Mark (from Steve),
Sorry for the tag team here, that is not what it is.....
I been watching your conversations with Bob and others and felt it imperative to finally interject something. Pardon me if I no business saying this.
You are missing something big here. REALLY BIG! To know the truth about God, there is a surely is intellectual aspect about it. But more importantly there is a spiritual aspect you're missing.
Mark, when you ask God for the truth, he promises he will give it to you! He requires your submission in order to tell it to you. If you don't let him, he won't tell you. To know you are a sinner it starts intellectually, but the bottom line is you know it in your heart. You could talk in circles with people about various secular issues, but you are not getting to the heart of the matter.
First, you need to know somethings quite not right, that no matter how hard you try to be a good person, you will fall short. Why you say? Yours and other people's definition of a good person is impossible to define. Don't you see that? You might think one things good while another thinks another. Case in point, you might respect all people, for who they are and what they believe. And you might think this is being a good person, just as I would. But then there is another who might think killing a Jew or an African American (or some other) is a good thing and if you don't kill them, he or she thinks you are wrong respecting these types of people. They think you are doing a disservice to our society.
And to complicate it further, even when you try to do something right, you will eventually screw it up. It's our imperfect side. Human nature causes us to do things wrong, with very little you could do about it. Do you agree that we are imperfect people?
Now intellectually I am trying to appeal to you that you are not perfect. I hope you can see that! You will make a mistake eventually, or anothers opinion of what's good and bad will not fit with your definition and you will screw up according to them. Guaranteed! So you can't be a 100% perfect, and you can not live in perfect harmony with others when other have different beliefs and laws to live by which are different than yours. The Arabs and Jews are perfect examples.
So enough already with the intellectual stuff. I want to introduce the spiritual side. Once you have realized you and others are flawed, we need reconciliation. Reconciliation that puts are heart and mind at rest because of the fact we could never be good enough. We want to be perfect, and everything to be perfect, but we can't make it happen, no matter how we try. We can't hardly control ourselves, let alone others.
So Mark, how do we do it? Making believe everyone could respect each other and we can live in perfect peace would be a foolish position. Its impossible. Look at the world......
Mark, this reconciliation is to submit to the Almighty God that you are a sinner. You must feel like you are a sinner! You have to tell him you can't do anything about it! And you need him to perfect you. To reconcile you to him through Jesus Christ's blood, the perfect sacrafice!
Its partially an intellectual thing but mostly a spiritual and heart felt thing! And if you truly go to God with this position, Mark you will have a spiritual experience that will make you understand what every TRUE Christian on this thread is trying to tell you. And the knowledge you need to live with others of different beliefs and traditions in perfect harmony will be evident to you, through God's words. Your beliefs and traditions that contradicts God's will need to go away. And you will try to only keep God's law. And you will understand how fellow men of all races, religion and color can co-exist in 100% peace and harmony. Will 100% peace and harmony happen? No. Because even knowing God's perfect law we can't keep it. But things will get a heck of a whole lot better. Not perfect, but a lot better!
You can talk about capital punishment, human rights, etc. all your life long. But this will get you nowhere in regard to what you are seeking, the truth! And spirtually when you get saved, all intellectual and spiritual things will fall right into place for you. Believe me it will!
I'm sorry to have interrupted! And I'm sorry if this is all a repeat! But think about it please. Many are praying for you to understand this. And my sincere hope is one day you will.
God Bless You,
Steve |
