Sunday, September 17, 2006

NO LIE!

Christopher a.k.a "Scienceprodigy"
Christianity is recycled Mythraism. It is a lie. Do your homework.
Posted by Christopher a.k.a "Scienceprodigy"
on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 at 1:19 PM

PAM
Mithraism?, the ancient cult that was in existence for four or five centuries, then fizzled out, that existed for a time simultaneously with Christianity (1), that has "very little literary evidence"(2) pertaining to it.

You ask most people on the street and they probably couldn't tell you what "Mithraism" is. I didn't know till I looked it up. Christianity on the other hand has been around for two millinium and is still thriving and spreading, and the Christ of Christianity is changing hearts, minds, and lives. You won't be able to convince a person whose life has been changed by Jesus Christ that it's a lie.

Mithraism contained no prophesies, if it did certainly no one knows about them now, the bible on the other hand (which contains the good news of Jesus Christ and his offer of Salvation to us), contains many prophesies that we are now reading about in our newspapers and seeing on daily news broadcasts.

You're a young man Christopher, I'm going to tell you about a prophesy in the bible, it says that not everyone is going to die. One day, most likely in your lifetime, and probably in the not too distant future, newspapers and newscasts will be reporting something like this "Millions Missing All Over The World". They'll probably say it's some new weapon that dematerializes people or conjecture that it's possibly alien abduction, if you're one of the people who are still here please don't believe that. It's a bible prophesy that Jesus Christ is going to take Christians who are ready off this planet before a terrible time called the Tribulation. I hope you are one who goes, not one here hearing and reading these reports. Think I'm a nutcase if you will, time will tell if this is true or not. If you are still here you will still be able to accept Jesus Christ as Savior, get in God's Word and find out the truth.

I prayed for you that God would "give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God." Ephesians 1:17 NLT.

(1) http://latter-rain.com/ltrain/mith.htm
(2) http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/mithraism.htm

Friday, September 01, 2006

A REAL CHRISTIAN

MY ANSWER TO BRIAN:

(Brian's comments are in black, my responses are in red, quotes are in green, and website links are in blue.) There are many informative links in this post, I encourage readers to click them on. Usually you can use your back page button to come back to this post.

When you speak of Christianity, you must remember that you are being corrupted by the Republican Party.

I proudly admit I am a republican by choice, I looked at the alternatives and that's what I decided was the best option for me. I feel we have a God ordained responsibility to vote, to care about what happens to the country God has blessed us with. I am deeply concerned with the direction the liberal media, liberal judges, politicians, Hollywood, the ACLU, etc. are trying to take this country. I want Christians to vote politicians into office in Washington who who will vote to protect our religious freedoms, who think all human life is precious and will vote to protect human life yet at the same time will defend the biblically based death penalty against those who do such malicious acts as murder other people. I pray for God to place men and women in the presidency and in congress and the senate who want to protect the true values of marriage, who believe in civil rights (the Republican Party was started by anti-slavery activists) and will enact laws against discrimination but will not enact laws more favorable to one race than to another, who will vote to give breaks to employers so that those employers in turn will be able to give greater benefits to their employees, who believe that the government is primarilly for the protection of the citizens and not a huge social welfare program, who will enact laws that will aid churches and other organizations carry out those types of programs, and above all else will continue to support Israel because that is the main reason God has blessed our country to begin with. If you were a farmer you wouldn't neglect your farm and just let grow there what will, you would carefully choose the seeds, you would cultivate the crops, and if something doesn't grow well you would stop planting those seeds and plant something else, in the same way you have a responsibility to vote, to attempt to get men in office who will keep this country going in the right direction.
Romans 13:1-7
1 Peter 2:13-14
Ihave to admit it is easier for me to submit to those in authority who are trying to follow Godly principles than those who are not.

http://www.gop.com/About/
http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/onprin/v3n3/saulnier.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Republican_Party

There is no such thing as a conservative Christian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_right
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Right
Romans 10:8-10
Well let's see, I made Jesus Lord of my life and have confessed with my mouth that He is Lord, I believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead, according to the bible (the Word of God)that makes me a believer (a Christian). Jesus bought and paid for me with His blood and I accepted His sacrifice. Well I'm a Christian all right.

