Welcome to Sanctuary

Thank you Very kind of you to do that for us.

 

Agreed. You totally rock, Skip!

I do have a couple of questions, since this forum is a bit different than Christianity and you do allow Bible quotes here:

Are we allowed to post prayer requests as well?

Can we share our personal testimonies, stories, life lessons, life applications, prasie reports, etc. as long as it refers to us personally?

Regarding "testimonies" I'm talking about the kind where you say what Christianity has done for YOU, not what it could do for OTHERS. Like, "I'm so happy, Jesus has helped me turn my life around". I understand that "Jesus can help you turn your life around too!" is not allowed, though, LOL. In my personal opinion, as long as you keep the content of your posts about yourself and perhaps people you are close to in your life and not people on this forum, it's not witnessing or proselytizing, per se. A good general rule would be to use a lot of "I's" and "mine's" but no "you's" or "your's". Of course, I could be wrong. It's just that when I share those things, it's usually NOT an attempt to "get people over to my side" but really just things I like to share with other believers (note, believers - already there, no witnessing needed anyway! LOL) and get feedback on.

This is a fuzzy area as far as the rules go, so I'd appreciate some clarification on what is and is not allowed in here. I'm sure others would too. We don't want to ruin the Sanctuary. So far, "No witnessing but Bible verses are ok" is pretty vague when it comes to a group of believers - there's a LOT we can talk about!

Thanks!

-Lily

 

Ahhh but therein lies the rub - the personal spiritual message of Jesus in many Christians lives are guided and based off the Bible. And since parts of the Bible are interpreted differently by different people, it can cause a clash in the personal spiritual messages which is what leads people back to the Bible to find out why they are clashing - and then you have a potentially dogmatic legalistic dead horse beating thread brewing.

Since some issues are a matter of eternal life and death, some people are very insistent on attempting to beat that dead horse until everyone believes as they do. It's only natural to be concerned if you truly believe a Christian brother or sister is so errant in a belief that they are in danger one way or another. That's all fine and dandy, the problem lies in the fact that some Christians don't know when to shut up about it, and accept that people aren't always going to change their minds no matter how many different ways or number of times you present your point of view.

I'd say the key for us here in this forum is just to realize that we will all walk different walks as Christians and if we find that we feel another Christian is wrong, to respectfully ask questions to understand them better, to simply state our difference of belief in a respectful manner, provide scripture to back it up if preferred, and leave it at that - whether or not anyone else chooses to agree with you. It's their choice, not yours. There is no need for disagreements to go any further than this, nor in my experience is it ever productive. If you are one of those that believes it is your responsibility to "spread the light" or what have you, realize that at this point you have already done your part of what God would want you to do. It is NOT your responsibility if someone else chooses to disagree with you. So let it be, and go on to another topic - like sharing good news and intellient conversation. And if you really just can not refrain from beating a dead horse at least do so in PM and spare the rest of us.

I think if we all followed this general guideline, we could avoid much of the "hellfire and damnation" crap (sorry but it's crap to me) and pushy dogmatic legalistic bullshit - which totally misses the entire point of being a Christian in the first place, not to mention often ruins what could be a beautiful part of the experience. I'd love to see all this left out so that others could see that not all Christians are such poor examples of the human species.

Of course, if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me, Skip.

 

So far, I don't think there are any Bible-thumping inclined Christians in our Sanctuary, which is refreshingly unusual. It may be Skip's rules, but I get the impression most of us wouldn't be interested anyway. There is one thread in Sanctuary and in the main section come close,when people go on about passages in Revelations in a way that seems to me to be incoherent. As long as these are minimal, I guess they're harmless, although somewhat embarrassing.

 

Not exactly - It's always good to back up why you believe as you do with Scripture so others can check it out for themselves and decide how they feel about it. It's so easy to pick and choose and twist Scripture around to fit what you want it to fit instead of what it actually says... so providing the reference takes away some of the tendency to do that, since people can check up on what you're actually saying. Some people even go so far as to make up their own Scripture... "The Bible says..." ok, so WHERE does the Bible say? Prove you didn't pull it out of your own ass... YKWIM?

