So How Was Church Today?

[POWdER-man]

I grew up a Roman Catholic but in my early years moved away from the church. I went back a few times in later years to different churches but nothing really clicked for me as I found I was getting more and more upset on what was going on and said.

I believe 100% in god, in prayer, and forgiveness. Every morning I pray for a good day ahead of me, for my family and friends, and every evening I thank god for everything he has provided me and my loved ones and even when things go wrong, I am still thankful for everything that didn't.

 

[Scourge2099]

Church was alright this past sunday. Some new chick I never seen before was flirting with me after church though. Hopefully I'll see her more.

 

[TheIncredibleSk]

Lol I need to go to church if ladies out there in full force like y'all saying.

 

[Scourge2099]

The chick that was flirting with me was this hot blonde. She said something to me before she left , but my hearing is starting to suck.I have no idea what she said.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Since the topic came up, I would always stress to people looking for a Church to not find a Church that teaches them what 'they' want to hear, but rather find a Church that teaches them what 'God' wants them to hear.

Okay, I actually have an example and want to ask you're opinion on this subject. So my girlfriend and I recently moved to Arizona together for her job, when we moved it was right around Ash Wednesday, she went to church and came back kind of pissed off. The church closest to us was a fire and brimstone church, talking all about God's wrath and stuff, actually one of the first things they said also was two people in a relationship living together that aren't married are awful sinners. Well that's us, we were planning on living together a while before getting married (which we're planning on doing, but not in a hurry to do), sort of as a next step in our relationship, moving across the country it made absolute sense not to rent two places and I wasn't going to live in Illinois while she lived in Arizona.

Fastforward to Easter, we went to a church she went to while in school here in Arizona. The priest was great, kind of hippy like, all about preaching God's love, really into the mass, you could see the love of God coming from him like no other priest I've seen. However, he'd probably be okay skipping a few passages here and there.

Which is the right church for us?

 

[C. Lee]

The chick that was flirting with me was this hot blonde. She said something to me before she left , but my hearing is starting to suck.I have no idea what she said.

If your hearing is going...how do you know she was flirting with you? She could have ben trying to tell you you had a booger hanging out of your nose.

Okay, I actually have an example and want to ask you're opinion on this subject. So my girlfriend and I recently moved to Arizona together for her job, when we moved it was right around Ash Wednesday, she went to church and came back kind of pissed off. The church closest to us was a fire and brimstone church, talking all about God's wrath and stuff, actually one of the first things they said also was two people in a relationship living together that aren't married are awful sinners. Well that's us, we were planning on living together a while before getting married (which we're planning on doing, but not in a hurry to do), sort of as a next step in our relationship, moving across the country it made absolute sense not to rent two places and I wasn't going to live in Illinois while she lived in Arizona.

Fastforward to Easter, we went to a church she went to while in school here in Arizona. The priest was great, kind of hippy like, all about preaching God's love, really into the mass, you could see the love of God coming from him like no other priest I've seen. However, he'd probably be okay skipping a few passages here and there.

Which is the right church for us?

In my opinion...the church that you are comfortable going to is the one that's right for you.

I personaly feel the church is there for support, friendship, love, and to help people....not scare, instill fear, and preach intolerance.

 

[Scourge2099]

If your hearing is going...how do you know she was flirting with you? She could have ben trying to tell you you had a booger hanging out of your nose.

Chicks don't smile and blush if you have a booger hanging out.

 

[Norman Osborn]

I was on the road so I actually missed service .......but I'm the treasurer so I get Mulligans t:

 

[Bubonic]

I personaly feel the church is there for support, friendship, love, and to help people....not scare, instill fear, and preach intolerance.

