Do you believe in "Divine Intervention"?

Wow. You're actually able to understand the things he says?

 

Okay... I'm Out!

Going to bed for clarity... I have a Sunrise service tomorrow morning so I have to get up at like 4:00 AM.

 

Please do.

 

At daybreak [Sunday] we celebrate Easter morning... the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. However... we [the world] would never have had that joyous Easter without suffering through Good Friday (by far one of the bloodiest days in history).

Acceptance of Jesus as your personal savior allows all of us to have our own Easter morning experience. The Good Fridays we experience (bearing the weight of our own cross to carry while here on earth) must happen so we can look forward to our Easter morning. Some of us suffer with crosses weighing more than others. It seems unfair at times to watch what others have to bear, but only God knows the reason for such suffering.

Perhaps going through a divorce was part of your cross to bear. Look at the 'Easter morning' moment that happened after you found the love of your life! Praise God!!!

Remember, Jesus hates the sin... but loves the sinner. We ALL sin and fall short of the Glory of God... but He still loves us!
I'm sure there's probably souls in heaven that some people thought would have never made it, because of the sins they committed while in the flesh. And I'm sure there are souls in hell that would surprise us because we thought they were 'godly' while here on earth.

Don't wait to accept Jesus Christ into your heart.
Too many people wanting to wait until their 11th hour to accept Him... die at 10:30.

 

It's easter today???

 

Question, about your last sentence.

American Indians never knew Christ, so how could they accept him? Are all the Indians that died went to hell then? That does not seem to make much sense, since those that did know Christ were the ones who murdered and drove them from their homes.

 

This may be an extremely stupid question... And a forewarning I have not studied the bible or attended church much at all but still believe in god. What happens to the men and women who kill one another during war? Do they get forgiven like the rest of us? I've always assumed that if someone intentionally murders another, their chances of going to heaven are very slim. If someone could explain... That would be great.


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If you like I will deal with that tomorrow. It is actually a pretty easy but fairly lengthy answer... Being of Native American descent, I have dealt with it a good bit.

 

War and murder are not the same thing. There are even those who equate hunting with murder.

 

Yes please do, I struggle with this

 

I got an thought that just popped into my head.

Those of you who stated that chiefs divorce was god leading him to another person and part of God's plan, I don't see how this could be anymore contradictory since god does not condone divorce.

 

I guess I don't really understand how killing someone during war is any different than killing someone outside of war - You're taking another human life, no matter the circumstances,

 

God does not condone sin of any kind, true. However, neither does He condone us condemning one another when we mess up. All have sinned... all have fallen short... all are loved.

 

I hear ya... it can be difficult. The Geneva convention was established because the difference can get foggy at times. If someone was in your house trying to kill a member of your family, would you be justified in taking their life to save your family? There are rules concerning war... of course no rational person ever wants war... but sometimes, sadly war becomes unavoidable. America tried to stay out of World War 2, until there was no other choice in the matter. Had we not gotten involved, how much further would Hitler have driven?


Here's a pretty good read on the matter that deals with both the pacifist view and the just war view from Christian perspectives. I think it treats both view points rather fairly. WAR - What is the Christian perspective on war? ? ChristianAnswers.Net

 

Okay... here goes. I am not an expert on this matter so please understand I may miss a lot and I do want to be fairly brief.
The general question concerns what happens to people who have never had an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel? I actually hear this question quite a bit. The answer first strikes at the heart of what we believe about the biblical account of the creation of man. Did human life begin with Adam and Eve and expand as the Bible teaches, ending with a great flood and beginning again with Noah and his family? If one rejects the Genesis view, then all chosen viewpoints are pretty much the same and one is as likely to be acceptable as another.

However, in the Genesis view, we have to be careful not to forget that post flood life began with Noah and his three sons and their wives. We must start from a point where every person on earth had full knowledge of God and His promises. Shem, Ham and Japheth were the sons of Noah. Ham was the son who looked upon his father's nakedness, whatever that means and evil was reestablished. The son's were each dispersed into the different parts of the world armed with the knowledge of who God is and what He has promised. The assumption usually made is that someone on an island in the Pacific or somewhere else could not have knowledge of God and hence must be forever condemned. That isn't necessarily true. The same point is made for Native Americans, Aborigines, etc... What is forgotten is that each person since Noah's flood had an ancestor with the knowledge of God and the responsibility to pass along this knowledge to his ancestors. Dad's... that is an enormous responsibility.