Personally, I provide the actual scripture quote in some cases along with the reference simply for the sake of saving the reader's time from having to go dig out a Bible to see what the frog's ass I am talking about or where I am coming from.

All this is to say, yes actually it is necessary sometimes, to quote scripture or provide references so that others may understand more fully where you are coming from in your own beliefs.

 

True, the truth is within us.
And by following the exoteric teachings of the Bible, we
still cling to the ego, and we may only gain half of the
message.
By breaking down the teachings and understanding the
esoteric teachings of the New Testament, we can liberate
our souls, and REALLY live heaven, on Earth. -

 

They DO resonate inside me. I do remember and absorb the teachings. I don't quote the scriptures for my own purpose, but as I said, to explain to OTHER people WHY my beliefs resonate inside me. For example, one of my personal beliefs is that I should have my head covered when I pray. If someone asks me why I do this, I would say "Because I feel that it is respectful to God and it shows my willingness to submit to His will". Not to show it to anyone else... that's a personal thing no one ever sees me do. It's just between me and my God. That's the part that resonates inside me and is a part of my personal spiritual beliefs. However, the practice of covering my head when I pray, when discussed, it doesn't make sense to most others. They would then ask where did I get this absurd idea from. I can then tell them to check out 1 Corinthians 11: 1-16 in the Bible. So in most cases if I am sharing or explaining a personal belief, I just provide the Scripture if any apply to save time. How could I explain why I do what I do or believe what I believe without referencing the Bible, when the basis for these things is from my own study of it? I believe what I do about covering my head when I pray because the guy who wrote that particular Scripture gave me the idea. When I read it, I really thought about it for a while, prayed about it, studied it in depth, and decided I agreed with him. Sure, I can quote just the basic idea of why I do it, but it's inevitable, I am ALWAYS asked what the basis is for that belief, or to prove I'm not pulling it out of my own ass. It extends to other areas of my beliefs.

The reason you don't have to quote anything to explain your beliefs is because your beliefs are different than mine. They come from a different place. I do not know the depth of your beliefs, but perhaps they don't come from a book or are not supported by a particular book? And that's ok. Mine ARE supported by a book. That's ok too. It's not the book I worship, but rather the book supports what I know in my heart to be the truth for me. I don't believe in God just because of what the Bible says, I believe in God because of what I've experienced deep within myself. The Bible just happens to support a lot of that, and is a great resource for explaining things, studying things, learning things, etc.

Perhaps we will just have to agree to disagree on this matter. *smile* As for me, it is not my wish to spam any forum. But it IS a forum FOR Christians, and you have stated we are allowed to quote Scripture here, and since I like to back up my beliefs with whatever I can, if it happens to be Scripture I am going to do that for accountability's sake. If you choose to revoke allowing us to quote Scripture, then I'll append to my every post in which I speak of scripture that if anyone would like the reference or the quote, to PM me for it. Scriptures are an important part of any Christian's life, and I would hope that this facet would be respected much the same as stories, crystals, etc are accepted for other belief systems.

It saddens me that the Bible, such a beautiful part of my beliefs, has been corrupted by those who abuse it. It's far too much been used as a weapon rather than a tool for personal enlightenment in one's chosen path. Because of what so many "Christians" have done in this matter, those who do NOT abuse the Bible or use it as a weapon of mass annoyance can no longer feel free to publicly embrace the Bible as a special and important part of their beliefs. Much like you, the rest of the world arches their back when anything to do with the Bible is mentioned. I am not alone in being one who does not use Scripture to abuse others, but as a personal thing. I wish these other Christians hadn't ruined it for the rest of us. I wish I could feel free to reference or quote scripture when it has to do with my beliefs without fear of being accused of using it as a crutch, weapon, or tool of annoyance. I wish the Bible could be seen as a part of ME and therefore respected as I am respected, and not seen as representative of my fellow wayward so-called "Christians", a tool of abuse, or spam or advertisement.

 

True enough. But for the record my Bible sits on my desk 6 feet away. It gets in my way so I just use one online. Bwahaha. Thanks for the good discussion, Skip.

