Posted on 10/11/2007 5:56:32 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Is God with you?
Do you ever sin?
How could Jesus spend 30+ years on earth with us? We are all sinners. All his disciples were sinners. All his Apostles were sinners. Jesus ate with them. Jesus walked with them. Jesus fished with them. All the time he was surrounded by sin.
And where would that be, exactly?
And where would that be, exactly?
"Whereabouts unknown" like most people from that era.
where God is, sin isn't. Conversely, where God isn't, sin is.
Is God with you? Do you ever sin?
If you sin, is God not with you? Does He leave you in your sin? Does He permit Satan to take charge of you?
(Here comes the "cutting and pasting." It contains your answer.)
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them" -- Psalm 139:7-16 "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
And since I know RCs don't care for the Old Testament, we have Paul assuring us that even while we were yet sinners, Christ loved us enough to die for us."
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" -- Ephesians 2:4-6" But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
As my mother used to say, when your children are behaving their worst, they need your love the most.
Well, we know exactly that her body is not in heaven.
That's ridiculous. The Scriptures had to be fulfilled. The entire point of our Christian faith is that God became man and suffered for our sakes. A human mother was a God-ordained necessity.
Mary was a devout young virgin who received a blessing by being chosen by God to carry Jesus Christ to term.
Sometimes I think Calvinists have missed the whole beauty and wonder of the redemption, especially its humble, human means.
And quite often I think Catholics miss the spiritual grace of Christ's redemption because they are focused on the mundane, the physical, the material, the "human means," and thus they forget there is "only one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus."
There are five services every Sunday and on average fourteen acts of worship in St Giles' every week. Worship at St Giles' upholds Christian tradition alongside openness to contemporary thought and action. Holy Communion is the central act of worship in St Giles' and is celebrated several times each week. The Daily Service is a simple quarter-hour service of readings and prayers each weekday at noon. Visitors are welcome to join with the congregation in worship. Members of all churches are invited to participate fully in Holy Communion at St Giles'.""The Church of Scotland is presbyterian in government, and St Giles' Cathedral is often called the mother church of world presbyterianism. It has uniquely reflected the life and religion of Scotland and incorporated the dynamic vision of the 16th century Reformation in the continuity of a developing and catholic church.
And...
Who knows how "open to contemporary thought and action" St. Giles' has become?
I think it’s important to remember that Calvin, like Luther and other Reformers, were challenged with the task to think through everything Biblically. They didn’t get everything right. But they were real pioneers in the sense that they were trying to remove the theological blinders that prevented the masses from seeing Christ.
where God is, sin isn't. Conversely, where God isn't, sin is.
You need "support" for that statement? Good Lord!
Perhaps I should have said "where God dwells, sin isn't". For God is sinless and all holy. Can sin co-exist in the same place where God dwells? Is there sin in heaven? Satan can not abide the presence of God for this reason. Sin flees from the presence of God. There can be no sin in God's dwelling place.
What's difficult about that?
God's dwelling place is in heaven but it was also in the womb of the Virgin Mary. For 9 months. Could the all Holy One be nurtured and fed by sin?
Is God with you? Do you ever sin?
"With me"?? I'm not sure what you mean. The Holy Spirit may dwell within me.....if I allow Him.
I sin to the extent that I turn away from God. A man who draws close to God will become more Christ-like and turn away from sin. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit allows God's grace to work in us. However, we can freely choose to reject it. Conversely a man who rejects God will embrace sin.
There's a perfect inverse relationship between sin and God's presence.
The "God is everywhere" argument does not mean that he doesn't dwell in certain places in a special way. He was physically present in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He is physically and spiritually present in all the tabernacles of the world under the appearance of bread. When Jesus walked this earth, those who hated the truth fled from his presence. Those who loved it were drawn to him.
God is not equally present in the heart of a sinner and the heart of a saint.
!!! Is this typical for Presbyterians? (I'm debating frequency of Communion on another thread...someone's telling me once a year and that's it)
A tautology.
The Scriptures are the word of God. Why did the Scriptures have to be that way? Hmmmmmm??
The entire point of our Christian faith is that God became man and suffered for our sakes. A human mother was a God-ordained necessity.
"A necessity"? For God? Who is sufficient in and of himself?? You jest. Why could God not have come down to earth the same way he left it after the Resurrection, for instance.......i.e. on a cloud??
Yes the Scriptures spoke of "a woman" but that just begs the question. Why did God ordain it??
Why did God's plan of salvation include this woman?
And don't say "coz it's in Scripture"
It's a circular argument.
FYI the absence of a body proves nothing.
As good an answer as any, and better than most.
One thing is certain; her body is not in heaven. Not yet.
actually that’d be st thomas my bad
Pure fiction. Get real.
who says it’s fiction and how do they know?
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