tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post7182503423209302049..comments2024-01-25T00:50:10.679-05:00Comments on Thoughts from a Sandwich: “Dear Gary”DagoodShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-40140159921895919662014-06-10T13:56:49.290-04:002014-06-10T13:56:49.290-04:00i estoy dando este testimonio porque soy feliz Mi ...i estoy dando este testimonio porque soy feliz Mi nombre es señora. Dona Smith de Houston, taxes.i nunca creyó en hechizos de amor magia o hasta que me encontré con este lanzador de hechizos una vez. cuando fui a África en diciembre de este año en una cumbre de negocios. i ción a un hombre llamado dr. ADAGBA.He es poderoso que podría ayudar a que lances un hechizos para traer de vuelta se ha ido, amante de mal comportamiento de mi amor en busca de alguien que te ame, traer de vuelta perdido dinero y el dinero hechizo o conjuro para una buena job.i 'm ahora feliz y ; un testimonio vivo cos al hombre que había querido casarse me dejó 3 semanas antes de nuestra boda y mi vida estaba patas arriba porque nuestra relación ha estado en marcha durante 2 años ... yo realmente lo amaba, pero su madre estaba en contra de mí y no tenía buena pago de trabajo. Así que cuando me encontré con este lanzador de hechizos, le dije lo que pasó y le expliqué la situación de las cosas a él .. Al principio estaba indeciso, escépticos y dudosos, pero yo sólo le di una oportunidad. y en 6 días, cuando volví a los impuestos, a mi novio (ahora es mi esposo) me llamó por él mismo y vino a mí pidiendo disculpas que todo se había resuelto con su mamá y su familia y él tiene una nueva entrevista de trabajo por lo que deberíamos casarnos .. i no lo creía cos del hechicero sólo pidió mi nombre y mi nombre de los novios y todo lo que quería que hiciera ... así que estamos felizmente casados y ahora estamos esperando nuestro niño pequeño, y mi marido también tiene un nuevo trabajo y nuestras vidas se hicieron mucho mejor. por si alguien necesita el lanzador de hechizos un poco de ayuda, la dirección de correo electrónico adagbaspiritualtemple@yahoo.com Gran ADAGBAi muchas gracias gracias de 1000000 veces .. si no me hubiera sido losted y desperdiciado gracias. por favor, asegúrese de contactar a él por las dificultades financieras bien .. Lo que un hombre poderoso como el Dr. ADAGBA .. él es tanto poderoso .. \ \ le enviaremos un correo electrónico para cualquier dificultad .. adagbaspiritualtemple@yahoo.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15749544465153487030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-91989033174487297162014-05-30T18:48:01.924-04:002014-05-30T18:48:01.924-04:00 :Hello my goo... :Hello my good people of the world My name is mason schroeder i live in Australia and I’am happily married with<br />a lovely husband and two children.I had a very big problem with my husband few months ago,to the extent that she<br />even packed her things away from me and my kids for almost 5 months,and i tried all my possible best and effort to<br />bring her back.I discussed it with a very good friend of mine,and he gave me an advice concerning a spell caster,and i<br />quote.There’s someone who can handle your situation,he’s always ready and able to do anything related to spell<br />casting,i will like you to contact him call Dr.Ancient which is as follows ancient benin shrine I never believed in spell<br />casting,but he convinced me and i had no choice than to follow his advice,because i never dream t of loosing my lovely<br />Husband.And that’s how i contacted him with his email address lideyalovespell@gmail.com,and i discussed with<br />him and so surprisingly,he told me that I’ll get my husband back a day after.so i never believed,until when i got<br />home,the next day,my husband called me to inform me that she was coming back..So Amazing that’s how i got my<br />back through spell casting and our relationship was now stronger than husband how it was before.One of the price i<br />was asked to pay was to tell it to people around me that problems like this,can always be solved by ancient beninmr elvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11087722242457545825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-48035302142180224622014-05-03T00:43:00.770-04:002014-05-03T00:43:00.770-04:00@HeIsSailing, enjoyed your story you linked to.
