Rodion_Raskolnikov_

Not all of us serve demons, or will serve demons. Some of us might, true. You're right to say that a large number of people will be willfully blind. You also mentioned some kind of global "conspiracy" that involves all (or most) Nations. 'Sounds an awful lot like a world domination agenda.

Hmmm...OldSchool. To a liberation theologian their perspective is a kind of "Orthodoxy". They're the same as any other belief (in principle), but they can't see that or they refuse to admit it...

Orthodox theology? Yeah, you're right. I mentioned that except I didn't use the word "Orthodox".

So, you're saying that liberation theology is an attempt at world domination...I can see that. That makes perfect sense, in fact.

Don't get me wrong... I know that Christ liberates us from our sins but He does so when we kneel before Him in all humility and accept God's law as absolute. God's *law*. Not my law, not yours: God's. His Will is absolute and not relative, in any way.

Nice link. Thank you for sharing OldSchool. Liberation theology...huh. Bad choice for a name. It begs the question: liberation from what? If they want a liberation from some form of objective morality, they must admit there already IS an objective morality that they want to be liberated from. If there is no objective morality then there is nothing for them to be liberated from, in the first place. If they want liberation from others' perspective of morality, they must admit that they have an objective morality (apart from others) and they're making the claim that their "flavor" of morality is absolutely correct. In that case other faiths will need "liberation" from their morality if they ever manage to be successful in their pursuits of indoctrination. In that case they're the ones that people will want to be liberated from. "Liberation" theology. Now, that's an oxymoron.

I don't know about what G. K. Chesterton suggested...I do know a statement by him that I love: "If we will not follow the Ten Commandments, we will follow the ten thousand commandments." Dad's side of the family is pure Polish Catholic. I'm not Catholic, but I get the idea that you are. 'Not sure there's a lot of Catholics here, hence the absence of comments. No matter. I always love G. K. Chesterton. Thanks for bringing him up. Thank you for bumping this up. G.K. Chesterton was known as the apostle of common sense. His writings are pure genius. Chesterton has been called the "soul of wit". I follow his pithy sayings -- as well as those of C.S. Lewis -- on Twitter. BTW, Chesterton is a convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism. Yes, I know that Chesterton is a convert to Catholicism. Somehow, I find this much less offensive than other professions of "conversions". I told you that half my family is Roman Catholic. I also said that I don't subscribe to that, particular, belief. That being said....I should have a lot to criticize about Chesterton, and Catholicism. I don't. Not right now, anyway . Like I said I like Chesterton (and love Merton). Maybe it's just because I love the physical beauty of Catholic Churches, or because I admire the structure of the Church, or the history...maybe all of the "above". I cannot reconcile myself to the theology of Catholicism, but I also can't bring myself to denounce it "out of hand". In this day, and age, when all Christianity is under the gun...I can't bring myself to split hairs among Christians, even while I "split hairs" with Christians. I rejoice in the fact that we, at least, recognize the fact that Christ is Lord and He died for our sins. We should find common ground in this, at least.

Roman Catholics have a lot of problems with their church as well, and Pope Benedict's new translation of the Mass hasn't helped any. Oddly enough, G. K. Chesterton is a convert from Anglicanism to Catholicism, yet I doubt there are many posters from either denomination on the Worthy forums; I follow both Chesterton and C.S. Lewis quotes on Twitter, but I often find the former's prose to be more practical. Really? You find Chesterton more practical than Lewis? That is unusual.... Lewis was a theologian, Chesterton a prolific writer, and I'm a journalist. A journalist? That makes me nervous, for some reason . I like your words, so maybe it shouldn't make me nervous (your profession).

You're actually agreeing with David Carlin, the article's author, who is a professor of sociology and philosophy at the Community College of Rhode Island at Newport. I saw this and went back to re-read the article. Yes, I think I do agree with him. I agree with his conclusions regardless of the intent of his reasoning. I 'do not' agree with "liberal" Christianity. God is real. His (God's) Word is Law. There is an objective standard that is derived from our Creator. We may hair split about said standards, but they do exist. Across the board. To make morality a relative thing is to kill morality all together. Just like the absence of God inevitably destroys morality. If there is a God (which there is) then morality exists. If there is no God, everything is (logically) relative, concerning morality. When people can't deny these facts they attempt to make Gods Will relative. Wrong. Either there is a God, with an absolute morality, or there is nothing other than moral relativism. I don't care if you call it "liberal" morality, or anything else. Same difference.

