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Peter denied three times before Christ died on the cross for our sins and before Peter received the Holy Spirit.

Peter denied three times before Christ died on the cross for our sins and before Peter received the Holy Spirit.

So it was not a sin?

I don't understand where the Holy Spirit comes in, after all one of the Holy Trinity was present with Peter every day.

So you're saying that Christ was some lesser being when Peter denied Him before He died on the cross, as if He isn't the Son of God at all times? That's probably not what you meant but that's what it sounds like. It's interesting that the ridiculous Arab statement mouthed by hostages at gunpoint "means" the same thing to both you and to Muslims- you both seem to have faith in the power of those words as if they are truly supernatural. But the words are powerless and dead. Those words do not mean anything to someone without faith in them, to someone who is coerced, to someone who is acting. Or do you seriously think that words muttered by actors on TV, or words read aloud by a reader looking at them in a novel or here on FreeRepublic, reflect the beliefs and thoughts and faith of those muttering them?

The Son of God and His plan was around before we were, before the Romans thought of making crosses, before the world was created. To think His qualities are somehow diminished because some human action had not yet been taken against Him is kind of arrogant. Our idea of a timeline makes no difference in God's eyes- he is what he is, always has been and always will be. Peter knew what Christ is. Now Thomas doubted it even after the crucifiction...

God knew what Peter believed, before and after. Peter was just a man who had gotten a bit too proud and in his denial he was shown that Man is weak and isn't capable of saving himself. Jesus had do what He did to save the likes of Peter. [And all the rest of us.]

God knows what they believe, and they know what they believe, but we don't know what they believe. It should be obvious enough that their hearts were not in Islam with guns pressed to their heads, but I reckon some folks need to have someone draw them a picture. To think that some halfbaked cult can defy God's will and "convert" someone He's already bought and paid for by just coercing their bodies- not their souls- to mouth a couple of words praising something that doesn't exist is giving wat too much credit to the cult. Conversion as we understand it is a matter of grace, belief and faith, not lip service. It doesn't matter a hill of beans what a muslim thinks a conversion is- their standards of admission to their faith are so low even a blue and gold macaw- or your answering machine- could "convert" to Islam by mouthing the right words. Just because their standards of admission are so low does not mean we should set our standards of conversion from Chritianity or Judaism that low.

What happened to the reporters is a personal matter of faith that is not between us, but between God and each of them. We should concern ourselves with our own spiritual shortcomings and let God attend to His business- lest we succumb to pride as Peter did. God has a thing against pride, one reason we were told not to show off by praying out in the public streets. We were given faith- it's not something we develop on our own and it is not defined by other people's expectations, observations, or religious fantasies.