Are those the Hell Houses?
I've seen them in some documentary, awful stuff to put children through.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay, I actually have an example and want to ask you're opinion on this subject. So my girlfriend and I recently moved to Arizona together for her job, when we moved it was right around Ash Wednesday, she went to church and came back kind of pissed off. The church closest to us was a fire and brimstone church, talking all about God's wrath and stuff, actually one of the first things they said also was two people in a relationship living together that aren't married are awful sinners. Well that's us, we were planning on living together a while before getting married (which we're planning on doing, but not in a hurry to do), sort of as a next step in our relationship, moving across the country it made absolute sense not to rent two places and I wasn't going to live in Illinois while she lived in Arizona.

Fastforward to Easter, we went to a church she went to while in school here in Arizona. The priest was great, kind of hippy like, all about preaching God's love, really into the mass, you could see the love of God coming from him like no other priest I've seen. However, he'd probably be okay skipping a few passages here and there.

Which is the right church for us?

I'll chime in here if you don't mind.

The first church sounds similar to the church I just left (well, under the previous pastor moreso than the current one) so I understand how that kind of church thinks. I can't say for certain since I've not been to that church but I think a general mindset is that if something can and most likely will lead to sin then it's as good as sin itself. There's an assumption that if you're living together while not married, you're sleeping together while not married. Those types of assumptions get on my nerves because it's a form of judging that isn't needed. Sex before marriage is a sin and should be addressed, living together should not be bothered with in my opinion unless it's as a warning to be careful. However, the intentions are good.

The second church I'd also be worried about because when they leave out scripture they're basically making Christianity their own version rather than the real version intended. If that's the case then there's a real scare of WHAT they're leaving out and why. I'm always weary of people who make the Bible their own version while ignoring key aspects. However, intentions are good.

So really... both are are difficult, especially if you prefer the one where the man can be leaving out scripture. My advice is to stick with the one that you feel will increase your faith, but be weary of the lessons and cross reference what is taught with what's in the Bible. If you catch either church taking too many liberties you may want to keep an eye out for somewhere new.

That's just my opinion off hand.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

I'll chime in here if you don't mind.

The first church sounds similar to the church I just left (well, under the previous pastor moreso than the current one) so I understand how that kind of church thinks. I can't say for certain since I've not been to that church but I think a general mindset is that if something can and most likely will lead to sin then it's as good as sin itself. There's an assumption that if you're living together while not married, you're sleeping together while not married. Those types of assumptions get on my nerves because it's a form of judging that isn't needed. Sex before marriage is a sin and should be addressed, living together should not be bothered with in my opinion unless it's as a warning to be careful. However, the intentions are good.

The second church I'd also be worried about because when they leave out scripture they're basically making Christianity their own version rather than the real version intended. If that's the case then there's a real scare of WHAT they're leaving out and why. I'm always weary of people who make the Bible their own version while ignoring key aspects. However, intentions are good.

So really... both are are difficult, especially if you prefer the one where the man can be leaving out scripture. My advice is to stick with the one that you feel will increase your faith, but be weary of the lessons and cross reference what is taught with what's in the Bible. If you catch either church taking too many liberties you may want to keep an eye out for somewhere new.

That's just my opinion off hand.

I might be reading into your post wrong JHob, but it seems he was saying that the second preacher could have stood to leave out some things, not that he was leaving out some things. Although I guess you might mean he was preaching on the ahppy side and leaving out the evils that we must face.

I believe as a Christian, though there are certain issues I differ on, which may or may not be a good thing for my soul but it is what I think. I am currently living with my fiance;, and we do aheva child together, but should I believe God hates us for it? I mean we ended up with the most perfect little girl that only God could have given us, but then our relationship is ba din God's eyes?

 

[JewishHobbit]

I might be reading into your post wrong JHob, but it seems he was saying that the second preacher could have stood to leave out some things, not that he was leaving out some things. Although I guess you might mean he was preaching on the ahppy side and leaving out the evils that we must face.

I took it as he might be the type to ignore scritpures. I suppose we'll have to see what AF says when he logs on next.

I believe as a Christian, though there are certain issues I differ on, which may or may not be a good thing for my soul but it is what I think. I am currently living with my fiance;, and we do aheva child together, but should I believe God hates us for it? I mean we ended up with the most perfect little girl that only God could have given us, but then our relationship is ba din God's eyes?

