Kritish said:
I can't help it. I am naturally jealous of anyone with the Bible so easily memorized. I only just recently converted Catholic but have a strong respect for Christians of all denominations. I think the study of Scripture is important -- if you're going to believe in something, a person should know exactly what that is! I would also recommend to the curious the use of Commentaries on the books of Scripture. Reading the Bible by itself can be a hard task. I got a lot more out of Isaiah when I read a commentary alongside. I think a great many folks out there get their religion from the movies played at Easter time and Christmas and it's just not enough. Faith is more than going to a service on Sunday, it should be explored and reading books or taking a class is the best way to do that.Kessel Day said:i am a Bible Student, one of Jehovah's Witnesses. i also have a degree in history - my special field of interest was early medieval and late Roman.
i became a Witness after i dropped out of law school.
thanks for the complimentary words, squeek.
It was the same for me. I was afraid of God until I got to know Jesus. When you read his wisdom and see it for the truth that it is, you can't help but love him.Kessel Day said:
The problem with a religion like Buddism and dare I say Scientology, is that these faiths have a person focusing inward which is inherently selfish. You spend so much time thinking about yourself that you disregard other people. Christianity teaches us to think outward, towards others. The early Church is responsible for the first hospitals and even schools, these things had never existed before in an organized fashion. Corinthians 1 (or maybe 2) has the first ever recorded mention of a collection of money in one city (Corinth) to aid the famine stricken people of another (Jerusalem). It just never happened. Christianity teaches us to think less of ourselves and more of other people. If everyone just helped the other, we wouldn't have the wars and the homeless like we do today. In this way, Christ has taught us to be better people and that's worth believing in.Kritish said:
squeekness said:The problem with a religion like Buddism and dare I say Scientology, is that these faiths have a person focusing inward which is inherently selfish. You spend so much time thinking about yourself that you disregard other people. Christianity teaches us to think outward, towards others. The early Church is responsible for the first hospitals and even schools, these things had never existed before in an organized fashion. Corinthians 1 (or maybe 2) has the first ever recorded mention of a collection of money in one city (Corinth) to aid the famine stricken people of another (Jerusalem). It just never happened. Christianity teaches us to think less of ourselves and more of other people. If everyone just helped the other, we wouldn't have the wars and the homeless like we do today. In this way, Christ has taught us to be better people and that's worth believing in.
I have said to some non-believers, if you lived your life as a Christian only to die and find there was no Christ, what exactly did you give up in life? You probably had a stronger bond with your family and community than if you hadn't. Those bonds are more valuable than any amount of money or riches and bring greater happiness.
I know that some people are against house to house work, but consider this. If one is to make serious social change, it is beter to start where most morals are learned -- in the home. If you can reach the parents and get them thinking in better, more moral ways, they will then pass this on to their kids, who will grow up to be the next generation in society. The more moral a society is, the better it will function in and aid in the world.Kritish said:
That may be true, but do they gather money for the poor? Do they clothe the naked? Do they feed the starving the way that most major Christian organizations have? Who has done more for the world? If we all turn inward and ignore our brothers who struggle, then no one benefits.Kritish said:
squeekness said:I know that some people are against house to house work, but consider this. If one is to make serious social change, it is beter to start where most morals are learned -- in the home. If you can reach the parents and get them thinking in better, more moral ways, they will then pass this on to their kids, who will grow up to be the next generation in society. The more moral a society is, the better it will function in and aid in the world.
Kessel, you didn't read the scripture then. It said that of the three men seen, two were identified as angels and the third was identified as Jehovah. If it were not Jehovah God, then it would have been identified as somebody else, such as angels as you say, just as the two angels were identified as just that, angels, so if the third person was an angel, then why wasn't he identified as an angel? Why was he only identified as Jehovah?Kessel Day said:
Witness don't harrass. They knock on your door and when you tell them you are not interested, they leave. That is not harrasment. At least, I've never had to beat a Witness off my doorstep.Kritish said:So if I knock on a door trying to get something over and over again it's harassment. If I do it for Religion I'm Okay?
squeekness said:Witness don't harrass. They knock on your door and when you tell them you are not interested, they leave. That is not harrasment. At least, I've never had to beat a Witness off my doorstep.
I admit, I have only had one Mormon knock on my door. He was okay, he gave me a rather nice Bible and then I never saw him again. He was only at my door about five minutes. Maybe where you live, you get mroe regularly visited. I would just say to you that just because one woman was especially insistant, don't judge all other door to door people as being the same.Kritish said:
While we are encouraged to love everybody, we cannot respect other religions. Kessel respects 'you,' not your 'catholic' religion.squeekness said:I can't help it. I am naturally jealous of anyone with the Bible so easily memorized. I only just recently converted Catholic but have a strong respect for Christians of all denominations. I think the study of Scripture is important -- if you're going to believe in something, a person should know exactly what that is! I would also recommend to the curious the use of Commentaries on the books of Scripture. Reading the Bible by itself can be a hard task. I got a lot more out of Isaiah when I read a commentary alongside. I think a great many folks out there get their religion from the movies played at Easter time and Christmas and it's just not enough. Faith is more than going to a service on Sunday, it should be explored and reading books or taking a class is the best way to do that.
You make some very good points, but I should clarify my history a bit. I have only recently converted after having seen The Passion of the Christ. The movie had me asking questions and I took it upon myself to do some research. Like many atheists before me, the more I read, the more I became convinced that something truely miraculous had happened. When a person finally reaches the point that they recognize Christ for who he really was, the next question that comes is -- what am I going to do about it? I was raised a liberal and many of those tendencies remain. I wanted to go to church, but wasn't really particular about which denomination.rodhulk said:
Micah 5:2. Yyour translation has 'indefinite' rather than many other translations which have 'everlasting.'Kessel Day said:
Thanks, but I'm not sure I was dissed. Or at least not intentionally.Kritish said:
