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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mark silvers who wrote (17283)	6/9/1998 5:04:00 PM
From: Thomas Calvet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

Mark, let me clarify some misconceptions on your part. We are not "made in His image" physically, but spiritually. God made the first humans perfect, without sin and immortal. He also gave them the ability to think and reason, and then He gave them the most dangerous attribute of all, the ability to choose or "free will". Why would God create such a being, knowing that they would reject Him? The answer is a testimony to God's infinite love and goodness. God created mankind for fellowship. You see God is spirit, and He dwells outside our space-time continuum. This is what is meant in the Bible when it states that God inhabits eternity. He was, is, and always will be. He existed before time and space. He created the universe in which we live, and declared it to be good. He created all manner of life, plant, animal, and He declared it to be good. Then He created a physical being in which He could fellowship with, so He said; "let US create man(kind) in OUR image". Who do you think US and OUR refer to? God is manifested in three personalities, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the doctrine of the Trinity. The Word speaks of all three of them being involved in the creation of mankind. Jesus is the Son of God, therefore He had a hand in creating us. Lets get back to the problem at hand, the fall of man. Before God created the physical universe, He had created the angels. Angels are spiritual beings that God created to inhabit eternity with Him. They perform many tasks for Him. Like mankind they too were created with free will. One high ranking angel decided that he wanted to be God and so he rebelled against God. Many (about a third) of the angels sided with this high ranking angel. There was a confrontation and God banished them all from His presence. Now I'm giving you a very simple explanation, one that a four year old could follow, and I apologize for that. But I do it to emphasis the point clearly. These angels, banished from Gods presence, turn to God's prize creation and deceive them to get at God. Now disobedience requires punishment, so God takes away Mankind's immortality (spiritual separation and physical death), but God always leaves a way of redemption. FAITH in Him, faith that He created you, sustains you, and is able to restore you back into His presence. Mark, many here would say this is all myth and fable. That its the creation of man. I say to them the same about what they believe. Others would say there is no God at all, to them I have pity. For me its the Bible or nothing. Only the Bible makes sense, and it could for you also. You ask what is a greater testimony to God's work, literally the sacrifice of Himself for you on a Roman cross almost 2000 years ago is the greatest testimony anyone can have. Laying down ones own life for another, that is what God has done for you Mark. If the good man has heard this good news and rejects it, then he must suffer the consequences of his decision. If a good man dies before he hears this message then God will judge him accordingly, that is according to his faith. Did the man put his faith in an unseen God, or in himself or the creation around him? All around us the creation speaks of a creator, however many (including some right here on this thread) worship the creation (earth, moon, stars, animals, etc.) instead of the Creator. With all love and sincerity, Tom