So native Americans actually began from the same seed as Europeans... Noah and one of his sons. It is always possible that some of the tribes had such knowledge passed along to them as man repopulated the earth without breaking the chain. The tendency by many is to make the assumption that God somehow failed to make salvation possible for all men. That just isn't the case if we believe in a common ancestry. If anyone failed it was clearly those who failed to tell their children what had been told them.

Now in Hebrews 11, it is made quire apparent, that men in the Old Testament were saved by trusting God's promise of a coming Messiah. I can't quite say for sure ( God forgive me if I get this wrong) but something that is difficult to grasp is if there was a cutoff point... for those who trusted by faith that salvation would come to them through a coming Messiah... though they had not yet heard of Him. I honestly can't say I know the answer to that. But what I can affirm is that Paul stated. Christ stated... that there is salvation in none other than Christ. Could someone be saved... believing in the Christ that would come to them even though they had not yet heard that He had come? I can't say for sure... but I will say... I don't believe that option is available for any alive today.

Now as far as those who stole the land from the Native Americans... who killed them to get them out of the way... who broke treaties... who forced them on reservations... to call them Christians by virtue of being "white" is quite the stretch. I'll leave that at that.

Here's the bottom line for me... Dad's, you are to be the primary disciplers of your own sons and daughters. In Deuteronomy 6, we are reminded to write these words down... That is to record the blessings of God... tell them to our children... when we rise up and when we lie down... whatever we are doing, we are to teach the ways of God to our children. AND, If we refuse... God's word teaches that the sins of the fathers will be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation. That would be our grandchildren's children... and of course if they go on sinning they will pass the same heritage along to their grandchildren's children... perpetually... until someone finally stands up and breaks the chain. The real question becomes not so much what happened generations ago... but what will I teach my children today.

I don't know if that helps... there's much more and many more answers I suppose but the simple problem today is we all need Jesus. I can't imagine standing before the Lord someday... and seeing my son condemned... because I refused to tell him about the Lord... He can make up his own mind... but to not tell him...

 

Regarding "does God interfere in the affairs of man"
Herbert Spencer developed a theory in the normative ethics branch of philosophy called 'utilitarianism'. The idea is greatly simplified that every decision made ethically 'good' or 'bad' based solely on if the consequences of such effect are 'good' or 'bad'. So, if I could go back in time and kill Hitler that would be a 'good' thing right? But, what if killing Hitler made room for an even more evil fellow who actually developed a working nuclear device in 1940, and conquered the world, enslaving all mankind? So, does God interfere in the affairs of man? I believe he does. I also believe that coincidence and chaos also exist. We have no idea what God's action would be because there is absolutely no way we can predict the consequences even the smallest action can have (the Butterfly's Wings Effect). So, in practice, it doesn't matter.
The Omnipotence of God, or Does Free Will Exist

Baruch Spinoza wrote this in 1677. In essence, God is limited only by the constraints that define Him as God. This idea contributed to the deep bucket of fecal matter Spinoza found himself in. After all, the idea of ANY limit to God violated the principle of an Omnipotent God. All that being the case, God is NOT omnipotent. He CANNOT act in a manner contradictory to His nature as God Almighty. I am always amazed when people take such great umbrage to this. Obviously God cannot do evil, and does this not limit his ability to act?
The Forgiveness of God
I also am quite interested in how 'easy' it is to answer the question regarding the salvation of those who never had the opportunity to hear the Word of God. I am familiar with the vast majority of Christian philosophy and know of only one that adequately answers this question....
Chief (I am a sailor, once a sailor always a sailor), my heart goes out to you. I would only ask you use the brains God gave you. Hey, when it comes to faith and religion, we all close our minds!!! Do you honestly think God is a being who would damn us to ETERNITY, remember, eternity is the age of the Universe to the age of the Universe + infinite power. I mean, like that is really f****** long time, for an action that we did that was so brief in duration, a slip literally infinitesimally small, and he will damn us to a hell of flossing cats teeth? (what fraction of the few seconds it took for you to say 'I do' to your first wife compared to all of eternity) Come on Chief, does that even sound right? Man, what a brutally callous God that would be. It certainly doesn't sound like a God who would love us so much he would allow his Only Begotten Son to endure the punishment of all mankind. You were very careful not to mention the church that so easily damns you, so I will not make an educated guess and can make this statement without undo insult to the offending faith. I would suggest you take the time and appeal to your Father in Heaven and ask Him what He would have you do. What's the worst that can happen? Damn you to hell for eternity, oh, wait, he's already done that (allegedly). It is my opinion that a faith that teaches man that it is ill-advised to talk to God is a Faith not of God.
Any way, don't mean to be preachy but there you are.

 

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