Ed

In the essentials of salvation the scriptures are quite clear, but in some of the deeper teachings God wants us to use our brains that is why he gave us one.

How is that skulking and hiding? I think He has set the record straight in a clear fashion in the scriptures but sometimes he wants us to work for it. Otherwise our brains would turn to mush.

[quote](Genesis 6: God changing his mind)


No, this is anthropomorphic language to explain God's emotions to the ancient hebrews. God does have a form of emotions and he reacts to human behavior. Though his emotions are not identical to human emotions. When it says God is changing his mind, it is telling us that God reacted to what was happening among humans at the time.

No, it is not misleading, see above how God DOES react to what happens on the earth. When Jesus is talking to the woman at the well he tells us that God is a spirit and doesn't live in buildings(John 4:24).

Actually in Psalms the scriptures state those very things but still ancient peoples had a hard time fully understanding such things.

Most of those mediums are con artists but some may be summoning demons. God brought up Samuel for a special purpose, if you read the story you notice that the witch is frightened when he appeared like she never had actually seen a real "ghost", this is evidence that she was probably a con artist.


No, we can do some of the right things but we never do it for the right motivations.

No, Romans 13 plainly states that the government is God's servant and we are God's representatives on earth.


The DOI says that they come from the Creator.


No, Jesus removed a theocracy as the goal of believers and also obtaining a piece of real estate was no longer our goal.

No, he praised a Roman soldier for having more faith than most of the jews.

Actually that article demonstrates quite well how amazingly similar the teachings of the denominations are regarding salvation. Of course, the article also includes some cults which of course are totally dissimilar to the teachings of Christianity.

lpetrich

Where does the Bible tell us that some things are puzzles intended to test our thinking abilities?

See above.

And according to that argument, living in Heaven would turn our brains into mush.

(Genesis 6: God changing his mind)
Which is a good description of changing one's mind.

(The Biblical God non-anthropomorphic like Xenophanes's God)
But Xenophanes did not find it impossibly difficult to state what he had stated, meaning that the Bible's writers could have done so if they wanted.

(channelers - summoners of the dead)
However that is supposed to be the case.

Meaning that we cannot possibly be God's lookalikes.

One which does NOT meddle in human affairs, like fixing political contests as if they were football games.

A convert. Whoop-de-doo.

Very ingenious.

If one throws out all but one view of salvation as not "True Christianity", then of course one will get good agreement.

Ed

Where? You have still failed to provide ONE SINGLE OUGHT from evolution!

The scriptures provide many oughts, evolution provides none.

Huh? Why are you pretending that evolution provides oughts when you KNOW it doesn't?

Jack the Bodiless

Ed, we have established that evolution provides exactly the same number of "oughts" as Christianity does.

And we have been here several times now.

You obviously need to re-read this thread.

Ed

But you have no oughts, as I demonstrated above if evolution is true.
So how can you say that something ought not be morally bankrupt.

Most all scholars agree that Islam is an amalgamation of Judaism and Christianity that Mohammad developed while living in Mecca which was a crossroads of Christian and Jewish merchants.

Jack the Bodiless

You have "demonstrated" no such thing, as I pointed out yesterday.

We have four major problems in this discussion: the "Eddian Time Lag" which makes you incapable of keeping up, the "Eddian Reset Facility" which causes you to keep forgetting your defeats and starting over as though nothing has happened, the "Eddian Hallucinatory Posts Syndrome" which causes you to keep referring to "demonstrations" supposedly already posted elsewhere but actually nonexistent, and the "Book of Ed" Biblical appendix which supposedly contains all the teachings you'd prefer to be in the Bible itself.

Working through all these obstacles isn't easy. Maybe posting a list of reminders will help?

1. According to the Bible (excluding the Book of Ed), God initially hardened Pharaoh's heart.
2. The Bible (excluding the Book of Ed) contains no prohibition on the human sacrifice of captives.
3. The Bible (excluding the Book of Ed) contains no prohibition on non-adulterous rape.
4. Chritianity contains no moral imperatives without secular equivalents: no more "oughts" than metaphysical naturalism provides.
5. The Bible (excluding the Book of Ed) specifically says that the genocide of the Amalekites was retaliation for the actions of their ancestors four centuries previously.
Most all Muslim scholars agree that Judaism and Christianity contain distorted versions of the truth that was revealed to Mohammed.

Of course, non-Muslims disagree.

Your failure to provide evidence is noted. I will add this to the above list.

6. There is no evidence that Christianity is "truer" than either Islam or Hinduism.

Ed

Exactly and for the hindu the reality is that there are no individual personalities.

Well besides going against all human experience, no hindu lives consistent with that belief. And if one cannot live at least most of the time consistent with their foundational beliefs then it is likely that their beliefs are not true.

Jack the Bodiless

No, the Hindu reality is that personalities are connected rather than separate.

The leaves on a tree are just parts of the same plant, they are not separate plants. But that doesn't mean that the leaves don't exist.
A Hindu would argue that it DOESN'T "go against all human experience": it is merely not obvious. The Christian notion that the whole world is controlled by an omnibenevolent deity "goes against all human experience" much more seriously than anything in Hinduism does (because of all the suffering in the world).

In what sense do NO Hindus live in a manner consistent with their beliefs? Where's your evidence for this claim?

Are you arguing that Christians lead perfect lives?

Ed

I think Christ would want me to post here some to present His truth especially to those who have distorted views of it. Which many on this site do.

But Jesus wanted Paul to explain some of the deeper things of his message and go into subjects He didnt cover while He was here.

Ed

Their relative importance to his mission which was primarily to the Jews was like dogs that pick up the leftovers and scraps that the jews rejected. But the fact that he DID notice her and heal her shows that he cared about the gentiles a great deal. See also his stating that a Roman soldier had more faith than any jew in Israel.

But Christ dealt with the Pharisees in small groups generally the Talmud was written by many rabbis and with great hindsight, so they will come across better than in an immediate real time situation.