Steve, I'm not going to offer advice as to what you should do. The Lord is convicting you. You know what to do. Like everyone else said...just be worried when the Lord stops convicting you. Only, be sure you do what He tells you to do. If you want inspiration from the Word open your Book to Psalms. Just crack your Bible and flip through Psalms. Stop on one. There are so many Psalms dealing with your malady I have no doubt that the Lord will lead you to just the right one. Peace, brother. I hope you find your way, truly.

JohnD. I've been reading your posts. They are interesting. You bring up things I hadn't thought about. The Moses burning Bush...Everyone knows the "I am that I am..." Couldn't this be more accurately translated as "I will be what I will be". God is whatever He chooses to be. Of course, God is not a liar and His will is perfect. So, once he decided to be a thing, He is that thing, always. But, it was His choice to be so. This seemed to be news to Moses. So, I don't know. Maybe the ancient Hebrews didn't know all about the Lord. God called Moses to Sinai to learn the man, after all. Well, every bit of any Bible was penned after the Flood. Noah, and those before him, probably knew the Lord as no other. I bet we lost a lot after the Flood, and Babel. I have trouble with a lot of concepts in the Bible. There are some things I don't have a problem with, though. There are things my limited perception can't reconcile. Free will vs pre destination, for example. I know that God exists outside of time (He invented time). God exists outside of matter (He invented matter). God "knew" everything from the beginning of our universe, to the end of it as he created it. He is the same God at the beginning of time, and the end of time. Literally, not just figuratively. The beginning of time, and the end of it (and every point in between) is the exact same moment for God. It only seems like eons to our limited perception. Everything has already happened. All of us are either in Heaven, or Hell at this point. We just don't know it yet because we haven't left this world yet. Heaven, Hell, and God are timeless. Our temporal, physical reality exists outside the true reality that is God. Everything in our reality, from the beginning of time to the end, is separate from the true reality that is God and Heaven and Hell. So, since all of Creation has already happened how is it that we have free will? I don't know, but we do. God made all of Creation and instantly made everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in the same instant. Yet, I still have the ability to choose my own destiny. It's a paradox. I don't understand it. Fortunately, I don't have to understand it. I have faith. My God is capable of making me, knowing everything I would do beforehand (thus making my choices for me), and yet giving me complete free will. My comprehension is limited but I'm trying to comprehend the Creator of all space and time and everything. It seems like an impossible paradox to me but is an easy trick or Him. I don't have to understand how free will and predestination work together, I just have to know that God can make it happen. In the same way can none of us (truly) comprehend the Trinity. Even the ancient Hebrews. Maybe they knew how it all worked before the Flood? I don't know. If we could go back to then maybe we could learn a different perspective, a different way of thinking. So, no. Like others have said, I'm not sure that the ancient Hebrews understood the Trinity, or modern Jews. I'm also not sure it even matters. Like so many others have said, the important thing is that we understand the sacrifice of Christ, and accept it. God will present with whatever knowledge we need and whatever knowledge we can handle.

Roman Catholics have a lot of problems with their church as well, and Pope Benedict's new translation of the Mass hasn't helped any. Oddly enough, G. K. Chesterton is a convert from Anglicanism to Catholicism, yet I doubt there are many posters from either denomination on the Worthy forums; I follow both Chesterton and C.S. Lewis quotes on Twitter, but I often find the former's prose to be more practical. Really? You find Chesterton more practical than Lewis? That is unusual. I love C. S. Lewis. I can see where you're coming from, though. Chesterton quotes are more "compact". They have more of a "punch" to them. Lewis is a linguist and he loves his words Both authors are good. Honestly, though, Chesterton quotes are how I'm most familiar with him. I haven't read him, not like Lewis...not by far. Thomas Merton, also. I like Merton's stuff but he doesn't have that "punch" you can just quote in a one liner. Chesterton seems to be good at it. I mentioned Mark Twain, specifically, because he was the king of quotes. 'Getting the gist across in one, or two, sentences. Making that initial impact.

