Posted on 04/25/2005 7:59:46 AM PDT by NotchJohnson
Bless you, and good night to you.
Oh. Are you a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness?
Well, I'm outa here again. This time I have to go prepare the evening meal for my family, then spend the evening with them. Since my Freepday is over, I guess I'm out of this thread.
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof...."
Tomorrow's another day. Perhaps we will meet in other threads.
By responding to questions and making the statements they did about the Catholics.
They should have just kept their collective mouths shut.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Christian.
Ah, okay.
Thank you, but I'm not interested in joining.
And you as well.
"Marciano said the church gave Charlotte Rescue Mission $5,500 in 2004 -- a small part of the mission's annual budget of $3 million."
This mega-church that has 6,000 parishioners gave less than a dollar a year per worshipper?! Maybe I'm jumping the gun since I don't know what other charities they donate to or their operating budget. I would think there wouldn't be many charities in general that don't have multiple denominations making donations of food, volunteers and funds (or at least one of the three).
As a PR move this about as dumb as you can get particuarly a week after a new Pope had been elected. Jesus said to turn the other cheek - is the Catholic Church really an enemy of this mega-church?
Upstate NY kinda Christian .....
Christian Scientist: not Christian.
Undoubtedly.
I hope it's on a thread where your opinion matters.
That's cool. If you change your mind, let one of us know.
Christian. See, it says so in the name.
8-)
However, now that the organization hears that the Catholics are involved (and I am not a Catholic), they claim that because a secular-based (presumably) charity begins to get help from another religious group (just as the organization is), they feel that they can't help PEOPLE by feeding them.
What does such a move tell the community? It tells them that their organization is elitist and exclusionary, which in NO WAY represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It just makes me wonder whether this same arrogant group would accept donations from Catholics and others if they were in need? You bet they would and they would declare that "the Lord provided!"
This organization is free to give or withhold giving but don't dare try to hide their pride and elitism by saying they're doing so out of conviction. I hope this organization has to close its doors as a result of this. But I'm sure that the Catholics, et al, would be there to help them out.
Yes, ignorance does abound. It is sad and I will pray for them.
"View us, not advise us on what the bible means and what we should do. BTW, they view us as idiots."
I used to think the same, until I met Christians who were kind and non-judgemental. Non-believers don't view ALL Christians as idiots, just those who act high and mighty. If we follow Christ's example of humility, we are respected by non-believers.
For instance, an intellectual atheist friend of mine, who generally hated Christians had an experience that changed his way of thinking while travelling across the state. He was in a rollover accident. The second person on the scene was a Christian man who took him (and his dog) home and let him spend the night. The next morning he drove my friend to the train depot an hour away. The car was a total loss. The Christian man then kept and cared for his dog for several days, until he returned with his other car to pick up the dog. That one Christian man brought my friend closer to God by representing Christ well in his actions. I notice he now contrasts "good" vs. "bad" Christians, when before he though we were all hypocritical freaks. That is the first step for an unbeliever in accepting Christ, and like it or not, unbelievers formulate their opinions of Christianity by the words and deeds of Christians. So when the Atheist gentleman starts commenting on how we should treat each other and on scripture, I take it differently than other Christians, because I was once there myself, as is my Atheist friend. General interest is a good thing, even if that interest manifests itself with negative comments. When representing Christ to Atheists, you have a better chance of doing it well if there's no malice against them, even if they are prejudiced against you. Instead of getting mad at one who asks "who created God" a better way of dealing with it is to say "who created the components need for a "big bang?" I don't think evolution is illogical (it's quite simply the study of God's ways), but the "big bang" doesn't ring in my ears, and it wouldn't resonate with Atheists if they actually asked "who created the components that set off the big bang?
"This is the same denomination that believes that feet-washing was commanded by Jesus and thus is a liturgy of the church."
They are emulating the lady who washed Christ's feet as a demonstration of humility, as I see it.
"All religion is organized.. Even yours.. Unless you stay home, pray by yourself, and follow your own organization of scripture, you participate in organized religion.
Even your theology is organized and systemized..."
I'm glad to hear that! I always thought my theology was scattered and undetermined because I am still learning.
By the way, I don't attend church, listen to preachers on the radio or refer to certain web sites for lessons. I come across a situation, or have a question, then seek the answer, generally by doing a net word search, then reading the relevant chapters. I do pray alone, except when with Christian friends and usually it is the last thing we do before we part. I have several different bibles, so my theology is not denominational, and I compare verses in different bibles when I find contradictions. Whenever something is asserted AS FACT, I research it and do come up with different answers and try to just let the holy spirit guide me, rather than political or other factors. People impart different lessons from scripture. I notice alot of people tend to manifest the teachings in judgement of others, but I feel the bible is intended to make the reader examine themselves rather than to use scripture as a bludgeon against people who have differences with them.
We may not agree on some things, but we can agree on your tagline. :-)
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