IIIThrice3's Xanga

Tempus fugit tam carpe diem - Time flies so seize the day!

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:02:23 GMT

What time do you think you have? You know what is funny; what is funny is we all think we have so long to live. We all forget so easily that we are actually not immortal. We think about death for a little while when people we know die, but then we go back to our old way of thinking. I mean...think about it. One day you were born, (doesn't seem so long ago does it) and here you are 10, 20, 30, or more years later. Where did the time go? Before you know it you will be old, and then you will be gone. Most often, it is not in that order. Most people never get to the old part. For most it is just here and then GONE.

You know what is even funnier. We all try so hard to avoid the one thing we all have in common. It does not matter who you are, black or white, male or female, American, Canadian, French, Chinese, Spanish, Swiss, Russian, or other, old or young, gay or straight, democrat or republican, Christian or Atheist...We are all going to DIE!!! Surpise!!!

So then, the only question remaining is what happens when we die? This is the most important question of life, and the answer is simple...Despite common beliefs, we do not just go out of existance. Nor does it all end in the grave, and you can be sure that not all people go to heaven. I have no idea where these ideas came from or why we as silly humans believe them so easily, because they have no basis for belief.

The truth then is this we are all wicked, evil people, from the kindest person you know to the worst. We have all thought and done things that are wrong. (This is where people usually get turned off by what I have to say, but please read on until the end and leave WHATEVER comment you want then. It doesn't have to be nice...Please. Just be honest!) As I was saying, we have all done evil things, and the Bible calls these things sin. The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death. This might not sound so bad now, because as I have just explained we are all going to die anyway. But I am not speaking about that death. As I said, everything does not end in a coffin, because the soul is eternal. The death I was talking about is an eternal death in the place called Hell. This is the punishment for sin. There is however also a second life, an eternal life in the place called Heaven. The reward of Heaven is given to all who are righteous. Righteousness is goodness. That is how many, in fact, most people expect to get to heaven, by being good. However, as good as a person can be he or she can never be perfect. The requirement for Heaven is not just to be righteous (without sin), but it is to be perfectly righteous, that is to say 100% flawless, all the time. Basically, we all fall short. You might say, "I am close." But God says, "Are you perfect?" You can be 0% or 99.9% perfect, but unless you are fully righteous before God...I am sorry but the Bible says that you are NOT going to Heaven. I am going to Heaven, because I am perfect…lol…before you go thinking that I am prideful, let me tell you this. I am considered perfect by God, not because of ANYTHING I have done or could ever do, but because the perfection of another has been given to me. I am still a filthy, rotten sinner, but God no longer sees me that way. Now He looks down from Heaven at me and sees His Son. He sees Jesus. (This is where I usually lose everyone else, but please stay with me. Again say exactly what you think when I am done.) Therefore, since you and I are all sinners, worthy of eternal death, with no way to escape our fate on our own, God in His infinite love for you and me sent His own Son, Jesus to take that punishment for us. Jesus is the only human to ever live perfectly before God, and being perfect, He died, paying the penalty for our sin. THUS WE DO NOT HAVE TO PAY IT. Then to ensure that we would be able to have eternal life in Heaven with Him, He came back to life again. This also proved Him to be who He said He was, the Son of God. It is only because Jesus died and came back from the dead that I can be counted righteous before God. Jesus’ righteousness has been put onto me that is why God sees me as His Son. You can have this same perfection too. All you have to do is trust Jesus alone to get you to Heaven. Believe only that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on a cross for your sins, and rose up from the dead. That is all it takes. I will admit it is not the easiest thing in the world to accept, but it is the simplest. You trust Jesus by grace through faith and nothing else at all.

Remember!!! You ARE going to die!!! It sucks, but that’s the way it goes. There IS a God who loves you. There IS a real place called Heaven. There IS a real place called Hell. WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!! The only question you need ask yourself now is, “Am I going to Heaven, and how am I getting there?” If you are trying any other way but Jesus, I promise you, you won’t make it. Please trust Him, today. If you have any questions, please, don't hessitate to ask.

“For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.” - William Penn

He Who Dies With the Most Toys...

