I would say that is what I have been taught, and that in regards to the big bang theory, I don't have the answer.
billions of folks throughout history have believed very strongly in institutionalized religion, and yet you are so arrogant as to abandon it? who do you think you are? where i come from, we go to church and show respect for the institutions of our culture.
see that is my problem, i can't make sense of any of it. I had one instance, my grandpa had been having heart problems for a year or so back in 95. After a triple bypass surgery, it got to the point where he couldn't speak, and he was very fragile. I remember him sitting in his chair with an oxygen tank, a shell of the former man we knew, this went on for about a year. And then one day out of the blue, it was like nothing had ever happened. He wasn't cured or anything, but he was mobile, spoke with us, started cooking again, and having a good time, and the doctors couldn't explain it. For 6 months this went on, and then one day, he was back in the hospital, and gone forever. I struggled with the idea of divine intervention, for some time, but i never could convince myself. And i just gave up, i figured if that wasn't enough, then nothing could ever make me believe in a higher power.
God has not told me that I must go to some church to have him be in my life. I was taught to accept the lord in my heart, to have belief and faith in him, and that on the day of the sabbath to assemble amoungst his people and worship him in the house of the lord. Any house that accepts him is a house of the lord. My family spends an hour on Sundays reading verse and the teachings of the lords word.
I don't have the answer for you, though I think it amazing that your grandfather would get the gift of a somewhat quality life before his passing. Even if for only a short time. My mothers story is a bit different. She faught liver cancer for 7 yrs, after she was diagnosed and only given 6 months to live. She had a good strong quality of life until she slipped and fell, and broke her hip. The pain became too much for her, and her quality of life became too restricted, to the point she finally gave up. She had bravely faught against a disease, but it was the limitations in her life from a broken hip that finally made her leave this world. I thanked the lord for bringing her home. The pains of this life became too much for her to bare, and I am happy she is with the lord. On a regular basis I look to the heavens to seek her guidance, believe it or not she answers me regularly in some of the most unusual ways. To you and your family, I hope that you find solice in knowing your grandfather is happy where is, and that he watches over you.
out of curiousity, how does that happen? did you go to church and then you hear god in your head "....DUDE...THIS IS NOT NECESSARY......MAKE YOUR OWN LITTLE CHURCH AT HOME....LATER."
you are correct is claim that the phrase "you must go to church to be a Christian" is not in there. However, the concept of fellowship with other believers is a popular theme throughout the new and even the old testament. "let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching" - Hebrews 10:25 "all the believers were together and they had everything in common....every day the continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts." - Acts 2:44 & 46 "pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips" - Proverbs 22:17-18 Can one be saved and not go to church? Absolutely. But I would argue that one cannot be a productive, growing member of the body of Christ without continuous interaction with fellow believers. I go to church because it is a place where I can worship God with fellow believers, I can fellowship with other believers, and I can serve. I go because I enjoy it.
you will have to excuse legacy tiger, he is a bit arrogant and thinks he is too good for church, even though it enriches the lives of billions.
