rynodigsmusic

Well, I'm not aware of any "bitterness" on my part. I think you are making assumptions about how I feel; perhaps because your feeling on the subject are so strong you assume everybody else has equally strong feelings about it too? I don't doubt that that is true. I'm sure we could talk about almost anything else and find a lot of agreement. No disputing that, and I actually wouldn't want to take that from anyone. Just trying to explain that there are other perspectives that are also consistent with the "spirit of love and life", at least as I see it. Peace, Don I have gone over this response many times and I am very touched by your sincerity and truthfulness. I am embarrased for making the assumption you were bitter about anything. I am new to these forums. I had been reading in them for quite some time to get a spiritual aspect of skydiving and to see how the people who enjoy the same thing I do respond and relate to one another. I stumbled upon these last couple of threads and decided to join in. Im not sure it was the wisest descision, but it has been very inspiring to say the least. It seems what I took as bitterness may just have been frustration to the way others present God in these forums. Please forgive me, my reply to you was more of a defense to my own credibility and character in the forums. I dont want to be painted as a monster of God, self-righteous, hypocrite with no compassion, love or understanding. I am indeed quite the opposite. I didnt mean to try and match your sincerity to make myself look better. I very much appreciated your response and I just wanted you to know...so, thank you and peace to you as well. "We didn't start the fire"

Even if we use "no beginning and no end," the logic still applies. BTW, I'm not an atheist. I simply don't believe in supernatural, intervening deities. See, to me just the very thought of eternity, time, space, and the universe (as we know it) it just absolutely fascinating. What is also fascinating is how we as humans find a greater life, within life. What I mean is that we have life on this earth, but then we have this very powerful emotional "force" that ignites it within our hearts. I think that we can see that there is something inheritly good about everything but subject to the balance just the same. What I mean is the sun is good, but it can be bad to, the same with everything, unless our perception sees it in another light, that even when it is bad, we appreciate that it is good in the balance and know that even when it is bad, it is bad for the sake of good. That might get a bit confusing, but isnt love the same way? When it is good, we absolutely love it and it fills us with life, when we lose it our heart breaks and we mourn its loss, but there is also something beautiful and good about the loss of love; it inspires hope, gratitude, understanding, and seems to bring us to another level within ourselves. A revelation of the heart happens in an instant, an inspired thought that changes everything, in just a glance; how can we truly understand the power of the revelations in the heart; when something is heard but also believed. How can someone reveal to someone else thier own revelations with the same power? This is what is fascinating to me. Do you all remember that movie "Good Will Hunting"? What a fantastic movie. That moment at the very end where Robin williams is telling the kid its not your fault, and hes not really "getting it", and then it just sinks in with all the power and beauty of love and changes that kids whole perception....its just beautiful to me. What I mean I think it that I dont believe God "intervenes", it might be percieved that way of course due to how we understand time and timing, but (and this is only me) I think it is so much more incredibly powerful than that. With our own perception we find clouds and even walls, but if we stay open, then the possibilities are endless...literally. What may be percieved as us seeing "intervention" may actually be the very thing that was supposed to happen, but at the same time, im not sure what I believe about fate, of course I have thoughts on it, but I am way too open to come to any conclusion. It may be possible that we are all part of a collective eternal mind and that is why we have so many of the same wants and desires way beyond what is inherint to our envioronment, but deeper than that. Of course there is always the possibility that we serve no purpose at all, but I believe influence directly or indirectly proves that to be wrong. Whether we like it or not, we are easily influenced by one another in many many ways....anyways, just a thought.... "We didn't start the fire"

