PSS: Faith, based on the Words of Jesus in the Bible
Dear friend, in #609 you wrote
I will not only ask you why again, but also what gives you the right to tell me what I need to acknowledge?
It's this kind of (sometimes unintentional) arrogance and self-righteousness that makes self-professed Christians as un-Christian as it gets.
What makes your book holier than other so-called sacred books? What proof do you have to offer that this is indeed the "true" scripture, so much so that you can tell someone he or she "needs to acknowledge it" as such, other than your personal conviction? And I am supposed to entrust my life, indeed all my hopes, on this "witness?"
And if it is not true, do I get my money back? Who should I sue for false advertising? You? You can neither guarantee nor prove that what you are selling as truth is indeed truth.
Why can't people just believe what they want to believe and and let others do the same? Isn't a belief supposed to be a private matter?
Selling salvation is no different then selling indulgences, my friend. Ironic, isn't it? The whole Protestant movement was started because Luther was scandalized over the Church selling indulgences, yet selling salvation by Protestants is okay? What got reformed? A label?
Why? Because I believe God - through Jesus - told me as much. And what gives me the right? The commands of Jesus. I will state as much; I will not force you to any religion, however.
Do you not evangelize and share the Word of God with others?
It's this kind of (sometimes unintentional) arrogance and self-righteousness that makes self-professed Christians as un-Christian as it gets.
Explain the Great Commission, then. How do you spread the Word of God to everyone?
What makes your book holier than other so-called sacred books?
Faith. Pure and simple. However, I will not burn or kill people for not converting to my religion. I will tell them about it, and why I believe it, but ultimately it is their decision.
You can neither guarantee nor prove that what you are selling as truth is indeed truth.
I do neither. I never will. If you do not want to hear, then simply say as much and I will be quiet. But I believe my God told me to tell others about how to receive salvation, and that is what I intend to do.
Why can't people just believe what they want to believe and and let others do the same? Isn't a belief supposed to be a private matter?
Then tell me the Orthodox view on the Great Commission. If evangelism is to be avoided, then how do you reconcile that with the words of the Savior you are supposed to follow?
It comes down to faith. I cannot prove anything, I can share what I believe, and why I believe it. But ultimately it comes down to my belief and faith.
Selling salvation is no different then selling indulgences, my friend. Ironic, isn't it?
No. You have claimed the Nicene Creed as your own; please explain how you can believe in one God and let others worship their own gods. Explain how you can deny the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, when he tells us:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Do you advocate not following the last words of our Savior in the Gospel of Matthew? Is that the view of the Orthodox Church?