Here's something that I think, according to my reading, people go wrong in a lot of ways. It's said in the Bible that God hates sin, but never once does it say that God hates sinners. The Bible is very clear on sex prior to marriage... to believe that that isn't sin is to ignore the Bible... however, God loves us all and can and will forgive sins. So if you choose to have sex prior to marriage that's between you and God but never once would I ever believe that he hates the two of you for it. He'd hate the sin but love you.

That's the thing with Christians... not a one of us are perfect, we're all sinners in one way or another, but God loves is and forgives us anyhow. I'll admit that I still struggle like mad with porn, despite trying to drop it year after year for 15 years now... but God still loves me and I believe I'm still forgiven because God knows my heart is truly for Him (and man does that sound church-ish ).

That's part of the Jesus deal... He knows that we can never be perfect and have our faults so he died so we can move beyond those - you and me both.

As for your child. I'm not one to say that everything is God's doing. God gave us free will and we have to face repercussions for what we do. You and your fiance have sex you get pregnant... I see no reason why there was a devine intervention there showing God's approval. It's just science. But I can say without question that God loves that little girl and, despite the sin (as I believe it to be) that conceived her, was joyous at her birth and for you as a family.

Again though... all my opinion. I'm perfectly accepting of differing point of views.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I grew up a Roman Catholic but in my early years moved away from the church. I went back a few times in later years to different churches but nothing really clicked for me as I found I was getting more and more upset on what was going on and said.

I believe 100% in god, in prayer, and forgiveness. Every morning I pray for a good day ahead of me, for my family and friends, and every evening I thank god for everything he has provided me and my loved ones and even when things go wrong, I am still thankful for everything that didn't.

I'll start out by saying LOVE THE AVATAR!!!

And I'm just curious, when you said different churches... are they Roman Catholic or similar churches or did you try varying different, like Penticostal, Baptist, or Non-Denominational?

I personally don't think you need to attend church to be Christian but it certainly helps keep your faith strong.

 

[JewishHobbit]

The next cereal conversation we have needs to be about this. I'd benefit from it as well.

I'd love to talk about this, as I went through it myself, but it's hard to discuss without having specific examples of what may have come between you (or Aesop) and faith.

I'll tell you what though, to get things started, I'll explain my issues that led to my questioning my faith.

I left church due to work and stayed away due to lack of interest in time. I was out for 3 years and during those years I really started to think about previous relgious debates I had on the hype and finding that I actually thought a lot of the things I heard was right. I questioned the Bible itself and things I've been taught. I HATED how Homosexuality is considered a sin and I didn't like how Christians treated them. I hated how Christians seemed to constantly criticize or judge other people and religious and how close minded most people and churches seemed to be.

Adding all this up I was just annoyed. My question the Bible led to my questioning God himself and I found myself rolling my eyes everytime I heard people talking all churchy on Facebook or whatever. I never really "backslid" in my own life, though my porn issues got worse, but my faith just wasn't there anymore.

To make things worse I went through an angry spell where I was mad at God, who I wasn't even sure was real, due to the accidental death of my niece (who died during delivery due to a nurses error) and then my own wife's miscarriage less than a year later.

However, during this hard time I saw my own family suffering and the only answers I knew was what I was taught at church so I clung to those for my family without knowing them myself. In the end I prayed the sinners prayer with my mother and one of my brothers (the father of the lost niece) and they both have turned around for the better. I was sitting there silently watching their faith grow while secretly watching my die away and I realized that I didn't believe in God at all. I wanted to believe that my niece and my own baby was in heaven somewhere but I didn't even know if heaven existed.

All of this is what led to my questioning and eventually my desire to try and get right with God again. I remember my days with strong faith and have seen and experienced enough to know, mentally, that something was up there, despite the fact that my faith was lacking, so before it was worse I decided to start looking into it again. I at least owed that to my children, who are expecting me to have the answers for everything. I felt I at least had to have an opinion on the supernatural, afterlife, etc.