"Conservatism is a philosophy defined by Edmund Burke as "a disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve".[1] The term derives from conserve; from Latin conservāre, to keep, guard, observe."

"In general, the conservative "right" believe that truth and justice can be achieved. The belief in "the truth" and that it can be known is what enables righteous thought and what motivates a conservative's individual and political positions. The belief in "the truth" will exclude all expressions of freedom that challenge this sense of truth and justice. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism

Yep I'm a conservative.

I believe we ought to preserve our heritage of belief in God, that Christmas should be celebrated as the birth of Christ by Christians, that the symbols of our beliefs should not be removed from public buildings, etc. just because someone objects to them. We should guard our right to worship our God freely and talk about Him openly. I do believe in "the truth", which is the Word of God (the Bible), and truth and justice can be achieved by the principles in God's Word. I also believe that God's Word prevails over any other freedoms people think they are entitled to. For instance some people may think they have a right to say horrible things about people in authority because they have "freedom of speech", but the truth is: "10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,"
2 Peter 2:10-12 (New King James Version) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
I believe I am a "conservative Christian".


There is no such thing as a Protestant Work Ethic.

I guess I've heard the phrase "Protestant Work Ethic" before, but I never bothered to look up what it meant until now:

Literature Houghton-Mifflin Company
Protestant work ethic
A view of life that promotes hard work and self-discipline as a means to material prosperity. It is called
Protestant because some Protestant groups believe that such prosperity is a sign of God's grace.

Wikipedia
Protestant work ethic
The Protestant work ethic, also known as the Puritan work ethic, is a biblically based teaching on the necessity of hard work, perfection and the goodness of
labor. Protestant preachers preached on the goodness and the necessity of labor and its efficacious effect for humans personally and on Christian society as a whole. Protestant preachers saw this as a salve or a correction for original sin.

http://www.answers.com/topic/protestant-work-ethic

10 ... for a worker is worthy of his food. Matthew 10:10 (New King James Version)

Psalm 128:2 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
2For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

1 Timothy 5:18 For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Of course we should all be aware that we are not saved by hard work, only by accepting Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross, but there are great benefits from our labour.

These are all ideas that Christ himself fought against.

I'm sorry, I just don't see that he fought against any of the principles above. There are many scriptures about the benefits and blessings of hard work.

Jesus believed the Word of God is "the truth", that's what He used to fight Satan. Read Matthew 4:1-11.

As for politics read: Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-14. Jesus didn't fight against the political authority of His day. In Luke 20:19-26, He could have told those trying to trick Him that He didn't have to pay tribute to Caesar, that He could ask the Father for 12 legions of angels to destroy the Roman Empire with it's entire army, as a matter of fact He could have done it by Himself and declared Himself King, but He didn't, instead He told them render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's. Jesus didn't fight against authority, He fought against spiritual blindness, and hardness of heart. He fought against the ideas of the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who were so caught up in studying the law and trying to keep it to the letter that they had no real relationship with the God who gave them the law.

I am a very strong Orthodox Christian and I am so pleased to see entire Protestant congregations coming back to the Orthodox faith.

I found this website that you can link to for more information about the Orthodox Christian Faith: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/orthodoxy.aspx

For information about the Assemblies of God, which is the denomination I belong to, click on this link: http://www.ag.org/top/

Our teachings do not involve politics or simple ideas like magical demons making us do bad things.

As I commented above, I believe that it is important that we are involved in politics, at least to the extent that we vote and pray that God give us Bible believing Christians as our political leaders and judges also for that matter and it is a blessing when godly Christian men and women win political offices.

As for demons, Jesus believed in them. Casting them out of people was part of His healing ministry. http://www.biblegateway.com/topical/topical_searchresults.php?resultsapp=25&source=1&search=demon&searchtype=all

http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=demon&searchtype=all&version1=50&spanbegin=1&spanend=73

Each person has it within himself the ability to choose right from wrong, that is our focus.

You are right, God gave us the ability to choose, but even Christians can be subject to deception. 1 Peter 5:8-9, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Ephesians 5:5-7, 2 Timothy 3:12-17, 2 John 1:5-9, Matthew 24:4-24.

