You worry to much about money.There are much more important things in this life other then money.

Just because you disagree with true statements does not make them lies. You can't point out a lie because there is no lie in what I said. Just search "preacher steals money" and many thousands of articles will come up proving that many preachers are in it for the money.

The "primary purpose I see" refers to my opinion that I absolutely believe to be true.

There are no lies in my statements.

Keith

Keith some churches have priests not preachers.Priests in my church get just enough living expense money to get by.Thats it.Money put in the basket handed around goes to good causes and helping people around the world.

brucet then you should sell everything you own and give all you have acquired to the church of your choice. keep a nice warm robe and live the rest of your life without any money. by the standards of much of the world you are a rich man. we all know its harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

you will assuredly get to your heaven and test your theory on just how important money really is

Good question...Maybe ones faith doesn't extend to cleaning toilets?

Actually the ones I've been involved with hired a contractor.

They (Mormons) pay tithing or offering to cover costs of building, utilities, etc.

I'm weak and can't be like Jesus's disciples.I want to hunt,trap,and fish and take care of my wife and grandson which are more important things to me then money.I could make much more money in the city but I hate the lifestyle there and would much rather live a simple life in the country.

That's the way it should be.

I do think there is a lot of good in some organized religions. I do unfortunately know there is a lot of bad too. When I use the word religion, I mean all the 4200 plus religions, not just Christian ones.

Keith

MN Cedar,
I sure do like your input. It's flying over the radar at some airports, but keep that plane in the air bro.

The money issue brought up here is interesting as I read comments. It's not a sin to be rich (regardless of what Bernie says) but we have to guard against what money does to the hearts of men. Massive portions of the Scripture speak to this. Money and the accumulation of it by the Middle Ages churches was was played out in BIG fashion during Martin Luther's days in the 1500's where he witnessed the selling of remonstrances... stay outta purgatory cards so to speak, by the papacy in Rome. They were building a monstrous cathedral after all and money was needed. Many people, maybe even your ancestors were involved in that hard time. People fought long and hard and many were banished, or killed, and the Protestants or "Protestors" were begun. Are they better than any other Christian? No, but they sure do focus on God's Word as the primary means of interpretation. But many other denominations read their bibles too, so that can't be a deal breaker.

Wondering why people make analogies that are not apples to apples here?

If I say that a coyote pulled out of my trap and took off running, there are many reasons why that may have happened.
Brute strength.
Bad trap.
Bad setting technique.
I'm late.
Do we blame the trap or the coyote?
I don't know.

But the coyote is better off than if he woulda stayed in the trap. At least to him and his world. Not mine.
To say all traps are bad may not be correct.
To say all setting techniques are flawed may be incorrect.
To say I'm a lazy trapper, might not be accurate.
So the truth is elusive.
But not when you figure, I don't know it all. But then who does?


The Father-Son-and Holy Spirit of the orthodox Christian faith.

I wouldn't darken the door of any of these thousands of new religions, (more will come) calling themselves Christian, that have sprung up in the last 150 years, a time that just happens to coincide with man's greatest era of humanism and human effort? Many of them are appealing because their doctrine is making man into God. Nice. The ones who say you can be a God if you do this, that, or the other. But, these religions have been around since the pagan days of Baal and before.
Or maybe the religions that promise reincarnation so you can be all you can be in this life, and then come back and try to be better next time, and the next time, and...

Preachers who do the preaching for free are the ones I respect the most.

They have a little more skin in the game so to speak, their heart is in the right place...Money corrupts.

Everyone thinks their the one who is right, who is really right?.. None of us!

You do the best you can, repent, and I mean of everything!
Honestly try to live sin free, study your Bible, ask Jesus to change your heart, your thoughts,
ask him to cleanse your sin with his blood and to save you.

Have a relationship with Christ, talk with him in prayer, form a relationship and watch
the changes start in your life.

This is the meat of it, the rest of the stuff people trifle over is the stuff no one on this earth has completely right.

I am guessing there is no religion in Heaven. I could be wrong but that is my belief. We use religion on Earth to separate people into groups that we feel have better or worse ways to obtain an afterlife. If only Christians can go to Heaven and there are 2 billion Christians (giver or take a couple hundred million) then with 5 billion non Christians and counting there should be a lot of room for 40% of the world's population. I find scripture very spiritual, enlightening and valuable for me. The politics and dogma of religions, not so much. Many Christians seem to feel that life on Earth is sort of a purgatory prior to being granted an afterlife in Heaven. Might explain a lot about the really negative emotional tidal waves rolling through the Earth. Most other non Christians have some sorts of afterlife belief system. However many believe in forms or reincarnation to come back to Earth in a different form and thus don't see life on Earth as dismal as some Christians seem to believe. Also Agnostics don't have the same beliefs as Atheists do. Agnostics don't deny there is a God where Atheists do.

Bryce

Doesn't a person have to drawn by the Holy Spirit. So if a guy hears a message on the Gospel but isn't being drawn, then does he really hear it ? Maybe a concern is when a person is being drawn but refuses, then the next time he refuses his heart is hardened a little more each time.

Any thoughts on double predestination, such as does a man really have a choice?

I’ll say most folks have a choice. Some don’t, because they don’t ever hear about it. You know, in remote parts of the world.

But, I have noticed something, and your reference to being drawn by the Holy Spirit reminded me.

You ever notice, or anyone else, that sometimes when your reading scripture, that sometimes everything makes sense and you can’t stop reading, then sometimes you gotta read it a few times to make it make sense? Or am I the only one?

Would a remote part of the world include Chicago?

Not at all. Sometimes scripture you have read several times over several years, and never paid no mind, decides to reveal itself. Part of growth I reckon.

Does anyone really want to take the chance of spending eternity in h___? Doesn't sound good to me.....

I know I sure don't.

With over 4200 other choices in religions, supported by billions of other people, how is anyone supposed to know what choice keeps you out the pit. There are around 2.4 billion Christians out of close to 8 billion people in the world. Over 1.3 billion o the Christians are Catholic. Many of the huge number of Christian religions hate each other, especially hating the Catholics, over differences in belief. The message has obviously not been made clear for most people, or more would agree on 1 religion.

Keith

At least I'll be in good company.

Go with Jesus Christ.Look thru the bibles and do what Jesus would do.

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

I think if you try your best to follow these 2 commandments, you will come out okay, if God is truly good, which I think he is, because creation and people are overall basically good. The second commandment, with variations tends to be at the core of most religions.

Keith