I can go into a long account of my journeys back but to cut it short I realized I had three big issues:

1) I needed to know that there is a God in the first place, Christian God or not.

2) I needed to know that I could trust the Bible as being accurate and not just writings of some men who through in their personal thoughts and prejiduces.

3) I needed to find a way to not be ashamed of Christians, the Church, and our faith in general.

And I'd like to continue but something's come up and I have to go. I hope this can get a good conversation started and I will continue when I can, probably in the morning. Plus I'm very tired and I probably misspelled words left and right and left them out here and there... so my bad for rambling or bad grammer Sorry.

 

[rodhulk]

You're welcome, the pleasure is mine. I'm like a blank slate on most of this and it's great for someone to take the time and share their knowledge with me.



So the key would be to find the most literal translation of scripture. Get it as bare bones as it can be so that there is no mistaking the message. So far as the Old Testament is concerned I guess that be in Hebraic? And for the New Testament would something like the King James version be adequate or is the Greek version the definite one?



Okay, so one would do well to avoid a church that completely ignores certain passages, and it seems pretty clear in Leviticus 18:22, in all versions I've seen, that a man shouldn't lie with another man like he would a woman.



I'd heard varying opinions on this, that was what made me think of the Greek translations in the first place. Something to do with the Gospel of Matthew and whether or not it was clear that it confirmed everlasting hellfire or not.

I don't know the first thing about Greek, or Aramaic...
I know sometimes when I translate expressions from my mother tongue French to my father tongue English that it doesn't come out right or loses its meaning.

Does that sort of stuff matter, or it's been settled already?



Might not seem like it, but things are indeed shaping up despite my spiritual learning curve. t:

Thanks for the great post.

As for Bible translation, a KJV or even NIV version would be great. However, there is a Bible I'm going to get soon called THE COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE by David Stern. It contains both the old and new testament. I believe it stays very true to the source languages (like Hebrew) and their meanings. In fact, many words/names will be Hebrew such as Jesus where in this translation, he will be called Yeshua since that was the actual name he would have used in his day.

Absoulutely find a Church that teaches the Bible literally, so yes, a man should not lie with another man like he would with a woman.

And eternal hellfire is still seen as literal. I believe the word was 'ghenna' if I spelled that correctly. There are also other scriptures that teach everlasting punishment and gnashing of teeth and that sinners will never have rest. I can provide some of these examples if you would like.


On a side note, I'm in Ottawa. We didn't have a lot of snow for this winter but it seemed you had more in Montreal including a couple of big snowstorms of about a foot (our biggest was 15-17 cm). Would you say you had a lot of snow in Montreal this past winter? I know Sherbrooke had a tremendous massive snowstorm of well over 2 feet.

 

[DE LA LUNA]

I've read through some of the comments and I'll just make a few brief notes. I am a Sophomore at Biola University (Evangelical School), and I was born and raised in the church.

On the interpretation of Scripture:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good-work" (NIV).

The written word of God, the biblical canon, is God's words to humanity. The Scripture is authoritative, and inerrant (everything it claims to be true is true). Therefore to disobey the scripture is to disobey God.

The Bible is clear in what it proclaims and should be easy to understand. With this I mean that nobody can claim to have VIP information from the bible, what God reveals to his people does not change. However this does not mean that the Bible does not require rigorous study.

To understand the message, you need to understand what God was communicating to his people in their time. Context is crucial. Once you have understood what God was communicating to his people (this is called "exegesis"), then you figure out how God is speaking to you today. There may be some cultural things that do not apply anymore, such as women having to cover their heads with veils, but God's message is for all the ages. Remember though, that study does not replace the guidance of the Holy Spirit, thus much prayer should accompany the study of the Scriptures. Man is subject to misinterpret the Scriptures; God is never wrong.

