May you all have peace... and may you forgive my excessive use of caps (it just goes faster for me that way, is all, versus clicking on italics, etc.) -
I believe Aguest is still blaming you for "allowing" it to happen to you. Oh well...YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME ONE IOTA.
Not quite 'Pom (and peace to you!). I am simply saying that if WE... of our own accord or someone else's (a parent, perhaps)... failed to listen to the admonition "Do NOT put your trust in earthling man,"... if WE... rather than read the Bible ourselves to see if what we were told really was so... if WE, therefore, trusted men... simply because they looked, appeared, sounded 'good' to US... how is GOD to blame for that? Other than those who simply snatch us AGAINST our will (can a religion really do that?), if WE went WILLINGLY... how is God to blame for that? He WARNED us! We, however, put our trust in MEN... that what THEY said was true. And... as it turns out... it was NOT! Just as God had said!
So, okay... perhaps we are not to blame directly. (Who do you blame, the con? Or the 'mark' who was warned but took the con anyway, against better advice simply because the con SOUNDED good... or because they failed/forget/did not 'read the fine print')? Personally, I have to take SOME blame because for a CERTAINTY... NO ONE forced me to let those folks into my house... or my heart... with their little blue "Truth" book. I was a choice I made ALL ON MY OWN... even at the behest of family and friends who ALSO said, "DON'T DO IT... those people are IMPOSTERS." Heck, THEY knew (family and friends) and they didn't even claim to know or believe in God. So, I have to take SOME degree of responsibility for being misled, 'Pom, yes? Why? Because anything less would be UNTRUE. I don't, however, have to be judged and/or CONDEMNED for my 'gullibility'. And neither does Viv. I wasn't even going there.
Guest, the thing that is missing here is the fact that God is almighty.
Yes, Viv... and the greatest of peace to you...
Provided he exists that is.
Okay.
SO, here is an almighty Gd, that tries to help me, but fails?
"Tried to help you..." I don't think I said that, Viv. I said tried to WARN you! Let me ask you: IF God were to intervene DIRECTLY in our lives, to what extent would you WANT His intervention? Only when YOU say so? (Perhaps in the manner that you are suggesting, say, like a voice coming out of the sky saying, "Run, Viv, RUN!! They're imposters; they will mislead you!!") I find that interesting because almost from the beginning of mankind until today, God has TRIED and it is WE who reject His 'counsel'.
I give you Cain: did not God tell Cain he had a 'problem' and that if he didn't get a grip on it, he was gonna regret it? Sure he did. Do you think Cain sat down and said, "You know, that was Almighty God giving me some advice; well, I most CERTAINLY want to take it because He CERTAINLY knows better than I." Do you think Adam and Eve said that? Here you've got three people that were warned DIRECTLY by God... AND... they were NOT misled and there was no 'evil' in the earth. Are we not all, in truth, to some degree 'greater' or 'lesser' Cains? We ALL hear that little voice that says, "DON'T do that!" or "DON'T say that"... but... we do/say it anyway... MOST times, to our OWN regret. Who do we BLAME? (Hint: Who did Adam blame?) But if we are TRULY HONEST with ourselves, we KNOW we are at fault. How many times have we said to ourselves, "I SHOULD have LISTENED to that (the voice "inside our heads/hearts"?).
When it comes to NOT listening, NOT heeding the voice... we are more like Adam (and perhaps Cain) than we care to admit. It's not GOD, dear ones, but our OWN selfish desires that get in the way: we want [to do] what we want [to do] when we want [to do] it... how ever we can [get/do it]... and REGARDLESS of the consequences. And THAT is the TRUTH! Yet, when we 'reap' the consequences... we cry (and sometimes even whine and pule)... and blame God.
Earthling man... go figure.
Then why call him God?
Well, you don't HAVE to: He does have name... and for some of this, He's "Father". Again, we have CHOICES! He doesn't MAKE us call Him "God".
If you (God) warn your children not to talk to strangers you do that because you want to protect them and keep them from harm.
Yes, that is true.
