Is your mind open, closed, or just made up about concerning Jesus Christ?
123712
My mind is made up concerning Jesus Christ. I believe He is the Son of God who died for our sins and I'll continue to believe that no matter what anyone else says.
161745
You compare what you think Jesus is telling to Scripture.  Does what he said in your dream jive with the rest of the Bible?  That is the best way to know.
420299
I usually think of it as a battle ground....but testing ground is right, too.\n\nThe real test or the real battle is in our minds, isn't it? If our hearts are given to God and our minds are focused on Him, loving Him, obeying Him, then the pull of sin loses its power over us. (romans 12: 1 & 2)\n\nWe become more than conquerors through Christ and we can live uprightly in a very lustful wicked world.\n\nBut I am so thankful that Jesus Himself taught us to pray "Lead us not into temptation".  We can pray to our Father and He gives us help as we walk through our day....\n\nGod bless you and good morning!!
612038
It use to be a thought of mine but then I read in the Bible that some things we will never comprehend on earth in our sinful state, some things will seem like foolishness when it comes to God. however, he reveals himself and character through his son Jesus and through is creations. We cannot comprehend eternity with our finite minds it would drive us mad - the promise is sure though that we will not die in heaven and it will be blissful and happy. Our duty here is not to explain what we have no knowlege of but what is revealed to us through the written word the Bible. All questions will be answered in heaven, just follow the Bible.
261580
It's good to believe what you believe, it is also good that you keep Christians thinking, because it makes them look things up in the bible.\nSo believe it or not you are actually helping out...\nthe bible clearly states that all things Good or evil will bring Glory to God...\nSo I truly thank you for your questions it keeps me thinking about God and his kingdom.\n\nAs for plastic who is to really say it is not there I have not been to heaven so I do not know, but it is a GREAT question. \n\nThanks
353180
I answer atheist questions because I have been called thisso many times, simply because I am not Christian.\n\nI don't know everything, but I know I place my thinking further than limiting it to a bible. Which by the way, is fictional. Which is also written in part by mentally ill people who were considered saints by men-not by God.\n\nMy mind is open and can be changed, my mind is not closed to all things other than the bible. I do believe in God, but am considered atheist since I am not christian. This is where they are wrong.
505086
No.  Though, I'm sure some people think God talked to them.  The brain will fill in whatever voice you want to hear if you really want to hear something badly enough.
252400
I guess it depends on what you mean by telling it openly.  When I first got here, I was a little baffled by the backlash of people wanting to know who Christians were to condemn them to hell and why did we say we would pray for them.  I gave what I thought were good explanations of these ideas.  How Christians don't want anyone to go to hell and since we believe it is a real place, we are obligated to help as many people avoid it as we can.  We pray because we are commanded to.  It's an act of love to pray for others.  \n\nI just didn't understand what the problem was.\n\nUntil I was answering a question and noticed that someone -purportedly a Christian, offended by the question -answered "Go to hell."  And further down the line another said, "You're going to hell.  I'll pray for you."\n\nSuddenly, I got what all the fuss was about.  \n\nLater, I answered a question by a teen who said he was ready to tell all atheists to go to hell.  This was my reply to him:\n\nI think we get really frustrated at the point where we are trying to make something happen that is not in our ability to accomplish.\n\nFor the record, I don't think we have any business condemning or wishing anyone to hell. I believe that hell is a real place and that people are going there, but I'm not happy about that.\n\nUnfortunately, you and I cannot make anyone do what we believe they should do. Our job is not to make them. Our job is to be the best example we can be. Even when others are hateful to us and to God.\n\nIf you look at how Jesus handled people, the ones He was hardest on were the Pharisees. Why? Because they were the ones who should have known God's word and should have known who He was. Instead they were concerned with trying to make other people follow laws that they themselves were not willing to follow. We should be really careful not to ever repeat their example!\n\nJesus didn't push people to make a decision. He never told anyone they were going to hell. It wasn't like high pressure sales. There is nothing more precious than a human soul. We should absolutely care about the salvation of others. But we have to respect that their salvation is ultimately between them and God. It isn't about us. And if we make it about us, we're going to run the risk of alienating them and run the risk of endangering our souls. \n\nIf trying to persuade others gets us so angry that we say and do things that are unlike Christ, or we allow their derision to discourage us, we could be at risk ourselves.\n\nPray for them (but you don't have to tell them that you are, since most of them seem to take that as criticism), honestly care for them, be the best example to them that you can be. Answer questions when they ask. \n\nJust lose the pressure and you'll feel so much less pressured yourself. God wants salvation for everyone. He'll help you accomplish His will. You don't have to impose your will on others. It's frustrating for you and for them. And that's not what salvation is all about.\n\nIt is a precious gift, to be given to and received by those who are capable of seeing it's value. \n\n\n\n\n\nIn the end, it is our living out Christ's example that will turn people from hell, not trying to scare them into repentance.   While we cannot be afraid to speak the truth in love, we need to prepare ourselves to live and to give a good defense for Christ, but not be offensive on His behalf.  We must trust the power of His Will and His Word more than we trust ourselves.  \n\nIf we try to force people into a decision, we may turn away an honest soul who has been controlled and manipulated all his/her life.  Jesus never did that.  In some cases we have to be willing to let the wheat and the tares grow up together.   In the end, we are all in His Hands.
