gogogadgetearl

comments

• Not that i think radical behavior is inappropriate, but i can see where one could become very narrow-minded. Remember that Christianity is what it is be cause we are so intolerant. Tolerance is a slippery slope as a Christian because we can tolerate somethings and be politically correct on to a point. As a Christian i don't see how one could support Gay marriages (civil unions). This goes against the sanctity of marriage, however, is it my responsibility to Forbid them form doing what they want to do (let me clarify) what they are supposed to do. When someone is far from God he/she doesn't know any better, because we are born into sin. Sin is our natural desire that is why we are constantly leaving the will of God.
  I guess i strayed from the point we shouldn't look down on the extreme believers we should strive to become them, as long as we do not mis represent God's unconditional love. In america Christians are not persecuted enough- we have no backbone. As for this group BattleCry, as Paul wrote:
  
  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Ephesians 6:10-20
  
  
  Various links I found from this website
  How can I love someone I can't stand?
  Why Should I Witness?
  • posted by: TopHat
  • [ 2007.05.02 | 8:04:47am ]
• i think we should allow gay marriage as much as we allow divorce.  biblically, there are 2 reasons for divorce: sexuall immorality (matthew 5:32), and an unbelieving member wishing to leave the marriage (1 corinthians 7:12-15).  however, we (the US) allow divorce for nearly any reason.  if we're going to fight to prevent gay marriages, then we should also be fighting to outlaw divorce (except for the 2 previously mentioned reasons).  IMHO, if we're going to allow divorce for nearly anything, then we should allow gay marriages, too.  outlawing gay marriage isn't going to change the sins of homosexuals, and it's not going to preserve the sanctity of marriage any more than allowing divorce for nearly any reason.  all it will do is serve to drive homosexuals away from christians and christianity.
  
  regarding "battlecry", i agree that there is a lot in this world that inclines any generation to go against the will of God.  however, as soon as we stray from showing the world God's forgiveness and love for us, we've failed our great commission.  yes, there are 2 extremes in the approach of how to live as a Christian, but i believe there is a balance...the path is narrow...
  
  matthew 10:16
  Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
  this is just my opinion, but i think we should hold ourselves to a biblical standard, and we should hold fellow christians to the same standard -- however, we should not hold the rest of the world (or even just the US) to those standards.  the only thing we should hold the rest of the world to is what Jesus did for us and how they can be a part of it.  if we present that to them and they refuse it, we shouldn't enforce anything more on them...legally or otherwise.  if they refuse salvation, and we try to enforce our morals and standards on them anyway, it just drives them further and further away.  this is why i think we should take christian morals and laws out of US politics [see my opinions on gay marriage].  but that's just my opinion and i'm sure someone will disagree.
  • posted by: earl, THE earl
  • [ 2007.05.02 | 9:35:49am ]
• I am going to agree with Earl 100%.  As a believer in Christ and the Bible, I believe in "till death do us part" unless for reasons previously mentioned.  I also think that homosexuality is a choice, regardless of how hard one may proclaim otherwise.  Likewise with atheism, I honestly believe it doesn't exist considering there is simply too much written both in favor and against the existence of God.  What separates an atheism from a Christian or even an agnostic is that they choose not to have faith.  at least an agnostic acknowledges there is something greater.  Atheists are so blinded by their ambitious search for answers that they can't see the forest for the trees.  These people scream that we are nothing more than descendants of, ultimately, slime.  The slime came from somewhere, and why is it so hard to believe that whatever primordial ooze they claim we crawled out of isn't a more modern term for what biblical writers proclaimed when they wrote as God said, "from dust you came, and to dust shall you return" (genesis 3:19)?  It's a matter of where you put your faith, i your own understanding or the knowledge of something greater than ourselves.
  
  With all that being said, what do we do with extremists on both sides?  It takes a Biblical perspective to reach out to both sides.  To the fundamentalists, we need to remind them, or even worse, instruct them the first time, of what the Bible really says on issues like homosexuality, abortion, atheism, etc.  To remind them means that we need to speak up, instead of distancing ourselves and pointing fingers while non-believers become more impressed upon by the idea that to be a Christian is to be callous, cruel, close-minded, unforgiving individuals and that God is ultimately dead.
  
