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| Topic: God, Prayer and Technology | |
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Original topic created on Sun, July 13th, 2008 @ 7:17PM
Hello everyone, I don't think I will need to make this very long. Your mouse wheel called and needs a break. There was recently a conversation I had with a nice person who had a child that was born with a heart condition. They are believers and give god a great deal of credit for the fact that their child is still alive. It was a difficult time where the odds were against the child surviving. As a matter of fact, most of all the prayer request that exist today are for medical intervention from the god almighty. I once read it was 90%+. To take this further, I am certain that you have a similar request in your prayer request list. Now for most, it goes a bit like this: Most Evangelical's : "Dear (your favorite way of addressing god). I want to lift up (person's name)'s colon cancer today and be with (person's name) while they struggle with this terrible disease. Guide the mind's and hand's of the doctors as they take care of (name) and give them wisdom that will lead to a cure...... Most Charismatic's : "Dear (your favorite way of addressing god). I am proclaiming in the name of Jesus, that (name) is healed by the blood that was shed on the cross. You said "by your stripes I am healed" and I proclaim that promise right here and right now. I ask now that (name) be healed and I rebuke this cancer and send it back to hell where it belongs..... Here is my observations on both. Evangelical- There is a big problem with this type of thinking. To be honest it makes little sense. Think about it.... god's abilities are contingent on what current technology is available for him to use. If you were born 100 years ago, you would have a completely different outcome. You would also have a much smaller list of requests you could "lift up" to god. You could not ask that god guide the hands of the neurosurgeon, or give wisdom to the MRI operator. You would be more forced to a Charismatic request at best. The truth is, 100 years ago people died, children died, Christians died and women died from the very things that modern day technology has nearly put a stop to. Where was god and why did he only answer their cries once man invented the solution? Charismatic- We have heard of claims of the blind being healed, the dead raised, tumors vaporized and so on. All I can say to this is... prove it. Show me. Let's get this over with once and for all and take a video camera into the revival tent. Let me see this tumor roll off the leg of the afflicted. Let me shake hands with the walking corpse. I want to see the before and after photos of the arm that grew back. Let's follow the person's medical history and show how the eyes rebuilt and enabled sight. This has not been done... and I dare say... can't. Don't give stories, give me documented proof. Where is it? I remember a woman and her husband coming to the front of our church (charismatic) and giving a healing testimony. Her husband had cancer and they had an all night prayer session (god must need to know we are serious) to proclaim his healing. Their story was awesome. The next day after he slept the cancer left his body. His bedding was soiled and when washed; turned the water black. He was HEALED!!! The crowd cheered and tears fell. One year later, he was dead of the very cancer he was healed of. I understand the there are very few unexplained medical "miracles". But most if not all of the stories you hear are just that... stories. Here is how they work. My father had something on his face. He had worked outdoors all his life and the doctor feared skin cancer. He had a biopsy. After the biopsy he prayed for healing and placed the word of god onto his face. Days later the results came back.. he was healed!! There was no skin cancer. Now wait, do you see the error in this story? The biopsy was taken from his face PRIOR to his claim of healing. He asked for healing after the test was underway. His "cancer" was no cancer at all. It never was. Yet, he tells people of the time god healed him of skin cancer. Why? Because he wanted so badly for that to be the case... therefore, in his mind, it is. Sadly... no one will question it and thus = fact. My point is this, man heals and god does not. God does not guide the hands as that would be silly. He would have to wait thousands of years in order to guide the hands that use the technology that is currently available. My question to you is this. Why are god's abilities contingent on what man currently knows? I find that suspicious. : ) L EDITED by user on 2008-07-13 19:39:48 |
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Posted on Fri, July 18th, 2008 @ 10:18AM by Ricky Duffield
My friend, I wonder why you take the time to try to convince others that you are right or they are wrong??? You seem to know all the answers, are you bored and need attention? I'm not trying to burst your bubble but this is a Christian site, it seems to me that you know what you believe and why do you want to make all your declarations if not to confuse or others just as you're confused. Your time would be best spent seeking input from God, not from man. You already seem to have had enough of that, that's why you're confused. I don't know the answers you want, nobody on this site can truly help you, you must look to the One who created you and seek Him, then you'll find an answer that calms your soul, that brings you the peace you so dearly cry out for. Right now you're propagating your own gospel, the gospel of confusion, or the gospel of unanswered questions... Spend your time seeking God and He'll make Himself known to you just as He did me, He is no respecter of persons, He does not show favoritism. I'll be praying for you, may God reveal Himself to you and give you peace. Please don't take this as condescending, but that I have a question for you and that is simply this: why are you babbling about there being no god to Christians if not to try to confuse or distract them from what God's called them to do??? And all of the good hearted people can sit here and waste time debating with someone who knows what he believes while so many millions have no beliefs, don't know what to believe, have never heard of a God coming to earth to reconcile fallen man to Himself much less you who have heard and rejected because your mind has gotten in the way. Keep seeking and searching... God bless you. Ricky |
