Leaderboard

92. Ethical dilemmas…..

I feel faith in most of it's uses in scripture is simply talking about trusting God and taking him at his word in spite of the fact that what we see seems contrary to his promises. So - faith = trust. It's the least that God requires of us...that we trust/believe him at his word. Its a concept that has been redefined multiple times through the years and wierwille ran with that ball with the law of believing stuff he promoted.

92. Students develop a false confidence in wierwille’s ideas When I first took PFAL, there was great anticipation and anxiety building toward the session when wierwille would “lead us into receiving the holy spirit” – speaking in tongues. I worried that I might not have the believing to receive it. But I hung in there because I wanted that unshakeable confidence that wierwille talked about – “when you speak in tongues you’ll know that you know, that you know that you’re going to heaven and all hell can’t stop you from going.” ~ ~ ~ ~ Have you ever wondered what faith is all about? for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises] II Corinthians 5:7 Amplified One commentary on this verse says: For we walk by faith, not by sight—Better, and not by what we see (or, by appearance). It seems almost sad to alter the wording of a familiar and favourite text, but it must be admitted that the word translated “sight” never means the faculty of seeing, but always the form and fashion of the thing seen. (Comp. Luke 3:22; Luke 9:29; John 5:37.) The fact is taken for granted; and it comes as the proof that as we are, we are absent from the Lord. Now we believe in Him without seeing Him; hereafter we shall see Him face to face. Our life and conduct and our “walk” in this world rest on our belief in the Unseen. From : Bible Hub: II Corinthians 5:7 commentary ~ ~ ~ ~ I’m not a philosopher or theologian. I’m a technician by trade – it comes natural to me – I guess because I’ve always been fascinated by how things work. Not that I always could figure out how something worked – but you know a typical kid’s mentality - it couldn’t hurt to try. Even as a kid growing up in a Roman Catholic home, I remember having these “think-about-it-sessions” on metaphysical matters. Where was heaven? What does God look like? Does God really exist? That last question was a dandy. I was troubled with that one day - after a ride home on the school bus – during which I overheard some older kids talking about their dads dressing up to be Santa. Since I still believed there was a real Santa Claus – my belief system was shaken to the core. Thus, began sporadic think-about-it-sessions over whether God existed. Which would then prompt me to go to mom and dad. I never asked them about the legend of Santa – I went straight for the question of all questions – how do you know if God exists? Mom’s response came from a life filled with challenges – her dad a widower and fisherman by trade – she was often being looked after by relatives and boarding schools. She talked about having a trust in God – that He was always there with her. Mom always seemed anchored – nothing seemed to shake her. I still remember the calming effect just being around her – like sitting by a gentle stream and listening to the water move around the rocks and brush by the shoreline. Dad’s response came out of a tough life too – a medic in the war, got 2 Purple Hearts. He was technical-minded too – probably where I got it from. For a time was a shop foreman at a Bulova factory. He suffered from PTSD related to the war – but there wasn’t that much awareness of it as there is now. He could tough it out with the best of them. He would often call my attention to the beauty and wonder of nature – and like mom he felt that God is always with us – tending to His wonderful creations big and small. ~ ~ ~ ~ I still have think-about-it-sessions on a wide variety of topics. But not about whether God exists. When you come right down to it – there is no way to prove in the existence or non-existence of God. I think it’s something we each have to figure out for ourselves…Leaving TWI was one of the most trying times in my life. Because what was at stake was a childhood faith that has gotten me through some really big messes that I made. During my slow exit from a harmful and controlling cult like The Way International, there was that “faith thing” that anchored me to something intangible – and there was that “tech thing” that kept driving me to figure out how this Christian life is supposed to work. 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. Matthew 7 ~ ~ ~ ~ As I leave behind the bogus tenets of a cult, I find my faith deepens as I focus on what truly matters in my personal belief system. In the Christian faith – Jesus Christ is at the center of it. I aim to know more about Him. I read a great book – faith affirming - The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona. It got me to think like an historian or lawyer would studying a past event or a case – looking at the evidence, probabilities, testimonies – of even hostile witnesses. If you think about the evangelizing efforts of the early church – it was simple. They didn’t formulate catechisms, Bible classes, discipling programs…They didn’t have a cookie cutter mentality of expecting everyone to experience Christianity the way they did. They just preached about Jesus Christ offering Himself to be our Savior from sin and death and God raising Him from the dead, and now Jesus Christ is Lord - He has supremacy over all creation and has promised to be with us always in a personal relationship of love.

94. It puts Jesus Christ in a box While that is convenient for fast food lunches and compartmentalization he really wants to get outta there.

A few pics from an ex Mormon forum

guys I gotta confess I did join this club when I was younger please don’t judge me