This description is an outline of behavior to be expected of members. Atheists are welcome, but only if you're serious about asking what it is we believe. Otherwise, kindly excuse yourself.
Matthew 5, verses numbered: 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get... 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?
This is a place to come and discuss your faith, your fandom(s), and doctrine. Christians will be allowed to debate doctrine in moderation.
Atheists looking to debate will be banished to the moon. Oh, yes. You're allowed to be here.
Genuine interest in what we believe and why is welcomed. Deliberate "Trying to convince you that your god doesn't exist" is not. That's just disrespectful.
It's not that we won't debate you. It's that we don't want to refute the same, tired old arguments. We simply do not have enough faith to be an atheist, and that is final.
The Bible will be our FINAL authority on any dispute. This means applying this thing called "Hermeneutics." (Which is asking WHO is talking, WHAT is happening, WHEN and WHERE did this take place, and WHY did it happen?) This is the standard method for interpreting Scripture, and any book, as they are contextual questions.
This is a Non-denominational group, and to make sure I'm covering my bases, here is a list of heretic sects that are not considered apart of the Church, which is the body of Christ:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_heresies#Modern_Movements
Some of those are outdated, but there are some people that follow a handful of those today.
Jehova's Witness and Mormonism are also heretical.
Just in case, Biblehub and Biblegateway provide translations considered canon.
http://biblehub.com/
https://www.biblegateway.com/
2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Discussion on the threads should be pretty self-explanatory. Keep the discussion friendly, and tolerate the crap out of someone that really gets under your skin.
1 Corinthians 13 New International Version (NIV)
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
OFFICIAL GROUP ANTHEM! (Not endorsed by Colossus)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pdSF7Ntg5-A&x-yt-ts=1422579428&x-yt-cl=85114404
Current admin is Gamer Brash. Contact me with any questions.
Be genuine. Be legit. In Christ, Gamer. /)
416165
Simply put, our very existence is a strong argument towards the existence of god.
Scientists are constantly discovering new things about our solar system that are necessary for life as we know it. The earth is ideally situated relative to the sun so that it's neither a ball of ice nor a sea of molten lava. The earth's magnetic field protects us from much of the sun's radiation, as the atmosphere protects us from meteorites. Jupiter protects us from larger space debris by drawing it into itself with it's mass. and this is all without even getting into the miracle of life itself. creating even the simplest organism, -one that takes in matter, converts it into energy and materials, then creates another organism that does the same thing- by coincidence is about as likely as an explosion in a printing shop producing a dictionary.
You may or may not find this to be compelling evidence, but it's not the main reason we believe anyway. We believe because we have felt confirmation in our hearts and minds that it is true, that god sent his son to atone for the sins of the world and for each of us personally, and because we have felt the positive effects of doing what god has asked us to do.
If you really want to know for yourself why we believe, find a quiet place, kneel down, fold your arms, and ask god sincerely if he's real. You likely won't get an angelic visitation, but you will get a confirmation in your heart and mind.
I'm an atheist and I don't think there's any good reason to believe in god or be a Christian. I just don't understand why anyone would. Can someone provide me some good reasons for either? What am I missing here?
The rules say the bible will be the final authority on any disputes, but should we take anything the bible says seriously just because it's in the bible? I don't see why we should do that....
388619
I'll try to reign in my manners, if that's what you're asking.
I wasn't looking for debate, either.
388616 I'm not going to go near a real religious debate with you or anyone else on this site. Nothing personal, I just don't go near it.
If you truly believe there's no such thing as a good person, I humbly ask that you pretend there is, and act like such a hypothetical person while you're using this site. Most people, myself included, don't give a damn about your faith so long as your behavior is good.
388615
So what if it's Scripture? Read it like anything else.
Part of my point in writing that is that Christians AREN'T good people, we've merely been declared righteous by Jesus' sacrifice. Jesus' righteousness is credited to the Christian's account, so that when God looks at us, He sees Jesus.
