04-13-2004, 04:32 PM | #1061 | |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
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04-13-2004, 04:37 PM | #1062 |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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Hey, IRex, you have NOT fixed up your post where you incorrectly "quoted" me yet I know you like fairness, so would you please edit it and correct it, or add something that clarifies that you are NOT quoting me?
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. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
04-13-2004, 04:40 PM | #1063 | |
Quasi Evil
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"People's political beliefs don't stem from the factual information they've acquired. Far more the facts people choose to believe are the product of their political beliefs." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |
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04-13-2004, 04:43 PM | #1064 | |
The Intermittent One
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resistance is futile you will be assimilated we will add your technological distinctiveness to our own you will adapt to service us |
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04-13-2004, 04:48 PM | #1065 | |
Quasi Evil
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Quote:
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"People's political beliefs don't stem from the factual information they've acquired. Far more the facts people choose to believe are the product of their political beliefs." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |
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04-13-2004, 04:49 PM | #1066 | |
High King at Annuminas Administrator
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My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!! |
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04-13-2004, 04:51 PM | #1067 | |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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The term comes from a passage in the Bible in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, where Jesus is talking to a man named Nicodemus, and Jesus opens his side of the conversation by saying "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus is understandably confused and asks how a man can enter into his mother's womb and be born again (Jesus tended to say very thought-provoking things!), and Jesus goes on to explain that He is talking about a spiritual birth, and says "...whoever believes may in Him [Jesus] have eternal life." And then comes the famous verse: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." I think the term started being used because people thought they were Christians if they were merely going to church, or if they were somewhat trying to be "good", when in fact, their hearts were rejecting God, and they were NOT Christians (which means "imitators of Christ", or "little Christs"). Back in the days when Christians were persecuted, no one would say they were a Christian if they weren't. But here in America, and other places where there is no persecution (or not much) people would say they were Christians because it was the "good" thing to say. But it was not true - in their hearts, they were rejecting God and His ways. When you choose to become a Christian, you immediately know the difference, so born-again Christians would say they were born-again, a phrase found in the Bible, to differentiate themselves. So - what does it mean? On to the next post ...
__________________
. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
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04-13-2004, 04:58 PM | #1068 | |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
Join Date: Sep 2002
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Quote:
__________________
. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
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04-13-2004, 04:59 PM | #1069 | |
The Intermittent One
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Quote:
truly brilliant |
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04-13-2004, 05:11 PM | #1070 |
Elven Warrior
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FIRST let me state this: There is no offence ment, whatsoever, to anybody, be it Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or a member of any other religion/philosophy !
Ok... Do you really think it matters whether you pray to God, Jahwe, Allah, The Goddess... or your Inner Self?... Isn´t it all quite the same? Humans tend to look for a greater plan. That´s ok with me. I do that, too . But who is to judge what´s the best plan? Humans? IMHO we humans are not qualified to do so... we don´t have any means of seeing the whole thing... all we see is the small part in our neighbourhood... just like: We are of course uncomfortable when seeing or hearing about starving children in Africa... but when the news have passed and The Simpsons/Sex and the City/Whatever is aired, we easily forget about them... otherwise I guess we would all go crazy , all the time thinking about the *wrongs* of the world. And I do believe it´s rather the same with religion. Hinduism has rules that may seem strange and almost *diabolic* to many Christians... but these worked well / still do for Hindus (I´ve talked to a few... they on the other hand think that Christians are on the wrong side of the track ). (Some) Muslims believe that the Koran holds the ultimate truth, for Allah (God) gave it to the world after all the other books of faith. They see Jesus as a prophet like Moses, but nothing more than that. What I guess really matters is how deeply you FEEL YOUR religion and if you WILLINGLY have hurt other beings. So it´s HEART and FREE WILL... but who said that the Christian Heaven and Hell concept is the ONE system? Maybe the buddhism nirvana is what awaits us... nobody cares for Jesus there . Everybody has to find the answer for himself... and I guess... everybody will find himself right... God/Allah/Whatever is omnipotent and any other omni- you can think of... so why should it be impossible for IT to provide each of us with their own concept of what comes after death? Even the atheists may be right by stating: There is NOTHING. I, for myself, have started in a loose christianity (religion lessons at school), but soon found out that TODAY christianity (with the vatican, the infailability and the whole concept of the pope and his cardinals... and their councils) holds no lasting answers for me. 'Why should I go to church to talk to a dead piece of wood?' I thought a million times. Then I started studying Celtic 'religion'... living gods, showing themselves in nature, breathing, living, dying, in an endless circle, just like mortal men. Alas, I found the concept of offering animals or even humans to the gods quite disturbing. Two or three years ago, Buddhism came into my life and I really enjoyed reading some books by the Dalai Lama. But this is still a little too complicated for me... but the essential parts I´ve memorized and since have tried to live them. So my religion/philosophy is a patchwork of multiple systems. And still I do believe I will NOT go the hell ... I will be reincarneted until I´ve learned all that I need to. The ultimate rule of my life is: Learn, whatever and whenever you may, do, whatever you like, but never ever hurt anybody else, and if you did so unintended, apologize and hope for absolution by the harmed person.
