fredlott63

Can we talk

Some things are so dumb it appears obvious we must be deceived. We are criminalizing normal relations and legalizing gay marriage. Some confess wrongdoings to a man that has sex with little boys. We call ourselves sinners without knowing what actions are and are not sins. We believe cussing is a sin but abortion is legal. We believe God’s grace frees us from the law, so it is okay to steal, murder, and commit adultery but we must give tithes and offerings. Grace doesn’t free us from tithing. The solution to this mindset is to read the word of God and let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and don’t listen to anyone that teaches with no bible.

pafret Loc: Northeast

You are quite right that some things are dumb, including your attack on Catholics and the Priesthood. You obviously know nothing whereof you speak, but speak you will anyway. Your pietistic posturing is simply a vehicle for your hatred and intolerance.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

While I'm not entirely disagreeing with you do not lose sight that for the first 300+ years of her history the Church did not possess a bible, the Canon of Holy Scripture as we know it to be today, and yet the church thrived and grew even in the face of horrible persecutions. It thrived and grew because of oral tradition and by apostolic succession - doing and passing along exactly what Christ taught the apostles and they, in turn, passed along exactly as they were taught. Furthermore, there is nothing in the Bible that claims sola scriptura, bible only. The knowledge of history and teachings of the early church are essential to being an informed Christian.

TexaCan Loc: Homeward Bound!

Good afternoon Fred! Hope all is well with you and your family. First of all, I believe that if we sin the Holy Spirit will let us know. Is that not his job, to teach and to guide us? Jesus sends him to us the moment that we are saved. Don't know a Christian that believes in abortion or that God's grace frees us from the law. I don't believe that tithing is God's law, it is man's law. That does not mean that we are not to support the church that we go to or that we are not to help those in need. Sometimes that will be much more than 10%, for those that have been blessed with more!! Reading and studying the bible is always profitable in all ways.

iFrank Loc: San Antonio

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Study yourself to be shown approved. A love offering of your first fruits is good, and the tithes if your able, Jesus used the word Corban in Mark 7:11, in other words not to give beyond your means, in that you go without medicine or food for your health - like eating catfood.

fredlott63

What gives you the idea that I have never studied the history of the Roman Catholic Church? Christ and the disciples healed diseases and cast out devils. The RCC tortured and executed.

fredlott63

The Catholic Church has more in common with the Pharisees than Christ and the disciples. The thought went from getting killed for Christ to killing for Christ.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

I always find it amusing that protestants know nothing about their bloody history in Europe and also burning witches here in America. Within 80 years of the Reformation there were over 200 different denominations, sub-sects, cults, etc, waring against one another and declaring the other heretics and burning each other up in public executions. Today there are over 25,000 different "groups" calling themselves Christian all possessing the same basic scripture but each having a bit of a different twist on "how to get to heaven." And Jesus prayed that we all be one. So allow me to propose a protestant blessing for your approval. "May the confusing, contradictory, argumentative peace of the Lord be with you." FYI I am not a Roman Catholic but I do understand that the Protestant schism is the worst thing that ever happened within Christianity.

fredlott63

All religion is evil. Religion is man earning his way into heaven through good works. Christianity is reading the word of God and letting the Holy Spirit speak to your heart, letting the word change you.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Go back under your rock.

fredlott63

The rock is Jesus and I never left.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

No! You do not know who Jesus is and what He came to do. Based upon your previous comment that religion is evil shows that you are one of the many thousands who have taken it upon himself to form a new Christian religion and not the one Jesus fulfilled.

ContrarianGuy Loc: NorthWest Wisconsin

From my perspective this is the true path to truth and more essential truths ... we talk about Paths and we talk about Religion ...

My understanding is God has offered us many paths to walk in our journey back to God and Its most essential truths ...

Religion on the other hand is an Institution created by Humans which is grounded in a single path or a hybrid of several paths ...
and they end up creating a orthodox point of view ... either comply with this view or be weeded out ... The second aspect of
these orthodox institutions is the fact the priesthood or leadership take upon themselves that they must take on the role of
Intercessors for those in the pews or the masses ... establishing the concept they and only they have the ability to intercede on
behalf of the unwashed ... the unordained ... a concept I totally reject ...