Stop being a tool of the wealthy and become a real Christian. Use your Web Site to teach the true message of Christ and not the message of a War-dodging, Cocaine-Using, Drunk-Driving politician. (And I am not advocating for the Democrats).

A real Christian? The true message of Christ is : 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I've heard newscasters say of sexual predators that it is impossible for that kind of person to change, if that were the case we would all be in a hopeless mess. God sent Jesus to change hearts, minds, and lives. The person who may have once been "a War-dodging, Cocaine-Using, Drunk-Driving politician" once he accepts Chist becomes a new creature (a being that didn't previously exist), the old man is gone, God forgets all of his past sins and failures. He starts out in his life in Christ like a newborn baby. Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:20-24, Colossians 3:9-10, Romans 12:2.

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were wealthy, Job was wealthy, Moses grew up in a palace, David and Solomon were wealthy, Jesus had enough money that he needed a treasurer, Joseph of Arimathea who gave Jesus his tomb was wealthy. The Roman captain, Cornelius, was rich and gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God, therefore God sent Peter to him to share the good news of Jesus Christ with him. People with wealth can do great good for the kingdom of God. Some people get the idea God is against wealth because Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give his money to the poor, it wasn't because he had great wealth, but because his money was more important to him than his relationship with God.

Try putting this on your site:Humility is the greatest achievement of our mortal existence. To be humble is to serve dinner at a homeless shelter and never tell anyone about it. To be humble is to fast during the Great Lent and never complain or let anyone know you are doing it. Humility is donating money to a true Christian project anonymously.

Numbers 12:3 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

The verse above is from the book of Numbers, most bible scholars agree that Moses wrote the first five books of the bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, therefore Moses wrote the verse above about himself. He also wrote all the wonderful things we know about him in these books as well as his failures. Is this a contradiction? No! Moses realized that without God he was nothing and could do nothing. True humility is not hiding everything good that you do, but acknowledging that you would not be able to do anything good without God in the first place. You wouldn't even be able to breathe your next breath without God. If we never found out any of the great and wonderful things Christians do for the Lord where would our witness to the world be. Why would they want to be like us if they never find out we do anything good for anyone else. It is good at times to do good things anonymously, but it's not necessarily humility. We are not to make a show of doing good deeds just to be seen and praised by people. What we do we do for the glory of God and give Him the praise for it.

Consider this statement by Paul: 1 Corinthians 15:10-11 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Compassion for other human beings: The Jews in Israel need to be compassionate of the ones they occupy.

The Jews don't occupy the land, they own it. God gave it to them. He even commanded them to drive out the original "occupants". Genesis 17:7-8 (King James Version)
7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

If you listen to the news, even our "politically correct" media say Israel has a right to defend herself. She has been under constant attacks from some of the current "occupiers" of her land. Israelites are compassionate, they don't want to hurt innocent people, but sometimes they have no choice when evil terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah use innocent people as human shields when they attack Israel.

God scattered Israel because of sin, but He said He would gather them back to the land He promised them, and He kept His Word. God does not lie and His promises are sure.

Please click on this link for a very interesting, informative, and insightful article by Billye Brim: http://billyebrim.com/bbm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=94

Read the scriptures carefully. If what you contend is correct, the Native Americans have the God-given right to kill you, your family and everyone around you!

The promise was never to any other nation or group of people but to Israel that they would be scattered all over the world and that he would gather them back to the land He promised them before the return of Christ. It's happening, not for any other nations or groups of people, just Israel, many are being driven from countries and returning home, others are returning of their own free will because God has given them a hunger and a desire to return to Israel. God is keeping His Word and the prophesies in the Bible are being fulfilled before our eyes. Can't you see the hand of God in this? I can.

When the Europeans came here to find freedom of religion, much of what happened to Native Americans is tragic and regretful. This country was wide open enough and there was enough room for everyone. But look at how blessed America has been. Now we are "One Nation Under God". American Indians, Europeans, Jews, Asians, Orientals, Hispanics, African Americans, Africans, etc., we all call this home. This has been the most blessed country on the face of the earth in recent history. I can see the hand of God in this as well. God blesses nations that bless the Jews. The following passage is about nations, not individuals, the nations that treat the Jews well and the nations that don't and the judgement they face: Matthew 25:31-46.