On the Church

The church is God's people. It is not separated by border-lines, tongues, denomination, or time. Their is no perfect church, because it is composed by humans, who will continue to make mistakes (sin) until they are glorified in Heaven. The church's mission is to minister to God (worship), minister to it's people (Nurture), and minister to the world (evangelism / charity).
___

Hopefully this was useful and brief enough to all of you. God bless.

 

[rodhulk]

Okay, I actually have an example and want to ask you're opinion on this subject. So my girlfriend and I recently moved to Arizona together for her job, when we moved it was right around Ash Wednesday, she went to church and came back kind of pissed off. The church closest to us was a fire and brimstone church, talking all about God's wrath and stuff, actually one of the first things they said also was two people in a relationship living together that aren't married are awful sinners. Well that's us, we were planning on living together a while before getting married (which we're planning on doing, but not in a hurry to do), sort of as a next step in our relationship, moving across the country it made absolute sense not to rent two places and I wasn't going to live in Illinois while she lived in Arizona.

Fastforward to Easter, we went to a church she went to while in school here in Arizona. The priest was great, kind of hippy like, all about preaching God's love, really into the mass, you could see the love of God coming from him like no other priest I've seen. However, he'd probably be okay skipping a few passages here and there.

Which is the right church for us?

Great question. I'll give my best answer to my understanding and my answer will give you two choices.

1) The first Church is the one I would recommend between the two. Why? Well, the Bible does say in Psalms that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (I can search for the actual scripture if needed). And so preaching the fire and brimstone is actually a much needed thing so as to raise awareness of the punishment God gives for sin.

And believe it or not, the Bible does say that an unmarried couple should not sleep (have sex) together. However (and hopefully you like this), I do not know any scripture that says an umarried couple cannot live together. So you and your girlfriend living together is fine from my perspective, just as long as you avoid the ...

2) If too much fire and brimstone isn't for you, you have the freedom to find a more 'relaxed' Church that will keep this fire and brimstone to a minimum. They may teach it from time to time, but not every service. Finding a Church like the second Church you mentioned but that doesn't leave anything out seems like it would be the Church for you. A Church like this may be critical on a couple of things since they have to teach proper scripture, but God is love and the scriptures do teach this and a part of expressing love is through joy and happiness.

I hope you find some help in this post.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

*sub*

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay, finishing my train of thought from last night....

I can go into a long account of my journeys back but to cut it short I realized I had three big issues:

1) I needed to know that there is a God in the first place, Christian God or not.

2) I needed to know that I could trust the Bible as being accurate and not just writings of some men who through in their personal thoughts and prejiduces.

3) I needed to find a way to not be ashamed of Christians, the Church, and our faith in general.

1) This was pretty easy for me to come to a conclusion about. Honesty, I've experienced enough in my life to know that something's still there, but to aid in that I began to read up on other people's experiences as well as a book called Fingerprints of God that details people's supernatural experiences outside of a strict christian only mentality. I acknowledge that some experiences may be more scientific or mental than supernatural, and that some of it could be lies, but there's just WAY too much to be coincidental.

Beyond that I also considered creation versus the Big Bang and all that. I just find most scientific theories that I read to be more unbelievable than creation. Everything is too perfectly made.

Obviously no factual proof in this type of figurings but I saw enough to convince me that something WAS up there.

2) Having decided that there is a God, I then needed to decide that the Bible was accurate and God's word. I refused to believe that it was inerrant and true because it said it was inerrant and true. Easily could have just bee written in there and still be faulty. I mean, Catholics have books in their Bible that Prodestants do not... which one is inerrent? How do I know that things included, such as talks about homosexuality, is actually God inspired and not just the prejudices of the time speaking through? Just because the Bible SAYING it's true and SAYING it's the word of God doesn't mean that it is. If people made mistakes on topics such as homosexuality, they could have made mistakes on those sections as well.