...@HeIsSailing, enjoyed your story you linked to. <br /><br />@dagoods,<br />the story above also linked to your post "can't win", which included the bit about trying to capture a leprechaun with your daughter, way back in 2007. <br /><br />so, care to update the story? you've had 7 more years to catch a leprechaun, have you ever caught one? how close have you come? any younger kids taking up the quest? :)<br />sglnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-33086907467720511392014-05-03T00:38:43.649-04:002014-05-03T00:38:43.649-04:00best wishes gary.best wishes gary.sglnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-25741054782974763622014-05-02T17:27:18.545-04:002014-05-02T17:27:18.545-04:00Dear DagoodS, I am late to the conversation (as us...Dear DagoodS, I am late to the conversation (as usual), and I do not have the time to read all 170 comments this article is generating or the 100+ comments at Ruth’s blog – and I have no clue how much else there is over at Gary’s own blog. But this bit from Gary caught my attention, <br /><br />“The issue is this: I WANT to believe. So the more I read authors who tell me why I shouldn't, the more of that innocent (foolish?) childish faith I grew up with will fade away. I'm afraid of becoming you, Dagood. I don't want to wake up one morning and look in the bathroom mirror, as you did, and realize that I no longer believe; not because I want to stop believing, as you did not want to stop believing, but because the ‘evidence’ has convinced me otherwise.”<br /><br />Wow that sounds familiar. So familiar … <a href="http://heissailing.edublogs.org/2007/04/01/is-this-my-future/" rel="nofollow"> now where have I heard that before? </a> ;-)<br /><br />Seriously though DagoodS, your persistent writing has educated God knows how many people with information that their churches will never supply them with. Once we have that valuable knowledge, it is up to us whether we want to embrace shocking reality or hold on to a comforting and familiar fairy tale. At the time I wrote that old article at edublogs, (that seems like it was written by a different person from myself!) I was reading lots of stuff, including stuff from you, and I was still clinging on to what I could of my old Christian beliefs. I was desperately afraid to let them go, because I did not know what was on the other side. But honesty compelled me. I could not live with a double truth. The road was bumpy for a bit. I lost some friends – but new ones eventually came in their place. Rosemary (my wife) and I have weathered the storm of apostasy together, and we have come out the other side more fulfilled content and mature then we were as Christians. Embrace shocking reality? I would not have it any other way – thanks again DagoodS.<br />HeIsSailinghttp://heissailing.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-90489943242256807842014-05-02T15:35:01.883-04:002014-05-02T15:35:01.883-04:00DagoodS, I found your blog through Ruth at Out fro...DagoodS, I found your blog through Ruth at Out from under the Umbrella. I have been following Gary here, at Ruth's and on his own blog. His Post on his own site today was interesting but the comments from his supporters were typical. His responses to them was concerning as he was not portraying everything that had gone on the past few days accurately. He was telling them what they wanted to hear rather than what actually happened.<br /><br />Regardless, I enjoyed and will continue to follow your posts. I don't think we've heard the last of Gary though he said "Goodbye" . <br /><br />Thank you for allowing me to comment here.Ken Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01762029461045046346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-32223331569217910712014-05-02T11:40:07.630-04:002014-05-02T11:40:07.630-04:00Re: Acupuncture
http://sci-ence.org/the-ghosts-of...Re: Acupuncture<br /><br />http://sci-ence.org/the-ghosts-of-woo-part-two/Lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04302860987923564528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-80890592318390185732014-05-02T10:29:04.398-04:002014-05-02T10:29:04.398-04:00Good luck in your endeavors as well, Gary. Good luck in your endeavors as well, Gary. DagoodShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-23670816831797942272014-05-02T07:34:31.440-04:002014-05-02T07:34:31.440-04:00I just don't think an apology is in order. Ga...I just don't think an apology is in order. Gary willingly came. We willingly engaged. :-)<br /><br />As for acupuncture it is becoming an adjunct tool for wellness in Western medicine and not in obscure clinics hidden away behind gas stations. :-) <br /><br />Now whether you think it legitimate or not is another issue. But a growing number of MD's are using it or recommending it as part of health care for patients. ... Zoe ~noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-65688234106727684502014-05-02T02:42:01.289-04:002014-05-02T02:42:01.289-04:00I believe that the time has come to say "good...I believe that the time has come to say "good bye", my friends. I wish you all the best.