So help me out here..... (page 3)

possible-san

Well, in Japan, there are rarely people who believe Jesus.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/entertainment/197111/1/Iihi-Tabidachi-Chihiro-Onitsuka

Furthermore, on the earth, there are people who do not know even the name of Jesus.

possible

Chalam

leavingwt I would like to invite any Calvinists to respond or correct my next statement. . .

If God predestines everything, then you cannot choose Christ. God will choose you, if it's his will. If he wants you to burn in Hell for all eternity, there is nothing you can do about it.

I dunno if I qualify because I don't know if I am truly Calvinist! I just read the bible.

I partially agree with the statement, God can do what He likes, that is the natures of being God.

However, He is not evil and hates suffering. He does not want anyone to perish but He is holy.

Trying to understand predestination will mess with you head, same as trying to grasp the nature of God's with our finite minds.

You need to put this doctrinal issue on one side for now and concentrate on answering the call :) 1 Samuel 3:9-11 , Matthew 4:18-20, Hebrews 3:7-9

Blessings,

Stephen

dutchstef

There is a lot of evidence that Jesus was gay.

That does not mean you have to become gay, but it might help if you are....

leavingwt

However, He is not evil and hates suffering. He does not want anyone to perish but He is holy.

Let me examine this, from an outsider perspective.

God is Almighty. By definition, he makes the rules.

As such, he determines WHAT the punishment will be for "sin". Christianity asserts that God decided that this punishment will be eternal suffering. (A tiny fraction of Christianity assert annihilationism.)

The decision about WHAT the punishment would be was entirely up to him. He could have made the punishment anything. A slap on the wrist, eating liver and onions, eternal death, Hellfire, watching re-runs of the Golden Girls, attending a Kingdom Hall for twenty years, listening to Barry Manilow, etc.

What did he choose as the punishment for a (relatively) short lifetime of sin? Eternal torment. He decided that for those who disobey, SUFFERING is the order of the day.

At this point, the believer usually says, "Well, those are the rules and it's your fault."

Do you understand WHY outsiders see this as both ridiculous and incompatible with the concept of God being "Love"?

IMHO, the very concept of eternal suffering as a punishment for disbelief is nothing more than a Fear Mechanism used on superstitious and uneducated people. It has worked very well.

leavingwt

And why will this eternal suffering happen? Because by sheer chance -- your father's sperm "chose" one particular egg.

Quillsky

Sir82 says .......

Based on everything I read or heard, you basically have to play-act a conversation in your head.

Good summary.

possible-san

In the following thread, I introduced the "Ushiku Daibutsu" (120m) in Japan.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/entertainment/197426/1/PBS-Documentary-on-Buddha-Anyone-watch

In the world, there is much religion which does not believe Jesus.

cognizant dissident

The decision about WHAT the punishment would be was entirely up to him. He could have made the punishment anything. A slap on the wrist, eating liver and onions, eternal death, Hellfire, watching re-runs of the Golden Girls, attending a Kingdom Hall for twenty years, listening to Barry Manilow, etc.

Too funny!I'm really starting to enjoy your posts!

It's interesting that the punishment of eternal annihilation is also what is going to happen to everyone naturally. If JW's wanted to be more motivating they should have picked a punishment for not believing that was worse than than the punishment for believing. (attending the Kingdom Hall for 20+ years and living with other JW's for eternity!)

So help me out here.....

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