AnOrangeCat

I agree with this. We have a few lines of defense, and understanding of the Bible is one of them, as are the Holy Spirit and whatever measure of discernment God has gifted us with. This is also why we're told to assemble together. A majority can certainly be mistaken, but when we're still feeling doubt after our other lines of defense are taken into account a general consensus from other mature, spiritually grounded believers can generally help point us in the right direction.

I can relate to this. I tend to thank God out loud as it seems relevant and find myself asking for guidance on things like where I put something.

The body of Christ analogy Paul made is really one of my favorites in all the Bible. Not only does it elegantly illustrate the varied roles we can have within the church, it also illustrates how we should relate to each other and Christ. It was some really inspired and insightful explaining, and we'd all do well to think of it before responding to a fellow believer in anger or offense.

Pretty much this, though I'm not in any rush to lump the holidays all into the evil bucket. Whatever they started off as is more of a historical note these days.

This pretty much sums up my feelings on it. I think that in most cases we need to just accept with the faith of a child the notion that God intended for us to have the Bible as most of the world has it today. If we question that then it leads to disputes over what is and isn't canon and brings enormous potential for divisiveness and cherry picking what people want to believe. While I do think there can be merit in sometimes discussing canon I'm generally not in favor of doing it in a public venue. It needs to be done between mature, spiritually grounded believers and ideally in private. The Bible carries warnings about causing others to stumble and states that those who teach are judged more strictly. There's enormous stumble potential inherent to taking the position that our body of scripture is somehow wrong or incomplete. Even if those of us participating in the thread all fit the mature and spiritually grounded qualifiers our words remain here and somewhere down the line may well be read by those who aren't.

These things are generally going to be case by case. The blend of temperaments, background, and reasons vary so much from person to person that there's not really a one size fits all answer to it. There's a few things I like to keep in mind, though. 1: We're almost always building on work someone else has done. Other people will probably build on what we've done. This should help us be patient and curb frustrations if they arise. 2: God gives us what we need, and that includes inspiration on what words to say and what approach to take. 3: I find that actions tend to speak the loudest and get the most scrutiny. 4: We're just messengers. Whatever we say and do the Holy Spirit brings the conviction down on God's timing.

I see this as less a matter of the Bible referencing them specifically so much as things that precede various prophetic events. Normal trends are included in that as there are varying levels of corruption, greed, and sin present in world governments. That also feeds into setting the stage for what's laid out in Revelation.

I dated a loooong time ago when I was an idiot teenager. Didn't last. She was into drugs, too. Later on in life she ended up with a criminal record and didn't age very well at all. The break up hurt a lot at the time but looking back on it with what I know now I feel like getting out of it was like dodging a bullet. That out of the way I'll say, at risk of taking heat for it, that I think there's room for debate regarding the verse you mentioned. If you want my reasoning I can share, but I still don't recommend the entanglement of a romantic relationship. Relationships are one of the hardest things to stay clear headed and objective about, and the desires of the flesh find a certain usually false alignment with the desire to please God. Everyone who's ever been in this situation wants to get the relationship and bring the target of their affections to God. It's like a fairy tale ending, isn't it? It's just that it quite often doesn't work out that way, and the usual results tend to be compromise and hurt in whatever measure. The party environment presents an additional concern in this case because it's a venue that often facilitates sin.

I would argue that in these cases it's not that they're unable so much as unwilling. With the entirety of the UN there's certainly sufficient economic and military strength to enforce their decisions. But very rarely does it choose to do so unless there's some sort of self interest involved with one of its major members. Even within the past few years we've seen it in another arena with certain members of the EU being very pro-Russia. It just goes to show what a corrupt joke world governments are. I think so, too. People have been saying soon since the time of the apostles so all we can say is that it's closer than the day it was before, but given how rapidly things seem to be escalating and various looming issues set to occur within the next few decades it's hard to imagine things persisting much further than the next few generations, if even that. Personally I find it a big relief as I've hit the age where the world has started to lose its shine and seems like more like dystopian fiction than a functional society.

This is very true. Going through the NT we see Paul confronting on multiple occasions, and he didn't mince words when he did it. Neither did Jesus when speaking on hypocrites and those who were abusing religious authority for attention, status, and material benefit. Even as someone who typically favors diplomatic and gentle approaches I feel like there's a strong case that confronting is acceptable and at times even necessary. It's not inherently bad at all, though as you pointed out people tend to not receive it well.

I appreciate your post a lot. With things Jesus said like the parable of the talents and that if we love Him we'll keep His commandments, the famous "faith without works is dead", and other statements made in the NT I've often had the impression that many on the modern age have erred on the side of "all you need is to believe". What I get from reading the Bible is that believing is the first step, and from there God wants us to grow and be productive. The lack of genuine dedication is the sort of thing that leads to Christianity becoming easily hijacked by false teachers and those with ulterior motives. The way I see it, keeping His commandments meshes with showing our faith by our works. It amounts to evidence of our love for Him. Consequently we should work to build up that evidence so as to not end up in the "Lord, Lord" crowd that Jesus denies ever knowing.

My feeling is that these two typically aren't mutually exclusive. There's a definite priority, though. If you look at James there's the oft-cited statement that faith without works is dead. Less often quoted is the accompanying text: "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" My read of that is you deal with the problem in love and through that you point the target to Christ.

This is a really interesting question, and one that I've thought about before. I don't want to go too deep into it so as to not risk derailing the thread, but I think viruses are worth some consideration here. Obviously they can make us very sick, but they can also rewrite small portions of our DNA. In this I see a good example of how creation has fallen. We can only speculate as to the original intent of this interaction, but post-fall it's been pretty destructive.