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~ I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. ~ ----- Gedichte, Texte, Wallpapers: www.ithilgalad.info ----- The Queendom of The Roaming Galadhrim |
04-13-2004, 05:11 PM | #1071 | |||
Quasi Evil
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
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"People's political beliefs don't stem from the factual information they've acquired. Far more the facts people choose to believe are the product of their political beliefs." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |
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04-13-2004, 05:21 PM | #1072 |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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To Nurvi, con't -
I guess the summary of how one becomes a born-again Christian (this is hard to type, I wish I could talk to you instead; PM me if you'd like my phone number) is basically acknowledging the following truths, and choosing to act on them: 1. Altho you might generally be a "good" person, you have also willfully chosen to sin at times. And "sin" just means going against God's loving plans for our own good - things like that little lie you told that helped you get something, or the time you were really glad when something bad happened to a person you didn't like, or when you selfishly took more of something good and cut someone else out, or murder, too, of course. But in your heart, you KNOW that you did wrong. That's what guilt is - a pointer to you that you have done wrong. And sin seperates us from a holy God who loves us tremendously. 2. Realize that because God loves you so much, He made a solution to get rid of the separation that sin brings and bring us back to Him - He sent His son to pay the penalty for our sins. God would be a pretty poor God if He just said "oh, ok, I forgive you - go ahead and murder again, you nice little thing!" Of course, we can understand the concept of requiring a penalty for murder, because we are moral beings, altho imperfect; but God, who is moral and perfectly holy, RIGHTFULLY requires a penalty for a choice for ANY sin. And our penalty should be death; but Jesus willingly stepped into our shoes and took the penalty onto Himself. 3. So accept the fact that you're a sinner, by choice, and this rightfully separates you from a holy God (#1), and that because God loves us so much and longs for a relationship with us, Jesus willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins (#2), and then finally, live your life in His love and obey His good and right commandments for us out of love for Him. These things are found in the New Testament; the Old Testament was for our instruction and to point out our sin and the need for a sacrifice to atone for it. (IOW, you don't have to go by the Old Testament dietary laws, but rather just what the New Testament says.) The Bible says in the book of Romans that those who are led by God are His children - so you can't just give lip-service to #1 and #2 and not choose to strive to change your life and bring it into alignment with God's perfect plans. If you just do lip service, that means that you really didn't accept them in your heart. God is awesome! He loves us so much, and cares for us so much, and has only our good in mind - He is always calling to our hearts that He loves us, and calling us to choose Him over our sin. See, the simple fact is that we ARE created beings - there's only one God. It's not an ego thing - God is just God, and He created us - it's that simple. And as created beings, we ARE subject to a master. And we choose our master - either God (who is a loving and rightful master, and fills our hearts to overflowing with his love and joy), or sin. Becoming a Christian is basically choosing to align ourselves with the truth that God is the Creator and we are His creation. And the Bible says there is a tremendous party in heaven every time a person chooses to become a Christian! God loves us so much.
__________________
. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! Last edited by Rían : 04-13-2004 at 05:23 PM. |
04-13-2004, 05:27 PM | #1073 | ||
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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Quote:
However, I stand by what I wrote and what you quoted in your most recent post. Quote:
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. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! Last edited by Rían : 04-13-2004 at 05:29 PM. |
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04-13-2004, 05:29 PM | #1074 |
Elven Warrior
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Just for my own records :
The Bible consists of the Old and the New Testament, right? But look at God in the Old Testament, a God of punishment, flaming sword and everything... doesn´t sound to me like someone I´ld want to be around for eternity...
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~ I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. ~ ----- Gedichte, Texte, Wallpapers: www.ithilgalad.info ----- The Queendom of The Roaming Galadhrim |
04-13-2004, 05:38 PM | #1075 | ||
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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I just have time to address one thing right now, so I'll do the first one.
Quote:
The reason why I think it's a bit of a cop-out is because what I see is that on issues that agnostics have made up their mind, they are convinced they're right, and they do NOT say "we'll never know"; but on other issues of their own choosing, they say "we'll never know" like it's some type of final conclusion. Well, then, apply "we'll never know" to EVERYTHING! Be fair! For example, homosexuality - as far as you know, I could be right and you could be wrong. So please don't tell me I'm wrong, please just say "we'll never know". I'm sorry, I'm out of time - gotta go get the kids now. I like you, IRex, and consider you a friend - I'd like to keep up this conversation and work through it. I'll address your other points later, and if you like, you can address this post.
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. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
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04-13-2004, 05:42 PM | #1076 | |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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I'm out of time, but I'll try to get more - the point of the OT, as I said, is to show us our sin and that there is rightfully a judgement for it. But the PURPOSE behind this is that God loves us.
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. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
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04-13-2004, 05:49 PM | #1077 | |
High King at Annuminas Administrator
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The God of the New Testament is the same God... but He has brought to completion His great work of redeeming mankind to Himself... it was under way in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. God didn't get converted between the Old and New Testaments.
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My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!! |
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04-13-2004, 06:01 PM | #1078 |
Elven Warrior
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Don´t put too much effort in it Rian (although I appreciate any efforts to correct me ... as I´ve said before, I try to learn whatever and wherever I can)... if you have got time anywhen sooner or later... don´t stress yourself on behalf of me, please (wouldn´t be good for my karma !)
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~ I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. ~ ----- Gedichte, Texte, Wallpapers: www.ithilgalad.info ----- The Queendom of The Roaming Galadhrim |
04-13-2004, 06:11 PM | #1079 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Quote:
From their official website... Quote:
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Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?". Interested in C.S. Lewis? Visit the forum dedicated to one of Tolkien's greatest contemporaries. |
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04-13-2004, 06:14 PM | #1080 |
Elven Warrior
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That indeed sounds interesting ... could you send me the adress (or post it here)? I would like to read a little bit more about that Baha´i ...
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~ I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. ~ ----- Gedichte, Texte, Wallpapers: www.ithilgalad.info ----- The Queendom of The Roaming Galadhrim |
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