What would you imagine if rather than an either/or proposition, if it were possible to do/feel/understand/perceive both? VR/Marg I think that would be great! My desire is not in science, but I do enjoy what it does. I dont have anything at all against scientist, as I told you before, I love it when people follow their desires, you obviously have a very unique and educated mind that is fashioned around understanding principles and laws of scientific things (not in any way saying you dont have strong understanding of love and life as well). Please understand that my dialogue with you might be a little limited, but I have a heart for everyone. In regards to that comment, I was only making a spiritual point that while some can speak good, encouraging and hope-filled things to others, others speak the opposite. It is wise to keep an open heart with regards to God, while you dont know his existance, you dont know his non-existance either. Personally, I know hes real and I have all the "evidence" I need, so listening to the sarcastic tone of those who do not believe is hard. But in answer to your question, philosophy does the same thing, so of course science would as well. We all have purpose and it is also wise to question everything while keeping an open mind and heart. I dont believe God had anything against technological advancement. I hope your understanding my balance. But let me ask you a question, how does science eliminate thoughts I do not want? (this is a sincere question) Im sorry marg, I dont think I did very well in responding to your question. Faith is about recieving and believing how much we are loved, anything that can help me understand that, be it science, philosophy, art, music...anything, I am all for it. Ultimately, I havent found any love greater than that in Jesus, because it doesnt die, it isnt just a whisper of memory, but it is alive and I literally feel it everyday, as my sign off signiture says, it fills me with life. The very essence of Faith, Hope, and Love, is life. What I have found about love is that it hungers to be filled. Im really sorry for typing so much.... "We didn't start the fire"

I would just be careful with your words personally, remember the book of Job? It rains on the righteous and the unrighteous, what happens to one can happen to another. Its going to get much worse, and if your a bible believer, it wont get better until Jesus comes back. "We didn't start the fire"

Don, I had to print out your original reply, read it and formulate a response based on the questions you asked. I did not see that you were not asking those questions sincerely, but that they were only written to express the reasons why you dont believe in God. That is my fault entirely, had I really understood that, I dont believe I would have written the reply, nevertheless, I missed your intent altogehter and here we are. You have a brilliantly deceptive way of twisting my intent into fitting the bitterness that you carry in regards to the existance of God. Faith is not about purpose, its about power. You dont understand anything about God becuause you view him from a paradigm of fantasy, he has never become real to you. There are those, as you know, who do see him as real. These are the people you believe to be foolish in their thought process (forgive me, but that is the tone in which you write) The only difference we have is that you are a scientific non-believer and I am a non-scientific believer. Your comment on the suffering of others offended me deeply and your implications that you believe yourself to be more humane than those who believe in God is only a testiment to your own ignorance. Respectfully. I never implied nor hinted that you had less joy or love than a believer, so where you got that line of thought from I dont know. The tone of your original posting led me to believe that you were seeking understanding about faith. You didnt know how people could believe. I told you that in that line of thought you would never be able to see how. It wasnt meant to call you out or challenge you, but I guess you took it that way, so I sincerly apologize for that. You should know however, that people find hope in God, they find hope in faith, hope is a refuge for people. Everything that you speak goes against that. While there may be refuge for you in your understanding of evolution and scientific evidence, some choose to put their hope in the spirit of love and life. "We didn't start the fire"

