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Originally Posted by BibleGuy
"so, in theory, i believe in some sort of an eternally anonymous higher being that created the universe and..."
You seem to believe in what the Hindus call Brahman - "the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe" - that gives rise to... creation. In the Bible, he is identified as "I AM" and "I AM THAT I AM", which can be translated "I am what exists" or "I am what will become".
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Can you elaborate on that more? what is the transcendent reality which is the divine ground?
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"so what makes us subject to the word of "god" and not animals?"
I suspect it's that we are aware of "god"
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read what i said earlier about how we are only able to comprehend these beliefs because of our minds evolution. you're talking like homosapiens are special..? We are still on the same family branch as monkeys.
sidenote: monkeys have two ways of attracting a mate: aggressively sporting their large canines, or bringing the female food. so say that this one monkey ALWAYS just gets the bitch food right? teaches his offspring of that one female to do the same, and his other however many sons, and they teach their sons, and so on and so on over 4.4 billions years, their canines significantly got smaller, hands and feet larger, taller, and amazingly the ability to walk upright, which is extremely odd in the animal kingdom, BUT made it significantly easier to gather food. and the evolution never stopped, and has yet to. we are giant, hairless, and far more intelligent species of monkeys, today.
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We hear about anointing all the time. Anointed meetings here, anointed teaching there. But where's the oil? The real Exodus 30:23 oil? Even if they believe the "Calamus" (also psychoactive) translation, then where is that oil? I've never seen it in church or among professing Christians. Perhaps this is why we don't see "the works that I (Jesus) do... and greater works than these" in the "Church". The masses want to believe, but not if it involves cannabis because they've been duped into believing it's "Satan's weed" and that intoxication of any kind is sinful. Dogma is a powerful thing even when it's false.
"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. " (Rev 3:18) All of this from a shiny yellow metal? Or is "gold" something else? "Tried" is puroo in Greek. Here is the Strong's Concordance definition:G4448 πυρόω puroō poo-ro'-o
From G4442; to kindle, that is, (passively) to be ignited, glow (literally), be refined (by implication), or (figuratively) to be inflamed (with anger, grief, lust): - burn, fiery, be on fire, try. - "Gold" is a common metaphor for illumination. You can decide if that the meaning here.
- "White" in Greek is leuko meaning, from λύκη lukē (“light”); white
- "And" in every occurance in this verse is kai in Greek, "Apparently a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force", which means that Rev 3:18 is one complete interconnected thought, including the "anoint thine eyes" part. With what? Shiny yellow metal refined with fire? Or is it "illumination" kindled with fire? Hmm... Which one relates to anointing that helps one "see"?
What is "gold"?
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11) Frankincense: incense (that's one)
Myrrh: incense (that's two)
Gold: The same "Gold" of Rev 3:18? (is that three, or not?)
Food for thought... What do you think?
Regarding "Christianity", I personally think we need to discern what is of the contemporary religion vs. what is of the Christ.
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No doubt, too much for my stomach, i mean head to handle.
haha
seriously though you are quite intelligent about this. what do you believe this 'gold' is? it must be an incense !
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Originally Posted by JcP
science is a religion...it requires belief and faith to believe that what you interact with with your senses (sight/touch/smell/hearing/taste) is real.
Science is the religion of observable phenomena. If I can see something: it is true.
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FALSE: there is more to the scientific method than any of our senses, especially sight. researching, testing, and long periods of observation go beyond senses into the mind. you could argue that that requires belief of science, but science is the only truth in this world. and mathematics. also, our senses are real to us as individuals, so what we can all observe, IS real. what belief or faith does that require? that's fact. not a sense.
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Science has yet to explain how life begins. And even when it does, it will not be TRUE, it will simply be the truth of that belief set.
beware of claiming Truth. You say you are a man of facts? what are facts but things you believe without question? how is that any different from a man thinking the Bible is true?
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because science PROVES it wrong. a man believing the Earth was created in seven days is wrong.
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2+2=4. Fact. And you can prove it by showing me 2 apples put together with 2 other apples and then having 4 apples.
Jesus saves. Fact. And I can prove it by showing you what I was before I felt his presence, and showing you what I am now after being blessed. (for example).
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Jesus saves? Your belief saved you. I just posted before this one about i have been saved myself too, read it.