Christians!! Help me figure this out!!!?
913887
I personally believe we should not be so literal with the word "sin."  Think of sin as a broader term.  Instead of doing this sin or that sin, I prefer to think of it as doing a good or bad thing.  And because of sin, good or bad may result from what you saw as a good or bad thing.  Sin is what keeps us from being perfect.  That is the point.  Sin will make us do bad things, or cause bad things to happen even if we do a good thing.\n\nWe have free will to act in the way we choose.  If we try to choose to do good things as much as possible, this is good.  But we all have sinful thoughts, etc. because of sin.  Sometimes we do bad things.  We have a free will to do a good thing instead of a bad thing, but we can't escape our sinful mind.  We have a sinful mind, so in a way you're right, we don't have a free will to just escape it.  But we have a free will to attempt to do good things.
391548
Wow! That is a very well thought out question. I guess the best way to answer that is to say that you have to go on faith. We all believe differently. Unfortunately we were not there when the authors of the Bible were doing their thing. We can talk to God. But, it is difficult to be sure of his response. If we get one at all. Its all in what you believe.
1127328
May be faith and belief.  But yours is a really difficult question, even theologists have to scratch their heads.  We dont need fictions likd Davince Code.  But real answers to your sincere queries like this one.
495526
wow,someone is actually reading the bible right.i actually see the same thing.check this out.when jesus was praying in the garden of gethsemine,if he be the only god everyones cracking him up to be.why would he go thru all the trouble to pray to himself????dosnt sound like sense to me.daaaaaaaaaah.why does he always say "he only does what he see his father do.hhhmmmm.is this the higher being that every body heard at jesus'baptism.quote "behold this is my beloved son whome i am well pleased".this must be the guy who jesus referrs to as father.isnt this a trip.wow!!!!!!!!!!!
504580
i'm pretty sure you know the Christian view... this is something i've been thinking about a good bit lately - Genesis talks about 'when a man leaves his parents and basically takes a wife... they live together and become one.. sorry - paraphrasing i dont like... i'll add more as i research\nI'm curious more because of the jewish prophecy concerning the messiah; of a virgin, yet of the line of David. \n& my head hurts.
1164236
This was a little hard to follow, though I think I understand what is going on. There is obviously some bitterness going on; otherwise they wouldn't feel the need to insult this person. Show them I Corinthians 13, where it gives the characteristics of Christian love. And Philippians 4, where it speaks of thinking on "whatever is true, pure, right..." You shouldn't have to say much, the Holy Spirit will. Much prayer for wisdom on your part is necessary. James 1:8 says if we ask for wisdom, God will give it to us. Lastly, don't accuse them. Just tell them kindly that you felt that it may not be loving of them to do these things. Hope it goes well!
501498
The REAL issue is this: if God made us, and doesn't want us to sin, then he must have made a mistake, because according to christians, we do sin. If God did make us right, then sends us to hell for being imperfect, when he's the one who made us that way, then he's a sadistic a-hole. \n\nSo which one is he, incompetent or sadistic?\n\nMaybe there's a third option. There's no such thing as sin. Everything we go through down here is a lesson to learn.
981911
I think we've all pondered that.  Just remember to share love too !!  Sometimes we try to share our Christian beliefs the wrong way. Christians are people. People make mistakes.  Thank you and God Bless.
242308
"NICKNAME", who are you?  That is really wrong!  Crosses are not pagan in the least!  They are not idols, they are ways of remembering the amazing thing that Christ did for us.  And Christ DID die on a cross.  Where'd you come up with stake from?  Read your Bible and do your research!  Goodness!  I've never heard such a thing before as "Jesus died on a stake"!  That's rubbish.  I'm sorry if I sound rude, I'm just in a stressful mood.  But I mean what I say.  If anyone wants to talk to me about Christianity, feel free.  My email is earthtoblondes@yahoo.com  Give me an email if you have any questions/comments!  I hope to help everyone I know to become a Christian, and I'd like to help you too!
248714
There's no scripture to support this idea one way or another.  People are affected in different ways when in the spirit.  There was a man at my church who would run around the pews (admittedly it freaked me out a bit when he first did it) and a woman who would wail.  I think you'll find the most about the issue in Paul's stuff, but don't quote me on that.
1154140
My advice to you is don't listen to the Christians. They use the "unnatural" and "abomination" arguments so much they've lost all meaning. Homosexuality is not a sin. I, like you, know good people who happen to be gay. And to address your confusion with the logic behind the persecution, there is no logic.
381683
God is the most important person in my life. I also know that you can go to heaven if you get saved and the way that you get saved is if you believe that Jesus died on the cross from your sins, rose on the third day, and then you have to confess to God in prayer that you are a sinner and that you believe He died on the cross for your sins and ask for His forgiveness on your sins and it is THAT simple, salvation is a free gift, we can't earn it. I am a baptist who believes (let me rephrase that, I KNOW) that this stuff I said is true. My name is Matthew James Needham and don't be shy to contact me on this. my email address is im_proud2b_a_christian@yahoo.com
317587
Christians are not goody-goody two shoes or holier than thou. They are sinners. Just like everyone else. Why is that so hard to understand? As long as we dwell in this flesh body we fall short.
