well, i would be awfully glad if you do believe in ************, and by that, I mean, not just that He existed, because I think you know full well that is not whats meant by the term to "believe in Jesus". If indeed you believe He is the Son of God, Died on the Cross for our sins, and resurrected 3 days later, then we have no disagreement and I see no reason for your hostility. If you dont believe that, then lets try to have an honest conversation and not play cutesy debating games.
as far as this idea that you KNOW what I believe, its clear you dont just based on this bizarre quote of yours from earlier:
"By becoming a religionist, he has chosen to adopt a belief system rooted in abdication of personal responsibility for one's thoughts and actions (re., "giving one's self to Jesus/God") as defined by his sect's narrow interpretation of the Christian bible. This extends to an ongoing campaign of attempting to control others by luring them into the sect with the promise of eternal life so they can feel "free" and "righteous," and needn't stress any longer over wordly travails. We've often seen 3 to be 4 state that Jesus has set him "free" and that "I need Jesus every day." I've heard heroin addicts say similar things; the addictive mindset is very similar, just a different drug or panacea. Religionists believe that in the context of eternal life, none of our personal worldly concerns matter anyway (as long as one is "saved"). Nothing could be more wrong, as our very purpose in life is to evolve as loving, spiritual beings through the myriad challenges and hardships we were brought into this incarnation to experience. What 3 to be 4 professes has little to do with the true spiritual principles of Christianity, or with one developing a personal relationship with God through the example of Christ's divine life. The genuine Christian relies upon spiritual guidance for (1). learning how to assume personal responsibility for one's thoughts, actions, happiness and well-being, (2). learning how to honor and love one's self, and (3). extending that love to others. You can't get to #3 without first dedicating yourself to #1 and #2 and working damn hard at it. 3 to be 4 suggests sidestepping all that by buying into a ready-made religionist belief system. Without doing the work necessary to evolve personally and spiritually, he and others of his ilk are little more than dogma-spewing, scripture-quoting religion addicts."
Where on earth do you get all this??
where have I ever talked about abdicating personal responsibility?
How exactly do I "control" others? By posting things on a chat site?
How have I made anybody do anything? Wheres YOUR personal responsibility. You arent forced to read any of it. Do the people hurling insults on the political board get accused of controlling people?
as far as this:
"our very purpose in life is to evolve as loving, spiritual beings through the myriad challenges and hardships we were brought into this incarnation to experience"
REALLY?? You have defined the purpose of life for all of us? You think very highly of yourself. Its sounds like you do indeed worship yourself, since I guess your definition of our purpose has more validity than the Bible.
The genuine Christian reads the Bible and listens to the teachings in it. Read it for yourself, compare what you are saying, and my belief that ************ is the Son of God, Died on the Cross for our sins, and resurrected 3 days later.
Now you can say you are not a Christian and I can respect that. But to think you can speak about genuine Christianity when you think following the Bible is "narrow" and that Christianity isnt about a personal relationship with ************ is laughable. Your description of Christianity sounded more like a self-help book than anything else.
Forget my interpretation, The Word speaks for itself, theres no better reading than Psalms and Proverbs in the Old, Matthew and John in the New.
http://bibledev.azaz.com/bibleresources/bible_kjv.php
I don't force anything on anybody. The name ************ brings out strong reactions in people, the same people who wont get offended by anything else in this "everything goes" society. Its all "free speech" Until you proclaim ************ as Lord. And then people get all bent out of shape.
Its everyones own choice how they react. Its not my responsibility if something hits a nerve in some people. I do know I feel great tonight because its been one more day living my life with the Lord, I had a great day at work, spent some quality time with my family, had a nice dinner out, spent some time at our church hearing about our great plans for 2007......
check out a some great worship and some awesome messages if you like
hey, if you're ever in Olathe...just outside of KC
http://www.lifechurch-kc.com/
and I had a chance to talk about Jesus with you guys. Nice to see some people have looked at the music today. And at the very least, ive introduced the names of a lot of great Christian Contemporary Artists to people who may not have heard of them or that option before.
Its been a great day. All the praises go to Him. Be well, and im sure we'll talk soon