Attention Everyone

[Lapidem]

I think in the interfaith discussion, Christians or nonChristians can post threads/contribute.

Sure. But do you think it would be sensible to "double up" all the threads so that they appear both in the Christian Debate section and also the Interfaith section? Seems inefficient from a housekeeping perspective.

If Free Will vs Determinism a topic confined to Christianity? Does it apply to other religions or ideas?

 

[Mayflower]

And believers believe differently than other believers strangely enough. The journey of exploring each other's experiences and view points is the fertile ground in which new seeds are grown and come to produce much fruit.




You would be extremely surprised how "deep" you could go in terms of understanding the Bible if you put aside fears of discussing such matters with non-Christians. Faith has no real meaning if it can only exist in a protected comfy bubble. It's like saying you're a strong gladiator but never stepping into an arena to actually put that strength to the test.

James 1:3

"For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. "

Proverbs 1:5

"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance"




Where do you think Jesus would be if he came again as a man? Do you think he would be spending his time on a forum bubble hanging out with the Christians nicely cocooned with like-minded people? Nope. He would be out talking to the non-believers without fear. For his faith is surely strong and true and willing and able to be challenged and tested.

There are threads in the Christian Debate section about Free Will vs Determinism, and other interesting topics. Do you really think that only the Christian perspective of this is valuable? Do you think the views of a Buddhist or Muslim or Hindu would have any value?

I have to live more out of the bubble then in it every single day. But you are right. There are plenty of disagreements among just Christians to sort through. I personally am keeping out of debate for awhile, because it can be confusing. God is not the author of confusion.

But I like a Christian forum with sections where ones of different faiths are welcome, and we do have that. Start the discussions here. It is what General discussions are for. I am not afraid. But you can tell a lot of the time who has just head knowledge and who has spirit/heart knowledge. Big difference.

 

[Mayflower]

Sure. But do you think it would be sensible to "double up" all the threads so that they appear both in the Christian Debate section and also the Interfaith section? Seems inefficient from a housekeeping perspective.

If Free Will vs Determinism a topic confined to Christianity? Does it apply to other religions or ideas?

Why not. Repetition causes revelation

 

[Mayflower]

Anyhow, welcome to CB @Lapidem . It is nice to meet you.

 

[Rudometkin]

What is the name of this website, again?

My experience of for example churches is that despite being called different things, they nevertheless invite non-Christians in and are more than happy to debate any topic with Christian and non-Christians alike.

Do you believe for example that because you call yourself a Christian, you have unquestionable authority on matters pertaining to the Bible?

Or could perhaps people who don't refer to themselves as Christian have a great deal of knowledge about the Bible and what it means?

Do you think non-Christians would have nothing useful to contribute on the topic of prayer? or suffering? or evolution?

What are you afraid of?

That is not the name of this website.

It is Christianityboard.

It is inherently geared towards Christians, though non-christians are welcome. If you have an issue with the way this forum is operated, I suggest contacting a staff member privately to voice your concerns. I think we have a great staff here.

 

[2nd Timothy Group]

Anyhow, welcome to CB @Lapidem . It is nice to meet you.

Absolutely! We are happy to have you here, Lapidem. Always welcome (in my book/world).

 

[Mayflower]

One more thing though...for a Christian, the seed is the Word of God, and the ground are the hearts of men. The good ground is those who hear the Word of God. (Luke 8:5-15) This is the only fruit worth growing.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned."
John 15:5‭-‬6 NASB1995

If you desire the deeper revelation of God's Word, that comes with coming to know Jesus Christ and recognizing Your need for a Savior. Then you can bear fruit in abundance. God bless you.

 

[Lapidem]

Absolutely! We are happy to have you here, Lapidem. Always welcome (in my book/world).

But not happy for such as me to contribute to threads in most of the forum sections, many of which aren't actually specific to Christianity (like Free will vs Determinism), OT God vs NT God and so on.

 

[Rudometkin]

But not happy for such as me to contribute to threads in most of the forum sections, many of which aren't actually specific to Christianity (like Free will vs Determinism), OT God vs NT God and so on.

Our admin Angelina said that non-Christians may post whatever they desire here as long as they adhere to forum rules of engagement.

This forum section is specifically for non Christians to discuss whatever they so desire but they must also remember that there are rules of engagement that need to be adhered to.

Why don't you start a Free will vs Determinism thread here? You actually have power over us Christians to rightfully post topics that we can't in this forum.

 

[Lapidem]

One more thing though...for a Christian, the seed is the Word of God, and the ground are the hearts of men. The good ground is those who hear the Word of God. (Luke 8:5-15) This is the only fruit worth growing.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned."
John 15:5‭-‬6 NASB1995

If you desire the deeper revelation of God's Word, that comes with coming to know Jesus Christ and recognizing Your need for a Savior. Then you can bear fruit in abundance. God bless you.

Actually I don't subscribe to your interpretation of such verses and accordingly believe you are missing the true messages that Jesus himself spoke of. When he said "for those who have ears to hear" or "eyes to see" it is invariably a clear warning that the words or stories or parables that follow are concealing a key message or secret which is not written literally. The parable of the seed for example, or the corn of wheat, is highlighting a specific principle that is rooted in science, a key principle of Nature which in itself is a key principle needed to be able to arrive at a greater truth, a greater secret. The understanding and interpretation of the text is paramount, and it is very seldom a literal one.

Such things will not become apparent to us if we limit our discussion to only people of like-minded beliefs and interpretations.