158328
yes, but you must understand that these weren't original thoughts of jesus\n\nthese thoughts were the prevailing winds in the ancient eastern world for centuries before christ arrived on the scene\n\nbuddhism, hiduism and some of the other nature worshipping religions had already come up with pacifcism, forgiveness, and so on\n\njesus was late to the table
513972
Hello, my friend. This book--"Mere Christianity"--and especially this bit about Christ's being either a lunatic or else the Son of God, was instrumental in my opening up to Jesus, simply on account of the fact that I had, for years, "respected" Jesus of Nazareth as a great teacher, ever ignoring the (what I then thought to be) creepier things he was quoted as saying in the Gospels (such as "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light")...and Lewis, with this very simple and basic observation, blew my cozy little respect for Jesus of Nazareth out of the water.\n\nWhich did something to a door. Meaning, I then had to face the very choice that Lewis proposed in this book. In other words, I was either going to have to open the door all the way (and believe Christ was who he said he is) or else close it (and believe Jesus of Nazareth to be deranged and blasphemous).\n\nUltimately, I would say that I chose to believe that Christ is God's Son, but truly God gave me the knowledge that Christ is his Son (John 6:44)...and perhaps he gave me the gift of faith for the sole reason that I was seeking it.
124928
I used to think of things a bit like that. I would suggest not to worry; St Paul said "for now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face". \n\nWe can't possibly totally understand the spirit world with our human brains. I don't think we will have the same eyes as we do now etc. I believe God's word is trying to help us to understand things in our human understanding by describing it to us in the best way it can. I do believe there is no time in the spirit world. But, for example, with the 1000 years following the end of the world there will still be time on the earth. After that we shall live and reign with God forever. God loves us and knows we are human. I'm sorry I can't explain myself very well.
250514
1st, none of us were there. 2nd, we are unaware of ppl's sex lives here on earth today,so, why would Jesus discuss what happens behind closed doors. 3rd, there is no reference in the Bible to prove if He did or didn't. He was human and Divine. A tough combination, that's why God chose Jesus and not any of His other children to die for the sins of the world.
651916
It's not up to us to make you "see" the truth or accept it.  I can tell you the Good News of Jesus Christ, but it's His job to work on your heart.  My entire faith is based on Scripture.  It's all there, in black and white.  That is the proof I need.  That, and the changes in my life since I became a believer.  If you don't accept it, you won't understand it.  God bless you.
168940
The Christian answer is that he does try to save you. That’s what Jesus was all about. And all you have to do is have faith, which pretty much amounts to believing for the sake of believing or because you’re afraid of what will happen if you don’t. The problem with citing the bible as evidence is that the entire book amounts to nothing more than hearsay from people who barely understood the world around them. God is all-powerful, yet somehow he can’t seem to provide adequate proof that the bible is anything more than mythology. And every piece of “proof” that has been presented is flawed and the result of desperately wanting a given belief to be true.\n\nWhat I’ve seen here, so far, in the way of answers, amazes me. It’s so simple, right? Just put all of your faith into a book written 2000 years ago by people who believed, among other things, that the Earth was flat. Never doubt it, and close your mind to all logic. Just ignore the fact that logic has a MUCH better track record than tales of magic and miracles, and that stories we now know to be fictional were once accepted as fact the same way some people seem to be accepting this as fact. Just look around you. There are things we can’t understand. Pay no attention to the fact that as we gain knowledge, we learn and understand things that were once considered mysteries. That the same way some people point to life and marvel at its complexity, and claim that it MUST have been deisgned, people used to speak the same way about something as simple as a thunderstorm. We don’t understand it now, so it is impossible to understand, and therefore God must exist. Do you people see the flaw in this reasoning?!\n\nSearching with an open mind raises the kinds of questions you have just asked. Closing your mind is what provides the answers, and the fact is, it only makes sense because they want it to. I believe that the Christian answer IS possible. THAT is keeping an open mind. Insisting that it absolutely is the truth is just plain ignorant.\n\nLet me say that what so many have said, here, is possible. But it is only one of nearly infinite possibilities. Some people refuse to acknowledge that. My advice to you is this, don’t do the same. Accept that for the time being, we cannot know, and be open to all possibilities.
391745
I think God judges us by our actions. I mean afterall we can't always control our thoughts. Sometimes they just come from out of nowhere. But it's how we react to those thoughts that I feel God judges us by. And yes your question was very clear.
365638
I think that we all struggle in our faith one way or another. Questioning God's existence doesn't really cross most of our minds. We may question why He allows things to happen or we may even question our own Christian walk and our relationship with God. My pastors -and I've had a few in my life -haven't been perfect. In fact there was one who was my Dad's boss that treated his underlings shabbily and used the church vehicle for personal business. I think he may've even taken some of the better donations given to the church for his own. I do know that he was eventually caught by his bosses with his hand in the cookie jar and in adultery. He was speedily fired. As for weird things in a worship service? I recall visiting a Charismatic service to see what it was like. I met one of those pastors who held rather rambunctious healing services. You know the type.; they call you forward for healing even though you haven't volunteered or asked for it. He claimed -a few times- to be given a word of knowledge about some type of secret sin in some person's life. I found this made me extremely uncomfortable because I do not believe that God would humiliate an individual in this manner. Nor do I think that Jesus would compel anyone to come for healing. God is a Gentleman, and He never forces Himself on anybody. Neither should His servants
599855
I believe in God by reason and revelation. Reason: this world is so perfectly balanced it could not be an accident. Can you look at a beautiful sculpture and say it happened by accident? No, someone created it! Revelation: the Bible!\nAnd yes I attend Mass at a Catholic church often. I would definitely call myself Christian.