DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Religious Convictions
HTML https://religiousconvictions.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: According to Mike
*****************************************************
#Post#: 1188--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: Piper Date: April 17, 2015, 12:41 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[font=trebuchet ms]Mike,
The will and intent of God is simplified in the following
Scripture, yet, I know you know when we contemplate it, it
becomes quite profound:
[/font]
[font=andale mono]The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the
exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his
powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
~Hebrews 1:3[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms]I think, through Jesus, God revealed much to
man about His nature, showing us who He is, in the most tangible
way available to Him. Becoming "like" us provided doors that
swing in both directions.
We search to 'understand' by various methods, and in varying
intensities at different times in our lives, but, overall, Jesus
is the answer standing right in front of our eyes. We grow so
very weary, but in Him is rest. Any journey we take toward
understanding always begins and ends with Him.
Alpha. Omega.
One might lose faith in the bible, in religion, in his fellow
man, but Jesus still shines. Think about it. He is God's right
hand! [/font]
#Post#: 1194--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: A nonny mouse Date: April 17, 2015, 3:06 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Kerry link=topic=133.msg1181#msg1181
date=1429275756]
You think you know something about God when you don't.
[/quote]
I see my prognosis as being the only plausible resolution to all
the questions which trouble me about what Christendom embraces.
It really is nothing to do with 'knowledge'.
In the place of 'knowledge' I cling to a 3 fold minimum of
'Faith'.
1. Faith that there is an omnipotent God.
2. Faith that his only revelation of himself to man was in the
incarnation of Christ.
3. Faith that Christ can 'enter' man's heart establishing the
all embracing commandment to 'love'.
#Post#: 1199--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: Kerry Date: April 17, 2015, 9:13 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
^ Your second point is a sweeping generalization. If true,
would mean you missed the only revelation of God to man since
you were not around on this earth when Jesus incarnated. Only
the handful of people alive at the time who actually met Jesus
could have received the revelation; and since God could not
reveal anything to other people through them, what they knew
would have died with them.
If you are saying you can receive a revelation about God from
Jesus, what does that mean? What does the incarnation have to
do with that? Jesus incarnated is not in front of you. You
have an idea of that in your mind, but you do not see the
physical incarnated body of Jesus in front of you. Therefore
for you to receive a revelation would involve a non-physical
manifestation of Jesus, something unrelated to the incarnation.
You are also saying you have faith that every other claim to
revelation from God is not true. You say this when you could
not have possibly investigated every other claim. You trust
only your own revelation. God has somehow revealed something to
you through Jesus' incarnation (which you did not observe) but
you doubt everyone else's revelations.
I am boggled about what you really believe.
#Post#: 1205--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: A nonny mouse Date: April 18, 2015, 2:49 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Kerry, might it not be that you are challenging what I believe
(formed from a basis of my 'faith') by comparing it with what
you believe (formed from a basis of your 'religion')?
Is it not the old conundrum of faith versus knowledge?
#Post#: 1206--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: Kerry Date: April 18, 2015, 6:22 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I am trying to understand what you believe; and it's not making
sense to me. I wonder if it would make sense if you rephrased
things?
How can anyone say the incarnation of Jesus was the only
revelation of God to man? Did God the Father Himself tell you
this? Does God the Father tell everyone this, or did He tell
one person or a handful? Or did Jesus appear to you and tell
you this? Where did you get this revelation?
I can tell you people told me about Jesus, and those people had
heard it from other people and from reading the Bible. I
wouldn't have come up with the idea about Jesus on my own. I
heard about him from human sources first.
Now first I heard and hoped but was not sure. Could we call
that faith perhaps? I admitted the possibility that what I
heard about Jesus was true. I sought answers but did not hear
from God Himself. I relied on the witness of others without
being fully certain. I firmly believe that had I not
acknowledged the Light of God in my fellow man, I would never
have progressed. Jesus is not on the earth today. I couldn't
see the Light of God in him. But I could see it in some of His
servants if I looked. Where did they get it?