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:10:19 GMT

They say, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Well, the guy who said this, was definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer. This guy missed one all important fact; you can't take anything with you when you die. I mean really, have you ever seen a hearse with a luggage rack? Or perhaps, one pulling a uhaul-tailer? I know I never have. You can get all the money, all the sex, all the drugs, and the power, and the stuff, that you want in life, as much as you can, but you can't keep a lick of it...Nothing! Think about it. He who dies with the most toys...still dies. Not that there is anything wrong with having stuff...Not at all, however, spending ones life to amass stuff is complete an utter vanity. As the poet has said, "Vanity hands. My nothing I hold. This is all I have. For it, all I've sold." Don't play the fool. Consider my words and be wise. You live once, and then you die. Make sure you live it right.

"It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you; it's what you leave behind you when you go." - Randy Travis

A Letter From an Atheist

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:20:10 GMT

{This one of the blogs off my friends xanga, justfinethanku. I always enjoyed it, so here you go. Pray close attention and learn from it.}

You might hear me talk about revolution… you might hear the word often. It means something to me. I feel like we are in a world that needs revolution. We need a change. We need to revolt. God has done so much for not just us, but the world!

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN JUST HOW MUCH YOU COST HIM???

Don’t ever forget it! there are people out there that have never ever heard the message. People that are going to die and go to hell, pay for something that has already been paid for.

This is stressed all the time… we need to get out there we need to tell others, we need to be a light to a dark, dark world. But we don’t. We live out our “good” Christian lives and sleep well at night.

HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT KNOWING PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BURN FOR ETERNETY?????

We have become complacent. We have become lukewarm. We have become useless. Christ lived his whole life for us. He gave up his life for us. And we chat with each other casually as if life is peachy. Like there is nothing wrong out their. We live like everyone has a tomorrow. WELL THEY DON’T! Most people on this planet do not have a future. They are dead and you know it.

Listen to this:

"You are really convinced that you've got all the answers. You've really got yourself tricked into believing you're 100% right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you're right about God, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your 'loving' god created, yet you stand by and do nothing.

If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That's equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You're just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day the 'walk' signal will shine your way across the road.

Think about it. Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You're just going to let that happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? IF you're right, then you're an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring."

- Letter from an atheist to a Christian.

Our worthless actions are nothing but that… worthless. How dare we complain about anything. How dare we act like we deserve anything when we are so selfish, we have the greatest gift known to man… we have a future that we can pass on but selfishly refuse. What in the world is wrong with us???

REVOLUTION

It costs nothing. It has already been paid for.

There are so many things that we can do to start a revolution…. A second great awakening. Millions can be reached online. Thousands can be presented the message of Christ through your words alone.

Who have you told?

Your family?

Your friends?

People you work with?

People you meet in everyday life?

“but I am scared”… no your not, you are selfish.

“but I am afraid they will be turned off if I talk about it a lot”… your wrong.

“they will laugh at me… I will lose my credibility”… no… you will gain it.

“but I am not perfect… how can I tell them to trust Christ”…. are you even saved??? Don’t you get it yet?

“I am not an outgoing person”…. your selfish!

“I am not good at talking”… Who are you trying to convince???? The message is simple!

“But I do not know what to say!”… well listen up!

We have screwed up. God calls it sin. When someone screws up they go to hell. There is nothing we can do to prevent our damnation. But Jesus died for us. He paid for us. He took our sins onto Himself so we could live. All we have to do is believe that this fact is true. We have to believe that he died on the cross and rose again three day’s later. We have to trust that his death gives us eternal life. that’s it.

You have the message. You have no excuses.

The Rest of My Refutation

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 12:49:59 GMT

This is the refutation to the rest of the doctrinal statement of the Westboro Baptist Church:

SODOMITES ARE PROUD OF THEIR SIN ("GAY PRIDE"), AND IN THAT PRIDEFUL STATE THEY CANNOT REPENT - YOU CANNOT REPENT OF SOMETHING YOU'RE PROUD OF.

"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 6:15.

See also Jeremiah 13:23, Romans 1:24-32, Ezekiel 16:49-50, etc.

Homosexuals are not all proud of their sin. Many are, but not all of them are. Truly one can not repent of his sin, however, if he is proud of it, but the convicting power of the Holy Spirit can break the pride of a man in a heart beat.