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-48695838023464397302014-05-02T00:05:36.221-04:002014-05-02T00:05:36.221-04:00Liza, I suggest you read up on your medical journa...Liza, I suggest you read up on your medical journals. Acupuncture has been clinically proven by Western medicine to be beneficial for many medical conditions. The same goes for many herbs.<br /><br />The Catholic form of Christianity has existed since the Apostles. Lutherans consider themselves to be part of this Catholic tradition, along with the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and the Anglo-Catholics. Many Lutherans consider themselves Catholic, just not Roman Catholic.<br /><br />The Christians of the Catholic Christian Faith share these beliefs:<br /><br />--a supernatural, triune Creator<br />--the Creator gifts salvation in the Sacrament of Baptism.<br />--Catholic Christians eat the Body and Blood of our Savior in the Sacrament.<br />--We hold the Three Great Creeds of the Church as the statement of Faith of the Church Catholic.<br /><br />We believe that these beliefs have existed since the Apostles, who witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, affirming his claim that is God, and passed them down to their disciples, who passed them down to their disciples, etc. We have written testimony of the Apostles and of the disciples of the apostles to verify that the beliefs of the Church Catholic are the beliefs of the earliest Christians.<br /><br />Many Protestants are under the false impression that when Martin Luther broke with Rome, he broke over the issue of the means by which one is saved. They believe that Luther believed that salvation occurs by a person expressing belief in God by faith. This is incorrect.<br /><br />Martin Luther was in full agreement with the Church Catholic that God gifts salvation in the sacrament of Baptism, whether to a helpless infant or to an adult convert. How one is saved was not in dispute.<br /><br />The dispute was over how one stays saved, not over how one is initiated into God's family. Rome taught that Christians must do good deeds to "finish the work of the cross". Luther said, no. Christ's death on the cross completed all satisfaction for our sins. The Christian life is one of obedience out of love for God, not out of fear of Purgatory. True faith will produce good works automatically.<br /><br />So Lutheranism is a part of historic Catholicism, which is a middle eastern religion, believes in the supernatural, that reason is not the highest authority, that physical objects transmit supernatural powers, etc. NONE of these concepts are acceptable in Western, Enlightenment thinking.<br /><br />Yes, the Enlightenment did have some affect on the Western Church, but the core Catholic beliefs are as Eastern as you can get.<br /><br />Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-73457859120712070672014-05-01T23:33:56.349-04:002014-05-01T23:33:56.349-04:00Well, my friend, it would depend on who I'm ta...Well, my friend, it would depend on who I'm talking to.<br /><br />I have no intention of going up to a Jew, Muslim, or Buddhist, either online, or in person, and telling them that they must forsake their God and worship mine or they will go to hell.<br /><br />If they come up to ME and ask about my faith I WILL tell them that I believe that Jesus Christ is the only means of eternal salvation.<br /><br />To a fellow Christian, I would not hesitate to share my belief that Jesus is the only way.<br /><br />I intend to share my faith with non-Christians by my actions: kindness, love, compassion, and generosity and only by my words....when asked.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-23303785783056975602014-05-01T20:00:12.861-04:002014-05-01T20:00:12.861-04:00Gary,
I kind of feel like this is a becoming a bi...Gary,<br /><br />I kind of feel like this is a becoming a bit overwhelming with everyone getting on to you about the weaknesses of your position/s. For that I am sorry.<br /><br />What you need to understand is that those of us, or many of us, who have lost our faith didn't do so simply because of one bad experience, or one shattered illusion, or one dismantled presupposition about God or the Bible. Many of us lost faith because of a long culmination of events and realizations. One singular moment might have been the nail in the coffin for our beliefs, but that usually comes after a long period of examination and thought.<br /><br />You think you have found safe haven in Lutheranism or what you term as "orthodox" Christianity....but it is no better than fundamentalism, evangelicalism, or any other "ism".<br /><br />All of your faith in Lutheranism comes handed down to you by human reasoning....human reasoning based on a particular set of starting points. You say that you feel so freed in Lutheranism because you don't have to believe that the Bible is infallible and without error....but just that it contains the "Word of God". <br /><br />Yet how do you know what is error or not? How do find the "Word of God" in the sometimes agenda driven, altered, fallible works of fallible human authors?