  To non-believers, we need to be compassionate and persevering.  Through God's grace, hearts will change from being focused on the self to being focused on that which is greater than self.  Our job as Christians is to go out and proclaim to the ends of the earth.  (Matthew 28:19-20).  That doesn't mean go drop off Bibles and wish them luck,  we must invest in their lives as Christ invested in lives.  It is up to God to change the heart and redeem the soul.
  
  In matters of church and state, I still agree with Earl.  It's like taking the warning labels off of stuff, eventually the problem will solve itself.  Personally I don't see why there are warning labels to begin with, things seemed to go smoothly before.
  • posted by: claryam
  • [ 2007.05.02 | 2:28:55pm ]
• i think we need to consider the source. rolling stone. anything they print has an obvious bias. i've subscribed for at least a year now and not once have i seen a neutral political or spiritual article. rs is easily one of the most liberal, most Christian-phobic media groups. to most of the contributing authors, anyone that proclaims they are a Christian is pro-war, pro-life, pro-guns, pro-intelligent design, bass-ackwards hillbillies that don't know no better. rolling stone and most other modern newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. have become biased, for one side or the other. this outrages me. the pulitzer prize symbol, dated back to the 1920s (i believe), is emblazoned with it's meaning: "the most disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year." when i first saw the symbol, "disinterested" threw me off till i realized what it means: unbiased and simply reporting the news--with no spin. these modern publications have lost that meaning.
  
  RS says this guy is against: "the entire American cultural apparatus of marketing and merchandising". is that supposed to make me upset? one of the core foundations of Christianity is having and being nothing. this culture is the complete opposite of that idea. i have a lot of stuff ... and i want more. yet i know that having things does me no good spiritually. the american media and culture throws the idea at us that "He who dies with the most toys, WINS".  if this guy, this "movement," is against that, then maybe i want to join it.
  
  i take the same mindset as earl. we, as Christians, are to hold each other accountable, we are to share the message of truth with others. but it is not our right, nor our responsibility, to enforce our beliefs on another. browsing through the website linked, i did not find anything that stood out as propagating an idea as such. RS rebels against whatever political power is in charge. battlecry rebels against the culture RS has helped brainwash.
  
  the problem with RS and liberals like them is they say "everyone is equal, deserves equality, and the right to not have their beliefs trampled on" when what they really mean is "anyone that disagrees with our opinion is a stupid poo-poo head and doesn't really count as being equal to us".
  • posted by: casey
  • [ 2007.05.02 | 3:26:39pm ]
• the problem with RS and liberals like them is they say "everyone is equal, deserves equality, and the right to not have their beliefs trampled on" when what they really mean is "anyone that disagrees with our opinion is a stupid poo-poo head and doesn't really count as being equal to us". while this very true, the exact same can be said for quite a few that label themselves as "christians".
  
  luke 6:42
  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. we're all guilty of this at some point in our lives - most of us are guilty of it for most of our lives - regardless of our political/religious/social affliction.  whether it  be RS or Pat Robertson, we're all culpable.  so let's quit pointing the finger, take responsibility for our own actions, and move on.  :-)
  • posted by: earl, THE earl
  • [ 2007.05.03 | 8:20:57am ]
• very good comments...whereas i to think along the same lines...Christianity along with other "labels" have become more of an excuse than a way of life...instead of living like a Cristian should one is hiding behind their Christian beliefs...I in terms am more of a realist...I would consider myself a fairly compassionate human but i believe that maybe i am not the seed that God intended to be sprouted from...that in itself is not going to discourage me from planting and watering, but I dont have to see results and i dont have to Convert...i feel that i do have to show Gods love but i am not going to tell someone that they are wrong to believe in another religion...I will put it this way, I consider myself a christian, but if heaven is going to be full of the extreme one sided closed minded people that are typically associated with christian than I dont think that I even want to go...I think that to much emphasis is put on the technicalities of catholics versus protestants versus baptist and the greater story has been lost in the struggle...this is right now just me ranting ideas... but i dont think every one is going to heaven...it would be great if everyone was but i dont think they are...so back to the point...i agree that extremes are not the answer...a balance is needed...
  • posted by: monkey
  • [ 2007.05.03 | 9:05:37pm ]

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