454072
Joshua.  People like you crack me up.  Really!  You argue about biblical-specific entries and events as if they were factual and undeniable.  "written 4000 years ago"  On what?  Notebook paper?  Do you have some copies of those 4000 year old writings?  Do you have some secret text that nobody else has ever seen?  Are you on heroin or acid?  What's your trip?  None of the authors of the NT witnessed the alleged resurrection.  No matter how you stretch it, there are no actual accounts of it.  Most of the NT was created and written in 320AD under the direction of Constantine the Great, and its puirpose was NOT for historic accuracy.  Its purpose was to create a doctrine at the Council of Nicea that all factions of religious doctrine could agree upon and pull everyone together.  Why does it appear that there only a few people that post here regularly who actually know this?  Is your only source of "history" the Bible itself?  Are you crazy enough to use the Bible to prove the Bible?  Talk about illogic!\n\nThe original poster is correct -- if the notion of god portrayed in the bible is accurate, then there is no need for "free will" -- God already knows how things turn out.  He already knows who chooses free will and who doesn't choose free will, how they act, and who the sinners are and who goes to hell.  He already knows the choices people made in the past and what they'll make in the future.  He already knows how things will turn.  Already been there.  Outside of the time line?  Fine, state it however you wish.  It's still the same.  He's all knowing.  He knows how the "souls" will turn out. There's no need for a test on earth.\n\nThe question is not flawed at all.  Your assumption that the Bible is incontrovertible is flawed, and your statements of biblical myths as assertion are ridiculous.  It is one of hundreds of unprovable myths on this whole planet, full of fatal flaws, like the one this question raises.
908316
The problem is that everyone IS arguing about RELIGION. Ok first of all yes I am Christian in that I follow Christ, but I don't claim a sect (e.g. Baptist, Pentacostal, etc...), and I'm not going to force my beliefs on anyone. The thing most people (especially "religious" people) don't get is that it is not about being religious, it is about haveing a relationship with the loveing God who created you. Most people choose a religion, (or choose not to) based on the structure that they like, or the rules they are willing to follow, or just because it is how they were raised, but think about it really, if you do believe in a God, whatever you may call him, then it only makes sense to ask HIM how he wants you to live, not your church. Believe me, if you ask he WILL answer you.
223854
Here ya go, this should keep em busy for a while!\n1. Why would God entrust the spreading of 'His' word to one of his 'fallible' children? He knows men are sinners and are untruI doubt a professor would allow one of his students to teach a class if all the other students' futures were at stake. If God loved us so much and he wants us to be with him, why would he put our eternal souls at risk like that? \n\n2. If Satan is the ultimate trickster, how do we know that Satan hasn't tricked Christians into worshipping him as God (Yahweh) and are actually rebuking the "real" God in his own name? \n\n3. If god cast the devil into hell and hell is a place for eternal punishment from which even god cannot grant a pardon, then why do the preachers tell us the devil is walking up and down the hallways of high schools tempting teenagers to do drugs and have pre-marital sex? A warden who allows his prisoners the freedom to go out and kill and rape would be terminated for incompetence. \n\n4. I have often heard from many believers that even Satan has a presence in the church, which is why even in church people can still have impure thoughts. If Satan can find his way in the church, how do Christians know that Satan didn't find his way into the Bible and twist the whole book? \n\n5. If the Universe is everywhere by definition, why do theists ask where it came from? How can there be anywhere for the universe to come from if the Universe is already everywhere by definition? \n\n6. Does God think? If so, he cannot be all-knowing. Think about it. \n\n7. If a soul is non-physical and the human body is physical, how does a soul stay in our bodies? \n\n8. If God is all-knowing, how could he be disappointed in His creation? \n\n9. If God is unchangeable (immutable), how is there evidence of a god when everything else around us is changing? \n\n10. Why did God flood the earth to remove evil? It didn't work! Evil came right back, God should have known that would happen! So why did He bother? \n\n11. Why is it that theists tell me that I have to examine every part of the universe and not find God anywhere in order to say that there is no god, when in fact all I need to do is not find God in one location since he is supposed to be omnipresent? \n\n12. If the garden of Eden was a perfect paradise as xians claim, then why did Eve even want to eat the apple? Wouldn't a perfect place provide everything a person would want or desire and thus she would want nothing? \n\n13. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death" Does this mean animals sin as well? Or uni-cellular organisms? Do plants sin? Because they all die as well, not just humans. Why does an animal die, if it doesn't know the moral difference between right and wrong? \n\n\n14. Why would an all-powerful god become flesh in order to sacrifice himself to himself so that his creation might escape the wrath of himself. Couldn't god, in his infinite wisdom, come up with something a little more efficient? \n\n15. If we are the children of god, and yet we have never seen him, does that make us the bastards of god? Not to mention my mom didn't marry God.\n\n16. After 9/11 a lot of people have been tossing around "god bless america". Why do they keep saying this? From the looks of it god hasn't blessed anything. If god had blessed america, the 9/11 event would've never happened. Theists seem to give the answer of "everything is part of gods big plan". If everything is part of gods big plan, why are we after Bin Laden? Wasn't he and other terrorists just carrying out gods desired plan? So it seems that Bin Laden/ terrorism isnt our enemy , but god. \n\n17. Christians say that God is NOT the author of confusion. Can you say, Tower of Babel? \n\n18. Christians will tell you that if a baby dies it goes to heaven. Why then are they so against abortion? All the child is being deprived of is the opportunity to go
164717
The whole getting saved during the tribulation thing is set in stone, but it is no stone any human has ever seen. It all depends on what God's plan is. Ask Him. He know everything. Don't be afraid to wait a seemingly unending amount of time to get an answer. You might get none. Still, that is no reason to stop believing.