THE SODOMITES' ONLY HOPE IS TO HAVE THE UNAMBIGUOUS TRUTH PREACHED TO THEM, AND PERHAPS GOD WILL SOFTEN THEIR HEARTS AND GRANT THEM REPENTANCE TO DEPART FROM THEIR SIN AND NAME THE NAME OF CHRIST. NOT VERY LIKELY, THOUGH, SINCE GOD HAS GIVEN THEM UP.

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." II Timothy 2:19. "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness...unto vile affections...to a reprobate mind." Romans 1:24-28.

See also II Timothy 2:24-26, Psalm 5:5, I Corinthians 6:9-11, Acts 17:30, Jude 22,23, etc.

There is a big difference between giving something up and giving up on something. If you give up on something, that means that you feel there is no hope for it. If God did this, it would mean that he stopped trying to save homosexuals. Thankfully, that is not what He did and that is not what these verses are saying. These verses are saying that God has given sinners up, not that He has given up on sinners. If God gave up on sinners, then there would be no hope of salvation for anyone. Instead, these verses are saying God allows us as sinful humans to have exactly what we desire. If we desire Him, we receive Him, if we desire our own way, God allows us to have it. He is a righteous God. He will not force anyone love Him who does not desire it. So the Lord does not give up on people, but He gives them up to their desires.

As for there hope of sinners, it rests, as it has always rested, upon the belief of the individual upon the promises of God. In this present age, the promise is salvation through Jesus. Trusting in Him by grace through faith as the Son of God is the only way of salvation from sin and death in Hell.

THERE IS A HELL WHERE ALL IMPENITENT SINNERS WILL RESIDE FOR ALL ETERNITY. THAT INCLUDES SODOMITES (CALLED "DOGS").

"And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Isaiah 66:24. "For without are dogs..." Revelation 22:15.

See also Mark 9:44, Luke 16:23, Revelation 20:15.

In a manner of speaking this is true. There is a Hell where all those who do not repent of their sin and embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior will be condemned forever. However, people don’t go to Hell for being gay. They go to Hell for refusing Jesus Christ as Savior. There is no other reason why a person would ever end up in Hell.

“In summary, sodomites are wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly (Gen. 13:13), are violent and doom nations (Gen. 19:1-25; Jgs. 19), are abominable to God (Lev. 18:22), are worthy of death for their vile, depraved, unnatural sex practices (Lev. 20:13; Rom. 1:32), are called dogs because they are filthy, impudent and libidinous (Deut. 23:17,18; Mat. 7:6; Phil. 3:2), produce by their very presence in society a kind of mass intoxication from their wine made from grapes of gall from the vine of Sodom and the fields of Gomorrah which poisons society's mores with the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps (Deut. 32:32,33), declare their sin and shame on their countenance (Isa. 3:9), are shameless and unable to blush (Jer. 6:15), are workers of iniquity and hated by God (Psa. 5:5), are liars and murderers (Jn. 8:44), are filthy and lawless (2 Pet. 2:7,8), are natural brute beasts (2 Pet. 2:12), are dogs eating their own vomit and sows wallowing in their own feces (2 Pet. 2:22), will proliferate at the end of the world bringing final judgment on mankind (Lk. 17:28-30), have been finally given up by God to uncleanness dishonoring their own bodies among themselves, to vile affections, and to a reprobate mind such that they cannot think straight about anything (Rom. 1:23-28), have wholly given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh (Jude 7), must be pulled as faggots from the fire (Jude 23), and have no hope of Heaven unless they repent (Rev. 22:15), which they can't do in their prideful state (Jer. 6:15). They need to hear this truth if they are to have any hope of penitence, faith in Jesus Christ and salvation (I Timothy 4:2-4).

If this Gospel truth offends you, then please hit the "Back" button on your browser.”

I have a summary statement too.

1. God doesn’t hate anyone.

2. God hates all sin the same amount no matter how great or small

3. ALL have sinned. (this includes gay bashers)

4. The penalty for sin is death in the place called Hell

5. There is an escape from this Hell and it is only through the person of Jesus Christ

6. Jesus died the death you were to die

7. If you trust Him as your Savior, you will have eternal life.

8. There is no other way and unless this truth is expressed in love none will believe or repent

9. You can say the words and you can write it in the sky but it wouldn’t be enough. The only way they will listen is when you speak the truth in love. Period! The End!

The Old Phone

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 17:14:42 GMT

When I was quite young, my

father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around

the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.

"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.

"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open the icebox?" she

asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Wayne always remember that there are other worlds to sing in"

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
"Information," said in the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?" I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left

me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown
Operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
"Information."

I hadn't planned this, but I heard

myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I

laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"

I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years

and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in

Seattle. A different voice answered,
     "Information." I asked for Sally.

     "Are you a friend?" she said.

    "Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

     "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."


Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?" "Yes." I answered.

      "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called.

     Let me read it to you."
     The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.
He'll know what I mean."

     I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

     Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

     Whose life have you touched today?

     Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for.

    Life is a journey ... NOT a guided tour.

Behind Gay Bashing...

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 16:20:56 GMT

To begin this post I must first explain something called Dispensationalism. This is a key to why the Westboro Baptist Church is in error. Dispensationalism is the understanding that there are times which a religious doctrine or practice is believed and enforced. A Dispensation is an era in which a divinely ordained religious system is in affect. It is a period of time upon the earth. In Christian thinking, there have been 6 dispensations, the last of which we are currently in: 1.Innocence, 2. Conscience, 3. Human Government, 4. Promise, 5. Law, and 6. Grace. There is to be a 7^th to follow the present dispensation which is to be the Kingdom of God. This is of course at the end of the age.

What I want to illustrate in this explanation is the difference between one dispensation and another, because this seems to be the problem the Westboro Baptist people are having. They obviously do not recognize the difference between one Dispensation and the next.

This is the way it works?A dispensation is introduced and carried for a time, until it is no longer of any use. Then another is raised up in it?s stead, one that applies to the time and the situation and the people of the era. Most of the Wesboro Baptist Church?s doctrinal statement is based off of verses from the Old Testament, taken out of the 5^th Dispensation, taken out of the Law. The reason this is erroneous is that the Law is no longer applicable. It is still inspired and the truth of God. It is still His standard for perfection, but it brings only death. It brings only death, because we as sinful human beings can not keep the law and thereby deserve death as a punishment. When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, He satisfied the law. He fulfilled it. Therefore, the law is not useless, now but it is fulfilled. Thus we do not live by it any more, because Jesus ushered in a new Dispensation called Grace. God?s standard of perfection is still there, and we ought to try to keep it. But grace provides the way of escape from the punishment of failure.

The following is a refutation of the entire doctrinal statement of the Westboro Baptist Church. Everything in brackets is what they say and everything else is my rebuttal:

[The site that you are about to enter contains Gospel truth on an important, hot-button issue. This Gospel truth includes, but is not limited to:]

Ok first of all the word ?Gospel? is Greek and it means ?Good News.? None of what these people have to say is good news. The True Gospel, (Good News) is this, Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. That is the Gospel in it?s simplest form. There is no more and it holds no condemnation whatsoever for all those who believe.

[SODOMY IS AN ABOMINABLE SIN, WORTHY OF DEATH.

"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." Leviticus 20:13. "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." Romans 1:32.

See also Leviticus 18:22, Genesis 19, Romans 1:18-32, I Corinthians 6:9-11, I Timothy 1:10, and Jude 7. ]

They say Sodomy is an abominable sin. Well that is not what Leviticus 20:13 says. It says, ?If a MAN lies with a MAN as one lies with a woman?.? It does not say sodomy is an abomination. It says sodomy between two men is an abomination. If a husband and wife want to engage in such an action, then that is between them and God. And besides, though homosexuality is an abomination to God, there is no point in singling it out as a heinous sin, because it is no different, in the eyes of God, than any other sin. Sin is all equally bad. No one sin makes us more worthy of death than another. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, ?The penalty for SIN is death.? This does not say the penalty for homosexuality is death. This is where the Dispensationalism comes in. There was a time, under the Law where homosexuals were to be killed for there sexual sin, but that was a different Dispensation. That was the Law, and now we are under Grace. The standard of God still says NO HOMOSEXUALITY, but the punishment is now held off till natural death to give time and opportunity for the sinner to repent. As for the other verses they state on the subject: Leviticus 18:22 is the same command as Lev. 20:13 only without the command to put the offender to death. Genesis 19 is an extreme example of God?s judgment on homosexuality. It is the story of Sodom (from where we get the word sodomy) and Gomorrah. This is however, more of a containment of the sin of homosexuality. The men of these cities were so consumed by there sin that they would not allow themselves to repent. They were so consumed that they would rape any man who entered the city. They would do it in the street too. That is pretty heinous, and you can?t get much worse than that. The death penalty in the dispensation of the Law was merely to stop the spread of sin. Romans 1:18-32 refutes not only homosexuality, but many other sins also, such as envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, etc. Also, there is no death penalty in this life for these sins recorded in this passage. I Corinthians 6:9-11 also deals with multiple sins, without naming an earthly punishment for any. Likewise also I Timothy 1:10. Finally, Jude seven says that Sodom and Gomorrah ?serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.? This is why they were judged, but that was God judging, and He alone judges rightly. All punishment for homosexuality comes from Him and not from the hand of any man.

[GOD HATES ALL WORKERS OF INIQUITY.

"The foolish shall not stand in thy sight, thou hatest all workers of iniquity." Psalm 5:5.

See also Leviticus 20:23, Leviticus 26:30, Deuteronomy 32:19, Psalm 5:6, Psalm 11:5, Malachi 1:3, Matthew 7:23, and Romans 9:13.]

Wrong again. God hates no one. God hates sin alone. At first glance at these verses you could assume that He hates all sinners, but doctrine can not be rightly built off of a few verses alone. It must be taken in light of the rest of Scripture. The rest of Scripture says God is love. So there fore God is love! What then could these verses mean? The hatred that God has is not toward sinners, as it would appear by these verses, but against the works of their evil. Deuteronomy 12:31 - ?You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.? Deut. 16:22 - ?and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the LORD your God hates.? These are two verses which more accurately describe the hatred of God. If God hated mankind He would not have died for us.

[JESUS CHRIST DIED ONLY FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

See also John 13:1, John 17:9, Ephesians 5:25, etc.]

This is positively, entirely untrue and unbiblical! John 3:16 is saying in point of fact the exact opposite. The point also continues in the next few verses. It goes on to say, ?For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.? Basically, these verses are saying that the door of opportunity is open to ALL because Jesus died for all. Condemnation is coming upon all, but if you trust in Jesus to save you from this condemnation, then you will escape it. That is the point of this verse. As for the other verses used as references: John 13:1 says, ?It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.? This is not even speaking about the death of Christ at all. The phrase, ?His own,? is speaking about Jesus? disciples. John 17:9 says, ?I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.? This is again speaking of Jesus? disciples and as it said, ?not for the world.? That entire passage is not about Jesus? death at all. It was His prayer for His disciples. Ephesians 5:25 says, ?Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.? This is not talking about the death of Christ either. It is trying to illustrate the way men should love their wives. Jesus Christ died once for all and there by anyone can believe.

[ONLY GOD'S ELECT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO BELIEVE.

"Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." John 12:39,40.

See also John 10:11,26, Matthew 11:25,26, Acts 13:48, Romans 9:19-24, etc. ]

This is what this verse means: Everyone has the opportunity to believe, but some can not believe because they will not allow themselves to believe. If people don?t want to repent then God will allow them the harden their own hearts against Him, as they wish. Christ will never force anyone to believe in Him. As for the other verses: John 10:11,26 - ?I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep?but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.? Again this verse has nothing to do with the claim. The other verses are all the same basic thing. Of all the claims made on there doctrinal statement, this one is the most true, though still flawed. Yes only those who are ?elect? can believe, but only God knows who the elect are. Thus we as Christians are responsible to share the good news that we have to anyone and everyone who will hear us out. The door of opportunity is open to all to receive. The ?elect? are simply the ones whom God knows in His omniscience that will believe. And as for Jesus only dying for those who believe. That is crazy, because then no one else would be responsible for not believing in Jesus as the Messiah. Why should I believe someone is my Savior if they have not died for me? Exactly! Jesus has died for the sins of all man kind as it says in the Scriptures, and thus all are responsible to make the choice to either trust Him as Savior and live or refuse His free gift of eternal life and perish forever. The choice is yours. As it says in Romans, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And "the wages (the payment) for sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." If you want to be saved from sin and this death which is to come, trust Jesus to save you. He alone can do it, and He alone is willing. "It is by grace that you are saved through face, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works so that no man can boast." You can try to do it on your own, but you will get nowhere. The world may offer you fun, but only Jesus can offer you hope!