Christianity is not the only religion that fosters these ideas ... Everyone, and I mean everyone who seeks truth is able to converse
with the Holy Spirit, or the Audible Life Stream, or the Source of All Creation any time it wishes simply by turning one's attention
to this voice of God with a sincere heart and understanding ... Ask questions and wait for answers ... know that this Spirit is always present and waiting for you to come to it ...

I converse with the Holy Spirit all the time ... I align my consciousness to Its by chanting HU (pronoounced like the word hue) in a long drawn out breath ... sometimes for a few seconds ... other times up to 20 minutes ... and I sit and listen ... I observe all
around me ... HU by the way is an Ancient Name of God ... Allah HU or Allah HUA ... Allelujia or Hallelujah are derived from this Name ... Hebrew for Praise God ...

I can ask questions ... I can relate concerns ... Often It replys as if we are sitting in conversation in the parlor ... other times
I simply receive what I consider a perception which crossed my consciousness suddenly ... other times my answers come in
the form of Waking Dreams where an unusual experience that I recognize as an answer to what I am pondering ... Let me give you a dramatic example ...

I needed to rent a vehicle to travel to a conference with a number of associates where we were discussion and learning about
a new approach to introducing people to our services ... I had already been given a lot of insight into this approach through
observation of previous approaches ... I strongly felt they were to parochial ... we always made the introduction about our organization ... and the obvious response was "Thank you, but no thank you !!" and the audience quickly dissipated ... The insight
I was given was that we need to ask this audience what their concerns were ... what are they looking for ... ccould they give us
examples ... in other words ... make it about them and not us ... In this manner we could suggest ideas that might help them resolve their issues, or meet their needs, and they would continue to work with us as we work with them on their issues and
needs ... This is the background ...

So I rented this vehicle ... it was a brand new minivan with silver and black color scheme ... it only had a few miiles on its
spedometer ... licensed in the state of California ... So I was off to this meeting with high hopes of steering my associates to a more neutral manner of introducing ourselves as described above ...

The meeting was facilitated by a newly appointed manager ... I was very disappointed because I learned, despite my requesting several weeks earlier to my supervisor that I very much would like to participate in the initial planning, designing, and training of this new approach ... At the meeting I learned that she worked with someone else on this planning, designing,and training, and I had not heard one word about it until this meeting ... It became obvious they were not open to a more neutral view point, but
they wanted to plow ahead with the same basic approach in a new set of clothes—metaphorically speaking ...

Well after this meeting I went out to the rented vehicle ... the vehicle hesitated when I first turned the key a couple of times, but
soon started ... I turned my thoughts to the Holy Spirit and contemplated on the situation as I drove home ... I decided to pull over and get something to drink for the rest of the trip ... when I came out the vehiicle didn't even turn over ... it waa totally
Kaput ... so I called the agency who sent a toll truck out to bring the vehicle back to the yard ... I was beginning to get a clear message while I waited ... My associates were not ready to accept this neutral approach ... they wanted to continue with the
approach they always have used ... and had not even considered other approaches ... And this was totally confirmed when the
agencey brought me the replacement vehicle ... It was the same model vehicle ... same exact color scheme ... except it had
30,000+ miles on the speedometer, was 1 year older, and licensed in a different State - Colorado ...

Once again the message was ... we like our old approaches ... the new approach is a non-starter ... and my associates were still immersed in an older state of consciousness or state of acceptance ... I also felt reaffirmed in my sense that the approach I was
prepared to advocate was the better approach, but the Associates were not prepared to make that leap ...

I give you this real life example to encourage each of you to not to turn your spiritual life over to someone else ... grab the wheel yourself, contact your navigator, the Holy Spirit, ... and take control of your own journey ... Look for your guidance in conversation, dreams while you sleep, and most of all ... those notalble, exceptional experiences that carry a message for you to help you understand your current situation ...

It definitely works for me ...

fredlott63

These religions are the great whore. They have everyone a relationship with Christ is possible while ignoring what God said to the prophets, and every sermon Christ preached, parable He taught, and miracle He performed. We don't need to return to Christ but to turn to Christ.