Amen. I had this thought as well as I was catching up on the thread. Our own imperfect understanding of certain concepts is a very good reason as to why these debates, especially the ones involving more speculative or hotly contested elements of scripture, call for a humble approach.

This is a bit of a tangent, but I agree with you in that people have difficulty accepting what's different from what they were taught. I grew up in a house that was strongly of pretrib rapture and eternal conscious torment persuasion. When I found out there were other prominent beliefs on those and other matters it was really shocking to me. It can definitely put people in an uncomfortable place. Consequently I tend to not push too hard when it comes to things Paul might call "debatable matters" as in Romans 14. Otherwise it gets too divisive over the little things. Certain beliefs becoming so deeply ingrained in people is a double edged sword. It can keep people on solid ground with the essentials as much as it divides on other matters.

I've often found discernment to be a protective quality as well. Plenty of times I've been steered away from people or situations, and after a while it felt like dodging a bullet.

Quite a bit of Jewish food is quite tasty, too. The OT restrictions on what to eat and what not to eat and how to prepare aren't just for decoration, either. It's generally got an eye on keeping it healthy. I think what you've mentioned here meshes with two specific things in the Bible. The first and most obvious is something Jesus said during the Last Supper. He instructed the disciples to do this in remembrance of Him. When our thoughts are on Him I find that it imposes a certain hurdle that needs to be crossed to to perform deliberate sin. Thus it's a good thing to have reminders of Him and His presence in our lives. The second is Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Things of that nature also turn our thoughts toward God. I've often thought it's a good measuring stick for secular entertainment and activities, but it can certainly be applied to other areas like special days.

You're correct in this. In Romans 14 in general acknowledges that there are and would be differences in customs and observances between believers and tells us not to quarrel over them and other "debatable matters". Verses 5-6 specifically address the matter of regarding specific days more highly than others.

I agree, and I feel similarly about depression. Our emotions are generally meant to promote action of some sort. Being in a fallen world means things are skewed toward sinful outcomes, but I feel like the original intent is still very much present and that they can still be useful indicators.

I largely agree with Tatwo about it. There's an agenda in play, and a rather destructive one at that. Outside of this particular context tariffs aren't inherently good or bad. There's a number of potential effects they can have, but none of them are guaranteed. Various social factors such as how they're deployed and to what extent matter, as do the temperaments of world leaders and current geopolitics. The reactions and new alliances that can form for that make for an unpredictable element. It may bring people to the negotiation table, it may make them look elsewhere.

I probably differ from others in here in that I see it not being a matter of can't so much as won't. In the Bible a number of emotions are attributed to God, and while the experience may or may not line up perfectly with how we experience them, it's close enough for there to be a point of comparison. It's often in these emotional moments (such as having regretted making humans on account of their evil prior to the flood and the many times Israel has been punished but never utterly wiped out) where we see that God has a certain set of principles and values them enough that's a code of conduct He unfailingly abides by. He's chosen not to do certain things, and He keeps His promises on that.

So... I am not personally pre-trib. I was raised that way, though. My grandmother was quite into it, and over the course of my teenage years and early 20s I read and watched a lot of material on the topic. The churches in my area were also generally pre-trib. My stance these days is that the exact timing of the rapture is a mystery, and there's enough of a case to be made for the different major positions that I can't really outright dismiss any of them. So with that out of the way... 1: I believe there's a certain culture built up around the end times, and that it may well be predominantly occupied by pre-trib rapture believers. I genuinely believe that some of the early big names in students of Bible prophecy meant well and genuinely only wanted to spread awareness, but at some point (IMO) tares got mixed in with the wheat. During the time I spent with my grandmother I noticed no small number of prosperity gospel teachers embracing the idea of the pre-trib rapture and using it for profit, giving the idea more popularity. That said there can certainly still be good intentions involved, like leaving the material behind as a post-rapture witness. 2: I believe the reasons this happens is multifaceted. Finding a one size fits all explanation is probably impossible because people are diverse, and therefore so are their motives and what they find interesting. As for whether or not it's edifying it could be within certain contexts. I've come to see most genuine discussions about the end times and their relationship to current events (not pre-trib specifically, just prophecy and end times in general) to be a good form of fellowship with certain others here who also enjoy the topic. I'd imagine that those who dwell on what disasters could happen could feel a similar sense of solidarity when they go over the chaos and consequences that however many Christians spontaneously vanishing would cause in the world. It could very well serve as a reminder to be ready and a motivator to witness to the lost, especially those amongst their inner circle.

Thanks for posting this. It was an interesting read. I personally don't see any particular musical style as inherently evil, though in certain genres and subgenres the subcultures attached to them may gravitate that way. As long as it's genuinely glorifying God I don't have a problem with it. It can be a form of witnessing both for the musicians and the people who share the music with others.

I quite like this. I've sometimes done the seemingly inappropriate time thing but hadn't considered praying without ceasing. Makes me feel a little better about it looking at it from that angle. Regarding captivity I've found deliberately praying for people I don't like to be a form of that, as well as a form of submission to forgive our enemies. I certainly don't feel it, but similar to you I've found that it does create an important awareness. I view prayer as communication, so throughout the course of the day I find myself thanking God for various things. This also goes toward creating an awareness of how we've been blessed. I grew up in an environment that taught setting aside a chunk of time daily for prayer. I've come to prefer short but frequent bursts as things in my day bring my heart and mind to God. Both are valid approaches IMO, the latter just works better for me.

Glad to have you. I've definitely found it to be a favorite as well.