I sincerely hope you dont think that I have perfect understanding. I follow Jesus, Jesus gave his life for the Gospel. The Gospel speaks of Heaven and Hell, satan and God, good and evil, those who are perishing, those who are not. It also talks about the end of the world and the 2nd coming of Christ. It tells how we should be the Gospel ourselves, by treating one another not only the way we want to be treated, but with the same love we have receieved. Jesus hanging on the cross was an example of Gods love for us, it is deep, it is full of mercy and understanding, it is powerful. It does not say, nor even hint that salvation can be found outside of Jesus. It says that salvation is for God to give, either we accept it, or we take our chances. Either we take the mercy of Jesus, or the justice of God. There is so much to say about this, I cannot put it in this. But, the point is, while you believe it is me who is off a bit in my understanding of the Gospel, it is not me who you believe is off, but God. I want the truth to tell me that everyone good and evil will go to Heaven, that we all just do whatever we like, have no guilt, no shame, and all still make it to see our loved ones in spirit for eternity. I love the love of God, so I can quite possibly see this happening, but, the truth tells me that is not the case at all. That there is good and evil, that there is a judgement and condemnation, that there is slavery and freedom. So how am I doing anyone any favors by not telling the whole truth of the same message which saved me? Compassion for someone often means you have to tell them something they dont want to hear, especially at the expense of them not liking you. It is the Gospel I serve, the message of the love of God for the light of life. The truth is there are those who will not repent their sins and therefore they will not find this life, they will instead find judgement and even condemnation in hell. Not one decent human being wants that to be the case. Jesus certainly doesnt, God wants everyone to come to repentance, but his justice is firm and his word has gone out. Repent and become born again or perish. The questions are; why are we so afraid of repentance? If this is not the truth, then why did Jesus have to die? If you know salvation is through the cross, why would you look elsewhere? The Gospel is firm. Life for those who accept it, death and hell for those who do not. This is the foundation of my spiritual path, and it fills me with greif at times knowing the power of deception and ignorance. This is where I direct most of my time and attention. Everything that I have learned (you believe to be perfect understanding), has come from the Gospel and I must say that it has not all been easy to accept, but the revelations I recieved along the path have more than sustained me, the revelations I am sharing with you now. Man should have a strong fear of God in order to find the greater gifts of humbleness, trust, and love. When our fear of God goes beyond being afraid, then we find trust in him. When a man finds trust in God, he finds a deep deep spiritual love. A love so unexplainable, so fulfilling, I cant even begin to explian the hunger it brings. Once a man has been humbled by God and filled with his love, mercy, and forgiveness, there is a stronger sense of understanding in regards to what Grace actually is. It is in the spirit of grace that I found the foundation of my understanding. A man has to learn the power of repentance, there is fear of failure meets the courage and strength of the heart; there is the final battle between evils hold on our souls and the freedom Jesus died to give us. It is the one hold that death has on us and the only way to life. It is not about being sin free, but more about seeing the truth. Once the truth is revealed we begin to see what it is that we truly want and it is in that desire that the life found in righteousness begins to reveal itself. In essence, good just feels good, we see righteousness as a gift and not a burden. But again, all this is in Gods time, we have to go through the flames to be refined by fire. In my life, it was everything I thought I loved that found me dying. No one comes to repentance without being broken, no one comes to get healed without being sick. Hope is the last refuge, thank goodness for us, it is also the power of God. Something to consider, is that the wisdom that Jesus revealed to us, goes against how we as humans would natually respond. Clearly, the wisdom he brought came from another place in our hearts. A place we can reach, but have to learn. This is the essence to why we are here, to learn righteousness, to be transformed into Jesus, the living, human, God of Righteousness and to live with him for eternity whereever he is. What we didnt know is that righteousness only comes from a heart that is full of love, and that is not possible unless we believe how much we are loved. In this regard, we are children of God. We have been humbled, born, and loved and it is in this "context" that Paul wrote that scripture in 1 corin 13. We are not only children in the way we understand things, we are Gods children in the way we understand things. Its in this understanding that we could continue a conversation, but in regards to Jesus being the only way, the Gospel is very clear and firm about that, it may just take more time for you to accept it. I feel like I could write forever on this, but I am afraid that I may have lost you already. I am truly sorry if you believe I have found perfect understanding, I have only found what was given to me, so in actuality, it is what was given to me that found me. "We didn't start the fire"

Most of you are looking for evidence to believe, but I am afraid even if you had it, you would still not believe where it came from; the gift of faith only comes from submission and repentance. Its not at all about who is right or who is wrong, but about who wants it and who does not. Others are still undecided as to whether they accept salvation through Jesus or they dont, or they are decided and they just dont. No Christian is going to say that salvation is found elsewhere. If we just submit that good is good, then we can at least agree to a common ground. Whatever our chemistry is made up of with or without faith, it does feel good to do and be good. Can we agree that whatever is good, be it human emotions, feelings, or inspirations, needs whatever is evil to be seen? In otherwards we wouldnt know what good was without evil? Now understand I am not talking about extremes...simpler, would we know what truth was without knowing what a lie is? "We didn't start the fire"

