steveorino

The bible (Paul) speaks against both steveOrino

Christ said he came for a purpose. It wasn't to quantify every sin known to man past, present and future, but to teach us how to live with each other and redeem our souls. steveOrino

Keith, I don't think they are closer, in fact I think they are a lot farther away than the doubter. They think they have arrived by either being a member of a church, or being a minister, by being baptised, by paying a tithe, by being a "good" person. The tenent of my personal belief that I wish there were no "pseudo christians" is based on what JC said, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Rev 3: 15-16 steveOrino

I'll answer the easy one first. Few Christians are "worshipping" the crucifix, icons etc. Some have taken it that far, such as JWs, but I certainly don't see a cross on a church as an object to worship anymore than I see the ichthys was by early Christians. steveOrino

Yes, I would if everyone else was also doing this (kept his religous convictions to himself and not influence politics with it). Generally it would do more good than bad. Very telling. steveOrino

Two can play that way. Christ didn't say anything against pedophylia either. Do you think he approved? Nonsense! The fact that a minister, christian or anyone thought slavery was right because Christ was silent on the issue was clueless. I'll stick to my point. The poster wanted people's religous convictions kept out of politics. My point is we are often driven by a purpose higher than our own. If one's religous convictions compels us to right a wrong we have a duty to stand up and speak. Especially for those who have no voice of their own. steveOrino

Where do I get one? steveOrino

Yes, but so long ago. steveOrino

My cam eye on a video hand cam glove is not bright enough for me. The one on my FTN is fine as it is close to my eye, but out there on my hand it is harder to see. Any suggestions on making it brighter or bigger? steveOrino

Oh goodie. AN expert, just what we needed. steveOrino

Hear! Hear! I love my job and I bet everyone that jumps with me knows it! It was 6 degrees at altitude yesterday and while I'd rather it be warmer, I smiled and joked with all my tandems, loaned my beanie and neck warmers to the students, and only one complained about the cold. She would have complained about anything. Now, some of the other up jumpers .... steveOrino

Would you have preferred William Wilburforce had kept his religous convictions to himself and not influence politics with it? steveOrino

Free will is a bummer. You either create man with it or without it. Serving and loving God with free will is 100% better than servanthood and worship from those who could not choose to do otherwise. steveOrino

There is no word Hell in the Bible any where in the original Bible written in Greek & Hebrew. The Hebrew word Sheol, from the OT and Greek words, Gehenna and hades from the NT are translated as hell in most English versions. steveOrino

No, not now, but I am reading a lot about it. There are some hard verses to interpert from that universal position. Especially the parable of the sheep & goats. If I come to that decision you can bet it won't be popular among most of my pastor friends.

Not really, the early Christians never tried to change their governments. In fact they were instructed by the Apostle Paul to obey the government. Christianity did not become a political power until the emporer Constatine had a vision that he could win more battles under the sign of the cross. It has been a downhill slope since. (IMHO) steveOrino

there are many interpretaions of that passage. While I believe Paj believes it means one must have a personal relationship with Christ that comes from asking for forgiveness of sins, it is incorrect to believe all Christians see it that exact same way. Some see that the sacrifice of Christ paid the price for all mankind to be reconciled to God through him. steveOrino

Many have committed and written on this but the best I heard was Rick Warren. I remember him when I lived in CA and he had 1000 people in his church. He taught some awesome things. Many years later he is pastoring one of the largest churches in America and made a book from his teachings. Basically it was purpose was found in our S*H*A*P*E* Spiritual gifts Heart (passion) Abilities (skills) Personality Experiences (both good & bad) It does come from a Christian perspective. I believe it is a very good start to discover one's purpose. steveOrino

If Hell is defines as dark and a lake of fire there is an indescrepency if taken in literal terms. Therefore, it should be taken as metaphors. Christ describes hell as gehenna which was a garbage dump outside Jerusalem. There trash and decayed bodies resided. From their religious culture it was unclean. It burned all the time. I remember old garbage dumps like that as a boy. They were set on fire and then covered with dirt. They had enough Oxygen to burn though. You'd see the smoke rising from the ground. It was good visual image to speak of the place that those who were apart from God. He also speaks of torment. Some believe this speaks of their regrets for rejecting God. God has offered proof, but many deny it. They rather live apart from Him on earth so they get that wish fulfilled in the afterlife. That is how I understand hell from JC's point of view. steveOrino

I know where you are coming from. My point is don't punish the girl for having a lazy slut mom. Personally I paid my own college costs by joining the militar, and then grants and loans. And at the time tuition was about $26,000 a year..... So yes, there are options. Yes, there are a myriad of ways. I borrowed money, got scholarships and worked my way through. I asked my kids to do the same. I'll help them fill out applications, help them with school work, but I won't completely fund their college. They have chosen to borrow, work their way through, and one joined the military (he had other reasons besides scholarships) Here is the rub. My oldest son is now 25. He has struggled getting grants & loans as even though he has lived on his own for years and makes almost nothing ($18k as a machinist) he could not qualify because my income was too high. Now THAT is wrong! steveOrino

When I had a low altitude canopy collision (picture in February's Parachutist) and was in line twists with collapsed end cells at 100ft, I was too busy kicking out and flaring to waste time talking to imaginary beings. Glad you survived, prof. steveOrino

Maybe I misunderstood you. The word hell is a more modern translation of "sheol" "hades" "gehenna" the concept is as old as the Bible, but the word "hell" is more recent, perhaps Nordic? As I said before, most Christian concepts of hell come from extra-biblical sources. steveOrino

The scholarship was based on finacial need not grades. My daughter was an honor roll all state cc runner. The girl whose mother chose to be a baby breeder and collect welfare had a greater need than the dad who was already working 80+ hors a week to feed his family. It may seem fair to you but not to me, and I'm hardly a cold hearted guy. steveOrino

It has been my experince that God seldom overides a person's free will. As a result we fall victim to evil men more than not. In those cases were God does supernaturally intervene, we have a miracle. If you really study the ministry of Christ you should not be amazed at his miracles (He claimed to be God) rather you should be amazed how many miracles he did not perform. In most cases he only performed a miracle to validate his message (Once he forgave a lame man his sins. When questioned on what authority he had to do that he replied, "Which is harder to do, forgive sins or make this man walk? So that you may know the Son of man has the authority to forgive sins, I say to this man, 'take up your mat and walk!' Believing that all prayers will be answered according to our will is a fallacy that will cause confusion. I pray a lot. At times it is conversation, other times it is a plea. I have yet to sustain any tragedy in my life that God has not equipped me for. When my parents died many years ago I prayed they would live. Cancer and heart disease took them. Rather than asking God why he didn't heal my mom or dad, I simply asked God what now? How do I turn this pain to a positive? For a few years I did not know, but later in life I became a pastor, and I was more equipped to deal with the hurting. My pastoral ministries class taught all about the right thing to say in a death. But I knew first hand "jesus band-aids" did more harm than good. I knew first hand my presence as a pastor and friend in this trial would mean more than any scripture I could quote. Had I not gone through my trial, I'm not sure I would now that as such a young age (35 is young for pastors) So, by asking What? I learned more than I had would have if I asked Why. steveOrino

I'd say if you are looking at prayer as a proof of God you will be dissappointed and confused. If you view prayer as communication between you and God then you can begin to learn more about his plan for you. When I don't get what I ask for in a prayer, I don't ask "Why?" I ask, "What do you want me to learn from this?" steveOrino