artsylady

Oh, whew! Ok. Kind of strange that it's a competition but that's much better than my first impression, which was barking and oinking which has happened.

I was irritated when I read this. I would have asked him "Why are you noticing me during the sermon? Shouldn't you be too busy taking notes to notice what I'm doing?" Actually, I wouldn't have said this, but would have wanted to.

What do you mean?

I don't think anyone is asking for your permission. We are to speak the truth in LOVE to them. I am not saying we are supposed to be silent to other Christians, but most certainly we are to love. We don't have the power to allow or disallow. Everyone has free will. Again, we can speak the truth in love. I think we just need to exercise wisdom when we do speak of such things and not dismiss love as if it's some kind of feel-good silliness, because it is a commandment. I agree. I tend to agree but can never be sure. I don't feel it's my place to say so I don't want to say for certain. The only problem I had with what you said is that you lumped all of this together when one of these, love everyone, is a commandment and another, judge not, a fair warning.

I'm not sure I would agree that there is no such thing as a Christian lesbian. Just not sure. She is surely sadly deceived. "Love everyone" is an important commandment so I don't think that should be minimized in any way, shape or form. Same goes for "Judge not lest you be judged". These are the words of Jesus. We can't ignore them, we can't minimize them or make them sound like some kind of nice sounding fluff that we can brush off. We need to obey these words. That said, yes, some carry it further with "love everything and confront nothing" which are not biblical. Although I don't like the word confront, I believe we do need to stand up to truth, but do it in a kind and gentle manner, and with respect. Love the sinner hate the sin comes to mind.

I kind of wonder if she was deeply hurt by someone who called themselves a Christian.

People who didn't practise good morality in the Bible didn't have the blessing of God though. Ask her what kind of morality she would have if she grew up in a cannibalistic society. She would probably believe it was not only morally good to kill but to also eat that human being. Ask her what kind of morality she would have if she grew up in India where baby girls who are born are sometimes left to die. She would probably believe that it was okay because girls are disposable. Ask her what kind of morality she would have if she grew up in a Muslim country where female genital mutilation is practised. She would probably believe that a woman should not enjoy sex and therefore this practise is a moral one. Then ask her, "Aren't you glad you grew up in a country with Judeo Christian values"?

If you want to talk about the most hard hearted Muslims, I heard the testimony of an actual ex Muslim terrorist. He was in a car accident in another country and two Christian men practically fought over who would pay his hospital bill and take him home to recover. I don't recall him saying a single thing about what they actually said to him or arguments they used to win him over. He mentioned nothing of the sort. In fact, he clearly made it know that it was the love these men demonstrated, unconditionally to him, knowing he was a Muslim. He got angry at Mohammed at one point yelling "Allah! Why did you let them show me love!!!" Something completely foreign to him. So, what are the missionary Christians doing differently when in Muslim countries? I think the answer is clear. I doubt they go out and try to start debating them. My guess is that they start forming friendships and relationships with them.

I don't know that I have been the direct result of any Muslim's conversion, but I know that I have spoken to Muslims with respect and they in turn listened to me and what I had to say and I might say with interest and even start asking me questions. One thing I hope I said to one particular guy was "Does your religion allow you to ask God questions or to question what you believe? I ask that because I know the God I serve allows for this, knowing that I'm human and born with questions, and as He is a BIG God, he understands that faith can be trying at times". His answer was yes, although I do believe it was a lie to which I responded with "Oh, that's great then. I had previously thought that Islam didn't allow thoughts or questions but it's good that you can reasonably think, search and make comparisons. AFter all, why would God fear this". Hopefully, he DID start asking the tough questions to God on his own time. We had a business relationship that ended but hopefully I was used there to plant a seed. Sometimes I wonder if we need to see the fruits of our witnessing right away, but we are just there to plant seeds. Hopefully this Muslim guy did not come across a Christian later who unlovingly insulted his beliefs. Or that seed may have rotted quickly. I don't mean to be too hard to the OP here because I have been guilty myself of using the 'safety' of the Internet to be more 'bold', really meaning obnoxious than I would be in person. Think about it. If we were standing around in a park with a bunch of Muslims would we agreessively approach them about Mohammed's pedophelia or would be hope for an opportunity to talk with one privately and gently?

