Bible Thread

[AR-15]

Well first a big thank you for answering most of what I ask. That’s pretty cool of you to take the time and write all that down. So I think what your telling me is God is the father of everything. Jesus is like his right hand man and the Holy Spirit is our soul’s? No wouldn’t be our souls. Ok what’s the Holy Spirit?

Btw I would never walk into a church when I have a ton of doubts about what they teach there. Maybe Inwill change my mind as I get older and closer to certain death. I mean what if I’m wrong and there is a god. Indont want to miss out by not attending church. I can’t give them money because I have none so I’m fucked there. Anyway I think that’s why churches are full of old people. They are trying to buy their way into heaven. Let’s face it in our lifetime there being a god and a heaven kinda makes the most sense. Hopefully an alien race will show themselves in my kids lifetimes and it blows the lid off everything we know. That will make it easier for them to decide what’s real and what’s bullshit.

Absolutely, you're allowed to ask questions. I don't think anyone takes that as a "dis". I will say, if you're truly interested, you should go to the source and not take any of our opinions on things. Having said that....here's some opinions.

The torah or Pentateuch, first five books of the bible, were written by Moses. The parts Moses wasn't there for, were dictated by God for him to write down. That is literally the beginning of scriptures. There is really not a "ton" before Moses' time so you quickly jump into what was going on right then for Moses and the Israelites. Moses does a great job laying out the genealogy and creating a census of his nation. From there, there are a few "authors" to the various books of the bible. A bible will usually tell you who each book is written by and sometimes to whom it was written. By the time you get to the new testament, they are typically letters written to various churches/leaders. For example, 1 Thessalonians 1:

"1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

You also have the new testament gospels which were written by different men describing their time with Jesus and His ministry while on earth. This is a SUPER brief overview and not touching on things like Revelation prophecy, etc.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comprise the Holy Trinity. Each separate, but equal. (That may cause some good discussion and is sometimes controversial, but I'll leave it there anyway to encourage the discussion). As mentioned above, yes, Jesus was a real guy. People followed Him, took note of what He said, and were witness to His miracles while on earth.

So most of scripture is literally what was going on right then and there.

 

[Multislacking]

Well first a big thank you for answering most of what I ask. That’s pretty cool of you to take the time and write all that down. So I think what your telling me is God is the father of everything. Jesus is like his right hand man and the Holy Spirit is our soul’s? No wouldn’t be our souls. Ok what’s the Holy Spirit?

Holy Spirit is NOT our souls. This is a common diagram used to explain the Trinity:

Scriptures about the Holy Spirit:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.
John 14:16

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
John 15:26

This is probably the best verse that shows the separation of the Trinity as three distinct beings:

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21-22

There are many more verses about the Holy Spirit and the Trinity, but these are a few examples.

 

[Milford King]

I always thought of it as the holy trinity are the 3 vehicles God uses. The father being a mini van, the son being a muscle car and the Holy Spirit being a bad ass motorcycle with super loud pipes.


but I like your description better.

if I’m being honest I was always super confused about the trinity and the way Catholics always talked about it.

thanks for the heads up, the diagram is very helpful.

 

[Milford King]

Dear AR-15, As far as fact checking the Bible. The Bible is basically human history built with journal entries of the people who lived in those times and wrote down what was experienced. It is quite interesting to look into from a historical point of view because you can literally find evidence of most of the events described in the Bible through other mediums of recorded human history. So, even an atheist can use the Bible as a reference in his/her quest for answers to the secrets of history.

that is actually what peaked my interest in all 3 monotheistic ideologies in the first place. Then add a splash of my own profound personal experiences and viola.... I’m a work in progress but having faith is a very powerful and life saving thing.

I wish you luck on your journey brother.

 

[AR-15]

Bro I’m honestly really really trying to keep my faith. It actually was instilled in me as a child but now I struggle with the common sense and science of it all. When you add science religion kinda starts to fall apart a bit. I will agree that the Bible is a great representation of history. My grandmother showed me all that stuff. She also believed in religion but also believed that some of it had to made up bullshit. Let’s face it if I came to you and said yeah man I know this dude that was murdered last week and now he’s back alive this week you would tell me I’m bat shit crazy. Pretty sure the Bible says the exact same thing amd you take it as gospel???? I just can’t yet. I’m trying but it’s a process.

Dear AR-15, As far as fact checking the Bible. The Bible is basically human history built with journal entries of the people who lived in those times and wrote down what was experienced. It is quite interesting to look into from a historical point of view because you can literally find evidence of most of the events described in the Bible through other mediums of recorded human history. So, even an atheist can use the Bible as a reference in his/her quest for answers to the secrets of history.

that is actually what peaked my interest in all 3 monotheistic ideologies in the first place. Then add a splash of my own profound personal experiences and viola.... I’m a work in progress but having faith is a very powerful and life saving thing.

