First of all I am not one to teach fire and brimstone. I can only share my personal assessments on the matter. IMO Heaven and Hell are very real places. The bible says broad is the gate that leads to destruction. And narrow is the gate which leads to eternal life. The old expression goes "Dont shoot the messenger" - But I do understand that warning of hell actually turns people off from the gospel. The only way to go about witnessing is through love of your fellow man. NOT fire and brimstone, even if that is in fact the truth.
EDIT: Many are Called and Few are Chosen... is another one to look up...
dem·o·crat: one who subverts authority; unpleasant, destructive, hateful, vile, malicious, vicious, heinous, ugly, bad, nefarious, villainous, corrupt, malevolent, hideous, wicked, harm, pain, catastrophe, calamity, ill willed, a reviler; a defamer; a slanderer; a detractor; a carper; a calumniator; a muckraker; a vilifier; a disparager; a slanderer; a maligner; a detractor; a denigrator; a traducer; a vituperator; a castigator; a libeler; a defiler; a traitor; a debaser;
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
That's okay, thanks. My mother was a Sunday School teacher for many years; I've read the entire Bible more than once, and had to memorize a good deal of it as well. Like you say, she also believed that Christians weren't called upon to preach at other ppl, but to show a better way by the example of how they live their lives and treat others. Therefore I have a lot of difficulty believing that certain ppl truly are as righteously Christian as they claim by the way they comport themselves, esp. in venues like this.
What is your opinion on a fellow Christian calling one of them out when he/she is behaving in an unChrist-like manner? Would you do so, even if the person acting like a jerk has the same political POV as yourself?
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
Iolo/Penderyn (10-23-2019)
"The story of Noah may be part of the Abrahamic canon, but the legend of the Great Flood almost certainly has prebiblical origins, rooted in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh dates back nearly 5,000 years and is thought to be perhaps the oldest written tale on the planet.Apr 2, 2014
'Noah': Flood Myths Are Far Older Than Bible | Time
https://time.com › noah-christians-flood-aronofsky"
I was paraphrasing but the actual verse is here:
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
dem·o·crat: one who subverts authority; unpleasant, destructive, hateful, vile, malicious, vicious, heinous, ugly, bad, nefarious, villainous, corrupt, malevolent, hideous, wicked, harm, pain, catastrophe, calamity, ill willed, a reviler; a defamer; a slanderer; a detractor; a carper; a calumniator; a muckraker; a vilifier; a disparager; a slanderer; a maligner; a detractor; a denigrator; a traducer; a vituperator; a castigator; a libeler; a defiler; a traitor; a debaser;
This is what the Bible tells us to do:
If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.…
dem·o·crat: one who subverts authority; unpleasant, destructive, hateful, vile, malicious, vicious, heinous, ugly, bad, nefarious, villainous, corrupt, malevolent, hideous, wicked, harm, pain, catastrophe, calamity, ill willed, a reviler; a defamer; a slanderer; a detractor; a carper; a calumniator; a muckraker; a vilifier; a disparager; a slanderer; a maligner; a detractor; a denigrator; a traducer; a vituperator; a castigator; a libeler; a defiler; a traitor; a debaser;
ThatOwlWoman (10-23-2019)
And the KJV? Is this wrong as well? I do read KJV for the most part...
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
dem·o·crat: one who subverts authority; unpleasant, destructive, hateful, vile, malicious, vicious, heinous, ugly, bad, nefarious, villainous, corrupt, malevolent, hideous, wicked, harm, pain, catastrophe, calamity, ill willed, a reviler; a defamer; a slanderer; a detractor; a carper; a calumniator; a muckraker; a vilifier; a disparager; a slanderer; a maligner; a detractor; a denigrator; a traducer; a vituperator; a castigator; a libeler; a defiler; a traitor; a debaser;
The point I was illustrating is not many people will find the truth (and that it is a difficult road). Wikipedia sums it up well
Luz notes that it could imply that the route is a hard and difficult one to follow, as the sermon has implied the proper path is one of tribulation and suffering. Another view is that the proper way is so narrow that it is difficult to find, and requires effort and searching to find.
The metaphor in this verse implies that the path of sin is an easy one to follow, and that one will do so without conscious effort not to. Davies and Allison note that the notion of vice being a far easier path than virtue is a common one to most religions. The verse seems clear that it is only a minority that will find and follow God's path. While pessimistic, this is in keeping with Jewish thought, which traditionally saw the pious as a beleaguered minority in a world of sinners.
dem·o·crat: one who subverts authority; unpleasant, destructive, hateful, vile, malicious, vicious, heinous, ugly, bad, nefarious, villainous, corrupt, malevolent, hideous, wicked, harm, pain, catastrophe, calamity, ill willed, a reviler; a defamer; a slanderer; a detractor; a carper; a calumniator; a muckraker; a vilifier; a disparager; a slanderer; a maligner; a detractor; a denigrator; a traducer; a vituperator; a castigator; a libeler; a defiler; a traitor; a debaser;
Listen to yourself...in the quiet you might be surprised at what ...or who...you hear....
ThatOwlWoman (10-23-2019)
“Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”
― Maya Angelou
TOP (10-23-2019)
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