Sigh. When asking for evidence of the existence of god, atheists typically are referring to scientific evidence. I have yet to ever see or hear about any scientific evidence of any deity. The Bible does not constitute such evidence. The wondrous appearance of the world around us is not such evidence. The complexity of a cell is not such evidence. The fact that cosmologists understand the universe at precisely time zero is not such evidence. The feeling one experiences from their worship of a deity is not evidence. How is it illogical or unreasonable to believe only in the natural? What premise(s), known (i.e. not merely believed) to be true (i.e. verifiably factual), can we start with, and logically deduce from that premise (e.g. A=B, B=C, therefore A=C) that one should believe in the supernatural? Forgive me, but isnt scientific evidence only proving something that is already proven? That seems to be the logic behind your A=C thing right? "We didn't start the fire"

That's not something I'm inclined to share on an internet forum. I'm not seeking approval, validation, or to recruit other people to believe as I do. My beliefs are between me and, for lack of a better word, God. Completely understood. I also dont seek approval or validation, and contrary to the popular, Im not looking to recruit either! Christians are together because they are with Jesus. There are MANY people in the church still seeking Gods "approval" through each other. This is one of the reasons I have stayed away from the church. Not everyone who is in church knows Jesus, surely you know that? Jesus spoke against hypocrisy more than anything. The Gospel tells us to speak the truth from your heart, there are not enough people in the church doing that. If they follow Jesus, they will know the truth, that we are all guilty of sin, not one of us is any better. Thats why I dont really like the "heiarchy of the Pope". The pope is a man, therefore, whether it is seen on the outside or not, he is guilty just like all men. Just because one does not believe in God, does not mean he isnt guilty of sin, it just means he doesnt believe in God. "We didn't start the fire"

I've walked on water many times, usually when it is really freakin' cold outside. So you all know, the miracles were only done so that we would know the message was from God. The Gospel is about the message, not the miracles. It was the message that got him crucified, not the miracles. So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me." "We didn't start the fire"

I agree wholeheartedly. Anyone who has felt the power of forgiveness should testify for it. Many people could learn this valuable valuable lesson, agreed? I was only saying that forgiveness through grace is exactly what Jesus died for. It is very powerful, and life freeing. When I ask someone for forgiveness, it gives me a great feeling to know it is accepted. Jesus accepts it with a heart full of Joy, compassion, mercy, and love, as we all should (should being the key word). "We didn't start the fire"

"We didn't start the fire"

"We didn't start the fire"

Largely because I agree with the points they are making. Perhaps they could use a bit more tact when making them, but there is certainly value to the substance of their message.

Wow! You must trust me when I say I thought just the same way, many of the same questions. Im only speaking of myself, but I found that Love was stronger than even disbelief. Please try to understand that the answer in Faith is not found where you are looking. Even if all the answers to why were filled in by science, you still would never find faith. A serious question for you. If God came down, performed all sorts of miracles, healed everyone, gave you all the answers you seek, did some more miracles, but said, Ok, Im going back now, would you believe it was God and not doubt? Or even if a huge miraculous voice thundered from the sky so that everyone could hear, would you belive then? Wouldnt most of the faithless still question what they heard, until eventually "the voice" is a new thread 40 years later in a forum of skydivers? And who am I to tell you, you cant do something, or who am I to ask why you want to do something, its really none of my business, and I dont have the authority or control over you right? Likewise then, who are we to tell God he cant do something, or expect immediate answers from him? Does he really have to reveal himself to us? Do we really have the right to be angry at whatever gave us life? Wasnt life given to all of us? Trust me, I believe your frustration toward God can be justified in us, but the question is what right do we have? I understand if you cant get passed that, but I wanted to make sure that you knew that I had the same thoughts. Ultimately, it is just our lack of faith, not whether or not we think we have the right to be angry with the way God works. I really dont think you wake up every morning and cuss God for the suffering in the world, but it makes a convenient argument when convincing ourselves he isnt real. I find that others who are enduring suffering beyond my scope of imagination, brings more gratitude for the good things in my own life. Blaming God is a step to learning how to be blameless, to really finding him, being mad, being honest with your feelings opens the line of dialogue. Doesnt nature show us that God is a caring God, a gentle God? He is caring, gentle, and full of love, but still God. He gives us day after day of beauty and gentleness, of excitement and grace, yet when the storm comes, hes the first one blamed. Sometimes the greatest gifts in our lives are those that are given in the wake of disater. I respect all of your questions and I respect your sincerity deeply, I only hope we can talk about this in person sometime. I think it is obvious that conversations between those with faith, and those without will always go like this, we are in two different worlds "We didn't start the fire"

