There you go again, pushing your manmade doctrines on how many angels dance on the head of a pin! LOL
I believe you are the only one mentioning such nonsense, which is designed to lump us in with the fanatics...
What is this fixation with angels dancing on the head of a pin? You are the only one mentioning it.
You obviously consider yourself a 1st class Christian.
No, I consider myself an obedient Christian who simply follows what Jesus taught and tries their best to study God’s word at a level most people think is beyond them, because Christendom demands a degree in theology if one is to be a teacher. I have been a teacher for over 50 years and if I don’t know my subject matter by now, then there is no excuse for not having answers to the difficult questions.
As far as a knowledge of Scripture is concerned...you appear to be clueless so I don’t know why you bother to quote them with no understanding of context...
Unlike you, I’m only a 2nd class Christian who doesn’t even know what criteria should be used in selecting what church one should go to.
I really don’t understand your strange responses.....the criteria that defines a Christian is clearly stated in God’s word.
If you don’t know what is required, perhaps a Bible study is in order...?
One of the main criteria is to “know the only true God AND the one he sent” (John 17:3) Before I studied the Bible, I knew
about God and his Son....but I didn’t really know them on a personal level.
You’re so unloving and anti-Biblical, you cannot even think in terms of being someone’s friend. You’re so ridiculous.
Wrangler, what on earth are you talking about?......you don’t know me well enough to make personal assertions about me. Ask my neighbors and my spiritual family if what you say is true....
My dearest friend is a former neighbor whom I view as a fleshly sister.....my friends are those with whom I feel comfortable in their company......you have no idea who I am....but I am getting a glimpse of you and it appears to be getting a little unhinged....
Being someone's friend means giving them something to drink when they are thirsty, food when they are hungry, clothes when they are naked - and more. Doing this with "love" means doing this with friendship, doing it with compassion and seeing the facts of life experience in light most favorable to them.
Exactly.....but who is a friend? Is that the same as one’s neighbor?
Loving our enemies means not hating them enough to do them harm....even if they do harm to us. I doubt you can understand that position. But Jesus demonstrated it by allowing his enemies to put him to death in the most heinous fashion, without once retaliating or calling down evil on them....which he could have, if he lost the plot like you appear to be doing....he never put his emotions before his obedience to his Father.
We are not to “return evil for evil”....(Rom 12:17-21)....it puts you on their level, and leaves God completely out of the picture. Vengeance belongs to him....not us.
Christianity is NOT primarily a set of principles and theological doctrines arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin; it's primarily about relationships, having the orientation that you are everyone's friend. If friend is not included in "loving" people - even your "enemies" - then you don't know love OR Christ, who on his last night elevated his disciples to his friend. John 15:15
15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
Again with the “angels dancing on the head of a pin”....what the heck? Do you fixate on things all the time or is this something new for you?
We can be Jesus’ friends if we obey him....but not if we try to alter his criteria as to what being a “Christian” means, to suit ourselves. How does Jesus feel about us, as he is our judge, not anyone else....?
Many are going to be left scrambling for lame excuses when that judgment comes. (Matt 7:21-23) They won’t be accepted.
God called Abraham his friend. Isaiah 41:8.
Do you know why? Because Abraham did exactly as he was told to do.....despite the fact that the requests were extremely hard for him.....uprooting from his comfortable life in Ur and becoming a nomad, living in tents.....being asked to sacrifice his precious son......things you seem to find difficult to understand if those same kinds of requests are asked of us. Christianity is the difficult path, remember? (Matt 7:13-14)
A “friend” is not always a “neighbor”.....the relationship is different. You don’t keep close company with people whose speech and conduct offends you, or more importantly, offends God. You love these people enough to want to give them a hope for something better to come...and an opportunity to become the kind of person God wants as a citizen of his Kingdom....but you wouldn’t want to keep company with them as friends if they showed no interest in changing their attitudes or conduct.
1 Cor 15:33....replying to those who had doubts about what Christ taught, Paul said....
“Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” (NLT)
My spiritual brothers and sisters are my chosen company....why would I seek friendships with the world and its supporters? (James 4:4)
I'm proud to call God and Jesus my friends. That is, they are my friend and I am their friend. It works both ways. I do things for them BECAUSE of this relationship, not some esoteric theology!
Yes, it does work both ways....are God and Jesus proud to call you
their friend, since your political ideologies are clearly in breach of Christ’s teachings....you are “part of the world” (satan’s world) if you support the ones whom satan is using right now to cause major problems for everyone....there has to be a catalyst for the great tribulation, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Fear is again sweeping the world...why? And who is responsible behind the scenes in his world, creating the chaos? Can you not see the bigger picture? World leaders are merely his puppets.
My neighbor gave me the biggest compliment, that he observed that I am everyone's friend. As I said, can't get too much more Christian than that! If you don't get that, you're lost, just a noisy gong! 1 Cor 13.
Goof grief! You think being “everyone’s friend” is the definition of a Christian? I know good humanitarians who can boast about that.....and they are atheists. Your criteria is sadly lacking if that is what you think being a Christian means.....
If you can say....”
I’m a Christian who foolishly stays at a church that rubs me the wrong way all the time butting stay to avoid someone using quotes.”
Does that mean that your church friendships are feigned....you are free and loose with your criticism of many here, but you refrain from telling your own pastor or church members how you really feel about them? Do you just pretend to like them so that they will like you back? Are you merely tolerating them?
What is your fear of “quotes”?
The world “rubs me up the wrong” way and so I stay away from it as best I can.....but our spiritual family are not any more perfect than we are, so we are not at liberty to change churches just because we like the pastor or his teachings or the people better...
”love among yourselves” is the identifying mark. (John 13:34-35) Love is more than tolerance....it is a covering that does not let bad feelings destroy unity. Genuine love and fellow feeling prevents us from disliking them...(1 Peter 4:7-8)
.....and yes, I used quotes....I do it all the time.