 

[2nd Timothy Group]

But not happy for such as me to contribute to threads in most of the forum sections, many of which aren't actually specific to Christianity (like Free will vs Determinism), OT God vs NT God and so on.

Nah . . . you're welcome to say whatever you like!

No True Christian will ever try to control you; rather, we will be willing to listen to you. We always listen to courteous people.

 

[Lapidem]

Why don't you start a Free will vs Determinism thread here? You actually have power over us Christians to rightfully post topics that we can't in this forum.

Because open debate is pointless and false if it seeks to censor out the view point of certain people or groups or demographics. It's cowardly.

Perhaps the greater problem here is that threads are being created which span topics which affect all humans and as such should not really reside in a Christians Only section of the forum. Does it really benefit the forum to start multiple versions of the same threads? It would make the reading tedious for those people wanting a broader perspective and thus who would have to track the posts in multiple threads. Any way you cut it it's silly.

I see another thread asking about whether the OT God is or is not the same god as the NT God.

Why would you not want an atheists perspective of such an issue? or a Buddhists? or anyone else's? The notion is just crazy.

One does not need to be a Christian to see the outright contradictions of the OT and NT.

 

[Lapidem]

Nah . . . you're welcome to say whatever you like!

No True Christian will ever try to control you; rather, we will be willing to listen to you. We always listen to courteous people.

Then enable my profile to be able to post and respond in the other forum sections. If not, you're really not willing to listen. You're simply creating and maintaining an echo chamber of a limited number of people who all share the same or similar viewpoints. That's not debate. It's not research, nor the search for truth, nor open discussion.

 

[Mayflower]

Actually I don't subscribe to your interpretation of such verses and accordingly believe you are missing the true messages that Jesus himself spoke of. When he said "for those who have ears to hear" or "eyes to see" it is invariably a clear warning that the words or stories or parables that follow are concealing a key message or secret which is not written literally. The parable of the seed for example, or the corn of wheat, is highlighting a specific principle that is rooted in science, a key principle of Nature which in itself is a key principle needed to be able to arrive at a greater truth, a greater secret. The understanding and interpretation of the text is paramount, and it is very seldom a literal one.

Such things will not become apparent to us if we limit our discussion to only people of like-minded beliefs and interpretations.

Jesus lays it out what it means.

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Luke 8:11‭-‬15 NIV

 

[Rudometkin]

Because open debate is pointless and false if it seeks to censor out the view point of certain people or groups or demographics. It's cowardly.

Perhaps the greater problem here is that threads are being created which span topics which affect all humans and as such should not really reside in a Christians Only section of the forum. Does it really benefit the forum to start multiple versions of the same threads? It would make the reading tedious for those people wanting a broader perspective and thus who would have to track the posts in multiple threads. Any way you cut it it's silly.

I see another thread asking about whether the OT God is or is not the same god as the NT God.

Why would you not want an atheists perspective of such an issue? or a Buddhists? or anyone else's? The notion is just crazy.

One does not need to be a Christian to see the outright contradictions of the OT and NT.

We have categories solely for Christians to keep posts like this from flooding them.

Christian: "Hey, why don't you post an open debate thread in an area where everyone is welcome? That's quite an idea!"

Non-Christian: "Because open debate is pointless and false if it seeks to censor out the view point of certain people or groups or demographics!"

Christian: "Okay, but I pointed out that this is a place which doesn't censor out the viewpoint of certain people!"

 

[Mayflower]

If anything you need to come to understand about the Word of God, it is not about debate, or service, or whatever. It is the Gospel, and the fruit from believing the Gospel.


"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,"
1 Corinthians 15:3‭-‬4 NIV

If you can come to believe this, and that He did this because of your need for a Savior, you are going to gain a lot more out of that then any debate on this site. It will do you no good if you are going to Hell for your sins.

 

[2nd Timothy Group]

Then enable my profile to be able to post and respond in the other forum sections. If not, you're really not willing to listen. You're simply creating and maintaining an echo chamber of a limited number of people who all share the same or similar viewpoints. That's not debate. It's not research, nor the search for truth, nor open discussion.

Ahhh . . . well, I have no control over those things. You'd have to speak with someone greater than myself. Sorry. I have no idea of who that would be.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Angelina did suggest we could start threads in the Fellowship Forum. I think it's the General Discussion Forum for us Christians.

That's what was confusing for me. There is no designated "General Discussion Forum" for Christians. What if it isn't "fellowship" related? That's what is confusing.

 

[Rudometkin]

That's what was confusing for me. There is no designated "General Discussion Forum" for Christians. What if it isn't "fellowship" related? That's what is confusing.

I always viewed it as a virtual campfire. We can go hang out with eachother and talk about anything. Sort of like, as long as we are fellows in Christ, we are welcome to discuss in the Fellowship Forum.

 

[Lapidem]

If anything you need to come to understand about the Word of God, it is not about debate, or service, or whatever. It is the Gospel, and the fruit from believing the Gospel.

Thanks but I believe I do understand it. By grace my eyes have been opened to the true allegorical meanings hidden within the texts, stories and parables. I have "ears to hear and eyes to see". Hence I understand the secret referred to in the parable of the corn of wheat, hence I understand what Genesis is really talking about, hence I understand what the story of the Great Flood was about and so on. It's not literal. Your evangelical quips, whilst I am sure are well meant, are wasted because they stem from a literal interpretation of the texts. While ever you take the Bible literally, you do not have the "ears to hear" or the "eyes to see". I hope therefore that the true meanings will be revealed to you in the fullness of time.