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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (12881)	7/14/2002 1:19:33 AM
From: GTC Trader	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 28931

2MAR$, Thank you for your thoughts and the links. << ... the "Bible" of Southern India ... is quite beautiful isn't it ? And more true to divine form than a Bible filled with so much atrocity, strife, wailing and war >> You are correct that the Judeo-Christian Bible is indeed filled with much atrocity, strife, and war. It documents human history from the very beginning of creation through the first century A.D. As a result, there is much sin, death, and pain, resulting primarily from man's rejection of God. Indeed, it is not a very pretty picture. Reality can be like that some times. It is incredible that God loves man so much despite our continual bent towards wickedness and evil. The Old Testament documents the ping-pong pattern of good king, evil king as almost every other generation rejected God and sought their own way. Through the nation of Israel, and through its history, God has delivered His message to all of mankind. He promised a Redeemer to offer salvation for our sins and the New Testament documents the fulfillment of this promise in Jesus Christ. I have no doubt that the Buddhist scriptures are beautiful and well-written. They no doubt contain many virtuous and honorable thoughts. If you prefer not to reply, that is fine, but if you do reply, I would be interested in your thoughts on a couple questions about the Buddhist scriptures: 1. What does it teach about the character and nature of God? 2. What does it teach about sin and man's relationship to God? 3. What does it offer as a means of salvation? 4. Why do you believe that it is true and of divine origin? << You should be very careful of what you choose to have God hating , and God not hating ... >> I don't CHOOSE to have God hating or not hating anything. In the Bible, God has told us what He hates and doesn't hate. That is a key point of Christianity: The Bible tells us that we don't have a choice to decide how we think God should be. YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, reveals Himself through the pages of Scripture and commands us to not have any other gods before Him and to not create any false gods. (Exodus 20) I can be a Christian, or I can create the type of god that I want to worship, but it is impossible to do both. << ...that is a very dangerous doctrine you are promoting , and false and breeds nothing but more hatred fellow. >> The Bible is NOT "a very dangerous doctrine" and does not breed hate. True Christians will obey the teachings of the Bible and follow the example of Christ. They will love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. They will "turn the other cheek" when people take advantage of them. They will repay evil with good. Anyone who does not respond in love according to the example of Christ is simply not a Christian. (Matthew 5:38-48) Church history is filled with countless examples of this. "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" is an excellent place to start. You can buy it on Amazon for less than ten bucks, or just read 12 pages of it online at no charge. amazon.com Christians and Jews don't strap explosives around their waists and blow up innocent, peace-loving Muslims. Beliefs dictate actions, and the Judeo-Christian ethics taught in the Bible promote loving your neighbor as yourself, and sacrificing yourself out of love for others, not killing or even hating people who don't believe what you believe. (Matthew 5:21-22) While it is true that many violent men (including several popes in the Catholic church) have murdered millions of innocent people over the years and blamed it on God, for the most part they were driven by lust for power and wealth, and seeking after their own selfish desires in direct conflict with the Bible. They may have claimed to be Christians, but Jesus said that we would know people by their "fruit", meaning it is not what they SAY, but what they DO that reveals if a person is truly a Christian. (Matthew 7) Best regards - Ken