Fiosh

))))))))))))))) LadyP ((((((((((((((((

Yea, go ahead and follow me, don't bother me none~

Oh please, me too!! I've always wanted to be stalked.

I would really like to plan a WB gathering for 2009 and would be willing to help whom ever plan things~

How about 2010 rather than 2009 so that I can save up

I miss you, ricky.

The other day I spent about 30 minutes typing up my thoughts on the pleasure of meeting you at the gathering. And when I went to post it, it disappeared. The system had disconnected me.

I'll give it another go sometime soon.

I would really like to plan a WB gathering for 2209 and would be willing to help whom ever plan things~

That one might be at the banquet table of the Lamb! It would certainly simplify the logistics.

I'm not sure I could swing 2009 due to finances; but definitely 2010. It took me all year to save for this one. And with gas and heating oil prices sky-rocketing its gonna be a tough year.

Love ya,

F

Cool! Thanks, Andrew.

Zoe,

It was a joy meeting you. Scarlet's right---you have an inner strength that doesn't always come through on the boards. You are a special lady.

Love you, sister.

Fiosh

Y'all sound like a 'cotton-pickin' good bunch o' people

From hearing the different stories on here, I'd say it was almost like.......well..........almost like...(don't laugh).....but it's almost as though you are all REAL people......and not just words on my computer screen :P

(see........I knew it would sound silly)

It was kind of weird adjusting the WB image I had in my head to the real person. Everyone was different in some way from what I expected.

'Cept we all had these square heads that lit up and had text scrolling across our faces.

Operating on about 3 hours sleep, I only have a limited amount of brain power. (yeah, Becky, I know, typical for a Yankee ) There's way too much to cover in a single post.

So, I decided to let the cat out of the bag about shiloh while he can't defend himself.

Shiloh and I have had our moments here on the boards, and it wasn't always pretty. And, I have to admit...I expected him to have fangs and claws, and to sleep upside down in a cave. He can be a tough opponent in a debate, and I was ready for ....well enough about expectations.

The man is certifiable. He is totally insane.

First off, he let 2 strange women (ask Neb, strange is the proper term here ) alone in his apartment all night, while he went off to stay with relatives. The consummate gentleman. If only we had more room in the car, we coulda loaded up all his furniture. Drat!

Then he shows up in the morning with bagels and cream cheese to start our day.

Shiloh is a very complex guy. In the course of a day, he'd have us laughing so hard we could hardly breathe; locked in an intense debate; deep in the study and contemplation of the Word; or intrigued as he explained international politics.

Honestly, I was prepared to have to work hard to try to get along with him, after the many times we butted heads on the boards. But it's impossible not to like the guy as soon as you meet him. He is intense when the circumstance calls for it. [ Shiloh led us in an awesome Bible study) He is warm and compassionate.(see Becky's story about the little boy in church) He is sharply intelligent and passionate about what he believes. And like Neb said, his stories are funny, but watching him tell them is hilarious.

Yep, I confess.

Shiloh, I love you.

Fiosh

PS. If anyone tells shiloh I said nice things about him I will deny everything.

I had another dream to address my need to forgive my enemies that are my brothers or/and sisters in Christ that sought to uphold my soul, or that are seeking His face, but was a part of my persecutors that kept me in the prison that has ended my life.

Jesus forgave those that were right there in the process of Him being crucified and mocking Him too, so I can forgive my persecutors even though my prison remains. I forgive those that betrayed me. I forgive those that allow the fervor of the incense against me to rally them into it.

And I thank Jesus that I do forgive them. Even my fellow co-workers at Wal-Mart.

And now it is time to go. Or so the dream implied. Rapture? Or simply my time to depart? It matters not, but I do thank Jesus for helping me let go.

Thank You Jesus!!!

You will certainly reflect Jesus to those around you, poorinspirit.

God bless you,

Fiosh

Butero:

You bet... who could beat Thom and Huck?

Or, send me the cash and I'll make sure George gets it.

I'd be interested to hear your comments on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NtgjNLNpao

It's Brian McLaren, one of the prominent figures in the Emergent Church movement...or as they call it, conversation.

oh man! i missed it!!!

happy-b-day young lady

did LPT send u caks? cos i want some too.

young....... lady????????

Ohhhh nice........................

You know I love you more than pumpkin pie with extra whipped cream!

oh man! i missed it!!!

happy-b-day young lady :star:

did LPT send u caks? cos i want some too.

young....... lady????????

Fiosh, you might as well give up.............consider who is doing all the bashing, who cares.

come on, how have i bashed anyone???

not only that but i don't have just a morbid curiosity about the subject - my aunt and uncle are members, my sister went with them for awhile and other family members have attended with them.

Not totally positive, but I don't think that was directed at you, Fraught.

I've gotta stop playing on my computer and go write that check!

I worked with several Church of Christ folks in Nashville. What I found with them is that they are terrified to go to another church, beliving that theirs is the only true church. They don't believe in any sort of instruments in church and think other churches are sinning by having them, they believe you HAVE to be baptised or you will not be saved. Even one told me that if you are on your way to be baptised and die in a wreck, you will go to hell.

Despite all of these wacky rules, I didn't find any of them to have a relationship with Christ or behave in a Godly manner at all, they just went to their ritualistic church once a week.

Any church that teaches you have to do something other than believe in Jesus to be saved is a cult. Only Jesus saves, not baptism.

It's a cult.

how is that generalizing anything

Mornin' Fraught,

Reading comprehension consists of more than merely understanding individual phrases in a literal manner. Advanced comprehension necessitates that one analyzes the import of the paragraph in its entirety.