I have not finished refuting the Westboro Baptist Church's doctrinal statement, and I will be away on business in New York City all week so I will leave is here and finish it later. Leave me alot of comments and I will check back in on Friday or so.

May the Lord richly bless you and yours.

Logical and Reasonable,

Shamgar

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Tue, 02 May 2006 23:34:24 GMT

I am sorry for the diversion of topic, but I felt it necessary. I will return to the Creation/Evolution discussion soon.

In the news the other day, there was a protest at a soldier’s funeral. A bunch of sykos from the Westboro Baptist Church of bigotry stood outside the funeral for a fallen soldier of the United States Nation Guard, a patriot, named Sgt. Daniel Sesker. They chanted vulgarities the whole while and held signs saying “God Is Your Enemy” and “Thank God for IED’s,” the type of bomb that killed Daniel. These sick, demented, heartless, bateaus do this all over the place at military funerals because they say God is judging America for harboring homosexuals. That is the deal. Sykos…the whole lot of them, these people are! I am now taking the opportunity to publicly denounce the Westboro Baptist Church, their minister, Fred Phelps, and Gay Bashers everywhere.

I am a Christian, and that is for sure. And I don’t support homosexuality. In fact I am adamantly opposed to the action thereof, but that is no excuse for what these monsters are doing. I may hate sodomy, but that doesn’t mean I agree with or condone these hypocrites. They are dead wrong! If you hate homosexuality, the action, then good; you are right. But if you go and hate homosexuals, the people, then you are dead, WRONG!!! Check out godhatesfags.com, and you will see these people’s doctrinal statement, with verses from the Bible to back up there beliefs, but they are all misconstrued to try to prove their point heretical. This group of people hates…that is the bottom line…it is actually not even about homosexuality. It is about these guys’ need to have someone to hate, but God NEVER hates anyone. These Gay Bashers are liars. That is all, just a bunch of liars, and despite all their claims they are not apart of Christendom. As it is written, “by your fruit you shall be known; a good tree can not produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can not produce good fruit.” Please don’t make the mistake of thinking these people have anything to do with Christianity because they call themselves a church. These fools are no more Christians because they’re a church than being in a forest makes you a tree. Besides, a church is only a church if Jesus resides in it. One of my professor, Dr. Marshal Wicks, said, once, “Just because a building has the name, ‘church’, doesn’t mean that Jesus lives there.” God is not associated with the Westboro Baptist Church, or any other Gay Bashers. I just want to make that clear. God is the opposite of them all. They are hate, and that is all. That is the whole deal. They just want somebody to hate. The Bible says, in I John 4:8, “ He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.” And what is love, you might ask?…I Corinthians 13 defines it for us, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Tell me, does that sound like it leaves room for Gay Bashers and haters. No! It says they have and are nothing. The Bible goes on to say, in I John 4:16, “We have known and believed the love that God has toward us. God is love; and he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.” As you can see, these people have nothing to do with God at all. They are far from Him. Why hate people for being gay, or for any reason, for that matter. These quacks mock at the very men who are fighting for their rights to live back here in the states in peace. The soldiers are fighting for these guys’ rights to hate them. That ain’t right. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment of all is this, “'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." In other words, if you love God and love your neighbor, you are in the right completely. The hypocrites of the Westboro Baptist Church, practice neither the love of God, nor the love of their neighbor, hence their actions at this past funeral and others like it. And when the Bible speaks of loving your neighbor, it does not mean the guy who lives next door to you. It is talking about anyone and everyone. When Jesus gave an example of who a neighbor was, he spoke of the enemy of His people. What then would be the proper response of the Westboro Baptist Church to things with which they disagree? The Bible has the answer to that to, and it is found, among other places, in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what the LORD requires of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” So then, in the end, will these people end up in heaven? That is a question I have heard before many a time, and it is not for me to answer with any degree of certainty. There is but one way to heaven, and it is available for all, both good people and bad people, alike. It is not based on our actions either. The only way to heaven is by trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin. This comes by grace through faith and not by anything you can do. So I don’t know the Gay Basher’s eternal destiny, but I do know this. The Bible says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven.” In other words, not everyone who claims to be following God, actually is following Him. These guys who are so full of insensitivity and hate are so far from God, they‘re practically knocking on the Devil‘s door. No matter how a man lived, what he fought for, or what he died for, he deserves some respect in the end. If not for Him, then for his loved ones who are grieving. I have now made my point. To close this post, now, I would like to say thank you to all the men and women in our armed forces, fighting to keep this country, and her people, free. And I salute also the Patriot Guard Riders, the 5000 men who ride their motorcycles around the country showing their support at military funerals. At Daniel Sesker’s funeral, they were there, comforting his family and chanting patriotically back at the bigots who were forced by the authorities to remain 500 feet away from the funeral. They blocked his parents view of their mockery and drowned out their vulgar chants. Thank God for the Patriot Guard Riders, just for being there where they are needed. Last of all I salute you America. I salute you, red, white and blue. Bravery, purity, loyalty, so free and so true!

