I've always wanted to ask this...
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this one is controversial...i can at most give u wad i tink its right...i guess most mature christians would agree tat church meetings shld be a priority in our lives...however, how we prioritise is subjective, again thanks to cultural and individual church influences.
1st allow me to give u 2 definitions of the word ''priority''...take note tat these are my own definitions...1) ''priority'' is absolute. 100% is given to tat matter/person regardless of situation, scenario. 2) ''priority'' is overall. Tat matter/person is given 1st in the order of importance in all situations EXCEPT cases tat are one-off and urgent/emergency...if a love one is warded in hospital but not critical condition, the christian can consider going for service 1st then visit the relative after tat...however, if its a critical condition aka life and death, then my take is forget abt church service and rush down to see the relative...
the above 2 definitions can be seen in different christians...it all depends on how they have been tot in church and also the family upbringing...my take is the 2nd definition cos although christians are expected to put God and his kingdom(church is part of it) 1st, God is also a God who teaches us to be there for others when they are in need...hope i have answered ur qn...
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so ur personal take is scenario 2. How about BIC? since u and him are frequents of this forum... wanna hear his take on this issue too :)
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Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
my distaste is over their actions while they use the religion as a coverup for their actions. If i really have a distaste over the religion i probaboly wont be here anyway :)
OIC, thanks for the clarification. I hope you would consider Christianity.
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Originally posted by despondent:
BIC,
i guess it may be better if i gave some egs and we discuss from there? lets start wif sth simple...''be fruitful and multiply'' according to context means God telling Adam to be fruitful and and populate earth...in other words produce offsprings...if i use this verse in modern day context to mean be fruitful in wadever we do and multiply wadever gifts and abilities God has given to us, would u see this as taking the verse out of context?
Yes, I would think that to use Genesis' "be fruitful and multiply" in this way would be a little out of context. Besides, there are other more appropriate verses in the Bible that talks about multiplying the resources that God has given to us, and to be productive and resourceful servants of God.
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Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
means ppl tell me god say christians cannot touch insence... so i cannot touch. Or christians cannot attend buddhist funeral or taoist funeral 1... so i nvr go lor and another thing that made me quite unhappy was my friend say "chruch meetings cannot miss" so her grandma's hospital appointment had to be missed cos she needs to go church. These are some that i rmb... but my belief is that christianity doesn't propogate such actions but these ppl use the religion as a cover for these actions and thus, alot of ppl gets the wrong idea.
This would be quite similar to the religious leaders in Mark 7:9 where Jesus rebuked the religious leaders saying, "You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ (that is, a gift for God), then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.” What Jesus meant was that the religious leaders refused to give financial aid citing that the money was reserved for God. Doing so renders null the Word of God.
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Originally posted by despondent:
i would say this is the result of the original sin...BIC did mention tat God told Eve not to eat the forbidden fruit but serpent asked Eve whether God said not to touch the forbidden fruit and Eve conveniently treated touch and eat as the same...
the bible may teach tat we shld nt worship ancestors, kneel or bow to them...but humans, having the original deception of satan in us(see above) may stretch things further to mean cannot touch incense...reason being incense is related to ancestral worship...wad if i was merely passing the incense to someone else? is it wrong?
another possible reason why believers may stretch the actual meanings could be due to cultural influence. In the more conservative and traditional churches, believers are tot to be extra cautious in living life...so while touching incense is strictly speaking not wrong but since its linked to ancestral worship, dun do it at all...its like one toe is rotting, its better to amputate the whole leg...hope u get wad i mean...
Just a comment: When Eve added to the Word of God she was not tainted with original sin yet.
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Originally posted by BroInChrist:
OIC, thanks for the clarification. I hope you would consider Christianity.
well.. i probably wont consider christianity or any other religion... to be in one means to solely be in it and it alone... but for me i wld rather not be in any but take the gist of all and learn the goodness and teachings of it. In all the religions i've known, there are things i agree with and i disagree with. So i'll always take the good and what i feel i can accept and practice it in my own way of life to the best that i can. Which is why i always tell ppl im buddhist on paper but in real... probably only a part of me is buddhist. -
Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
so ur personal take is scenario 2. How about BIC? since u and him are frequents of this forum... wanna hear his take on this issue too :)
Hebrews 10:24 says "And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near."
So if you ask me whether Christians can miss church meetings, my answer is YES. Once in a while we may have to miss out on church meetings, but we should not make it a habit of abandoning meetings, because church meetings are for mutual encouragement and edification, though I would add that in today's Sunday services the idea of MUTUAL encouragement is almost non-existent as people sit through the entire 2 hours looking at the back of someone's head and only the one in the pulpit is talking to the audience. In fact, most of the time only the pastor's gift (of teaching) is expressed in a church service, the rest being silent observers and doing what is called the 1000 yard stare.
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Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
well.. i probably wont consider christianity or any other religion... to be in one means to solely be in it and it alone... but for me i wld rather not be in any but take the gist of all and learn the goodness and teachings of it. In all the religions i've known, there are things i agree with and i disagree with. So i'll always take the good and what i feel i can accept and practice it in my own way of life to the best that i can. Which is why i always tell ppl im buddhist on paper but in real... probably only a part of me is buddhist.Why would you be adverse to being "solely be in it and it alone"?
