The Light did its work, turning the Jews from adoration of the Evil Principle, and the Pagans from the worship of Demons. But the Chief of the Empire of Darkness caused Him to be crucified by the Jews. Still He suffered in appearance only, and His death gave to all souls the symbol of their enfranchisement. The person of Jesus having disappeared, there was in His place a cross of Light, over which a celestial voice pronounced these words; "The cross of Light is called The Word, Christ, The Gate, Joy, The Bread, The Sun, The Resurrection, Jesus, The Father, The Spirit, Life, and Grace" With the Priscillianists there were two principles, one the Divinity, the other, Primitive Matter and Darkness; each eternal. Satan is the son and Lord of matter; and the secondary angels and demons, children of matter. Satan created and governs the visible world. But the soul of man emenated from God, and is of the same substance with God.
I find it discouraging and a bit depressing when I notice the unequal treatment afforded by the media to UFO believers on the one hand, and on the other, to those who believe in an invisible supreme being who inhabits the sky. Especially as the latter belief applies to the whole Jesus-Messiah-Son-of-God fable.
You may have noticed that, in the media, UFO believers are usually referred to as buffs, a term used to diminish and marginalize them by relegating them to the ranks of hobbyists and mere enthusiasts. They are made to seem like kooks and quaint dingbats who have the nerve to believe that, in an observable universe of trillions upon trillions of stars, and most likely many hundreds of billions of potentially inhabitable planets, some of those planets may have produced life-forms capable of doing things that we cant do.
On the other hand those who believe in an eternal, all-powerful being, a being who demands to be loved and adored unconditionally and who punishes and rewards according to his whims are thought to be worthy, upright, credible people. This, in spite of the large numbers of believers who are clearly close-minded fanatics.
To my way of thinking, there is every bit as much evidence for the existence of UFOs as there is for the existence of God. Probably far more. At least in the case of UFOs there have been countless taped and filmed and, by the way, unexplained sightings from all over the world, along with documented radar evidence seen by experienced military and civilian radar operators.
This does not even begin to include the widespread testimony of not only highly trained, experienced military and civilian pilots who are selected for their jobs, in part, for their above-average eyesight and mental stability, but also of equally well-trained, experienced law-enforcement officers. Such pilots and law-enforcement people are known to be serious, sober individuals who would have quite a bit to lose were they to be associated with anything resembling kooky, outlandish beliefs. Nonetheless, they have taken the risk of revealing their experiences because they are convinced they have seen something objectively real that they consider important.
All of these accounts are ignored by the media.
Granted, the world of UFO-belief has its share of kooks, nuts and fringe people, but have you ever listened to some of these religious true-believers? Have you ever heard of any extreme, bizarre behavior and outlandish claims associated with religious zealots? Could any of them be considered kooks, nuts or dingbats? A fair person would have to say yes. But the marginal people in these two groups don't matter in this argument. What matters is the prejudice and superstition built into the media coverage of the two sets of beliefs. One is treated reverently and accepted as received truth, the other is treated laughingly and dismissed out of hand.
As evidence of the above premise, I offer one version of a typical television news story heard each year on the final Friday of Lent: "Today is Good Friday, observed by Christians worldwide as a day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose death redeemed the sins of mankind."
Here is the way it should be written:
"Today is Good Friday, observed worldwide by Jesus buffs as the day on which the popular, bearded cultural figure, sometimes referred to as The Messiah, was allegedly crucified and according to legend died for mankind's so-called sins. Today kicks off a 'holy' weekend that culminates on Easter Sunday, when, it is widely believed, this dead 'savior' who also, by the way, claimed to be the son of a sky-dwelling, invisible being known as God mysteriously 'rose from the dead.'
"According to the legend, by volunteering to be killed and actually going through with it, Jesus saved every person who has ever lived and every person who ever will live from an eternity of suffering in a fiery region popularly known as hell, providing so the story goes that the person to be 'saved' firmly believes this rather fanciful tale." That would be an example of unbiased news reporting. Don't wait around for it to happen. The aliens will land first.
Yes it is. Morals and Dogma is a very interesting book. I highly recommend it as long as you can read 800 pages of that type of writings. Very esoteric. Talks about Ancient Religions and the basis for Freemasonry. Actually pretty creepy shit once you understand it.
Oh lord, not MORE revisionist/conspiracy history. These things give me headaches because the people that suscribe to them don't even bother with actual research.
BigBallinStalin wrote:Can't you get him on the phone via direct call to God? Isn't that how pray works or something?
Yes and no. Mostly no I guess. I can maybe find the one about the guy that got to heaven and asked to go back to warn his buddy then God said, "No. Besides the guy would never believe you." Which basically suggests I can talk to him. He just can't answer.
To add to that and answering BBS's question,
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 "... you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD.
So no collect calls to the dead.... But we're talking about the 'living in heaven' version of 2dimes' buddy---just as living as Jesus is in heaven. They're not 'dead in heaven', are they?
