Walt1093

I thought this might be fun. Name the top 3 books, other than the Bible, that influence you as a Christian. Here are mine. 1. "My Religion: What I Believe" by Leo Tolstoy. (This book really slapped me in the face for having the audacity to claim Christ as my Savior, and yet deny His teachings by my lifestyle. Tolstoy cleared up dozens of "contradictions" in the Gospel for me, and really got to the heart of Christ's message, which is love. This book was pivotal for me in a time of spiritual confusion.) 2. "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo. (The story of the saintly convict, Jean Valjean, was probably one of the first things that pointed me to Christ while in college. At the time I was searching for a meaning to life, and this book answered ALL of my questions for me. It was after a while of pondering Hugo's message that I realized something: everything that I loved about the story of Les Miz was preached by Christ while He was on earth. Helping the helpless, turning the other cheek, giving one's cloak, loving one's enemies, and forgiveness. To this day, I consider this the greatest work of Christian-themed fiction ever published.) 3. "The Visitation" by Frank Peretti. (I consider this novel to be a masterpiece. Peretti takes a satirical, hilarious look at the church of today, which is about as personal and warm as a guillotine. The basic storyline is about a man, claiming to be Jesus in the flesh, who appears in a town full of small churches. The people go running after him like a herd of lemmings, refusing to listen to reason. All this is observed by a cynical former pastor with a deadpan sense of humor. I suppose that I identified with the guy, and it really helped me feel like someone was out there who understood me and felt the same as I did about churches these days.) Post your lists below

"But I say to you, do not resist an evil man." - Matthew 5:39 "Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you, and do good to those who spitefully use you"- Matthew 5:44 It would be very difficult indeed to love your enemy while suing him, and impossible not to resist him while suing him. Revenge and retaliation are contradictory to everything that a Christian should be, therefore, I would not advise it.

Thank you, your post was really informative. I didn't know that Quakers did not believe in a specific creed or doctrine. My mom always thought that they were the hard-core pacifists, but I suppose that would be a stereotype.

They profess the sermon on the mount, but they place little importance on it. To make things worse, they try to "intellectually interpret" Christ's commands until they have little, if any, significance for a Christian at all. I've been to churches of different denominations, and it seems that they all have the same disease. Even if they DO accept the Gospel in it's pure form, they do not encourage practicing it. I am desperate to be around people that believe like I do; that when Jesus said "Whoever takes your shirt, give him your cloak also", He meant every word of it. What do you believe Walt? Ha, this post made me smile. If you are asking whether I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died for my sins and rose from the grave, that he gave us commands that we are perfectly capable of fulfilling, and that he is coming to take us home when the rapture comes, then the answer is yes. However, I suppose that I was being unclear when I said "believe like I do." To put it more coherently, I do not feel comfortable in the churches I have visited because of the culture that I find there. To put it simply, there is a contradiction between what Christians profess to believe and what they show by their lives. There is a disturbing eagerness to condemn, to attack, to name-call, to exact revenge on one another. These things are entirely contrary to what Christ taught us on the sermon on the mount, and when I try to say something about it, they go into "theologian" mode and start making countless excuses for their behavior, interpreting God's word in the way that best suits them. And no, I am not new to the faith. Raised by a Pentecostal evangelist and grew up in church. This concern stems from a spiritual journey that I have undergone ever since my decision to take my faith in Christ seriously, and it has led me to this crossroads. But this thread isn't about my personal testimony, I was merely asking if Worthy Christian forums had a quaker who could tell me something about their faith.

They profess the sermon on the mount, but they place little importance on it. To make things worse, they try to "intellectually interpret" Christ's commands until they have little, if any, significance for a Christian at all. I've been to churches of different denominations, and it seems that they all have the same disease. Even if they DO accept the Gospel in it's pure form, they do not encourage practicing it. I am desperate to be around people that believe like I do; that when Jesus said "Whoever takes your shirt, give him your cloak also", He meant every word of it.

