christian concepts

[Senbecc]

evilkitty12582 said:

what are some "christian concepts" that you agree with, and use?

honesty is one i try to use.

"God helps those who help themselves."

Acts 17:11
Hezekiah 6:1

[Senbecc]

pel said:

I suppose that the "Holy Spirit" concept should be considered. It's the third aspect of the trinity. The Holy Spirit was sent to guide man after Christ ascended. In a practical sense, it's similar to a conscience. It does more than discern right and wrong, though. For me, the concept of the "Holy Spirit" is like the piece of the divine being within me. When a person is in tune with it, it's like touching the Logos. They can feel the life behind this world and see the paths that lead through it.

Not unlike Wicca's concept of a similar triad of father, son, and sage I suppose...I also believe that if one reads the Bible they can also find aspects of maiden, mother, and crone...Though albeit not as obvious as the latter.

[flowerfaeryqueen]

i have to study christianity at school as a christian. i dont agree with what the bible says about sexism and 'no other gods b4 me'. *

we were given homework to read a bible story, and my m8s found (what they thought) the funniest stories and passages. for instance;

"and men and women stopped doing natural acts of love together and started turning to their own sex and doing unnatural acts of love"

or somthing like that. they thought this was hilarious.

* in the bible it says that when god handed down the stones with rules on them: "worship no other gods before me, for i am a jealous god, and shall send those pagans to hell."- or words to that effect.

[Newlyn]

Actually, the Bible does not say that. This is what it says:

Text of the Ten Commandments:
There are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). They are at Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34:12-26, and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Exodus 20 is the most commonly used set. In the King James' Version, its text reads:

Exodus 20:
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Source: Religious tolerance.com

Some feel that God placed a generational curse upon pagans, but this is not the case.

I have just as many issues with the Bible as anyone else, but in this particular case there is no mention of casting pagans into hell.

[Senbecc]

flowerfaeryqueen said:

i have to study christianity at school as a christian. i dont agree with what the bible says about sexism and 'no other gods b4 me'. *

we were given homework to read a bible story, and my m8s found (what they thought) the funniest stories and passages. for instance;

"and men and women stopped doing natural acts of love together and started turning to their own sex and doing unnatural acts of love"

or somthing like that. they thought this was hilarious.

* in the bible it says that when god handed down the stones with rules on them: "worship no other gods before me, for i am a jealous god, and shall send those pagans to hell."- or words to that effect.

Remember now, that religious tolerance needs to go both ways. To them and their beliefs such things are wrong and un-natural...I must admit that a pretty good argument could be made as far as homosexuality goes, though I wouldn't be the one making it...

As far as no other gods before me, and I am a jealous god etc...I agree with Pel, I see nothing to the effect that there ARE no others, just that your not supposed to worship them lest he'll get jelouse...Though "fundies" would have us believe there are no others...So then what exactly does he have to get jealous of I wonder?

As for sexism...That one you and I are in TOTAL agreement on.

[heavenleigh]

Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. Is that from the bible? Forgive my ignorance if it is not, but I am not prone to reading the bible. If it is, or even if it isn't, I think it's a good rule to live by.

[KittyLane]

yes there are alot of good concepts that we should live by, because they are morally right.

[Senbecc]

heavenleigh said:

Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. Is that from the bible? Forgive my ignorance if it is not, but I am not prone to reading the bible. If it is, or even if it isn't, I think it's a good rule to live by.

Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him taketh away thy goods then ask them not again.

And as ye would that men should do unto you, do ye them also likewise.

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those who love them.

Luke: 6:30-32

[theoccultchrist]

I try to strive by the whole love thy neighbor thing, Judging not, the Golden Rule, turn the other cheek - and just striving to be Christ like and Christ concious.

Also, I hold some of the verses from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas very dear to me.

the disciples asked Yeshua: "Who are you to say these things to us?"

and Yeshua replied: Do you not know me from what I say to you? Or have you become like those Judeans; If they love the tree, they despise the fruit. And if they love the fruit, they despise the tree.