Honestly, this is one area that I'm still not completely convinced, but I've read and studied enough (though I fail to remember just about all of it) to convince me enough. There was a book called The Case for Christ and it took a lawyer's point of view of the Gospels and studied them outside of a religious or biblical point of view to decide how accurate they might be. This book convinced me that the Gospels are everything they say they are, or at least the writers believed them to be.

Also, with how long the Bible's been around, it's still relevant and affecting people and changing people every day for thousands of years. The answer to every question can be found in that book. This also makes me think that there may be more to it than some random old guys's ramblings.

This was a start of my workig on this problem of mine and I'm looking into other things that can make me feel sure about the rest of the Bible. I'm still struggling with aspects such as homosexuality (primarily this) but I've come to the conclusion that, if it is sin in God's eyes as the Bible says, I disagree, but I'll respect God's view on it. The example I usually give is that I'll be best friends with a gay Man. If he and another man get married I'll be happy for them and attend their wedding... but I won't encourage to the point of hooking him up with another gay buddy. Basically, I'll be happy for them out of my own beliefs but I won't encourage them out of respect for God, if that makes any sense. I WILL, however, vote for any rights that they don't have and everyone else do. I actually feel it's unchristian to deny a person basic rights because of their sexual orientation. It's no different from denying rights to women or african americans in my mind.

3) And now for the last one... how could I find myself unashamed of the Church and my own Faith? This one was a struggle because I HATED how Christians and Churches proclaim love but judge and belittle people who disagree. Gay Rights is a primary example of this right now. I hate how every single christian I knew, my entire church, believes that Gay people shouldn't be allowed to marry or claim each other on insurance and all that. I HATE IT! It's judgemental and bigoted. How in the world are we to show them that we love them by denying them happiness and all the things that we enjoy as straight people? I actually had a former pastor who proclaimed proudly that he would never allow a gay person to step foot in his church and then the congregation cheered. I never felt so disgusted (note... this was my former church). Also, I hate how so many Christians would boycot stupid things like Disney or Harry Potter... works and things of fiction and not at all witchcraft as they call it. These types of things just weighed on me.

Well... the difference maker here was finding a new church and people of like mind. I don't look down on my previous church (and that pastor I mentioned has been long gone due to having been found in a sexual affair) as they are simply trying to express their faith as they believe it to be true and how God wants them to express it. I disagree with it, but I respect their attempts... and while their hearts might not be in the right place with how I believe God wants it to be, I believe their hearts are in the right place for God himself.

But my current church isn't judgemental like that. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple gay couples at the church. They aren't the type of church that "okays" homosexuality, but they don't condemn them either. They simply inform them in what the Bible says about it but then loves them anyhow. As one of the pastors had once said... we're called to love, not convert. Love them and let God work in their hearts... and if we're put into a place where God uses us to convert them, then so be it, but at no point should be condemn or turn them away. That's now how Jesus would do it and that's not how we do it.

It was refreshing to hear a church be loving and not judgemental and that sparked my respect a bit. Then the pastor did a message on the "Apology for the Church" that I posted earlier and that just blew my mind. Suddenly I have a lot more respect for Christians because suddenly not all of them are *****ebags. Not all of them are judgemental hypocrits. Not all of them are bigots. etc. Some of them think like I do, and that was encouraging.

I'm not one to promote different denominations, as I believe we are ALL God's people... but I do promote finding a church that is right for you. A church that goes against how you interpret the Bible and believe can only hurt your faith. Find one that is in sync with your faith and it helps you to grow.


Now, these are all just my own personal experiences that brought me back from not believing in God, from not believing the Bible, from not being ashamed of the Church. These are the things that happened to encourage my faith to where I wasn't ashamed to step foot in a church or have a christinaly conversation. Anyone else who is questioning or struggling with faith... I don't know your problems or concerns, but hey... feel free to throw them out there. This isn't a debate thread... we like to discuss and encourage... at least that's my hope.

 

[POWdER-man]

I'll start out by saying LOVE THE AVATAR!!!