Recently I read Leo Tolstoy's "What I Believe", and found myself agreeing emphatically with the things he said in it, particularly about putting the sermon on the mount into practice in your life. (A few things I STRONGLY disagree with, such as his rejection of the divinity of Christ and denial of heaven's existence). But after reading this book, I feel very lonely, because no one in my life or church believes like I do. This has made me suspicious that I might be a quaker. If any of you on here are members of this branch of Christianity, please post and tell me what you guys are all about. (And hopefully, how I can meet some other quakers in person.)

That's what I've heard my entire life, but I disagree. As Jesus said "Not all who say to me 'Lord' 'Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven." In that same parable, it is clearly shown that refusal to apply the Gospel to your life will hinder your salvation, regardless whether you believe in the divinity of Christ.

Thank you so much for your prayers, because they've worked. God has brought a peace and astonishing revelation to my mind that resolves all of the emotional torment that has plagued me for the past months. I can't express how happy I am right now. Since you guys probably feel in the dark, I'll give you a few more details. Not to be too specific, there is something wrong with the doctrine that I've heard preached my entire life, and it's the rejection of it that's been really tough on me. By departing from it, I've wondered if God had blinded my eyes or given me up to a reprobate mind, and you can imagine how horrifying such a state of mind is. It got to the point where I felt like my entire existence was a terrible nightmare that I was trapped in forever. (This gave me the suspicion that satan was at work.) I'm terribly introverted, and I guess that's what has prevented me from seeking help through prayer intercession. I will be forever indebted to all of you who took the time to pray for me. Thank you and may God bless you in all that you do! (I feel like ebenezer scrooge after he woke up on Christmas).

I appreciate it.

I have been struggling with my faith for the past months. After coming across several scriptures in the Bible, I wonder if not only me, but 99.9% of people who serve God are actually blinded and condemned, and have no hope of ever receiving salvation. I've come across so many unforgivable sins stated in the Bible that I wonder if even posting this thread condemns me. Please pray that if this is an attack of the enemy, that God will rescue me out of it. By the way, has anyone else experienced this problem? I would appreciate some advice.

Jesus Christ preached repentance, not self-righteousness. He placed no limits on how many times a person can surrender themselves to God and be saved.

Jesus said that the servant who does not know his master's will will be beaten with fewer stripes than the one who does. I've seen several other passages in scripture that suggest this, and I think that your point has some merit. Do a study on it.

Focus your attention on the light that is inside you. This is what I have done, and it helps a lot.

I agree with the Arminian position. Why? Because pre-destination nullifies repentance, something that both Christ AND Peter preached. "There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 persons who need no repentance." -Luke 15:17 Why would there be joy in heaven over something that had no chance of being otherwise? I can assure you, there wouldn't be. That would be comparable to a person becoming ecstatic over the fact that 2+2=4. But this doesn't stop here. Apostle Paul places the act of repentance into the hands of the sinner as well, when he made his famous statement: "I have become all things to all men, so that I might by all means save some"- 1 Corinthians 9:19 How could Paul save anyone by his efforts, if they were pre-destined to be saved beforehand? His statement indicates, by using the term "save", that there is a possibility of reaching hell or heaven for every person born. It is not a pre-determined fate. The major attraction to determinism for Christians is that it makes God sound more powerful, and us sound more weak. It makes it easy for us to give Him the credit for our decision to serve Him, making him sound yet even more powerful. But this is not the case in reality. In the Old testament, God frequently boasted about His servant Abraham, giving the credit to this man for obeying him, rather than taking the credit for himself. “Because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions”-(Genesis 26:5). You notice here that God did not say, "Because I made Abraham obey me", he said rather: "Because Abraham OBEYED me." This passage shows that Abraham's actions and choices were his own, and not God's, thus the reason why God honored him. And what about that verse in 2nd Peter? "He is willing that none should perish, but that all should have everlasting life." Really, if I were wanting to debate this, I could go on forever with a personal Bible study that I conducted on free will. But I'm not looking for a debate, so I'm simply giving my personal reasons for believing in the Arminian position. I believe that ALL who hear Jesus's words and put them into practice are heaven-bound, no matter which side of theological debates they are on.