Thanks Clint, I appreciate it. And you make a good point there. I don't know what it's like to be in you're shoes, but I'll try to answer anyway. Mankind was created with free will. We had the choice either to live in perfect love and communion with God, or to serve our own passions and control our own world. And we're stupid, so we chose the latter. That's when physical and spiritual disease entered the world. We've all inherited the need to serve ourselves. The only way to escape either physical or spiritual imperfections is throught Christ's healing and forgiveness. And that only comes through accepting him. That's the one thing I can't help you with. Does that all make sense?
Mokele, sorry to dissapoint, but I'm not here to argue opinions. And I'm not going to be beating anybody up at the polls. I'll be voting for what I think is best for society. I'm aware this will have an affect on your life, but its always a two-way road.
Now about the Biblical law thing. I'm aware Old Testament law seems arbitrary, but it's actually pretty simple. Some laws, including most food regulations, were for purely practical reasons. And for the record, only fish without fins and scales were banned. Other laws were designed to help the Israelites remain faithful to God. The the two fiber thing, for example, was actually a ban on a certain pagan practice of the day. Most of the laws were simply an effort to bring Israelite society closer to perfection. The standards for the treatment of women and slaves were revolutionary in their day. God didn't just sit there and come up with stupid arbitrary laws to entertain himself. Had he required any more of his people, he would have had a rebellion on his hands. The rules just seem backwards because society has progressed in these 3000 years since they were written. When Christ came, God made a new covenant with us. Now, the only law is absolute perfection. Christ is our high priest before God. We don't have to make any animal sacrifices. All we have to do is to accept Jesus and his death to bail out us out of he11. And then we get to be perfect again and live forever. Again, it's only if you want it.
Josh, I'm not sure about everybody's morality being the same, but perfection is the same the world around, and you're responsible for wanting it or not wanting it. As Bruce said, we have to draw a line somewhere. And there's always some folks who want higher standards and some want lower standards. Just like Mosaic law did for Israelites, we need law that's going to improve society. Practically, it needs to be at a level that everybody can follow it if they want to.
The pattern I see with Shinto, Bhuddist, Muslim, and Christian beliefs is that the societies that have adopted them have lasted for centuries.
peace,
Peter
Mokele, sorry to dissapoint, but I'm not here to argue opinions. And I'm not going to be beating anybody up at the polls. I'll be voting for what I think is best for society. I'm aware this will have an affect on your life, but its always a two-way road.
Now about the Biblical law thing. I'm aware Old Testament law seems arbitrary, but it's actually pretty simple. Some laws, including most food regulations, were for purely practical reasons. And for the record, only fish without fins and scales were banned. Other laws were designed to help the Israelites remain faithful to God. The the two fiber thing, for example, was actually a ban on a certain pagan practice of the day. Most of the laws were simply an effort to bring Israelite society closer to perfection. The standards for the treatment of women and slaves were revolutionary in their day. God didn't just sit there and come up with stupid arbitrary laws to entertain himself. Had he required any more of his people, he would have had a rebellion on his hands. The rules just seem backwards because society has progressed in these 3000 years since they were written. When Christ came, God made a new covenant with us. Now, the only law is absolute perfection. Christ is our high priest before God. We don't have to make any animal sacrifices. All we have to do is to accept Jesus and his death to bail out us out of he11. And then we get to be perfect again and live forever. Again, it's only if you want it.
Josh, I'm not sure about everybody's morality being the same, but perfection is the same the world around, and you're responsible for wanting it or not wanting it. As Bruce said, we have to draw a line somewhere. And there's always some folks who want higher standards and some want lower standards. Just like Mosaic law did for Israelites, we need law that's going to improve society. Practically, it needs to be at a level that everybody can follow it if they want to.
The pattern I see with Shinto, Bhuddist, Muslim, and Christian beliefs is that the societies that have adopted them have lasted for centuries.
peace,
Peter