The ultimate imitation of Christ is to patiently absorb sin and offer pardon in the name of love. This is grace. This is an exceptionally good quote (from your link). I will use it in the future, if you don't mind. I always liked 'Twain's: "Forgiveness is the violet that sheds its perfume upon the heel that crushes it". Christ, of course, is way beyond any of our quotes, and meager attempts at understanding. He IS the standard that we can never live up to but should never stop trying to be.

I looked at your link, oldschool. I told you that I'm not Catholic. I have a lot of problems with the Catholic Church. However, there are things I admire about Catholicism. Maybe I'm just moved by emotion, nostalgia, and personal preference. I LOVE Catholic churches. I Visited Europe. Canterbury was my favorite, even over Notre Dame (even though I'm an incurable Victor Hugo fan). I also visited a 400 year old Church in Saltillo, Mexico and have been to various churches around the Southern California coastline. Grandpa used to take us to San Juan Capistrano, for example. I was born in California, by the way, but mom and dad divorced and she moved me, and my sister, to Tennessee when I was 9.. Nothing bad about Tennessee Churches. There's a Church in Nashville, on West End ( that turns into Broad st.)...beautiful. The outside is nice, better than nice. The inside...whoah. Great. I used to "witness" to some of the homeless around Nashville. I'd bring them books, I'd spend the day with them. I knew their names, where they slept, what they liked to eat. In fact, I even ate with them and spent the night in their parks, on occasion. It was just a fun camping trip for me, but it was their life (to them). I remember one time I took these guys into a Baskin Robbins for ice cream...the looks we got...It was hot outside in the summer. These guys needed a cold water and some colder ice cream before they'd ever be willing to hear the Word. Even if they didn't want the Word they needed something cold. I should've picked a less "hoity toity" neighborhood. Oh well. Anyway, I decided I was going to get them into church, at one point. Right. I got one guy to go to Midnight Mass with me. His idea, not mine. But, it's church, right? He was Catholic, so we went to THE West End church in Nashville. I'd never been in there before. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. The paintings on the ceiling...the choir boys (absent from sight) on some balcony singing...beautiful. The homeless man's name was Johnny Two Feathers. I never knew his real name. I thought I was doing Johnny a favor by taking him there...wrong. He did me a favor by taking me there. Funny how that works. I gotta' tell you that Jhonny got his name in New Mexico (or Utah?). He was a 5'6" skinny guy. He was put in the same cell with a mean, buff, Native American "gentleman" (a full foot taller than Johnny) who picked Johnny up by his shirt collar, and laughed. The Indian laughed and said, "you're light as two feathers" and set him back down. Yeah, I knew these guys. Johnny, Hamburger, Paul, and the rest...That's not the point. The point is I always admired Catholic churches. When you enter a Church you know you're coming into the House of God. Your entire attitude changes. Thee's and Thou's...Ceremony (it can go too far). However, the House of the Lord shouldn't be addressed like any other building, nor should His Name. Maybe we should continue the Thee's and Thou's and remember that the God we're kneeling to is the Creator of everything, not just our buddy to talk to whenever we feel like. He (God) deserves a little more consideration. I've been in Protestant churches where people shamble in half an hour after worship begins...they're wearing flip flops, tattered cargo shorts, and sleeveless shirts. Some of the (teenage) girls are dressed, more than, provocatively. They come in after service begins, with a cold drink, and put their feet up on the back of the chair in front of them; almost like they're going to a rock concert. To me, that's not showing the proper respect to the Creator of everything, even if He is your best friend. That's the only thing, however, that Catholics have over protestants. In my humble opinion.

I don't know about what G. K. Chesterton suggested...I do know a statement by him that I love: "If we will not follow the Ten Commandments, we will follow the ten thousand commandments." Dad's side of the family is pure Polish Catholic. I'm not Catholic, but I get the idea that you are. 'Not sure there's a lot of Catholics here, hence the absence of comments. No matter. I always love G. K. Chesterton. Thanks for bringing him up.