Why doesn't the LORD want us communicating with deceased family members? I bet plenty of believers have prayed to their ancestors in heaven and hell, but obviously they would become detestable to the LORD, which is weird.
Little Timmy: "Mom, I did well on my test today. I made some new friends. I hope you're doing well in heaven."
LORD: "Timmy, I detest you!"
BigBallinStalin wrote:Just finished watching Europe Report 2013 (good, low-budget sci-fi film), and a question came to mind:
How would a religion (specifically Christianity) explain extraterrestrial life*?
*From anything like bacteria/single-celled organisms to more complex beings (alien squids!).
The Bible is in complete support of extraterestial beings. The Bible refers to them as immortal beings that are able to appear in our dimension, pass through walls, disappear & fly without mechanical support. They are super powerful as well, one of these extraterestial beings killed 185,000 Assyrian troops (Isaiah 37:36). They are also immortal, not even God kills any of them even if they are really bad.
The Bible calls them angels. But they are created beings (Colossians :15-17), and therefore not to be worshipped (Revelation 19:10).
[Beyond this there is no mention of life being created outside of Earth]
Last edited by universalchiro on Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BigBallinStalin wrote:So no collect calls to the dead.... But we're talking about the 'living in heaven' version of 2dimes' buddy---just as living as Jesus is in heaven. They're not 'dead in heaven', are they?
Why doesn't the LORD want us communicating with deceased family members? I bet plenty of believers have prayed to their ancestors in heaven and hell, but obviously they would become detestable to the LORD, which is weird.
Little Timmy: "Mom, I did well on my test today. I made some new friends. I hope you're doing well in heaven."
LORD: "Timmy, I detest you!"
That's rude.
I understand your premise and I think its a fair to question and get more clarity. and thankfully God has clarified, for we all have done detestable things against God. Even something as innocuous as praying to a dead mommy without knowing that is wrong to do so. For Galatians 5:16-24 list broad categories to cover all sin on earth and says those who practice those sins will not inherit the kingdom of God. The key word is practice, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but we can be completely free of sin by believing in Jesus. Then with a changed heart, believers will practice love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:21-24).
The sin of the child, since they are at an age before responsibility falls on the head of the household. If someone is unaware they are sinning, they can , just like king David did, ask forforgiveness of unknown sin (Psalm 19:12).
Summary: we all have fallen short of God's standards, but He died for all on the cross to pay in full the cost of violating His law to whoever that believes in Him. There will be believers that will fall short and non-believers that do good things, but the key word is "practice". For a believer practices love joy peace gentleness,etc, and non-believers practice denying God, self love, unforgiving, etc.
BigBallinStalin wrote:So no collect calls to the dead.... But we're talking about the 'living in heaven' version of 2dimes' buddy---just as living as Jesus is in heaven. They're not 'dead in heaven', are they?
Why doesn't the LORD want us communicating with deceased family members? I bet plenty of believers have prayed to their ancestors in heaven and hell, but obviously they would become detestable to the LORD, which is weird.
Little Timmy: "Mom, I did well on my test today. I made some new friends. I hope you're doing well in heaven."
LORD: "Timmy, I detest you!"
That's rude.
I understand your premise and I think its a fair to question and get more clarity. and thankfully God has clarified, for we all have done detestable things against God. Even something as innocuous as praying to a dead mommy without knowing that is wrong to do so. For Galatians 5:16-24 list broad categories to cover all sin on earth and says those who practice those sins will not inherit the kingdom of God. The key word is practice, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but we can be completely free of sin by believing in Jesus. Then with a changed heart, believers will practice love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:21-24).
The sin of the child, since they are at an age before responsibility falls on the head of the household. If someone is unaware they are sinning, they can , just like king David did, ask forforgiveness of unknown sin (Psalm 19:12).
Summary: we all have fallen short of God's standards, but He died for all on the cross to pay in full the cost of violating His law to whoever that believes in Him. There will be believers that will fall short and non-believers that do good things, but the key word is "practice". For a believer practices love joy peace gentleness,etc, and non-believers practice denying God, self love, unforgiving, etc.
Hope this sheds some light on your premise BBS.
Keep doing whatever then ask for forgiveness while pleading ignorance.
BigBallinStalin wrote:So no collect calls to the dead.... But we're talking about the 'living in heaven' version of 2dimes' buddy---just as living as Jesus is in heaven. They're not 'dead in heaven', are they?
Why doesn't the LORD want us communicating with deceased family members? I bet plenty of believers have prayed to their ancestors in heaven and hell, but obviously they would become detestable to the LORD, which is weird.
Little Timmy: "Mom, I did well on my test today. I made some new friends. I hope you're doing well in heaven."
LORD: "Timmy, I detest you!"
That's rude.
