the teachings being transmitted are not for the many but for the few. It is worth noting that a Roman imperial government with the simple goal of unifying their subjects had a HUGE influence on our Bible as we know it today. The Romans who manipulated these text were basically a body of 'censors' appointed by the emperor Constantine to arrive at a collection of texts that did not threaten the subjugation of the people. This group was called the council of Nicaea. They judged which books were to be included, the rest were deemed heretical by their standards. There are many sacred texts which did not make the 'cut' which are of indeterminable value. Christians today are selling themselves short by basically agreeing with these folks on what is heretical and what is Truth. The Nag Hammadi texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls come to mind as works which have intrinsic spiritual value, but are rejected by the mainstream of Christian thought on the same shaky grounds as used by the Roman empire.
 
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