If you look at the post as a whole, it's clear that the writer makes a connection between the few people he knows, and his/her evaluation of the Church of Christ as a cult. That is faulty logic.

I'm Catholic. I know plenty of Catholics that, frankly, are an embarassment to the RCC. I also know plenty of Lutherans who do not shed a positive light on their denom, etc.

I also know numerous Catholics who revere Jesus Christ and declare Him as Lord. If you knew them also, would that make Catholicism a "true" church in your eyes?

In order to judge the degree to which a denom can be considered a "true" church, one must study their doctrine, teachings, "We Believe" statement, practices, etc. Wordsower does this to some degree, but hinges the argument on his/her assessment of a few members.

That was my point.

First of all, how can I truly know the relationship an individual has with Jesus. Yes, I can see their fruits. But I cannot see their deepest parts. I don't know the trials and hurts they've come thru to make them who they are. What I observe may or may not be as a result of what denomination they belong to.

I'm not a fan of the Church of Christ. But my opinion is based on a study of what they teach, not on the behavior of a few members. Fact is, I have a very dear friend who is CoC. She is a devoted Christian with a true heart for Jesus Christ.

In His Love,

Fiosh

Thanks everyone for your input! I've been following the thread and giving all your responses careful consideration. While most here do not agree with the philosophy/theology of the Emergent movement (myself included), how the Church responds to this new generation is a challenging question. And, it starts with understanding.

It's interesting to hear all the unique perspectives you've offered. There is truth in all of them.

Peace,

Fiosh

Mornin' ladyp,

I don't know. Maybe PM one of the mods?

Peace,

Fiosh

...and I'm going to rectify that by sending a check today. I can't do much. Our income barely covers our expenses and I have other charities I support besides my own church. But I benefit from my fellowship here and feel that I need to do something to pay back WB.

If all of us would help even a little I think we could make an impact.

Thanks for upgrading, George! My check is in the mail.

Peace.....uh, shalom!

Fiosh

PS. For info on how to make a contribution, just click the "Give" box waaaaaaaay up there in the top right corner of your screen.

DISCLAIMER: Nancy Pelosi does not represent the views of the Pope, myself or any other Catholics!

Despite all of these wacky rules, I didn't find any of them to have a relationship with Christ or behave in a Godly manner at all, they just went to their ritualistic church once a week.

It's a cult.

Wow! Could you generalize ALL the members of a denomination any more severly than that?

Have you personally met EVERY member of the Church of Christ? AND evaluated their relationship with Christ? AND judged whether they "behaved in a Godly manner".

Maybe its time to start working on that beam.....

Statistics show that in approx. 20 years (if current trends continue) only 10% of the population of the U.S. will attend church on a regular basis. Some call them the "postmodern" generation.

Whatever you call them, what do you think is behind this?

What is creating a generation of young people who feel they do not need the church?

Is it the culture? Is the Church pushing them away---or not effectively drawing them in?

Is it a more global phenomena?

Why are we not effectively reaching this generation with the Gospel?

Your views?

Thanks,

Fiosh

WHOA NELLIE!!! What happened?? Who is "tedslittleservantgirl" and what happened to Scarletprayer????

Anyway................

Happy Birthday, Scarlet!!!!!

Love you a bunch!!!!

There isn't a single sentence in all of scripture than even remotely implies 'an age of accountability'.

What the scriptures do say is that all have sinned. It also says that upon birth all have inhereted the sinful nature of Adam and Even even if one is so young (unborn) as to have not been able to sin.

There are many who believe in a God who wouldn't dare send anyone to hell for eternity unless that person was given a reasonable chance to accept Jesus. The reality is that this is not supported by scripture. What scripture says is everyone is deserving of hell and the only escape clause is faith in Jesus.

Anyone who believes babies or those with mental disabilities will invariably go to heaven are inventing ideas not supported by scripture.

The ideas may be true or false, but they are certainly not supported by scripture.

While there no direct mention of an "age of accountability", there is scripture that backs up the belief that those who never heard (or cannot mentally comprehend) the Gospel can be allowed into Heaven:

Romans 2: 13-15

13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Lord, thank you for BibleGateway.com's Bible word search.

Thank you for agreeing there is no scripture directly supporting the idea of an 'age of accountability'.

You have attempted to proof quote scripture to support your private view that there is such a thing, but there is not and I will demonstrate, using your quotes that there is not.

Your quote is:

Romans 2: 13-15

13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

This says absolutely nothing about an age of accountability. It seems to be the Paul/James controversy between works and faith.

14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Again, this has nothing at all to do with an age of accountability. This deals with the fact that god's laws are intuitive and everyone regardless of faith or creed simply 'gets' that murder and other bad things are wrong.

15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

See what I wrote for verse 14. Again, this 'proof text' utterly fails to present any evidence whatsoever that there is any such thing as an age of accountability in the bible.

What is in the bible is this:

Everyone is born unto sin. There is nothing that any human can do that is good in God's eyes because it is all tainted. Everyone is deserving of eternal damnation. Those who escape damnation do so not because of merit, but grace and mercy.

The very idea of an 'age of accountability' is completely foreign to scripture and it is pure nonsense that those who cannot stomach God as he is invent false doctrines to assuage their conscience. Make no mistake it is a 100% invented doctrine and has absolutely zero scripture supporting it. Take God as he is. Love him or hate him, but stop trying to make him out to be more politically correct than he is.

Edited to address this to username_5

Let me ask you this. A baby, less then 5 hours old, dies from heart failure. Where will this child go?

EricH is correct. Scripture is not clear on this issue. We trust babies to the mercy of God.