Wow - talk about concieving a monster, Shrike!

Before I begin, keep in mind that everythnig I say here is my personal beliefs, and that even if I say that I believe something is wrong/sin, I'm not going to condemn you or push for you to chnge your way. As a born-again Christian I see much of what's going on in the world today as sinful, but I'm not out on the streets preaching hellfire and damnnation. If somebody asks me about my faith, great. If not - no problem.
Originally posted by Warlock:
Ya know what's interesting....most of the "hardcore" Christian families I know..I mean the if you so much as defy you're parents once as a child you're in danger of going to hell type...all the kids are hopping beds at 14 and under even. My best bud's GF knows two gals like that...one of whom's folks built a seperate room just to hold the roughly 1200 versions of the bible they own,..yet she's only 15 and had damned near as many partners as I've had at 27
Unfortunately this is quite true, but don't get me started on the state of Christianity today. Let's just say that "the world" and "chistianity" are not black and white - they have the smoothest gradient of greys imaginable between them. I find that troubling, personally.
Originally posted by Warlock:
...was
of the folks that do belive it's a sin, bad, evil, or even just poor taste,..do tend to attempt pushing that belief upon others.
Yes, they do. If you were 100% convinced that you knew the truth about something, wouldn't you want to see other people come to realize that truth as well? Regardless, like I already said - I ain't gonna push.
Originally posted by Carl:
umm...every sin condemns you to hell. if you steal a peice of candy from your little brother, you're going to hell. why? because heaven requires 100% perfectness. would you drink a glass of water if it had just one tiny drop of cyanide in it?
This is what the Law of the Old Testament came to prove - nobody can lead a sinless life. Which is why the events of the New Testament occurred - just like Abraham said to his son Issac as they were going up the mountain to sacrifice to God: "God will provide the lamb". At that time, God saw Abraham's willingness to obey even unto his son's death, and provided a ram instead. Thousands of years later, God provided the Lamb.
Originally posted by an0n:
I didn't bother to read the new testament. The whole Jesus thing sounds like a pile of **** to me. I prefered the vengeful, angry God in the Old Testament.
Hmmm - just to show you how mistaken you are in that generalization:
Jeremiah 31:3-4 "The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful."
Revelation 14:19-20 "The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia."
Originally posted by an0n:
And if God created man in his own image then we're all perfect right?
If sex before marriage was a sin then all those people who were around before the bible and its definition of marriage are screwed (figuratively and literally).
Yes, we were perfect, until Adam and Eve allowed sin to come into their lives.
And sin is defined by the law, and by the concience that God has given Man. THerefore, there was no sin before the law. The first "do not", however, was back in Genesis 2:17 "...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Which they went ahead and did.
Originally posted by IceFire:
The key thing with this discussion is that everyone continues to respect the decisions, beliefs and opinions of others.
A good quote to close with.

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