I wish you luck on your journey brother.

 

[Milford King]

Bro I’m honestly really really trying to keep my faith. It actually was instilled in me as a child but now I struggle with the common sense and science of it all. When you add science religion kinda starts to fall apart a bit. I will agree that the Bible is a great representation of history. My grandmother showed me all that stuff. She also believed in religion but also believed that some of it had to made up bullshit. Let’s face it if I came to you and said yeah man I know this dude that was murdered last week and now he’s back alive this week you would tell me I’m bat shit crazy. Pretty sure the Bible says the exact same thing amd you take it as gospel???? I just can’t yet. I’m trying but it’s a process.

that’s the power of God and understanding his universe isn’t something we’re able to do. I’d say science does more to prove God and the intelligent design theory than it does disproving it. One last thing; religion and faith are two different things. One is God and the other is mans attempt at convincing other men to pursue God.

stay the course bud, you won’t and don’t have to force it. Gods the one with the plan! Don’t put so much pressure on yourself and just live everyday to the fullest. Love your family and do the best you can with what you have now.

 

[AR-15]

Ok again thank you Multi. I’m sorry I’m just a little lost on one part. So God is the father. The son is Jesus but who is the Holy Spirit? Is it a someone or something or is it an actual spirit type deal?

BTW Multi you really seem to know your shit when it comes to this. Are you or were you a preacher?

Holy Spirit is NOT our souls. This is a common diagram used to explain the Trinity:

Scriptures about the Holy Spirit:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.
John 14:16

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
John 15:26

This is probably the best verse that shows the separation of the Trinity as three distinct beings:

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21-22

There are many more verses about the Holy Spirit and the Trinity, but these are a few examples.

 

[AR-15]

See when someone says that religion and science can go hand and hand is kinda when I start to loose faith. For centuries the church said science was shit. Now when governments are admitting to UFOs the church suddenly does a 180 and says “ Well now it’s ok for science to be correct because that doesn’t disprove the existence of god”. Well yes that’s true but sounds to me like the church sees no other way out than to jump on the science train. It’s either that or be left behind by humanity. Kinda the same thing we do as humans. The older we get the more we hope there is a god because we know our day is coming. How do we make death easier on us? We jump on the faith train.lol Kinda hypocritical by both parties if you ask me.

I do understand there’s a huge difference between Faith and religion. Faith brings us together and religion tears us apart. Even if I wasn’t dirt poor I would still never give any money to a church. My faith shouldn’t cost me a dime.

that’s the power of God and understanding his universe isn’t something we’re able to do. I’d say science does more to prove God and the intelligent design theory than it does disproving it. One last thing; religion and faith are two different things. One is God and the other is mans attempt at convincing other men to pursue God.

stay the course bud, you won’t and don’t have to force it. Gods the one with the plan! Don’t put so much pressure on yourself and just live everyday to the fullest. Love your family and do the best you can with what you have now.

 

[Milford King]

It is that your giving money to your church, it’s that you are giving money so the church can repurpose it and use it to help the poor and unfortunate. This is why the evangelical mega churches get so much heat.... because they are accused of not repurposing the funds and instead getting capitalizing on God to enrich themselves. I understand your point of view but again.... that is the folly of men, not the lack of God, that makes accusations and speculates on the position of the church in regards to science.

my thinking is this.... you can’t prove God, but you can hypothesize that we were created by a higher intelligence. I just believe that higher intelligence is God as described in the old and New Testament.

why did humans become the superior life force on earth in the way we have? Why did we evolve past basic survival unlike every other life form on this planet.

I think the answer lies within our brains. And I think it can only be explained by intelligent design. I could go on and on in more detail on what I’m talking about and how I come to those conclusions and I may do that another time in a different thread as to not side track this thread but my fingers are tired and so is my brain lol

The Bible is a book written to give examples of people and their own relationships with God. It is up to you to write your own chapter and the only way to do that is to seek a personal relationship of your own. Not someone else’s and not by using the words of men but through yourself and God.

Multi is a great source of information which I’m happy to see you use but ultimately he won’t be able to build that relationship for you my man. Just keep on keeping on tho, no sense in giving up. At the very least, you literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain by pursuing faith.

 

[AR-15]

THANKS MK! I do appreciate your time as well. Means a lot that you guys would take the time to explain some stuff. At this point I may not agree but it goes along way into me understanding faith.

 

[Multislacking]

Are you or were you a preacher?