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Originally posted by BroInChrist:
Why would you be adverse to being "solely be in it and it alone"?
this is what i've gathered and seen from ppl who is in all the different religions loh... is like buddhist only consider buddhism christians only consider christianity...so yea i am not into that kind of stuffs... learn frm all and do it in my own way of life =) thats my take on it. I came from a strong buddhism/taoism background ma... entire family is that religion... if i had blindly went in and stayed inside, i wont even be here i guess. Not that being within is bad... but being out of it makes it easier for me to take in essence of the different religions. -
Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
this is what i've gathered and seen from ppl who is in all the different religions loh... is like buddhist only consider buddhism christians only consider christianity...so yea i am not into that kind of stuffs... learn frm all and do it in my own way of life =) thats my take on it. I came from a strong buddhism/taoism background ma... entire family is that religion... if i had blindly went in and stayed inside, i wont even be here i guess. Not that being within is bad... but being out of it makes it easier for me to take in essence of the different religions.Well, you did not quite answer the bit about what's wrong with being solely in one particular reason. It's like if you found a wife you would be solely be in it because she is the one and only person for you for life, ya?
Anyway, if your concern is that of being a blind follower of a religion, then the appropriate response would be to be critical of what each religion teaches. I think syncretism is not the way to go. It not only dilutes or distorts each religion it can also lead to logically contradictory or incoherent beliefs. It's not just about what you perceive as good, it is also about whether the beliefs in question are true. The criterion of truth should be paramount.
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Originally posted by BroInChrist:
Well, you did not quite answer the bit about what's wrong with being solely in one particular reason. It's like if you found a wife you would be solely be in it because she is the one and only person for you for life, ya?
Anyway, if your concern is that of being a blind follower of a religion, then the appropriate response would be to be critical of what each religion teaches. I think syncretism is not the way to go. It not only dilutes or distorts each religion it can also lead to logically contradictory or incoherent beliefs. It's not just about what you perceive as good, it is also about whether the beliefs in question are true. The criterion of truth should be paramount.
well.. for me wife and religion are 2 issues hell apart. for wife off course she'll be one and only and i'll be solely in it. But for religion my take is still not to be solely in one. Probably is people that i've seen who are solely in one and are always blinded to the surroundings.i enjoy being how i currently am =) -
Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
well.. for me wife and religion are 2 issues hell apart. for wife off course she'll be one and only and i'll be solely in it. But for religion my take is still not to be solely in one. Probably is people that i've seen who are solely in one and are always blinded to the surroundings.i enjoy being how i currently am =)Actually I don't think the wife and religion decision are that far apart. Both are life-changing and life-long decisions. In fact, I think you should know that in Christianity, God always portray Himself as the Bridegroom and Israel/Church as the Bride.
May I also add that there is a difference between being blinded to the surroundings, and being fully convinced that the one you are with is the one for you to the exclusion of others.
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BIC, to those who see Christianity as a religion, they wun see how the wife n religion can be parallels. We see them as parallels cos we know Christianity to be a r/s not a religion. So comparing r/s wif r/s is appropriate. But to those who treat Christianity as a religion, it's comparing r/s wif religion which is inappropriate.
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Originally posted by despondent:
BIC, to those who see Christianity as a religion, they wun see how the wife n religion can be parallels. We see them as parallels cos we know Christianity to be a r/s not a religion. So comparing r/s wif r/s is appropriate. But to those who treat Christianity as a religion, it's comparing r/s wif religion which is inappropriate.
Yes, I can understand that. Many see Christianity as just one of many religions out there, just like having a buffet feast, eat what you like. But by doing so they have treated it as a matter of taste/preference rather than a matter of truth claims to be examined.
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have you any idea whats the definition of religion in the 1st place?
if xtianity is not a religion, I wonder what is.
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i dun blame destiny for tinking the way he does...being brought up in a buddhist family, he has been tot to believe tat good works gets one to heaven/nirvana...if we see it by his context, he is doing a good thing to find the strengths of all religions and try to practise them...its like discard the bad and embrace all the good so tat he can be a good person...
the unfortunate thing for him is tat if christianity turns out to be rite about its teaching on salvation, no amount of being good will get him to heaven...from a carnal view, i applaud him...but from a spiritual view, sigh....i dunno wad to say...
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Originally posted by despondent:
i dun blame destiny for tinking the way he does...being brought up in a buddhist family, he has been tot to believe tat good works gets one to heaven/nirvana...if we see it by his context, he is doing a good thing to find the strengths of all religions and try to practise them...its like discard the bad and embrace all the good so tat he can be a good person...
the unfortunate thing for him is tat if christianity turns out to be rite about its teaching on salvation, no amount of being good will get him to heaven...from a carnal view, i applaud him...but from a spiritual view, sigh....i dunno wad to say...
oh man there you people are going again
I have no time to reply to your nonsense.
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were we even replying to u?
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Originally posted by despondent:
i dun blame destiny for tinking the way he does...being brought up in a buddhist family, he has been tot to believe tat good works gets one to heaven/nirvana...if we see it by his context, he is doing a good thing to find the strengths of all religions and try to practise them...its like discard the bad and embrace all the good so tat he can be a good person...
the unfortunate thing for him is tat if christianity turns out to be rite about its teaching on salvation, no amount of being good will get him to heaven...from a carnal view, i applaud him...but from a spiritual view, sigh....i dunno wad to say...
well... buddhist have their talk about nirvana and stuffs, christians have their view on god and salvation and stuffs, for both areas no 1 can prove each other right or wrong. so for me i just embrace what i tink is good and thats enuff imo. i always believed that doing good always leads to something good and if thats not the case, then thats too bad for me... but for now nth convinced me to do anything else other than good =D -
Originally posted by Jacky Woo:
oh man there you people are going again
I have no time to reply to your nonsense.
That's good. Being a troll you don't have much to contribute to the threads anyway.
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Originally posted by BroInChrist:
That's good. Being a troll you don't have much to contribute to the threads anyway.
he is just very much against christianity anyway... if u guys dun like then dun reply to him :) -
against a God tat doesnt exist...doesnt tat mean against nothingness? so he is for existence? hmmm
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u referring to?
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not u for sure...:)