I reject the "Jesus-and-me" only type of religion. I am
grateful to the Father for sending the Son; and I am grateful to
the Son for sending his servants to help me. I am grateful too
to those servants who may have had their flaws but were still
able to lead me in the right direction until I could see things
more clearly for myself. Yes, they may have had their flaws;
but when they spoke, it seems to me they spoke the Living Word
of God.
All that I am and hope to be
Was given by Love's own hand to me.
#Post#: 1212--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: A nonny mouse Date: April 18, 2015, 2:57 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Kerry, don't struggle to understand what it is that I believe.
I'm not sure that even I yet know the answer to that.
Basically I believe little that I once proclaimed, except for
the existence of God, the incarnation of Christ as God's means
of revealing the truth regarding what men had previously
imagined, and the subsequent indwelling of Christ in man's
heart.
Maybe God uses parts of what man says and writes as a vehicle
for himself to 'speak', but that is how I now regard all that
man says and writes (including what we call the scriptures).
#Post#: 1216--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: James Date: April 18, 2015, 4:59 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Mike - Kerry, don't struggle to understand what it is that I
believe.
I have for a long time thought that you believed what your first
church taught, then it fell apart and you fell apart as well and
went into a wilderness from which you much later returned angry
with God who let you believe a lie and angry with yourself for
believing that lie.
I wonder if you vowed never to follow man again and as such will
not aline yourself with any general truth on the basis that you
want a distinctive doctrine that sets you apart from your fellow
man. You even revel in such a position calling yourself a
heretic, by which you say I am not as other men are.
You have created your own doctrine, your own denomination of
one, the gospel according to Mike. You may well be "the one" he
who has the true light, only time will tell Mike, only time will
tell.
#Post#: 1219--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: Piper Date: April 18, 2015, 6:37 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[font=trebuchet ms]Mike can only be true to the dismay of his
own heart which leads him to not trust anyone but God, Himself,
which is not entirely a bad thing. He could lie just to "fit
in" with the crowd, but I admire him for at least being honest.
He could drop the faith entirely, except for his love of Christ.
Christian forums play hell with one's faith, questioning every
single thing imaginable --even outrageous things-- and then
presenting hundreds of conflicting answers. How does one
resolve such a thing? I have found my way and Mike has found
his. My road is very new; I might yet, by default, join him on
his road.
Be at peace, Mike, please. Love God, love your neighbor--even
if they live on Christian forums. ;)
If you're going thru what I've gone thru, you may feel you are
losing a place among us, but--not true. You are no more
"peculiar" than the rest of us. :-* If they can put up with me,
they can put up with you. :D
Remember, too, St. Francis' prayer about how it is better to
seek to understand than to be understood. It's nice to be
understood, granted-- but not entirely critical. Be honest with
God. I dare say He values honesty. [/font]
#Post#: 1220--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: Piper Date: April 18, 2015, 7:01 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
All that I am and hope to be
Was given by Love's own hand to me.
[font=trebuchet ms]I do like that, btw. :)[/font]
#Post#: 1223--------------------------------------------------
Re: What do I no longer 'believe'?
By: A nonny mouse Date: April 19, 2015, 12:20 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Nancy (and to James within my blog) for your
understanding.
I awoke in the middle of last night (but since I am sleeping so
much better these days I went straight back to sleep) with the
thought pervading my mind that I must take care not to appear to
be 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'.
Fact is that whilst I even more firmly believe the bible to be a
collection of some of the writings of man, as distinct from
being the verbally inerrant 'Word of God', I do believe that
parts of what man wrote and still writes are used by God to
'speak' into my heart.
And I derive pleasure and blessing from reading them.
However 'doctrine and theology' in a repeatable form no longer
forms part of what I receive or would wish to pass on.
More than ever I still regard such as being an arrogant and
presumptive "telling God what he is supposed to have said and
meant by it", whereas our part ought to be confined to a
childlike 'trust and worship'.
Thereby I haven't changed at all over the last several years,
and many of you will recognise the repeat of the old 'signature
tune'.
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page