A "healthy god debate"

[FelixJaeger]

Like just to make it sure,
I DID NOT LEAVE CHURCH BECAUSE OF HARRY POTTER
I guess God is just a way of explaining why were here to all us paranoid people who think were jsut part of someone elses dream [img]tongue.gif[/img] .
I want to know where the idea of god came from in the first place, anyone have any ideas?
And Stormy, the reason any good christian will tell you that those things is because of The Evil One who somehow has an equalled power to the infinitly powerful god(another reason I didnt like going to church was the fact that it wasnt that persons fault it was always The Evil One)

[ 05-04-2003, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: FelixJaeger ]

[Gangrell]

Originally posted by Stormymystic: quote: Originally posted by WillowIX: quote: Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Conjugation.... R-O-F-L!! [img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

So you noticed that. Did you have to highlight it for everyone to see? [img]tongue.gif[/img] I was aiming for subtle you know. Perhaps I should change it, but I thought it dang funny.

Stormy, priests are not allowed to do such things. No man is. [img]smile.gif[/img] But in all congregations, , there will be, well frankly idiots. [/QUOTE]he does nothing to stop them, so they are allowed [/QUOTE]They're thrown in jail for such acts, therefore they are not allowed.

Ps- You know what I mean Felix [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Stormymystic]

i am sorry if this gets annoying, but they are not thrown in jail til afterwards, sometimes not even then, i am speaking from personal experince, they do not get in trouble, and they only get a slap on the wrist if they are caught

[Larry_OHF]

Regarding the Harry Potter stories and religion...I will assume that these same people who detest Harry Potter and call themselves religious also own their own DVD copies of movies like Sleeping Beauty...a movie about a witch poisoning a young lady and having the ability to turn into a dragon...or Beauty and the beast, where the man was cursed to be a beast until the spell could be broken. Basically...stories of Good versus Evil, and good always wins in the end. That is what Potter does...it's just that the good guys in Potter also have magic, and use that on the good side...but then...maybe Star Wars falls in the same category, as they have the "Force"...which is their innate Jedi ability...and not a scientific or mechanic power, but more "magical". But is anyone boycotting the Jedi Knights? Nope. Everyone wants to pick on Potter only, and that is silly.

I am a converted Mormon (Thanks for what you did, Timber ).
Our church is not against D&D, H.P., or anything like that. We are instructed to stay away from "R" rated movies, but that is because "R" content usually has strong obsene content...but not every "R" movie does...for example, LotR extended version was threatened to go "R" if they added the additional fight scenes in their exteneded edition, due to blood and gore. I would have still gone to see it. X2 avoided an "R" rating due to the lack of blood spill, but the Matrix: Reloaded will be "R". I already have my ticket. There is nothing in that movie that will be offensive to me, and I still uphold a good standing with my church. Nobody will be coming after me and saying that I did anything wrong.

My Bishop and I were interviewed today by the Winston-Salem Journal...(big newspaper) and that was fun. I attend a Spanish division of my church, where I help out by being the branch's Financial and Membership clerk.
(The church PC programs are in English). I was mostly a part of the interview for interpretation purposes. I was pretty nervous because I knew that if the reporter was not understanding exactly what he was hearing and seeing...I would be the fault of a misrepresented column where he might have compensated his lack of understanding for whatever he could dream up to write about! LOL! Man, talk about pressure! Well...it all went well.

[Gangrell]

Maybe I should clear something up, my aunt doesn't like harry potter or anything remotely similar to it because like most penacostles, she believes it's linked to black magic and works of the devil. It's not based purely on Harry Potter, but other works such as AD&D, Magic the Gathering, and anything that goes outside the belief and shows that there is more than one god.

By the way Larry, she doesn't have anything based on any fairy taled books just to let you know [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Stormy, not all priests do that. The ones doing those types of crimes are really sick individuals that have have been sent to jail. Because they do it and nothing is done probably means no one knows about it.

[slicer15]

Stormy, God gave humans "free-will". This means (unfortunately, in a way) that humans have the right to do whatever they want. I am not saying that what you stated is right, I am only explaining why God "lets" these things happen. Everyone will be punished in time, as only God has the right to decide to deserves punishment. Again, I am not saying a man who commits murder may not deserve it, I am saying that God will punish any acts of Sin Himself. And with regards to "The Evil One", I don't think its right to blame everything on him. (I mean your church, Faelix, not you.) Satan tempts us, or puts the seeds in our mind, it is our choice whether we accept the temptation or not, or let the seeds grow.

Also, God won't just destroy Satan, because he used to be an Angel (people may disagree on this, just what I believe, and how I explain this) and thus was promised immortality, like all Angels. God doesn't break promises, and so won't destroy Satan.

About natural disasters, before Satan tempted the couple in Eden, the world was perfect. No animals hunted each other, no storms, or hurricanes existed. As soon as man "fell", thorns grew and the world became bitter.

All of the above are only my thoughts and beliefs. No offence was meant, feel free to disagree.

[Attalus]

Any evil conduct, whether Priestly pedophilia or genocide is due to, not particularly to the Devil, but to Man's fallen nature. We have free will, so some individuals will do evil things. God is not the world's policeman, He is the Judge who decides what will happen to you in the next life due to your actions in this one. This picture of God smiting evildoers is a very naive one. He never says that He will do this. He does say, "Vengeance is Mine, I shall repay, saith the Lord."

[Gangrell]

Not to critisize you slicer but as you've (as well as I) have stated, man have their own free will. In this free will, it is our own choice to have thoughts or to give into temptation so Satan doesn't really have a part in this. I don't really believe there is a Satan, a devil, an archangel, or a ruler of hell. I believe, from what I've heard, hell is nothing more than a void where really nothing exists, and it doesn't take a devil to rule over that.

[slicer15]

What I meant by punishment was when he seperates the people at the Second Coming. Those on his left (I think) will sent to Hell, and the gates will be closed forever, thus also sealing Satan inside. Another interesting thing is that Hell was created by God as a place of punishment for Satan, so that means Satan doesn't actually live in Hell, but will have to go there eventually. He hates the place (I presume) as it was created for his punishment.

Again, my thoughts.

EDIT: Gangrell, we posted at the same time...

As I mention above, I don't believe Satan rules over Hell as its sole purpose was to punish Satan. (IMO) That way, because of free will, we can be tempted and follow the "wrong" or sinful, path or choice at the time. If God made us perfect, we would be like robots. So he promised us free will, and we got it.

[ 05-04-2003, 07:36 PM: Message edited by: slicer15 ]

Well to be perfectly frank...I think a "Healthy God" is a good thing....can you imagine a sick or infirm God? Every sneeze could mean doom for the Universe


P.S. Ok so Im not Frank and my name is Ray, but you get the idea.