<br /><br />Well...you rely on other fallible humans to tell you what the "Word of God" is. You rely on Luther and Church Fathers and religious opinions that have been refined over hundreds and thousands of years by various people and groups for various reasons...all of them just as fallible and error-prone as any other human or biblical author.<br /><br />So in this sea of human opinions about God how do you determine what is true? You use your own reasoning and feelings because that is all that you can do. You read and investigate and assent to the things that seem to make sense to you, or ring true in your own heart and mind. Unless you are claiming that you have heard directly and personally from God, you are no different than us and no different from any other person with dearly held religious beliefs.<br /><br /><br />And this whole West vs. East thing is ridiculous. The Lutheran and Catholic churches are firmly planted in Western thought and civilization...so unless you are going Eastern Orthodox or becoming Buddhist...this assault on Enlightenment thinking is preposterous.<br /><br /><i>It would be like a Western doctor going to China and telling the Chinese that their form of medical care, which they have used for 5,000 years, is wrong. <br /><br />Says who?</i><br /><br />Says many, many studies that show that acupuncture and many other ancient treatments are no better than placebo. You say you are a physician. I truly hope you don't prescribe Chinese herbs to treat cancer, or Acupuncture to cure strep throat.Lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04302860987923564528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-37331465834992307212014-05-01T19:59:52.955-04:002014-05-01T19:59:52.955-04:00re: "...following the Ten Commandments and lo...re: "...following the Ten Commandments and loving your neighbor as yourself. Is that really a lost life?"<br /><br />the problem with the 10 commandments is the one "have not other gods before me", not the "love your neighbor as yourself". <br /><br />i've looked thru most of your blog gary, reading the titles. i've read 20-30 posts, plus your posts about your interaction with dagoods and bruce. and what i see is a whole lot of "no other gods" analysis.<br /><br />i can't seem to link directly to the comment, but on one of bruce's posts, i pointed this out on my comment at February 25, 2014 at 1:05 am, at the link: http://brucegerencser.net/2014/02/bruce-sensitive-public-writer/ <br /><br />in particular, i compared you to the recipients of “2014 Unsung Heroes of Compassion”. (you can read brief summaries of each of the honoree’s work here: http://newunsungheroes.org/2014-event/2014-honorees/ )<br /><br />each of those people very clearly demonstrates "love thy neighbor". however, they are all different religions. <br /><br />perhaps you've truly changed since that time. if you remember from dagoods' conversion story, the time the fellow softball players asked him "are you a christian?" so i'd ask you to read my comment from back then, and tell me, do you emphasize "love your neighbor?" or do you emphasis "no other god before me?"sglnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-19382567696667180022014-05-01T19:42:12.929-04:002014-05-01T19:42:12.929-04:00God is willing to give the gift of faith to all. ...God is willing to give the gift of faith to all. If you were raised Catholic, then you were baptized, so you ALREADY have the gift of faith and the gift of eternal life.<br /><br />Do you want to have faith? If so, that means you HAVE it, even if it is very weak. So feed that weak faith with the Word and Sacrament.<br /><br />If you absolutely do not want faith, then there is a problem.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-72960504426280829152014-05-01T19:38:21.910-04:002014-05-01T19:38:21.910-04:00Of course I worry. That is why my belief system i...Of course I worry. That is why my belief system is called "Faith", not "Fact". All Christians doubt. All Christians at one time or another real question the existence of God. We Christians cling to the promises of an invisible God, who died on the cross 2,000 years ago, who promises to gift us eternal life, without any concrete evidence. That is why Christians doubt. It is normal to doubt.<br /><br />When an evangelical doubts he looks inward, into his heart, and asks himself if he still believes; if he still has faith. When an orthodox Lutheran doubts, he looks outward, to his baptism, for assurance. We still do not have concrete evidence that our God exists...but having our assurance based on a visible, objective act, is far more reassuring than checking your "faith meter" every five minutes.<br /><br />Once again, the overwhelming majority of Lutherans would not tell someone that they are going to hell because they don't believe that Jesus is God and they have not been baptized. Yes, I am aware that evangelicals will, but most of us Lutherans would not.<br />Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-50863624400941342952014-05-01T19:16:37.024-04:002014-05-01T19:16:37.024-04:00Gary,
