I must say, the posts that I have read are quite disturbing.

Should we take that as a complement?

I can honestly say that I was in the same place that all of you guys are. I abandoned my Christian faith, only to realize that I could not live without it.

The difference is we REALIZE that we can live without it and live even better more productive lives free of guilt and intolerance.

The bondage that I felt was the bondage that Satan had upon my life, pulling me in directions that enticed me to do wrong.

Since Satan actually is your own mind, if you were enticing yourself to do wrong and you needed Christianity to help you do right, then that’s a good thing. Keep the faith!!!!

I pray that all will get ahold of the faith that was once present and give God the chance to bless your lives again. I did, and so did He.

My life continues to be “blessed” therefore either God doesn’t care that I’m now an apostate or he was not the source of my “blessed” life.

Paul

What’s with the all CAPS thing? Please look at the sidebar under ‘Attention Christian Readers’ for starters.

I pray that all will get ahold of the faith that was once present and give God the chance to bless your lives again. I did, and so did He.

And you can skip the prayer for me. Wouldn’t work anyway because if God is omniscient and immutable He/She/It already know my decision and cannot change his mind or be influenced by any ‘prayer’.

Cheers…

I am a student at a Christian University and I was actually searching for a quote that Joel Osteen said to compliment the answer to a question to a theology lesson.

I can honestly say that I was in the same place that all of you guys are. I abandoned my Christian faith, only to realize that I could not live without it. The bondage that I felt was the bondage that Satan had upon my life, pulling me in directions that enticed me to do wrong.

Fortunately, I did (and still do) have the grace of God to help me. I fully understand the idea that Christian’s living less than Christian lives are the number one reason why other Christians convert and that the mega churches sometimes do more harm than good. I fully believe this.

I pray that all will get ahold of the faith that was once present and give God the chance to bless your lives again. I did, and so did He.

Glad to be of service

Off-topic – but I just read a comment of yours on another post and learned your are a biologist! Cool – I got my degree, but never even used it…became a database architect instead. We have biologists AND physicists here – I am impressed!!!

Re- Post #58 -
Why do people wander in here and post drivel like that. Are you, and others like you too dense to read what this site is?

But hey, go ahead and post your drivel here. Pardon us though if we brusquely inform you that the Bible is just a collection of myths, written by a primitive tribe of people. Much like the ancient Greeks, Norse, etc, they made up gods and such to explain a world that they had very little understanding of.

There’s no Santa, or Easter Bunny, or elves and fairies. And there’s no big chummy pal in the sky for you to have a personal relationship with, or for us to hide from. Get over it and get on with your life.

I also will just use numbers in my response.
1. We are talking about a relatively short time in the wilderness and yes, artifacts have been found but tying them to the Exodus is problematical.
2. I’m not sure why we are talking (in at least two of your points) about what people thought. The question is, does the Bible teach it? I’ll repeat it again; the Bible says nothing about the age of the earth.
3. I never said it was false. I said it was not verifiable. I believe you’re the one who thinks it is false.
4. I’m not adept at translating ancient languages at all. And, I suspect, neither are you. The Bible does not teach the shape of the earth.
5. I agree. As it became apparent that it was not going to happen quickly in human terms, Peter speaks of it as something that may take a very long time.
6. Sorry for my ignorance but this is the first I’ve heard of pi being mentioned in the Bible. Please educate me. We can eliminate it from “my version” when I find out where to apply the scissors.
7.a. We know when Daniel was written, we know which kingdoms came next – the order is important, dates are not. That’s dead-on language. And yes, he uses names: Daniel 5:28, 8:21, et al. No vague horoscope here
7.b. Again, the flood is unverifiable and, so far, no one (that I’m aware of) can prove it did or did not happen. Genesis is as accurate unless you use it as a science book. Dinosaurs lived and walked and were annihilated and I don’t know where any are today…sorry. How do you tell a “real archaeologist” from a false one? Are the “real ones” the ones that help you make your case? I know that you know there are certainly two schools of thought. The problem is that no mountains of information exist in archeology and those who believe and those who do not believe have a running debate about the interpretation of the little there is. The non-believers may not say the Bible is the best history they have to work with but it is, in many cases, the only one.
7.c. How is the flood in conflict with scientific discoveries? The Bible does not teach against evolution. Evolution is obvious. The Bible teaches that God is creator — two different things. As for the statement being laughable, I’m glad you at least got some humor out of our discussion.
7.d. Your cannonballs are made of fluff and fell short of their target.
8. I didn’t say they aren’t happening…I just haven’t seen one. And, this is not to say they’ve never happened.
9. Why are you saying that answered prayer requires the suspension of physical laws? It may simply be the manipulation of those laws. If God set those laws in motion, suspension or manipulation is His prerogative. There are millions of Christians who believe that God answers prayer and has answered prayer – I’m one of them.
JustCant, we indeed may be at an impasse. I think we may have started out there. I believe the “apocalyptic warnings” were from another commentator. Warnings don’t work with those who do not believe there’s any danger. I certainly don’t personally feel threatened, but I believe if Christians continue in their present apathy then our hull may indeed sustain some damage.
I’m teaching people to hate those who are different or believe differently? Good God, I hope not! I follow a Master who talked and practiced love. I am the first to admit that I have not always been loving but I really am trying to practice what we call “agape.”
Are you saying there is no war? Tell that to Dawkins, Hitchens and those who celebrate them. Have you read the titles of their books? Sounds like war to me. Is calling them “The Opposition” unkind or disrespectful? Should I use “Our honorable opponents” instead? You and I are in opposition or we wouldn’t have had this discussion.
Here, take this olive branch and let’s be friends.