And I'm just curious, when you said different churches... are they Roman Catholic or similar churches or did you try varying different, like Penticostal, Baptist, or Non-Denominational?

I personally don't think you need to attend church to be Christian but it certainly helps keep your faith strong.

HA! Yeah it was one of my favorite moments in that BB. I kept the gif on my computer and waited for the time I wanted to use it.

Mostly Catholic churches but I have been to Penticostal as well. There was a church that I was enjoying for awhile until the main pastor changed and the new one was basically saying we were all sinners and accusing us of not having enough faith and worship to god, that we should be ashamed of ourselves, etc. I won't bother rattling some examples but needless to say we didn't stay there too much longer.

 

[JewishHobbit]

It was a bit reversed at my old church. The original pastor was more of the SINNERS preacher and the newer pastor was less so and more loving. I still love that pastor and only stayed as long as I did for him.

But there's a lot of middle ground between Catholic and Penticostal. You can always give a couple a shot to find one more suited for you.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

The second church I'd also be worried about because when they leave out scripture they're basically making Christianity their own version rather than the real version intended. If that's the case then there's a real scare of WHAT they're leaving out and why. I'm always weary of people who make the Bible their own version while ignoring key aspects. However, intentions are good.

In terms of what they'd "leave out", the priest just seems more liberal and not as conservative. So I doubt there'd be any gay bashing, which I feel many churches actually do, it's just disguising as "preaching". Preaching of big time conservative right wing issues, things like that. It's not ignoring key aspects, it's just taking a more liberal view. Also, a much more celebration of the faith, instead of come here every week to be told how much of a worthless pile of $#!t you are, which is what I feel like walking out of the fire and brimstone churches. Heck, this priest remembered my girlfriend from when she went to church there while at school 4 years ago, noticed her by sight after mass on Easter morning when the church was packed, standing room only.

 

[Bubonic]

Thanks for the great post.

As for Bible translation, a KJV or even NIV version would be great. However, there is a Bible I'm going to get soon called THE COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE by David Stern. It contains both the old and new testament. I believe it stays very true to the source languages (like Hebrew) and their meanings. In fact, many words/names will be Hebrew such as Jesus where in this translation, he will be called Yeshua since that was the actual name he would have used in his day.

Absoulutely find a Church that teaches the Bible literally, so yes, a man should not lie with another man like he would with a woman.

And eternal hellfire is still seen as literal. I believe the word was 'ghenna' if I spelled that correctly. There are also other scriptures that teach everlasting punishment and gnashing of teeth and that sinners will never have rest. I can provide some of these examples if you would like.


On a side note, I'm in Ottawa. We didn't have a lot of snow for this winter but it seemed you had more in Montreal including a couple of big snowstorms of about a foot (our biggest was 15-17 cm). Would you say you had a lot of snow in Montreal this past winter? I know Sherbrooke had a tremendous massive snowstorm of well over 2 feet.

Thanks for the response, oh and actually I'd been in Vancouver for the past 10 months and came back just in time not to have dealt with a Montreal winter. From what I heard it was pretty manageable.

 

[Calvin]

Chicks don't smile and blush if you have a booger hanging out.

Huh? That's exactly what somebody, especially a chick, would do if you had a booger hanging out. It's both funny, and embarassing, smiling and blushing is the most appropriate reaction. You either had a booger hanging out or toilet paper sticking out the back of your pants.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

This Sunday I'm going to be announced to the entire congregation at both services at my church that I'm transitioning in to be the youth pastor, so I'm equal parts stoked/nervous as hades.

Last Sunday we had a guest speaker and he was preaching on The Good Samaritan, really interesting thoughts that have lingered with me over the week. The lawyer comes up with the question, "who is my neighbor?" which implies that there are people in this world (of different colors, cultures, and lifestyles) that might possibly not be our neighbor.

Jesus turns the question around and gives this incredible parable about the religious leaders casting a blind eye on a hurt man. It's not about asking "who is my neighbor" but "am I acting like one?"