But it is not an objective act of God, beca...Gary,<br /><br />But it is not an objective act of God, because an objective act would be equally available to all observers. You've already conceded that I;m not going to be able to recognize this act unless God gives me the gift of faith, which he has declined to do.<br /><br />I try to love my neighbor as myself because I think that makes the best use of the life that I have been given, not because I'm counting on a reward or fearing a punishment. God gave me the capacity to reason. How could it please him if I believe things that make no sense to me?VinnyJH57https://www.blogger.com/profile/17954441753543764706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-47556928690760969482014-05-01T19:10:25.767-04:002014-05-01T19:10:25.767-04:00Gary said: "I would then ask: What does it co...Gary said: "I would then ask: What does it cost you to believe? You get baptized, you go to mass, you partake of the Sacrament, you are kind to ALL your neighbors (yes, that is the TRUE Christian teaching), and you follow the Ten Commandments.<br /><br />For all that you get in return eternal happiness in heaven.<br /><br />What do you have to lose?"<br /><br />Gary,<br /><br />There is one glaring problem with what you are suggesting here. Do you realize that there are many people who would tell you that you need to follow their list (which differs from yours) in order to have eternal happiness? There are many differing lists both within Christianity and without and they all use the same methods that you are suggesting to forward their belief - faith mixed with a little bit of anecdotal evidence along with some difficult problems which they too feel they can resolve to their satisfaction.<br /><br />I hang out in wordpress land and there is a guy named Parsurrey who essentially has the same methodology as you, but he would tell you that you need to have faith in Allah and that you will have an eternity of sadness if you don't.<br /><br />This cannot be a healthy way to live life. Perhaps one of all of the different beliefs are correct and maybe only some small subset of humans (and since you chose your belief on faith then chances are you are not in that group) will get eternal happiness and the rest of us will get eternal sadness. Do you ever wonder that maybe you picked the wrong one? Of course you don't - you'd go insane worrying about such things your entire life. If there is a God who really is truly all loving and who cares about the humans that he created then I just can't see how what you are suggesting could be true - especially when there really doesn't seem to be any adequate evidence for it.<br /><br />- HowieHowiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02829447249057387475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-11913385846870007652014-05-01T17:47:49.880-04:002014-05-01T17:47:49.880-04:00"If God did not wish me to use the gift it to..."If God did not wish me to use the gift it to the best of my ability, than he is an arbitrary and capricious God who is unworthy of worship. I've tried believing in Jesus as honestly as I knew how and I'm trying now to be as honest as I can in my unbelief."<br /><br />For some reason known only to Him, the God of the universe wants you to believe in him by faith, not by evidence, Vinny.<br /><br />I'm not asking any of you to go through the motions of playing Christian for the rest of your lives. What I am saying is this: Many of you seem to have come out of some form of Evangelicalism, which is a form of Christianity that puts a lot of importance on "feeling the presence of God". Is it possible that when you were confronted with "evidence" that shook your faith, you stopped having the "feelings of the presence of God" and therefore decided that he didn't exist?<br /><br />That is the problem with basing your faith on subject feelings instead of an objective act of God. No one can tell you that you weren't baptized (assuming of course that you were). The efficacy of your baptism is not dependent on whether or not you believe it was efficacious. Your baptism is efficacious because the Ruler of the Universe says that it is. So instead of worrying about faking Christianity, just be obedient and repent of willful disobedience. You can't fake being Christian...when you already ARE a Christian! <br /><br />In the eyes of orthodox Christianity there is no way to be UN-BAPTIZED. Whether you like it our not, all of you that have been baptized in any Christian Church ARE Christians. You ARE a child of the one, true God. Just repent and obey Him and you will receive eternal life!<br /><br />So you spend the rest of your one shot at living following the Ten Commandments and loving your neighbor as yourself. Is that really a lost life?<br /><br />"Blessed are those who believe and have not seen me."Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-52064816759937828842014-05-01T17:34:13.167-04:002014-05-01T17:34:13.167-04:00Yes.