If you are as ardent a patriot as I, you will enjoy also my other xanga, “Americanism.” Check it out, and God bless you and America.

Creation: "Where's the Proof?" by Ken Ham

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 19:58:47 GMT

Ok, here it is, exactly as I believe it and no more. This is not meant to dog on anyone else’s beliefs, but it is to declare what I believe and why I believe it. If you don’t agree with me, that is fine and dandy. I will not criticize anyone for having a different belief than my own, but like Txcavscout said “I’ll die before I make the statement ‘everybody is right in their own way.’ I don’t believe that. It is impossible, because everybody believes something that somebody else disagrees with. Just because somebody has an idea about something, doesn’t make it right, and the majority is not always right either. If 100 million people believe a dumb idea, it is still a dumb idea.

As I have said, I am not here to convince, convict, or convert. I am simply here to speak of what I know. As it is said, “We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen.” I can’t testify…that’s for sure, because I have not seen, but I will speak of what I know. But rather than just tell you facts, I would rather show you how to interpret them. I don’t want to be just another person telling you what you should think, but rather be a person telling you how to think. I think you are smart enough to do the thinking on your own. And again these are not my thoughts alone. I compiled the following from Dr. Ken Ham:

Evidence

Creationists and evolutionists, Christians and non-Christians all have the same evidence—the same facts. Think about it: we all have the same earth, the same fossil layers, the same animals and plants, the same stars—the facts are all the same.

The difference is in the way we all interpret the facts. And why do we interpret facts differently? Because we start with different presuppositions. These are things that are assumed to be true, without being able to prove them. These then become the basis for other conclusions. All reasoning is based on presuppositions (also called axioms). This becomes especially relevant when dealing with past events.

Past and present

We all exist in the present—and the facts all exist in the present. When one is trying to understand how the evidence came about (Where did the animals come from? How did the fossil layers form? etc.), what we are actually trying to do is to connect the past to the present.

However, if we weren’t there in the past to observe events, how can we know what happened so we can explain the present? It would be great to have a time machine so we could know for sure about past events.

Christians of course claim they do, in a sense, have a ‘time machine’. They have a book called the Bible which claims to be the Word of God who has always been there, and has revealed to us the major events of the past about which we need to know.

On the basis of these events (Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel, etc.), we have a set of presuppositions to build a way of thinking which enables us to interpret the evidence of the present.

Evolutionists have certain beliefs about the past/present that they presuppose, e.g. no God (or at least none who performed acts of special creation), so they build a different way of thinking to interpret the evidence of the present.

Thus, when Christians and non-Christians argue about the evidence, in reality they are arguing about their interpretations based on their presuppositions.

That’s why the argument often turns into something like:

‘Can’t you see what I’m talking about?’

‘No, I can’t. Don’t you see how wrong you are?’

‘No, I’m not wrong. It’s obvious that I’m right.’

‘No, it’s not obvious.’ And so on.

These two people are arguing about the same evidence, but they are looking at the evidence through different glasses.

It’s not until these two people recognize the argument is really about the presuppositions they have to start with, that they will begin to deal with the foundational reasons for their different beliefs. A person will not interpret the evidence differently until they put on a different set of glasses—which means to change one’s presuppositions.

