The verses you quote are the very reason my family spends an hour every Sunday enriching our lives by readings and teachings from the bible.
Not the case at all. I believe my family becomes just as enriched with the lords teachings within the walls of our home, his home. God enriches those that see light in him.For the record I was a youth pastor for over 10 yrs. You never asked, you implied, so I never answered,but yes I am a Christian. I left the church, because, like you, I questioned some of the beliefs and was ridiculed for it. Basically I put credibility to the scientific claims you speak of. I would not walk away from my belief in God, so I walked away from the church and have been worshiping the lord for close to 20 yrs now away from the church.
TRY THIS, You ALL can probobly relate: YouTube - Penn Says: Agnostic vs. Atheist this little segment REALLY mirrors my views. Would YOU or Wouldn't YOU??? Now, stand up for what you believe in and ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i addressed this in this thread: " nobody knows anything. that is a given. we are defining ourselves by what we believe" that is what penn is saying. i would not ask you if god exists. i know you have no clue. so i am asking "do you believe he does". the question is about your belief, not about god. that is why agnosticism is a false position. do you believe or not? it is one or the other. it boils down to this: do you presume to know something it isnt possible to know? yes? then you are irrational and a believer. if not, you are sane and atheist. there is no choice but atheism, if we are honest with ourselves. you can either accept that or delude yourself. thanks for that link, it was relevant and well-stated.
I messed up. Some of what I am saying is in the highlighted portion of your post. Sorry And God gives us that choice. Everyone either accepts or rejects Him. If someone says that they aren't going to be concerned with "religion", that person made a choice. Christianity is faith based. It cannot be measured or tested my scientific measurements. Church should be an open forum where ideas are exchanged. Often when two or more people read a verse, they receive a different meaning. To me that is great. Talking together and learning different views or messages is great. Having the option of accepting another's viewpoint helps too. The preacher, though supposedly a "learned man" can be just as wrong in his interpretation as I can. Sometimes you just have to respectfully disagree. :usaflagwa
where i come from, we go to church and show respect for the institutions of our culture.[/QUOTE] You go to church? Interesting!!! :wink:
I believe it does tell us to "not forsake" gathering together with other believers though. Yeah, I know. "Where two or more are gathered in My name, there I shall be also." Therefore, I believe in the gathering for study and fellowship with other believers.