This is an interesting article: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-24-2006-100385.asp

Genesis 12:3 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The people of Israel are not God's favorites!

"Favorites" is not the right word, God doesn't have a favorite group of people, He loves Arabs, Americans, Chinese, etc. just as much as He loves the Jews. He loves each individual person equally. The word in the bible is "chosen". Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Deuteronomy 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. God had, and still has special plans for them, He instructed them and revealed Himself to them. I can't think of a single book in the bible, with the exception of maybe Job, that was not written by a Jew, and Job may have been.

If you read the scriptures you will find that the descendents of Isaac were the Chosen ones. They were Chosen to bring about the Messiah.

Yes, the promise was to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Judah, and on down that line.

This was because under Jewish tradition a child can only be considered Jewish if the mother is a Jew.

I had never heard this before and I looked it up and apparently mainstream and orthodox Jews do believe that in mixed marriages if the mother is a Jew the child is a Jew, but if a Jewish man marries a non-Jewish woman, the child is not a Jew unless he or she converts to Judaism.

Some concerns I have with this are there are a number of women in the geneology of Jesus Christ who are not Jewish, Rahab was from Jericho, Ruth was a Moabite, Naamah was an Ammonitess. All the men in the geneological lists in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 from Jacob (Israel) on are Jewish, but not all of the women who we know about, who married these men, are Jewish. As a matter of fact all the geneological lists in the bible are fathers and sons with very few women even mentioned.

Obviously Jesus had a Jewish mother but not a Jewish father, God was His Father, but Mary had to be the one to give birth to Jesus because she was engaged to Joseph, and by the geneological line of descent from King David in Matthew 1, Joseph would be the rightful king of Israel and since Joseph married Mary, Jesus' mother, Jesus became Joseph's legal firstborn son (though not by blood), that meant Jesus would the the rightful heir to the throne, since Jesus had no offspring and rose from the dead, he is the last legal heir to the throne of Israel and will take His rightful place during the Millinium. Luke 3 records Jesus blood line of descent through Mary's ancestors. The line of descent of Kings through Solomon ended with Jeconiah who was cursed so that none of his blood seed would ever sit on the throne of Israel, with Shealtiel it appears the line of kings transferred to Nathan's decendents, Shealtiel and his offspring Zerubbabel, are included in the geneologies in both Matthew and Luke. From sources I read, it is presumed that Jeconiah of Solomon's lineage adopted Shealtiel of Nathan's lineage so that even though his blood seed would never sit on the throne a descendent of David through Nathan would. Supposedly according to some sources Shealtiel was married but died young without children, so his step brother Pedaiah, according to custom, married his widow and bore a child for Shealtiel, Zerubbable. In Luke 3 the line of descent after David was through Nathan, in Matthew 1, after David it started with Solomon, but with the supposed adoption of Shealtiel by Jeconiah, the blood line of the kings was transferred to the descendents of Nathan, that would mean both Joseph and Mary are descendents of David's son, Nathan. After Zerubbabel the geneologies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 diverge again, and Joseph descends through the royal line of Zerubbabel's offspring Abiud, and Mary descends through Zerubbabel's offspring Rhesa. In Luke 3:23, Joseph is actually the son-in-law of Heli, not his son. Matthew 1 starts Joseph's line with Abraham, Luke 3 starts Mary's line with Adam, Adam and his seed were given dominion of the earth, Jesus has the rightful claim to dominion on this planet because he descends from Adam.

Matthew 1:1-17 Luke 3:23-38

Abraham had two sons, Isaac's mother was the Jew.

Abraham is called a Hebrew in the old testament, therefore since Sarah was Abraham's half sister as well as his wife, she was a Hebrew also. Abraham had eight sons, Ishmael, Isaac, and six sons by Keturah, presumably after Sarah died. The Israelites or Jews descended from Isaac. Isaac had two sons Esau and Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). Though Esau is Isaac's son his descendents are not Israelites or Jews. Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons. The twelve sons of Jacob make up the twelve tribes of Israel and their descendents are Israelites or Jews. The term Jew came into existence when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah split and was identified with Judeans, but gradually it came to be used to refer to all Israelites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew#Jews_and_Judaism

Since the Messiah has come, the Jewish people have only the same favor of God that every other human has, they completed their mission.