I’ve found that a Christian who understands these things can actually put on the evolutionist’s glasses (without accepting the presuppositions as true) and understand how they look at evidence. However, for a number of reasons, including spiritual ones, a non-Christian usually can’t put on the Christian’s glasses—unless they recognize the presuppositional nature of the battle and are thus beginning to question their own presuppositions.

It is of course sometimes possible that just by presenting ‘evidence’, you can convince a person that a particular scientific argument for creation makes sense ‘on the facts’. But usually, if that person then hears a different interpretation of the same evidence that seems better than yours, that person will swing away from your argument, thinking they have found ‘stronger facts’.

However, if you had helped the person to understand this issue of presuppositions, then they will be better able to recognize this for what it is—a different interpretation based on differing presuppositions—i.e. starting beliefs.

As a teacher, I found that whenever I taught the students what I thought were the ‘facts’ for creation, then their other teacher would just re-interpret the facts. The students would then come back to me saying, ‘Well sir, you need to try again.’

However, when I learned to teach my students how we interpret facts, and how interpretations are based on our presuppositions, then when the other teacher tried to reinterpret the facts, the students would challenge the teacher’s basic assumptions. Then it wasn’t the students who came back to me, but the other teacher! This teacher was upset with me because the students wouldn’t accept her interpretation of the evidence and challenged the very basis of her thinking.

What was happening was that I had learned to teach the students how to think rather than just what to think. What a difference that made to my class! I have been overjoyed to find, sometimes decades later, some of those students telling me how they became active, solid Christians as a result.

Practical application

When someone tells me they want ‘proof’ or ‘evidence’, not the Bible, my response is as follows:

‘You might not believe the Bible but I do. And I believe it gives me the right basis to understand this universe and correctly interpret the facts around me. I’m going to give you some examples of how building my thinking on the Bible explains the world and is not contradicted by science. For instance, the Bible states that God made distinct kinds of animals and plants. Let me show you what happens when I build my thinking on this presupposition. I will illustrate how processes such as natural selection, genetic drift, etc. can be explained and interpreted. You will see how the science of genetics makes sense based upon the Bible.’

I will do this with numerous scientific examples, showing how the issue of sin and judgment, for example, is relevant to geology and fossil evidence. And how the Fall of man, with the subsequent Curse on creation, makes sense of the evidence of harmful mutations, violence, and death.

‘Now let me ask you to defend your position concerning these matters. Please show me how your way of thinking, based on your beliefs, makes sense of the same evidence. And I want you to point out where my science and logic are wrong.’

__________________________________________________________________

This is an introduction to the material I will be presenting shortly, beginning with Genesis. Hang tite.

What is the origin of life?

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 22:33:55 GMT

Ok, time for a question, a life question: How did we get here? What is the origin of life? I know the answer, but I want to here what all of you have to say on the matter. This is the single most important question in life, because the purpose of life, who we are, and where we are going as individuals, as a society, and as the human race depends upon where we come from. Where we come from also shapes not only our world view but also the way we view ourselves. Our origin is our foundation for living. If we have the wrong origin, we have the wrong basis for our life. When I have a 50 comments not including my own, I will post again with the answer to life's most pressing question: What is the origin of life?

The Bear and the Atheist

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 13:42:01 GMT

> An atheist was taking a walk through the woods.
>
> "What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he
> said
> to himself.
>
>
> As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes
> behind him.
>
> He turned to look and saw a 7 foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
>
> He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and
> saw
> that the bear was closing in on him.
>
> He looked over his shoulder again and the bear was even closer.
>
> He tripped and fell on the ground.
>
> He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear right on top of him,
> reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike
> him.
>
> At that instant the Atheist cried out to the Lord.
>
> Time stopped, the bear froze, the forest was silent. A bright light shone
> upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all
> of
> these years, teach others I don't exist, and even credit creation to a
> cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am
> I
> to count you as a believer?"
>
> The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of
> me
> to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps could you
> make the BEAR a Christian?"
>
> "Very well," said the voice.
>
> <>
> The light went out.
>
> The sounds of the forest resumed. And then the bear dropped his right paw,
> brought both paws together and bowed his head and spoke:
>
> "Lord, bless this food, which I am about to receive through Christ our
> Lord,
> Amen."
>
>
>