Parture

I know that nothing in nature happens all by itself, since we can cite trillions of examples of things that have a cause on any scale, yet nothing can be show to have happened all by itself to be without a cause.

Hence, this leads us to the only available possibility which is that we had to have been created and caused by that which is uncaused and uncreated.

As we look to see who this is, we realize none can compare to Christ, and we know Jesus walked the earth, said He is God and was multiply attested as being touched, talked to and seen resurrected by those who gave their lives as martyrs for their eyewitness testimony.

For example, Paul whose writings are the most trusted by scholars said he met with James (brother of Jesus), Peter and John on several occasions.

They all agreed to the purpose of Jesus being here, for they were with Jesus either all their lives (in the case of James) or for the three years in His time on earth before His death and after His resurrection for 40 days. The latter is what caused his brother to believe in which the book of James by James gives this testimony as well as others testify in the NT on his behalf.

Paul was with people who said they heard the same voice and saw flashing light, but that only Paul could actually see Jesus, because Jesus was calling out Paul. Paul was so significant, he wrote the most books of the NT, which scholars give the highest regard to.

I don't know how to shove this evidence aside and produce an alternative explanation. Nobody has been able to present a stronger counter to these findings and denounce the significance of why God must enter into His creation. For we know scientifically sin leads to death and is not without consequence, so atonement (the perfect sacrifice) is required for forgiveness to come before God with eternal life and blessings as God has a great many plans for those who love Him.

For those who don't receive His Son, they can't cease to exist because God's image in which we are made can not be annihilated, so they would need to be resurrected away from the saved and be sent to hell, an eternal separation from God and His people.

This is pure logic that I simply cannot overturn by self-declaration, and I would advize you not to be so cavalier either.

Parture

The one who was being prophesied by the prophets to come has come and shall come again!

GenesisNemesis

That's all I need to know. Wait, how does sin lead to death?

Parture

This is best shown by an example. If you eat too much you get fat and fat people don't live as long. I am sure you can think of lots of examples.

GenesisNemesis

And fat people go to Hell. Of course!

Over-indulgence in food is certainly bad for the body. However, it is not a sin.

spamandham

Regarding James the brother of Jesus, Paul also refers to '500 brethren' in 1 Cor 15. It seems clear that even in the early church, as today, 'brother' does not imply any kind of blood kinship, but merely similar beliefs, aka 'brothers in christ'.

I think most scholars will agree that Paul's claims to have met with Cephas (assumed to be Peter), James, and John do in fact demonstrate that men of these names were the elite of the Jerusalem church, but how does that possibly demonstrate that Jesus is my creator!?

This is not demonstrable by any reliable means, even if it mattered toward your point, which it doesn't. The mere fact that Paul refers to James as the brother of the lord (when Paul uses similar language to refer to 500 others) somehow proves that Jesus is my creator? It's going to take more than some questionable inferences from 2000 year old texts to prove that.

According to Paul's own testimony regarding his vision (2 Cor 12) , he mentions no-one else present. You are anachronistically projecting Acts, a much later writing, back onto Paul.

I do. Christianity is just one of dozens of similar ancient religious cults, that had more appeal due to the existence of the Jewish scriptures, so it came to dominate. Is that really so complicated?

No, this is pure horse crap that's already been refuted here and elsewhere ad infinitum.

BTW, welcome to IIDB!

Parture

Being fat is not the condition of whether someone goes to hell or not, though it can lead to an earlier than otherwise death, because of sin of overeating. Though who are genetically overweight are born into sin as is everyone, but that does not prevent them from receiving eternal life by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Question: "What does the Bible say about eating disorders (i.e. anorexia, bulimia)?"

Answer: There are three major eating disorders: anorexia, in which people purposefully under eat; bulimia, in which people binge on food and then purge; and the most common, binge eating, which is plain gluttony. Polls taken have reported differing numbers, but at least 1 out of every 10 women will have experienced an eating disorder at some time in their lives, and some polls suggest that as many as 1 out of 4 will. This could be considered epidemic! Eating disorders do not only affect women, either: approximately 10% of those with an eating disorder are men.

Eating disorders have many reported causes: stress, personality traits (obsessive compulsive, perfectionism), media, and unhealthy relationships. The blame is passed around freely, too. "I'm too stressed out at work to eat;" "If I want to look like that model, I need to lose just a little more weight;" "My husband will love me more if I'm skinnier;" "So I'm gaining weight--everybody is obese these days!" However, it really only comes down to one thing: self. Each of us makes his or her own decisions on what we do with our bodies and how well we take care of them. To have an eating disorder is to focus on yourself, to the exclusion of everyone else--even God. It is to engage in unhealthy, dangerous, and potentially deadly habits without regard to consequences. It is selfishness, and biblically it is disobedience. It is sin.

A commonly known verse in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, yet rarely is much thought given to it. "Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. (NLT)" Add to this passage such passages as: Romans 14:7-8 (NLT), "For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord;" Romans 12:1-2 (NLT), "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is;" and 1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT), "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God-who chose you to be his children-is holy. For he himself has said, 'You must be holy because I am holy.'"

Eating disorders, quite obviously, do not fall into line with Scripture. They reject a Creator Whose love for mankind transcends physical traits (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Peter 3:3-4). Eating disorders are in disobedience to God's command to take care of oneself, and to be holy. A life of holiness, a life given over to God, is a life taken well care of. Our bodies are not our own--God owns them. We are stewards of all He gives us, and we need to be good stewards of our bodies as well. It is with self-control that we deny both gluttony and starvation, and it is with transformed minds that we see past the superficiality of our culture's demands and reject the eating disorders that would otherwise destroy each of us.

If you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, get help. Seek out advice from your pastor, or contact a biblical counselor for help, encouragement, and accountability. Jesus Christ has the power to break the bondage of eating disorders, but it will often take biblical and dietary counseling for the person under such bondage to realize their predicament. The verses above can help in this realization, and can even be a biblical "litmus test" to root out the truth of one's sin. From there it becomes a matter of decisions, as it was at the onset of the disorder. May God be glorified with each person's decision to live a right life that is pleasing to Him.

GenesisNemesis

This is one of the weirdest threads I've ever seen.

spamandham

Better yet, what do modern works written by the scientificaly educated say about it? Why should anyone care what a collection of rediculous ancient texts written by people who thought the heavens were supported by pillars, have to say regarding eating disorders?

...and rightfully so.



(p.s. if you haven't figured it out yet, arguments from the authority of the Bible are not going to work here.)

(p.p.s it should also be obvious that the discussion regarding eating disorders indicates the lack of serious interest your obvious proselytizing thread has generally attracted)

Minimalist

As Dawkins says in "The God Delusion" which Parture obviously suffers from:

" A deep understanding of Darwinism teaches us to be wary of the easy assumption that design is the only alternative to chance, and teaches us to seek out graded ramps of slowly increasing complexity. Before Darwinism, philosophers such as Hume understood that the improbability of life did not mean it had to be designed, but they couldn't imagine the alternative. After Darwin, we all should feel, deep in our bones, suspicious of the very idea of design. The illusion of design is a trap that has caught us before and Darwin should have immunized us by raising our consciousness. Would that he had succeeded with all of us. "

Nonetheless, I imagine that Darwinism is probably a bit advanced for Parture and his fellows and he should probably stick with his bible. Just keep your bullshit out of our schools and courtrooms and we'll get along fine.