 

I am just now checking out this part of the site - stupid me. Anyway, I didn't realize we weren't supposed to quote scripture in the other forums. Since a lot of stuff posted seems to be a combination of written vomit, put-downs, and self-love, it never occured to me that quoting scripture should be censored. But we can give the reference in other places, right? I don't mean to sound smart - but really, I have been amazed at the degree of negativity and general smartassness used in replying to innocent questions and musings on various forums. But no Bible spamming. Gotta draw a line somewhere, huh?
(smile) and God bless.

 

me again - I really don't want to "get off on the wrong foot", and make sure what would be okay.
I agree that it would be totally unnecessary to quote 16 verses of scripture - or even 10 verses (in a row); but how about 1 to 3 verses, just to answer a question or do what I would consider prove a point.
People that call themselves Christians and use the ranting hellfire and brimstone approach tire me. As a Christian, I am embarassed by those who use the Bible as an excuse or tool to defend whatever their current insanity is.
I do not go to church because I cannot deal with the hipocracy of the majority; but I do not say there is no good church out there. Unfortunately, some of the most godless people I've known also called themself Christians. I smoke marijuana, and it is like I told a Cop one time, after he had been searching my little truck for 30 minutes:
"You can look through my little truck all you want. All I have is the pot that you already found. You won't find anything else, for my master is God and he manufactures marijuajna. I am not going to have a philosophical argument with you; but I just wanted you to know that as far as I'm concerned if you have a problem with weed you ought to talk it over with God".
So, would it be ok to quote like one to three or four verses in a post if absolutely necessary.
I wasn't planning on sharing all that!

 

Hey, Thanks Skip. I was about to protest.

 

Hello,

I am having a hard time seeing a true sense of free speech here. Seems like there are definitely "rules" for the Chrisitians and lack of them for others?

Am I just deciphering this wrong?

Folks I know call me a Hippy Christian , a woman and what I walk with thru my day is an inner sense of peace I receive from Gods holy spirit,( a personal connection I feel, hear and at times am led by in my spirit), manifsted in actual circumstances on the planet,directly relating to passages in the bible. Knowledge I have gleaned from the bible, which I believe to be the inspired word of God.Being I also believe he created all of this, the bible to me is like an instruction booklet for humans. Not unlike a bicycle manual for your bike, but written perfectly (no deciphered foreign languages)/

All of this has also directly been manifested in my life and others I have observed, and create a true happiness in my self, including the belief of I know where I am going next into my eternal life after this one.

I love this and would love to see others have this peace also! How can I share the different struggles I have had in my life over my 58 years now( and there have been alot of them) without sharing how Gods word and how it has become truth to me,walked out in the world, on this planet, if I am not allowed to quote scripture.

The two go together as personal truth to me. I feel gagged....where's the love one another in that???

I have heard folks put down "evangelical Christians" as they are termed, even by other Christians. I have never considered myself "one", just a Christian.Yet, I don't want to put down or judge those who relate to that label.

But from my experience even though some of them ( who label themselves or "others label them that) can be pushy, seem robotic or even over bearing. At the heart of their core I believe most share their words and scripture because they want those they see hurting to be comforted also.

They honestly know in scripture God will judge their motives, they can't hide from that truth even if they try .SO they do what they believe IS the most loving thing they can do for their fellow human beings!

Some times we really need to look beyond the surface and see, or be open to motives different than we may take at first glance as negative, but really done in love, and give folks a fair break even if we don't agree with them up front.

I think that takes a truly "open" discussion board with the same restrictions for all.......All of our remarks after all...are just coming from imperfect human beings.

And aren't we ALL in that boat together???.

Aren't we all needed, Don't we all have a piece of the pie( that is actually scripture, I have put into my own words here)

I am a newbie...so please forgive me if I am out of place in adding this here....

 

^ I appreciate you, Glow, as well as your sentiments.

Welcome and Godspeed.

 

Thanks Lynnbrown. I enjoyed your truck story! God IS good!

"Life"An amazing journey isn't it?

 

I am skeptical about such motives being derived from love, It seems to me to be more about ego than love.