I've always maintained my amateur status. I've never been paid to deliver the message, but I have stood behind a pulpit on many, many occasions. Haven't in years though.

Faith brings us together and religion tears us apart. Even if I wasn’t dirt poor I would still never give any money to a church. My faith shouldn’t cost me a dime.

100% agree on the faith/religion comment. As far as faith costing money, you are correct too. Faith does not financially cost us a thing. But the more and more you find yourself following the Word, the more giving you will become. You will find yourself wanting to help your fellow man more and more. Through time, effort, caring, and yes, even money. When you adopt a steward approach to what God has blessed you with, you will do your best to use it wisely and to the best benefit. The faithful servant who follows these principles will indeed find himself blessed with more responsibility and more opportunities to be able to help others. And that includes finances. And this comes from someone who has left a church due to the way they used their finances inappropriately.

Giving is the only thing God ever tells us to test Him on. Malachi 3:10

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.

To put it another way, think of church like the gym. You are going to get back what you put into it. If you're just showing up and texting, checking out the women, and chit chatting....you're not going to get anything out of either one.

The Bible is a book written to give examples of people and their own relationships with God. It is up to you to write your own chapter and the only way to do that is to seek a personal relationship of your own. Not someone else’s and not by using the words of men but through yourself and God.

Amen.

 

[Multislacking]

@Rasmussen_Poll

72% of American Adults believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God who came to Earth to die for our sins

 

[Milford King]

@Rasmussen_Poll

72% of American Adults believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God who came to Earth to die for our sins

that seems awful low.

 

[Multislacking]

that seems awful low.

Given the state of affairs....it's probably pretty accurate.

 

[HFO4]

He is RISEN!

 

[heavyiron]

 

[E.J.D]

John 1:29
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
—Philippians 4:5

 

[E.J.D]

Hebrews 9:27-28 nkjv
REDEMPTION THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

 

[heavyiron]

 

[Multislacking]

I have mixed feelings on this, but thought it was worth sharing...

 

[E.J.D]

Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 - KJV

Colossians 2:6-7
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness

 

[E.J.D]

1 Corinthians 1:25
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Ecclesiastes 3:14
14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

2 Timothy 1:7
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

 

[Multislacking]

We're backsliding...

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:14

 

[E.J.D]

Matthew 5:13 NKJV
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

 

[heavyiron]

We may be seeing Ezekiel 38 in current events. Keep your eyes on Jerusalem.

[h=3]Gog and Allies Attack Israel[/h]38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, [a]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, [b]Ethiopia, and [c]Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.
7 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell [d]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” 17 Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
[h=3]Judgment on Gog[/h]18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. 19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great [e]earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
[h=4]Footnotes[/h]

1. Ezekiel 38:2 Tg., Vg., Aquila the chief prince of Meshech, also v. 3
2. Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Cush
3. Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Put
4. Ezekiel 38:11 securely
5. Ezekiel 38:19 Lit. shaking

 

[E.J.D]

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
Luke 24:50-51


Psalm 143:10
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

 

[Multislacking]

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
Luke 24:50-51


Psalm 143:10
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

You may be looking at some of the same stuff I'm looking at, but I found it interesting that this was posted today #synchronicity :

 

[HFO4]

We may be seeing Ezekiel 38 in current events. Keep your eyes on Jerusalem.

Gog and Allies Attack Israel

38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, [a]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, [b]Ethiopia, and [c]Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.
7 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell [d]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” 17 Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
Judgment on Gog

18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. 19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great [e]earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 38:2 Tg., Vg., Aquila the chief prince of Meshech, also v. 3
2. Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Cush
3. Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Put
4. Ezekiel 38:11 securely
5. Ezekiel 38:19 Lit. shaking

[h=1]Turkish President Tayyip Ergodan Tells Vladimir Putin Israel Should be Taught a 'Deterrent Lesson' by Others[/h]https://www.newsweek.com/turkish-pr...israel-should-taught-deterrent-lesson-1590834


John 3:16
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.

Its not too late to decide your eternal destination but one day it will be ...

 

[Multislacking]

Yes, we had to study it in Bible school like 25 years ago. I thought it would be easy to refute until I spent months researching it.

Bringing the Open Theism discussion over here.


I guess I have some questions up front on this topic.

Is God all knowing?
Is God all powerful?
Is God everywhere all the time?

You see where I'm going with this. Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. Given what we discuss, it is probably the same/similar tact you took to initially refute Open Theism. And it's not that I'm looking to refute it exactly. I prefer to be open minded about the divine nature of God, knowing full well it is merely speculation that we cannot begin to fathom.

 

[Milford King]

God gives us free will..... you logically cannot have free will if the future is pre determined. Am I on the right track?