As I mentioned before most Bible Scholars believe the Jews wrote every book in the Bible except perhaps Job, and a Jew may have written Job. Most books of the New Testament were written by Paul, a Jew. He didn't become an apostle till after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Saul he was devoted to destroying the church until he met Jesus on his way to Damascus to imprison believers, as Paul he became a great benefit to God's Kingdom. Jesus spent His entire ministry training twelve men (Jews) who would continue His work on Earth once he returned to His Father, even Judas was replaced with Matthew, another Jewish believer. Jesus entire ministry was to the Jews. Why would he waste his time training Jewish men and ministering to Jewish people if God was through with them. Why didn't Jesus go the the Gentiles to teach, preach and minister? Why would he concentrate on the Jews? In Matthew 15:24 He said "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." After Jesus' death His twelve disciples continued His work among the Jews, Paul and his associates began to work among the Gentiles. The difference is the Gentiles began to accept the the Good News of Jesus Christ the Messiah and most Jews now do not believe He is the Messiah.

Romans 3
1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Romans 11:1-36 Romans 11:25-29 explains that after the fulness of the time of the Gentiles Israel will be saved, that God has a covenant with them and will take away their sins, and that God's gifts and call can never be withdrawn.

There are several other things you should consider about Christianity:1. December 25th was chosen as Christ's Birthday only because it was the day of a pagan sun god , Emperor Constantine's favorite God. 2. Roman Catholic Easter and Protestant Easter is faulty. How can you celebrate Easter before Jewish Passover? Passover is why Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem.

I agree with you, December 25th is most likely not Jesus birthday, I have heard it is January 6, sometime in September around Rosh Hashanah, and their are other theories, and we probably have the time of His resurrection wrong too, but the good thing is we celebrate His birth and His resurrection, even if on the wrong date. For some it's the only time they reflect on Jesus Christ and why He was born and why He died. It may also be a good thing we don't have the dates right, that way we don't pollute the real dates with our traditions and commercialism.

3. The bible was canonized under a suspense set by the Roman Emperor. Many books were left out due to the time-constraint.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

If God inspired all scripture don't you think He has the ability to make sure that everything He wants us to know gets in the book He gave us to instruct us and teach us about Him? Is God too limited to make sure we get everything we need? I don't think so!!!

4. The original sin is our knowledge of our own existence and our ability to create. It is representative of our own self-awareness, our ability to see ourselves as our own Gods. The original Sin has nothing to do with sex.

Speaking of Adam and Jesus Christ: Romans 5:19 (King James Version)
19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
The original sin was simply disobedience to God, and you are right, it had nothing to do with sex.

If you still don't believe what I have said, think about this... Every day the Bush Administration contacts the leader of the Evangelicals in America. This person, I forget his name and refuse to refer to him as a holy man, has a huge church, something along the lines of 20,000 members weekly. If you visit this church, you will find bookstores, coffee shops, food vending machines, investment literature, and all other kinds of money making ventures. He will tell you it is so that he can do God's work. But I want you to open your bible and read the passage where Christ himself turned over the tables of the merchants in the Temple.

The merchants and money changers were cheating people because they knew they had to buy the animals for sacrifices and could only use Jewish and Tyrian money in their temple worship. Churches today may have bookstores, libraries, etc., but people can come and go and never have to enter them, they are not required to purchase anything for worship, and if they do go in to purchase something and feel the price is too high they can walk right back out without it and no one is the worse for it.

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20000315.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_and_the_Money_Changers

I wish for you and every other "Conservative Christian" that the peace and love of Jesus Christ may enter your heart and clear your minds.- Brian
7/13/2006 7:39 PM

Thank you for the blessing. I am learning and growing as a Christian. I haven't become a perfect person and I don't have all the answers, I make mistakes and I repent. God has revealed many things to me but the adventure is all the things He has yet to reveal to me.

God's blessings to you Brian.

Pam

This is a link to a site where you can look up scripture references in many different versions of the bible: http://www.biblegateway.com/