Heidi_Hatch's Blog

Here here TAllen!

Read Lee Strobel's book, The Case For Christ.

But beyond that, Jesus is quoted in the Bible as saying "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father, but by me."

If one is to believe what the Bible clearly outlines, then yes, there is ONLY ONE WAY.

Remember, 90% of all statistics are made up 50% of the time. :o)

No prob, TA, the respect is, indeed, mutual. BTW, I really am a Jesus freak ... and a thinker as the two are not mutually exclusive. My tag was really just laughing at myself; I'm comfortable in my skin :)

rotatecoeli - interesting ... to say that there is no salvation outside of the Church must mean that you are Roman Catholic, is that correct? Is that that based on the RC saying that "he who does not have the church as his mother cannot have God as his father?"

Your bottom line...

The bible is open to personal interpretation, as is apparent in your whole system. My interpretation is my own, and I will not tell you my way is right or wrong.
I will point out hypocrisy though...
Religion is a personal effort, most organizations have missed that point due to organizing in the first place. A pastor is no more a medium to god than your own self...
Empowerment of a person can harbor greed...
I will state that GOD is Love, can someone tell me the verse?
Awaken and start your personal involution...

I look at it like this, ps. I enjoy these conversations. as they help my understanding.

As I'm typing i'm watching a televangilist state something to the extent of , WHY pursue wisdom?
The plan is already written...ughhh...

10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11He is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.[a]'[b] 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

In no one else, because no one else has been ressurected, we are not the ones that crucified him, we don't know him personally.
Why MUST we be saved if self-integrity (Living as Christ) has not been compromised?
I feel the avatar of god in all religions hold the same weight. That each was god personified, Christ has the exclusivity of crucifixion. Beyond religion, and speaking universally there is only one divine creator.
The father, son, and holy spirit...I just cant seem to grasp the exclusivity. He is the stone.
It is BY the name salvation is FOUND. Why the extra words? Why not Jesus Christ is salvation?

Dida do you like the WHO?
According to Cameron Crowe, Pete Townsend is the only person that could truly describe rock n roll.
I would really like your opinion on the utopian post as well, Baba could very well have been jesus's second coming, but we will never know...
You told me before it will be with power and great glory, and you

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 2-3

The truth of all religion is God is Love.

Hinduism is a realization of consciousness.
The Heaven and Hell state in Hinduism is not eternal, like the soul.
Right and wrong is the duality imprinted from the tree of knowledge. Bliss is the balance, the Garden of Eden before the first sin.
The struggle of Christianity can easily be avoided with an enlightened consciousness.
An awareness of why the tree of knowledge caused such an uproar.
Guilt and shame stem from fear, what is there to fear? Satan? Why?
Live a life of virtue and honor,
The system is the Devil's lasso, Materialism and corporate greed are his right and left hands. It all comes down to if you choose to exercise a Machiavellian philosophy. A personal effort to live as Christ steers far away from being a "BLEEP"( not a slur, or a put down, just something i choose not to be--
I don't take advantage of my fellow man, I take the virtuous path...I don't hate, I have graduated high school drama...teenage wasteland)
Organized religion breeds hate, something religion is supposed to expel...
Is Jesus the divine spirit of the Universe?...Yes
There is only one divine spirit.

The avatar is God personified.
The infinite ocean of potential consciousness is God. The Unified field theory has unlocked scientific proof of GOD. Science cannot claim exclusivity, only unity.
We are made up of this infinite ocean, scientifically.
Awaken to the truth, and believe in Jesus.
The holy spirit is the way, the truth, the light.
The truth is all truth.
Science is truth, ignorance is blasphemy...
God is, was, and will

What is "true Christianity?"
Your pastors perception of the bible?
What makes his more right than mine? a white collar? A little boy fetish? An alcohol problem?
There is enough atrocities in the system to realize something ain't right...

The truth is righteous,
The only thing God cares about is a personal relationship, The only judgment lies within yourself and no one else...

Side note.
How many so-called Christians invest their money in the stock market?
To take a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit is a definition of gamble.
To spend or devote for future advantage or benefit is to invest.
I see no difference.
Crash the market to save your soul, or your religion?
Or hope in falls into a grey area and is overlooked?
I will not gamble my soul on someone else's perception, only my own...

