Common Sense Christianity

[Curious39]

Dear Friends,

Often subtle points are overlooked in posts, so I ask that you please get a real grasp on where I am coming from and what I am saying before you rip me to shreds.

As a primer, I am not writing apologetically... that is to say, I am not writing with the intent to convert, proclaim or slant someone's belief.  My entire point is to plainly lay out what is Christianity.  NOT what is a Christian.

First, Christians as a whole, tinkle me off.  I don't like "holier than thou" people.  I don't like their opposite either... those who position themselves as superior through their humility.  I don't like those who take a passive indifference to their own flaws by declairing forgiveness.  I don't like preachy people.

I DO however, love the message.  So let's please not deal with the followers.  Let's instead deal with the point. 

Second, if someone here is a Christian and feels I am in error, they can do what they want.  If I feel that the point they make is valid, then I might reply.  Otherwise, I probably won't.

on to the point.

There is a reason that Christians call the Gospel, "The Good News."  It simply means that God wants to have a personal relationship with you and He is willing to do all the work.  Its not "bad news" and it doesn't mean you "must" do anything.  God does all the work.  All you have to do is thank him once.

Allow me to backtrack for a moment.  The old story goes that there was a judge down here in the South.  He was known to be a firm line on the letter of the law and would always give the maximum penalty.  One day, the doors to his court opened up and in walked the local sherriff with the judge's own son... who had been caught breaking the law in some fashion.  The gallery was awe-struck!  Given the judge's reputation, if he went soft on his own kid, he'd be making a mockery of the judicial system!  But ... to ruthlessly and publically punish his own child would be a slap in the face of how us Southerner's rear our youngins.  So what did he do?  He hit the boy with the maximum fine.  He threw the book at him.  Then he got down off the bench and went over and paid the fine himself.

And that is the Good News.

So many people here don't understand the point.  The point isn't about sin.  It USED to be about sin.  The point is about having a relationship with God.  Sin, afterall, is a Greek word used in archery.  It merely means that you missed the bullseye.  Why would that matter?  Because God is perfect.  God's realm is perfect.  Can you go to God's realm if you are just a teensy bit off base?  No.  Why?  Because then God's realm wouldn't be perfect.  So what to do?  Oh.. yeah... pay for the debt himself.

How do you do that?  Well, lets see... uh... well, let's back up a second.   The primary rule is "free will."  Why?  Because you can't force someone to love you.  You have to give them a chance NOT to love you.  Then when they do, its for real.  Hence, you must have the ability to turn from God, or turn toward God.  Free will.  The freedom to do unspeakable evil, or... to love the Ultimate Ruler.  You get to pick.  Which of course means that God does NOT condemn you to hell.  On judgement day, either you or God is gonna say, "your will be done."  Either God or you get's to decide.  If you don't wanna be with Him, you don't have to be... but He did say... not being with Him would suck (hence, hell).  But I digress.  So God must keep heaven perfect.   So... he breaks the chain of sin (apparently passed down through the male side... females go ahead and say "I told you so!")  Hence, Mary didn't get pregnant from Joseph.  Now, why be "born?"  Well, if you look... the Creator can't enter His creation without causing some serious crap to go down.  The world simply can't stand the awesome presence of God.  SO... He condescends Himself to be born a human being... sinless by the birth without a sperm.  We are born into a fallen world (a fallen world by the choice we had of turning toward or against God... free will again).  God... was not fallen at birth.  So He lives a completely innocent life.  Why innocent?  So that he deserves no punishment.  Then what?  He gets punishment.  He is the perfect sacrifice.  He is:  a) God.  b) Innocent.  c)  Punished.   And that is what pays for all mistakes we make or will make.  "But how do you account for murder?"  We are all murderers.  We tacked Him to a Cross 2,000 years ago.

So with Sin out of the way... what do you do?  Well, you just accept that your debt was paid.  Think of it like this... we're at lunch.  You offer to get the check.  I say thanks, and I mean it. 

Yeah... that's all there is to it.