Also, Romans 3:23 should have been mentioned, in hindsight.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Meaning, there are truly no such things as "Good people." Only broken, flawed, messed-up people. And I'd say, looking at our world, that's a rather fair assessment.
Am I saying people cannot do good? No.
But I am saying that apart from faith in Christ those good works are meaningless.
In short, the expressions "Good people" or "Good person" are oxymorons. They simply don't exist. And according to this assessment, Mother Teresa was no better than Adolph Hitler.
Also, it's much older than 2,000 years. The New Testament is about that old. The Old Testament is ancient stuff, the oldest book being Job.
388613 Your writing looks to be about 90% scripture so I really can't even penetrate it to find any deeper meaning, but I know that the whole point of Christianity and most other major religions is to discourage people from being dicks to each other. I'd much rather the Christians on this site put their faith into practice by being GOOD PEOPLE rather than endlessly fighting with each other and with trolls over whether or not a 2,000 year old book holds all the answers to human existence, but that's really none of my business.
Still, if that's what you're going for, then good on you for at least showing initiative.
388612
I don't handle conflict well.
This is evident.
All I can do is strive to change that.
(Also wrote about that, saying that "Christianity is not about performance.")
388611 I meant the issue with your description. If the title or mere existence of this group continues to upset people (I can understand why), or your behavior creates future drama, that's on you.
388610
Thank you. Hear that, guys? Mod says it's done. We can all go home.
I actually learned from this and wrote about it.
To be entirely honest, I think I've been letting my emotions on the matter sway my thinking. And that's never good.
http://www.fimfiction.net/group/206316/the-legit-christian-bronies/thread/152753/why-are-we-held-to-a-standard-such-as-this
388609 At this point I'm pretty fed up with everything on this site that has anything remotely "Christian" in the name, because it all seems to be trolls having a giggle at religious folk's expense or (more commonly, oddly enough) religious folk apparently doing everything in their power to attract trolls and then proceeding to handle them in objectively the worst ways trolls can possibly be dealt with.
But that doesn't mean I can't be objective here. In this case, I wanted the description changed. You did so, but made a stupid remark I felt obligated to address. If it was a joke, it was impossible to detect, because blame-shifting has been the name of the game during this whole thread. Maybe you didn't mean to make an attack group, but you did end up making one. As far as I can tell based on admittedly limited experience and information, most of the claims against you here are valid.
But I'm going to try and not get involved there unless absolutely necessary. I just can't let a comment like that lynch mob nonsense go unanswered.
As far as I'm concerned, this issue is resolved.
388605
Can't you see I'm trying to make up for this? What do I have to do?
Seriously, I'm trying my best at conflict resolution at this point.
I have a tendency to be rather forward, yes. That's one of my flaws, and it's even in my OC name. It's something I acknowledge and know that I'm never really going to be fully better about it.
You came in here, and even seemed to be rather objective about settling things, but now it feels like you're set against me and I don't know how to go forward.
388601 After what I've seen in this thread alone, no, that was unfortunately well within the realm of plausibility coming from you.
388598
I'm not upset, I'm just asking for some decency.
I've screwed up, and I changed what was causing others to believe this was an attack group.
And the lynch-mob remark was a joke. Apparently that wasn't obvious.
388595 sure, but the "name-calling" you're upset about was a response to your rather nonsensical lynch mob remark. I don't know what that could possibly be besides yet another I-didn-do-nuthin attempt at blaming everybody else for ganging up on you. Which... no. If you're going to "voice your opinions" in this matter, you have to expect it to create tons of drama.
388594
(I meant that I changed the group description.)
388593
Doesn't seem like taking accountability to me. Sounds like more blame-shifting. If you're going to voice your opinions is an abrasive, inflammatory manner, you're going to get called out for it.
388585
I'd appreciate it if you'd stop with the name-calling. What are we, 14?
I took accountability and fixed it. What more do you want?
388584 When you do it in a completely dickish manner, absolutely.
388583
Thank you for pointing that out, I think I wrote that without thinking.
*sigh* See what happens when you express your feelings about something? Everyone lynch-mobs ya.