J - What is true doesn't depend on whether you like it or not. Truth is not determined by majority vote. Truth is what it is with or without your consent. God is God. He doesn't have any responsibility at all to make US happy. We are responsible to please HIM. The Bible says that Jesus is THE WAY, not A WAY. If you choose to not accept that, fine. That's your perogative. But that doesn't change anything. Truth doesn't stop being truth just because you don't happen to like it. To say that all religions are equally true is absurd. The only way that can happen is if all religions are figments of man's imagination and in that case, none of them can be true.

It doesn't matter to me what the Bible says, as its not a part of my life. I will not dictate my life as according to a book. My life is based on a combination of observations, experiences, hard work, conscience, intuition, morality and common sense. I don't see myself as any better, or any worse, than someone who follows the Bible. That is NOT to say I don't believe that God exists. I'm no atheist. If it works for them, then it works for them. That's fine. The only time I have a problem with them, is when they try to tell me that I need to follow *their* way, or else. Am I a bad person for that? I don't think so.

I have no plans on changing how I view life, and no amount of lectures or threats will change me.

you. Msny people today want to do that because they always create a god for themselves that accommodates their sin and never judges anything they do. That's why you can say, "Is God really that unaccepting of that?" No. your god isn't. But my God IS that unaccepting. Your god doesn't care what you do. People also manufacture gods that don't make any demands on them. Yours certainly doesn't. That's why you can say, "I don't see myself as any better, or any worse, than someone who follows the Bible." But it doesn't matter how good YOU think you may be. What matters is how GOD sees you. That's why He said, "there is none righteous, no not one." You see, to my God, you need Christ to be righteous. But, your god doesn't care. Your god is happy if you just believe that he exists. But, to my God, if you simply believe that He exists, you have done nothing more than Satan himself has done. Satan has no doubt at all that God exists and he certainly isn't going to make it to heaven. Your god will accept you no matter what. So, we both can't be right. I hope you're happy with your god and your custom-made religion. Ten seconds after we die we'll see who's right.

What is this talk about "my god"? As much as you refuse to accept it, jfore, its the same God, I just see things differently. Sorry.

"Instead, you have chosen to follow a god of your own making and a customized religion that you have fabricated "based on a combination of observations, experiences, hard work, conscience, intuition, morality and common sense." That makes YOU the soveriegn of the universe because YOU are the one who has determiined what will be moral and true in your world."

"I hope you're happy with your god and your custom-made religion. Ten seconds after we die we'll see who's right."

"Sovereign of the Universe"? I'd have to be pretty arrogant to believe that. This is simply what I live by, not what I think everyone else needs to live by. I'm not "making up" a religion here, I just have a different viewpoint, that's all. I'm not actively doing anything to discourage your views, or anyone elses. I'm not preaching to anyone (nor would I ever). And aren't you being just a tad self-rightous with that last comment?

Gorillla - If all you get out of the Bible is that we should all live a moral life may I suggest that you read a lot more of it. Every Christian should lead a moral life. But leading a moral life alone will not please God or get you into heaven.

If all God expects us to do is live a moral life to please Him then why does it say this in Romans 13:10-12? “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

No one means no one. “Not even one” does not leave room for you to be the one lone exception. The most moral life in the world will not meet God’s standard because, if you plan on working your way into heaven by living a good life, God will accept nothing less than perfection from you. His righteousness will not allow Him to ignore any sin, no matter how small.

Isaiah told us what God thinks of our good deeds.

Isaiah 64:5-7. “How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

Again, notice the words “all of us.” And “no one.” You are not the lone exception.

Then Paul tells us that there is only one penalty for sin and it doesn’t matter how big or how small that sin is.

Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death,...”

Any

Jesus talked about them. They’re the goats in Matthew chapter 25.

The death penalty for sin had to be paid. And it could only be paid by someone who was not subject to that penalty. In other words, it could only be paid by a sinless person. Christ paid that penalty. All you need to do is accept the fact that He did that for you, confess your sins, then go out and serve Him by living a moral life. Then it will count for something.