I understand your premise and I think its a fair to question and get more clarity. and thankfully God has clarified, for we all have done detestable things against God. Even something as innocuous as praying to a dead mommy without knowing that is wrong to do so. For Galatians 5:16-24 list broad categories to cover all sin on earth and says those who practice those sins will not inherit the kingdom of God. The key word is practice, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but we can be completely free of sin by believing in Jesus. Then with a changed heart, believers will practice love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:21-24).
The sin of the child, since they are at an age before responsibility falls on the head of the household. If someone is unaware they are sinning, they can , just like king David did, ask forforgiveness of unknown sin (Psalm 19:12).
Summary: we all have fallen short of God's standards, but He died for all on the cross to pay in full the cost of violating His law to whoever that believes in Him. There will be believers that will fall short and non-believers that do good things, but the key word is "practice". For a believer practices love joy peace gentleness,etc, and non-believers practice denying God, self love, unforgiving, etc.
Hope this sheds some light on your premise BBS.
Keep doing whatever then ask for forgiveness while pleading ignorance.
Not bad.
BBS,
Good one, but negative on that. For the apostle Paul repeatedly said in Romans should we sin all the more so that the Grace of God will abound all the more? Certainly not. For the believer is a new creation, putting to death the old desires of the flesh and putting on righteousness. This is where supernatural help comes into play. For at the moment of salvation, righteousness is given to believers as a verdict in a court of law. But this court is a heavenly court, where God renders a verdict of righteous, that believers are right in the eyes of God, because their sins have been paid in full by the blood of Jesus on the cross and imputes righteousness onto the believer. Hence the new believer has a changed heart and desires to pursue God and cease from sinning.
Now to authenticate this change of the heart of the new believer, we should see fruit indicating such a change. For a strawberry bush produces strawberries and an Olive tree produces olives, so too should a believer produce fruit according to the changed heart. What are the fruit to indicate and change of heart? Galatians 5 Love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience, self control, humility. This is not to say they will live perfectly, but it's to say they will continue to strive to grow in knowledge of God's word, grow in purity from sin and thus be more useful for God.
This battle is a constant struggle to put to death the desires of the flesh to self promote, self glory, greed, sexual immorality, etc. In fact the Apostle Paul said his mind wants to do one thing, but his body does another (Romans)...
There is a freedom to know that sin no longer has a stranglehold on ones life (Romans) and that through any trial, one will have peace that surpasses all comprehension (Philipians 4:6) and that life on earth has a purpose and meaning that transcends just our temporal time on earth that we are not just a collection of random, unguided mutations, but that an all powerful creator created us because He loves us and sent His Son to die for us to pay in full for our sins.
Dude...the fathers that taught at the Holy Cross college I went to were less....adamant....objective.....militant....(can't quite poke the correct adjective button) than you....lol. Good luck with that ;o)
ps....I bet you live in a dry county?
"Gypsy told my fortune...she said that nothin showed...."
DoomYoshi wrote:Since Plato was baptised by Saint Augustine, we are allowed to use his writings as an extended form of bible.
Timmaeus specifically states that there must be extraterrestrials. Since God cannot create anything less than immortal, God created the gods to create the mortals. All forms of extraterrestrial life are therefore the gods.
Does everyone who this Saint Augustine baptized posses the ability to write in the name of god? I'm guessing he baptized quite a lot of people.
AoG for President of the World!!
I promise he will put George W. Bush to shame!
Read " The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow' by Constance Cumbey. Its about the New Age religion being taught to your children. Suggestive thinking for the little ones.
TA1LGUNN3R wrote:Read "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by Sagan. That is all.
-TG
wiki wrote:The book is intended to explain the scientific method to laypeople, and to encourage people to learn critical or skeptical thinking. It explains methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science, and ideas that can be considered pseudoscience. Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration, they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking, and should stand up to rigorous questioning.
warmonger1981 wrote:Read " The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow' by Constance Cumbey. Its about the New Age religion being taught to your children. Suggestive thinking for the little ones.
TA1LGUNN3R wrote:Read "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by Sagan. That is all.
-TG
wiki wrote:The book is intended to explain the scientific method to laypeople, and to encourage people to learn critical or skeptical thinking. It explains methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science, and ideas that can be considered pseudoscience. Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration, they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking, and should stand up to rigorous questioning.
Wow. You'd think that goes without saying, huh?
You'd think. There's more than that in it, too. He kinda examines the similarities between old religions (people claiming they talk to God, angels, demons, etc, interference of supernatural beings in the affairs of mortals [with many sexual connotations], blah blah) with New Age stuff like E.T.'s coming down and teaching people tech or abducting them to probe their uglies. Pretty much how people how are always looking for something that's outside the natural realm to explain whatever, but there's usually a striking resemblance no matter their origin.
There was some interesting stuff in there, too, like when James Randi and Jose Alvarez hoaxed pretty much all of the Australian media with the Carlos channeling.