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Posted on Fri, July 18th, 2008 @ 3:44PM by Lux One
Ricky, Ok... here goes. "My friend, I wonder why you take the time to try to convince others that you are right or they are wrong???" This group is a confession of a person that held your way of thinking for 30+ years of my life. This is an opportunity to share with others and attempt dialog. Are you not saying I am wrong for doing this??? (three question marks) "You seem to know all the answers, are you bored and need attention?" You can do better than that... I don't know all the answers, yet I am sure they don't come from a mythical creature. "I'm not trying to burst your bubble but this is a Christian site, it seems to me that you know what you believe and why do you want to make all your declarations if not to confuse or others just as you're confused." My best friend is the creator of this site. Many of the people I grew up with are the initial members. My wish is that these "confused" people read what I am saying and see how silly a god fearing life is. That wish has come true to some degree based on the private emails I receive. Many are not willing to come out and say "I no longer believe this". "Your time would be best spent seeking input from God, not from man." That would be silly, as god WAS created by man. "You already seem to have had enough of that, that's why you're confused." I am not confused. This way of thinking is the most clear I have ever been. Christians are the ones that are confused. Just look at the pull down list of denomination that this site offers you to choose from. It nearly reaches from the top to bottom of my 30" display. Where is the clarity in that? "I don't know the answers you want, nobody on this site can truly help you, you must look to the One who created you and seek Him, then you'll find an answer that calms your soul, that brings you the peace you so dearly cry out for." Which god should I choose to get this information from? Yours? The reason I ask this is that many other peoples god provide that very same thing. Just want to be clear. "Right now you're propagating your own gospel, the gospel of confusion, or the gospel of unanswered questions..." Asking a question does not make me confused. Questions are the best part of living. Seeking answers make you smarter and reveal things that would otherwise never be found. If you don't have any... I would be seriously be concerned. "Spend your time seeking God and He'll make Himself known to you just as He did me, He is no respecter of persons, He does not show favoritism." Well he has done a piss poor job of it around the world. His favoritism will land you in the fires of hell if you don't trust in him. I don't want to go into why that comment is very warm and fuzzy but will fall flat in a second. Just read the other posts. "Please don't take this as condescending." I don't : ) "Why are you babbling about there being no god to Christians if not to try to confuse or distract them from what God's called them to do???" It is babbling only because you disagree... The audience here is a mixed bag. There are non-believers as well as believers. I hope to challenge them and make them think. Remember people were killed for thinking that the world was round ( by the Christians - oh... those were Catholics so they don't count ). They were confusing and distracting people. Last time I checked your god "called" you to bring people to the gospel. These methods are not much different than what I am doing. You attempt to show people that the life they are living is a lie. "And all of the good hearted people can sit here and waste time debating with someone who knows what he believes while so many millions have no beliefs, don't know what to believe, have never heard of a God coming to earth to reconcile fallen man to Himself..." Did you not say: "Spend your time seeking God and He'll make Himself known to you just as He did me, He is no respecter of persons, He does not show favoritism."? So these millions that are at this point doomed to hell because their attempt to seek god lead them to other religions or making one up on their own? How is that love? "...much less you who have heard and rejected because your mind has gotten in the way." That scares me to death. Last thing we want on this planet are people with "there minds getting in the way". Let me ask you this... Was it the mind that flew planes into buildings? Thinking with your heart leaves the door wide open to "anything goes" (and it does). Just look around. Our nation is seeking a leader that needs to believe in talking serpents, women forged by the male rib, dinosaurs on an arc, and a nearing prophesied apocalypses that must happen in order for the lord to return. Scary stuff. "Keep seeking and searching... God bless you. Ricky" Thank you. I am not trying to be an arse, but I do want to make a point (my style). This site is no more Christian than the Diet Coke in front of me. I can type till my fingers bleed and have no one reply. That is perfectly fine. I enjoy "thinking aloud" and hope that others will chime in. Believe it or not, I am a very opened minded person. Give me something that makes sense, and I will entertain it. Try it.... and it might set you free. : ) L |
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