"But God is a mean and vengeful God!!"  Actually, He isn't.  God is omnipotent.  Oh... by the way... that does NOT mean that God can do anything.  God cannot do anything.  FOR EXAMPLE:

God cannot remember your wrongdoings, once you say thanks.  That's been covered.

God cannot do anything wrong.

God cannot stop loving you.

God cannot take away your free will to love him or not.

God cannot stop you from turning His love away.

Hence... you condemn yourself.  You actively CHOOSE not to be with God... He does NOT choose NOT to be with you or throw you in some burning lake.  He lets YOU decide by your own free will.  You wanna be with God?  Well, the Good News is that all you have to do is say, "Thanks.  I accept your generousity."

Then you love, and do as you will.  OH... will you do all sorts of willingly wrong things?  Well, not if you truly try your hardest to love.  Will you screw up?  Yes.  Don't sweat it.  Its covered.

"But the God of the Old Testament was MEAN!!!"

There are lots of things the Bible doesn't say.  For instance... it DOES say that children younger than the age of reason will always go to Heaven.  It does NOT say what that age is.  Why?  Because some nutjob would go around murdering kids below the age of reason to make sure they go to Heaven.

SO... the first rule is to trust God.  In the Old Testament, there are frequent bouts of God destroying children.  Trust God.  Those kids were below the age of reason.  They were snatched up to go be with God... and had he left them where they were, they wouldn't have stood a chance of getting there.  If a human being did that... the person would be pure evil.  A human didn't.  God did.  Trust Him... he knew what He was doing.

Consider this:  there are moments in the Bible where Astral Travel is spoken... and it is never spoken sinfully.  (nor in those words).  There was a shroud that separated a "holy spot" in the temple from where priests could go and no one else... from the congregation.  This was because only priests could be in the presence of God.  When Jesus died, the shroud was ripped in two... signifying that anyone could now stand in the presence of God.

Perhaps that is also what allowed us to explore God's realm.  I'm not talking about the impressionistic Hollow Heavens or Hollow Hells.  I'm talking about finding out what REALLY is going on.

Frank's Focus 4:   Perhaps how we should all learn.  But what lies above?  Perhaps God.  And what allows us to be there?

Perhaps Jesus.

Can you get out of your own personal Hell?  Well, maybe BECAUSE of Jesus, yes.  You merely change your focus from that hollow hell (repent) and bang... you're out. We learn that in the Astral.

Why?

Because your debt was paid.

Take it in stride.

C

[Berserk]

I would express your point this way.  Many Christians profess faith in the Gospel of grace, but then fail to grasp the meaning of a grace-based life.   Grace means "unmerited favor."  Insignificant creatures like us can do nothing to "earn" the favor of the Creator of the universe.  So we are "saved by grace through faith, not by works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9)."  The meaning of the cross is that God does not assess me in terms of my accumulation of good works, but in terms of how my behavior reveals the spiritual person I might become by His grace and with His guidance.  On the other hand, one cannot be "saved" by grace without any works (James 2:14, 24). How, then, can Ephesians be reconciled with James?  The only proper response to grace is a life that strives to express gratitude (see e. g. 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:1; Ephesians 5:20).   Practically speaking, this means I relate to you not out of a sense of duty, but out of a sense of privilege.   As a motivation, duty can easily connote a sense of burden.  A grace-based life does not allow me to collect applause in my mind for putting up with you.  From the Gospel's perspective, "good works" don't merit anything; rather they are my way of making my gratitude real.   It is not enough to express my gratitude in words or thoughts; I must make my gratitude real by the way I serve God and treat others.  Jesus taught:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you (Luke 7:29-30)." 

I must strive to love my enemy not to shame him, but to make my gratitude real for the fact that God will accept me just the way I am if I accept my enemy just the way he is.  God has no absotute standard of justice; rather, He judges me by the standard I use to judge others (Matthew 7:2).  To the degree that I nurse a grudge against you and refuse to forgive you for what you did to me, God won't forgive me (Matthew 6:14-15).

Don