By faith alone, without any method to prove ...Yes.<br /><br />By faith alone, without any method to prove it, I believe that God will give every human being the opportunity to believe, whether in this life or the next. I, by faith, do not believe that there will be anyone in the afterlife who will be able to say, "If I had only known the truth, I would have believed."<br /><br />If God loves humans so much that he would send his only Son to earth to be humiliated, and killed on the cross, I believe that he will do whatever it takes to create a path to faith/belief for everyone of those human beings that he so much loves.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-44508366028308715002014-05-01T17:26:12.083-04:002014-05-01T17:26:12.083-04:00re: "...God, the existence of whom is "e...re: "...God, the existence of whom is "etched" into every human's heart (one of our many innate instincts). [....] ...if one stops resisting, the supernatural power of the Word of God, will gift you faith and belief."<br /><br />so, if a person in a remote himalayan village in nepal, who doesn't even know how to write their own name, has no tv, probably no radio, and it's 2 days hike to the nearest road where cars and trucks drive, and they have to work hard every day to even survive, but if they stop resisting god, then they'll naturally come up with a belief in jesus, and salvation via faith not works?sglnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-5916290577691533012014-05-01T17:17:14.507-04:002014-05-01T17:17:14.507-04:00Gary,
In the Parable of the Talents, two of the s...Gary,<br /><br />In the Parable of the Talents, two of the servants use what their master has given them to the best of their abilities. The other one hides it in the ground unused out of fear of his master. If there is a God--and I remain agnostic on the question--he gave me the capacity to reason about the world in which he has placed me. If God did not wish me to use the gift it to the best of my ability, than he is an arbitrary and capricious God who is unworthy of worship. I've tried believing in Jesus as honestly as I knew how and I'm trying now to be as honest as I can in my unbelief. VinnyJH57https://www.blogger.com/profile/17954441753543764706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-21126931728044660772014-05-01T16:53:14.662-04:002014-05-01T16:53:14.662-04:00Won't God know I'm just going through the ...Won't God know I'm just going through the motions? Are you familiar with Pascal's wager? That's what you're suggesting here. <br /><br />What do I have to lose? That depends on what you mean by being obedient. You think that what you've proffered above is all there is to being obedient?<br /><br />There is a cost to being obedient. Didn't Jesus say to count it up? I don't think it's just as cut and dried as giving a mental ascent to a belief as what you're offering up here. <br /><br />Am I suggesting the price is too high? Only if it isn't true, then I've wasted my one life here following the tenets of a false faith. You're very own favorite eye witness said that if there is no resurrection then faith is in vain and it's a waste. Ruthhttp://gulliblestravelsdma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-84417035529572559452014-05-01T16:41:57.890-04:002014-05-01T16:41:57.890-04:00Do I believe that you, Ruth, Zoe, Dagood, Vinny, a...Do I believe that you, Ruth, Zoe, Dagood, Vinny, and others ex-Christians on this site are going to hell if they don't "repent and believe".<br /><br />I don't know. I would never pass such a judgment. As Luther says, maybe God gives everyone another chance after they die.<br /><br />What I will say is that I believe that Jesus Christ is God and that he is the only way to eternal life. I would also say, IF ASKED, that God's Word says that there is a place of torment for those who resist God. <br /><br />I would then ask: What does it cost you to believe? You get baptized, you go to mass, you partake of the Sacrament, you are kind to ALL your neighbors (yes, that is the TRUE Christian teaching), and you follow the Ten Commandments.<br /><br />For all that you get in return eternal happiness in heaven. <br /><br />What do you have to lose?Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-36272266126467351642014-05-01T16:35:12.196-04:002014-05-01T16:35:12.196-04:00Very good question.
I believe that it is impossib...Very good question.<br /><br />I believe that it is impossible for a non-believer to choose to believe. But I believe that it IS possible for a nonbeliever to harden his heart against God, the existence of whom is "etched" into every human's heart (one of our many innate instincts). <br /><br />So, I would say: Don't RESIST believing. By faith alone, I believe that if one stops resisting, the supernatural power of the Word of God, will gift you faith and belief.<br /><br />Can I prove that with "evidence"? No. It is a matter of faith in the Supernatural.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519721717265344702noreply@blogger.com