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Originally Posted by Liveformx64  Your beliefs on Christianity are interesting, and I must say rather unique in my experience. |
They were formed from my various experiences; I was born a Roman Catholic, converted to Islam, studied Jehovah’s Witness, finally I became a born again Christian. Fortunately for us in Africa we have all the kinds of faiths, cults and sects within a walking distance, some who claim to be Christians but with weird beliefs, therefore making an informed choice is not difficult.
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Originally Posted by Liveformx64 .I am fully prepared to accept the fact that their may be a place of eternal punishment, but In my years of debating and pondering the idea with myself I feel that there most likely isn't. Is this based on a numerical calculation, or some sort of proof? Absolutely not. It is simply based on hundred of hours of soul searching, and following my heart. |
We are a creation of God and created for a specific purpose which according to him, must be fulfilled or we lose meaning. Although I can’t specifically ascertain the form of punishment HELL stands for, am convinced that in one way or the other those who do not live up to the expected standards will be made to pay. My proof is based on the objective reading and careful study of the bible, Christian history and Church growth. I corroborate every teaching, creed, doctrine and dogma with the word of God, irrespective of who is teaching or forwarding it. I only choose to believe and obey it if it agrees with the Bible, the general Christian principals and its purposes.
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Originally Posted by Liveformx64 As a Christian that follows the teaching of Christ how do you negate some of the more barbaric and close minded statements in the bible? |
You have put it well ‘I follow the teachings of Christ, PERIOD’ and according to what I know none of them is barbaric. Yes! There are some very gruesome statements in the Holy book, of which fortunately (to me) none is attributed to Christ, thus has no bearing to my faith in him. The Bible as you may know was written to fulfill a specific purpose of providing people with the direction to heaven (if one believes in it), this then gives the reason for close-mindedness.
[QUOTE=Liveformx64;328063]
What bible do you believe to be the "true" version of the bible?[QUOTE]
I don’t believe in a specific Bible as true because the ones I possess are all translations, this then have given me the reason to have more than one them, in fact I have several of which I read all to come to a conclusion to what I need to know. The people who translated the different versions are not gods, which means they can make a mistake either by design or error. So I would rather have as many versions as I can to assist me come to a conclusion based on substantiation, validation and purpose of the Word of God.
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Originally Posted by Liveformx64 Do you believe in a literal physical eternal hell? If yes, How do you explain the "Condition" of one must accept Christ to be saved from hell, from a God who allegedly loves us unconditionally? You can go to heaven IF you accept Christ....is that not a condition? |
Where did you get the impression that God’s love is unconditional? You really need to have a rethink on that false perspective that you have been sold. God has always been restrictive to all his creation, what do you think of the laws that govern nature, the earth, the universe? If any of these laws are broken the consequences are always so severe. Look at our bodies, they obey various laws like; don’t touch an open flame, don’t step on sharp objects, etc, all these are for our own good. Most of the time the word ‘IF’ is used in the Bible, this un-fortunately is a conditional term. As humanity we live by choices and by them our life is determined, after making decisions we become subjects to our choices, thus must accept the consequence that come with them, however painful they might be.