But, then your child is addressed by a nice lady,
Ahhh... a "nice" lady, eh? Then there's absolutely nothing to worry about. However, if the lady only LOOKS "nice"... and SPEAKS "nice"... there may be some need for concern. Why? Looks... and speech... can be deceiving. Perhaps we are not looking at her closely enough and if we did, we would see that IN TRUTH there's a whisker... or wart... maybe even the sparkle of a "canine" tooth...
and your child is a bit gullable
Well, if you KNOW that, then it behooves YOU... to really "work" with your child to ensure that they absolutely understand the potential "danger", yes? Let's say, however, your child is NOT gullible... but actually PRECOCIOUS... presumptuous, even. That puts a whole new "spin" on it, doesn't it?
and is taken in by her sweetness and your child talks to her none the less.
Yes!! Happens all the time! I recently watched one of those shows, you know, where they ask the parent what the child will do, and then secretly film the child... and guess what? Very few of the parents really knew their kids! They had said, "Oh, no! Little Johnny would NEVER talk to strangers," and turns out Little Johnny not only talked, but... GOT IN THE CAR!! Even AFTER having been WARNED by loving and caring parents... teachers, school counselors, neighbors, siblings... and TV! What more did Little Johnny NEED to 'get' it?! Perhaps a "stone tablet" from his parents... hung around his neck... reading "Thou shalt not enter stranger's cars!" (And even then, THAT might not do it!)
And you (God) are seeing all of this! SO why not stop the entire drama from happening?
Okay, I see your point. Let me ask you this: what if the child is not 5... but 25, 35, 45? Then what? Unless this is a very young child, it would seem to ME that the child would argue with the parent that "this is MY life", yes? Do not parents warn their children about drugs, etc., all the time? And not very young children, but pre-teens, teens, etc.
Another example: A friend related to me how his teenage daughter ran away from home (obviously against her parents wishes and ALL of the media warning...). They found her and guess what? She was mad at THEM... for finding her!! Even with ALL of the dangerous things that could have happened to her out there. And why did she do it? Because life was so bad at home? Nope. Because a 'nice, sweet' cousin wanted some company when SHE ran away to have an 'adventure'. And how many times have this occurred due to some boyfriend or girlfriend or other friends... who, according to the runaway... knew better than the parent(s)? Who do you blame, the parent(s)? The seductive boy/girlfriend? No, no... don't EVER blame the child... or the "nice" lady. Blame the parents, of course.
Earthling man... go figure.
Why not walk to your child, take her hand, and keep her away from being hurt?
Okay, reality check! Let me ask you and you tell ME: if a parent witnesses a drug deal involving their child, and attempts to prevent it, who do you think the child is going to be angry with... the dealer?! If a parent knows that a certain "associate" is BAD association, and has warned the child, and sees the child talking to this associate, walks up and takes the child by his/her hand... who do YOU think the child is going to be angry with... the associate?!
God is standing by and watches.
In many cases, yes. But that's because it's what WE want... not Him. Do you want Him to MAKE you hear and obey? Really?!
Trying to help?
Yes, absolutely. From Day One... well, actually Day Six... or Seven, depending on how you read it...
O please, almighty ones do not try, they do.
How is it that YOU know what "almighty" ones do? You know only what earthling man has told you... and since he has misled you in many other things, how do you know that he has not misled you in this, as well?
Is God active now, Guest?
Yes, ISP (and peace to you!)... God IS active, although not directly. Technically, He is... literally... He is not. What MANY fail to understand is that:
1. God is not dealing with mankind directly, because... HE HAS APPOINTED HIS SON... to do that.
2. So, if anyone is not "active" in your life, it's Christ... NOT God!
3. And yet, Christ IS "active" in MANY lives... for he is SUBDUING MANY of us... those of us who LISTEN... to his voice... and HEED his warnings! He is the One who says, "THIS is the way, you people!" It was he that came to ME and revealed who the WTBTS and its "false christs" REALLY were. I didn't get "hurt" by them, per se... it's just that when he "called" me, they reacted in EXACTLY the way he said the scribes and Pharisees would! So, he warned me early on and helped me to maneuver through them, until he could bring me out! And for THAT... as well as the many "gifts" of the spirit I have received since then... I am MOST greatful... and willingly indebted. That's why I am here: I am his willing slave.
Not going to flame this one, because of this being a sincere, long-standing poster...
Thank you, dear SYN... and the greatest of love and peace to you, too!
Again, I bid you ALL peace...
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
SJ
Edited by - AGuest on 11 August 2002 11:54:31
