Like Tara the Typical, Willow is extremely sensitive toward anything that sounds intolerant and/or judgmental, so approach with extreme caution!posted by specialagentwebb at 8:59 AM on April 8, 2011 [8 favorites]
"...be sensitive to the fact that if he rejects Islam, his family and culture will reject and perhaps even plot to kill him. "....it wouldn't be Christian without some wacky. It'll be ok if they kill him after he's saved, though. All square, in
Your main goal is not to persuade Jenna that Jesus is the Messiah - it is a means to an end, and that end is that she needs to see that she fails to keep God's Law...I remember overhearing a conversation when some missionaries returned from Guatemala (I think) to build an orphanage. I was very impressed with their selflessness -- giving up their vacation, paying their own flights, and working instead of just lounging around on a beach somewhere -- until I heard them all agree that their favorite part of the trip was winning over other Christians with what seemed like trivial differences in the interpretation of the Trinity.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves...That Liberal Jewish Philosopher is definitely my homeboy on this subject.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
What the Bible TeachesIf Andy believes that the bible is a bunch of myths and half-truths, why would appealing to the Bible as an authority be part of any tactic? The Bible says that The Bible is without error? Of course it does!
Whether Willow knows it or not, she is in the grips of Satan, so like Sid the Satanist, be sure and cover your relationship and conversations with her in a ton of prayer.Wait, is Andy not in the grips of Satan???
Jenna has been raised with little knowledge about Jesus Christ, so when you feel it could be appropriate, talk about how Jesus literally and perfectly fulfilled over 300 prophecies made about the coming Messiah. Ask Jenna to read Isaiah 53 and ask her who she believes that Bible passage is describing. Here is a link that goes through all the prophecies:When exactly would you "feel it could be appropriate?" What situation exactly leads itself to a natural segue to "let me tell you about my friend Jesus?"
Your main goal is not to persuade Jenna that Jesus is the Messiah - it is a means to an end, and that end is that she needs to see that she fails to keep God's Law. It is not good enough for her to do her best; God requires perfection, so you need to get Jenna to the point where she knows that God will not overlook her failures or forgive her on the basis of their mitzvot (good deeds). Show her that God requires the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin (Leviticus 17:11; cf. 16:15-17, 27, 30), which was why the Messiah (Jesus) came to earth 2000 years ago.Yeah, this assumes Jenna is such a nice person she won't just punch you in the face at this point. Frankly, this reads like a death threat if you aren't up on the liturgical context: Jenna is a sinner; God requires the shedding of blood to forgive sin; ergo Jenna's blood must be shed. Wtf?
Mo's view of God (Allah) is one of anger and demand. Use your own testimony as a way to show how it is possible to have a personal relationship with the personal God of the universe (Yahweh) who loves and forgives unconditionally on the basis of Christ's death and resurrection.Dude, Allah is soooo much angrier than Yahweh. You know, the guy who killed all the first-born sons of Egypt. And demanding! He didn't demand shit - he commanded. Way cooler.
James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.posted by muddgirl at 10:39 AM on April 8, 2011 [8 favorites]
Ryan believes that by believing in certain creeds or statements of beliefs, and by strictly engaging in certain religious behaviors, he will be on God's 'nice' list, while those who aren't religious are on God's 'naughty' list. He has been raised with this since day one, which is why religion and good works are such a key part of his life. Ryan also believes that religion is a combination of faith and good works that will one day get him into heaven.posted by muddgirl at 10:44 AM on April 8, 2011 [5 favorites]
I'm guessing the Raelians have the best parties though.
Christians: One (real) day of Christmas.
Jews: Eight days of Chanukah
winner: Jews
This is an action, and actions will not save you. However, it is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.Hahaha oh man. Perfect example of the sort of knots we had to tie ourselves into to explain that we are saved by faith alone (but that we'd want to do good things if we were actually saved). Oh Calvinism...
Don't confuse Wiccans with witches, because anyone can practice witchcraft, but Wiccans follow a strict code. Also, don't confuse Wiccans with Satanists, because most Wiccans don't believe in Satan or the devil.This paragraph alone puts this site about 10 places above anything similar I've ever read that speaks from a Christian perspective.
Like Alisha the Agnostic, talk to Erin about the observable evidence of God that is built in to creation like how 'fine tuned' the universe is to support life, otherwise we wouldn't even exist. This fine tuning simply could not have happened by accident. For example, the earth is the perfect distance from the sun. If it were just a few miles closer, we'd all burn up. A few miles further out, and we'd all freeze to death!The earth's distance from the sun varies by around 3 million miles between perihelion and aphelion. Of course these folks might need convincing that the earth rotates around the sun, and not vice versa.
Let us allow, that, if the goodness of the Deity (I mean a goodness like the human) could be established on any tolerable reasons a priori, these phenomena, however untoward, would not be sufficient to subvert that principle; but might easily, in some unknown manner, be reconcilable to it. But let us still assert, as this goodness is not antecedently established, but must be inferred from the phenomena, there can be no grounds for such an inference, while there are so many ills in the universe, and while these ills might so easily have been remedied, as far as human understanding can be allowed to judge on such a subject. I am Sceptic enough to allow, that the bad appearances, notwithstanding all my reasonings, may be compatible with such attributes as you suppose; but surely they can never prove these attributes.But you're probably not Laws' target: he's aiming at theists who accept the good-God theodicies but not their evil-God counterparts and effectively accusing them of having a double standard.
this thread has led me to the most horrific realization: as a devout Pastafarian I have been in a state of MORTAL SIN these past weeks by practicing fairly strict Aktins diet!!!! will the FSM understand in his infinite saucy wisdom?Wait, so pastafarians are supposed to eat the embodiment of their god? GROSS.
Then, if you have faith, you are an android.Yes, because the defining characteristic of androids is that they do not operate based on logic. Whereas clearly humans are always rational and logical in their decisions...
It is the moral responsibility of all human beings to form the best picture of the world they can and react accordingly. Our only tool with which to do this is our reason. You must be absolutely sure of your axioms, and the only way you can do that is to take only the most obvious ones, the ones that you couldn't even operate without.
Someone: How insecure in your own faith do you have to be to focus so much on converting everyone around you?I think there definitely are positive portrayals of Christians in that movie - the pastor's son, the main character's gay boyfriend, the mom at the end of the film. The important question is, "Can we separate a desire to be A Good Christian from our own ego?" Christian thinkers have been asking this question since, well, Jesus.
Straight: From an Evangelical Christian point of view, that's like asking "How insecure in your own wealth do you have to be to spend all your time giving money away to people who need it?"
Incidentally, the above response can be extended to deal with arguments for a good god based on historical evidence, such as the evidence provided by scripture (not all of which is rooted in religious experiences and miracles). Some will suggest there is much textual and other historical evidence that might be marshalled to support belief in a good deity, but no corresponding evidence to support belief in an evil deity – and this constitutes a significant asymmetry between our two god hypotheses.posted by pw201 at 2:34 AM on April 14, 2011
In response, we may again ask – does this historical evidence really fit the good-god hypothesis better than the evil? Not if our evil god wishes to create the illusion that he is good, in order to foster the deception outlined above. It may well be in his interest to fabricate misleading evidence about his own character.
When we consider the spread of evidence supplied by the miracles, religious experiences, and also the historical evidence associated with the various different faiths, it is at least arguable that the pattern we find fits the evil-god hypothesis better than the good. For, to repeat, why on earth would a good god produce these phenomena in such a way as to guarantee endless religious strife? Surely their actual, disastrous arrangement is rather more likely to be the handiwork of a malignant being?
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posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:51 AM on April 8, 2011 [18 favorites]