His disciples questioned him: "Should we fast? How should we pray? How should we give alms? What rules of diet should we follow?"

Yeshua said: Stop lying.

Do not do that which is against your love.

You are naked before heaven.

What you hide will be revealed,

whatever is veiled will be unveiled.

Yeshua said to them: If you fast, you will be at fault.

If you pray, you will be wrong.

If you give to charity, you will corrupt your mind.

When you go into any land and walk through the countryside, if they welcome you, eat whatever they offer you.

You can heal their sick.

It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, It is what comes out of your mouth that defiles you.

Yeshua said: If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom.

Yeshua Said: Recognize what is in front of you, and what is hidden from you will be revealed There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.



Yeshua said: The Pharisees and the scribes have recived the keys of knowledge and hidden them. They did not go within, and those who wanted to go there were prevented by them.


Also some stuff from the gospel of matthew in the canonised bible.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew Ch. 5 -verse 6)

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew Ch. 5 Verses 7-10)

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew Ch. 5 Verse 16)

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
(Matthew Ch. 6 Verses 31-34)

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
(Matthew Ch. 8 Verses 5-13)

A Centurion AKA: A PAGAN - Jesus saw more Faith in a Pagan then in any of his followers at the time.

[theoccultchrist]

Oh, I also want to add these.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. -- Hebrews 13:2

Romans 12:9-21

9. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13. Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 Corinthians 13 (New Living Translation) verses: 1-13

1 If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody.

3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

5 or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

6 It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8 Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear.

9 Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little!

10 But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.

11 It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.

13 There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.

Matthew Chapter 4

1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

13. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

22. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

24. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

25. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

[theoccultchrist]

newlyn said:

pel said:

I suppose that the "Holy Spirit" concept should be considered. It's the third aspect of the trinity. The Holy Spirit was sent to guide man after Christ ascended. In a practical sense, it's similar to a conscience. It does more than discern right and wrong, though. For me, the concept of the "Holy Spirit" is like the piece of the divine being within me. When a person is in tune with it, it's like touching the Logos. They can feel the life behind this world and see the paths that lead through it.

Hmmm. I've always thought that the Holy Spirit was more of a person.

The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. He is fully God. He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, has a will, and can speak. He is alive. He is a person. He is not particularly visible in the Bible because His ministry is to bear witness of Jesus

www.cam.org

But, I can see how you would be able to feel the Holy Spirit within you.

Hmm, I see the holy spirit as a feminine aspect - I guess it could be both. But I always see these four parts to the divine - God the father, God the mother * The Goddess* Jesus/Yeshua the Son and the Lady Holy Spirit.

And I see all the other Gods and Goddesses - and divine figures as aspects of the singular divine energy.

I've tried to explain this once before and I'll try to reiterate:

I see divinity in nature and consider it scared. I see the divine in this way: Mono-Polytheisim if you want to find a suitable label for it since we humans have the condition to want to label everything and any thing. I see divinity simply like this; The Tree Theory: The roots of the tree is the unknowable divine energy you cannot see it but you know that it is there. Then there is the tree trunk which manifests to some people as a God or a Goddess or sometimes both...it manifests to me in the form of a God and Goddess. They are two separate entities but they come from the same source - some people will tend to stop there. But if you go on up the tree to the branches that is each individual pantheon (Greek, Roman, Nordic, Celtic, Egyptian, ect.) * I believe other religions can fit on there as well - examples: Christianity, the Jewish faith, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, ect.* and then if you go even farther to each little twig that is each individual god(s) and goddess(s).

They are all separate yet they flow into the one divine energy. So, me personally I see divinity as many Gods and Goddesses ( including Jesus Christ and the Mother Holy Spirit ) but they are just facets of the one divine energy. I do not really know for sure what you would call it..because it is not quite monotheism nor is it exactly polytheism/pantheism but somehow a combination there of. Polytheism because I see more than one god/goddess but monotheism because I see it all springing from the same universal highest source.