I think too many don't realize what kind of a weapon love really is. I do believe love is what will win over Muslims. I think there's good reason why the first 2 commandments have to do with love. Do we think about love as a commandment? A requirement? Or do we somehow believe Muslims excempt from this? It's almost as if the Bible reads "Love your neighbor as yourself, unless he's Muslim" Imagine living your life from childhood without any resemblence of unconditional love? Imagine being brainwashed into believing that real love doesn't exist, and that if you second guess what you're told, you will be outcasted and hated and possibly killed? We can't fathom this, but this is part of their philosophy. It's no wonder many can't question their beliefs. There must be so much to fear in doing so. We should feel compassion for these people w

I think too many don't realize what kind of a weapon love really is. I do believe love is what will win over Muslims. I think there's good reason why the first 2 commandments have to do with love. Do we think about love as a commandment? A requirement? Or do we somehow believe Muslims excempt from this? It's almost as if the Bible reads "Love your neighbor as yourself, unless he's Muslim" Imagine living your life from childhood without any resemblence of unconditional love? Imagine being brainwashed into believing that real love doesn't exist, and that if you second guess what you're told, you will be outcasted and hated and possibly killed? We can't fathom this, but this is part of their philosophy. It's no wonder many can't question their beliefs. There must be so much to fear in doing so. We should feel compassion for these people who have never experienced unconditional love, even from their own parents. When we simply attack their religious beliefs without love we stoop to their level - a level they are all too familiar with. However, they really are very unfamiliar with unconditional love. Heck, they'll kill their own daughters if they leave the faith. Love is something they can't handle. I also think it's okay to lovingly ask questions or make comments. Like "I'm sorry but I have a difficult time understanding why a prophet of god had such a huge sexual appetite and his attraction to a 9 year old? This seems to fly in the face of a serious spiritual connection with God" And if they insult you, then apologize and move on to the next point.

Just another word of encouragement here. I too am blessed by all of your posts and especially love when you post pictures of the beauty of creation.

If it was me, I'd probably take it graciously, thank him and ask him "what is your favorite chapter and why?" If he answered me I may look it up and then offer him a Bible the next time I met up with him.

I was actually serious. But can see though how it was funny. But.... I wonder what he would do if you did invite him?

Can you tell this Muslim guy to come here and that we'd like to talk to him?

I saw a video where Oprah was mistranslating this and said "God is jealous. What? Jealous of me?" Yes, she really can be that arrogant.

My dad would eat them with the bones. The bones are not like regular fish bones. They're very pliable.

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10892 This should settle where he's at. FAR from Oprah, thank God! I love Bono.

He sounds controlling, manipulative and abusive. Can I link to another site? It is youarenotcrazy.com to compare and see what emotional abuse sounds like.

Yes, all things are possible, but that doesn't mean a spouse will change. It's possible he/she will change, but there is no guarantee. God has given us free will and some spouses will choose to reject God.

I agree. There are the immature who divorce because they are bored or unhappy in their own lives and instead of getting help, they find someone to pique their interest. Then there are those who stay in painful marriages, go to counseling on their own, try everything possible to make it work - do this for years and years and feel this is their cross to bear, which I don't necessarily agree with. I also agree that this site is for those people. Those who want to weigh everything carefully and scripturally and need to know they don't have to sacrifice their life to make their marriage okay if the other partner is just unwilling.

It says it is okay to get a divorce in the case of marital unfaithfulness. So what if isn't working on reconciliation? Can she divorce him? What if the marriage bed is not pure? I thought I had too, but am wondering if there is more...... or not... ? At this point, I could not tell another Christian that they cannot get a divorce if a) spouse is cheating b) spouse is physically abusive and not changing I know also a couple where the husband seems to have departed from the marriage a long time ago. He leaves her, neglects her in every way possible, won't go anywhere with her unless there's a group, won't even go to weddings with her... But he stays with her because he doesn't want to give her half the money they've saved. So has he left her in every way emotionally and physically except he still resides with her. Could this be abandonment of the unbelieving spouse?

The overwhelming majority of Protestant churches do believe it is okay to divorce for marital unfaithfulness. Onelight: I think you said separation is okay, but not divorce, however scripture says NOT to separate from physical intimacy lest there be temptation. So if you were to separate, it seems the thing to do would be to keep having physical intimacy. I understand that you don't want to divulge personal info and i respect that, but I'm not sure why you feel you have to discuss anything personally to a question like is it wrong to divorce or separate if you are physically abused? Most churches would tell a wife who's being beaten to go to a shelter where the husband can't find her or beat her. Do you think this is good or bad advice?

Matthew 19:9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."