It is because of snide comments like these that many Christians find themselves at the losing end of intellectual debates about religion. If they dropped the holier than thou attitude they would find that most atheists are passive in their non-belief. They don't care that someone is a Christian. But when some Christians take it upon themselves to point out how Christianity is right, and everything non-Christian is wrong, they open themselves up to justified criticisms. So far the posts Ive read from you have been very respectful. How is it that you can say that to him but not to the others who have been cussing us out? Or are you looking for us to actually be human? You know we are no different than you right? We found the answer in our hearts, of course the answer in us is right to us, we are simply sharing it with you. Many who do not believe in God want to believe but cannot. If there are those who simply do not want to believe, then nothing that is said will benefit them at all. But, if there are some who still want to but cant, this is why we share. I ask humbly that people please understand that we are human, and communicating in these forums is not the easiest thing is it? I just think it is funny that you highlighted what you were looking for, but seemed to miss the rest. Respectfully. "We didn't start the fire"

You cant see it, but I have a smile on my face right now! WHAT??? Jesse Ventura??? Yeah, theres someone I want to learn from, the philosophical WWF wrestler!! So I wonder if the "strong minded" people think it is wrong to love one another? What frustrates me so much about people like that is they dont see what they have as gifts, cause that means they would have to submit to something greater than themselves, Heaven forbid! I wonder if he ever gave a thought to give thanks that he was born free in america?? I wonder if he ever gave thanks for having the oprtotunity to progress in a free society, or if he ever gave thanks that there was food in his stomach, or for all body parts working properly? The point is that no one gave themselves the things they have, the things we have were born from the opprotunitys we had. PERIOD. There are millions who will never feel the comfort of air conditioning, or 3 meals a day, or freedom period. They are oppressed, persecuted, enslaved, starved. Most of them believe in God. I think people should naturally be thankful for the things they have whether they believe in God or not. His statement of anyone being weak minded, means that he believes himself to not be. This is the fundamental foundation of pride and ego. Let me guess, hard work will get you there?? Wrong. There has to be opprotunity, and opprotunity is a gift. So to me the governor may be great in politics (I dont know) and there is no doubt he can throw me through the wall and infiltrate enemy territory, but to me his thinking is extremely futile and founded on pride and ego, not wisdom. When the time comes, you might want to rethink not relying on God, it sounds like you might rely on luck a bit, but I believe that luck is impartial, I think life has shown us what happens to one can happen to another, especially in moments of war. Luck is a way we reach for comfort in something greater, I personally dont think it was luck that Jesus came the first time after being prophesied for thousands of years beforehand, and I really dont think it going to be luck when he comes back. But yeah your right, if the cars coming...Get out of the Way!!! "We didn't start the fire"

Thats sort of funny coming from a skydiver! Its not whats probable that makes someone believe, it is whats possible, and what is possible lies in the realm of belief. Is it possible that all mankind can live amongst each other in peaceful harmony? Is it possible that we can truly love each other? Is it possible that God is real, that there is life after death? Anyones imagination if it is open will not dismiss possiblity. Possiblity for some, leads to faith, faith leads to hope, hope that is sure finds joy. Think about the Wright bros. "Is it even possible that we can fly?" Possibility. "We will build a machine". Faith "I sure hope this thing flies" Hope. "It Flew!" Joy. Had the Wright bros, or anyone for that matter (who had faith that they were going to do what others thought was impossible) had given up hope, they never would have found the JJoy they dreamed of from the very beginning. What about skydiving? "Is it possible that I could actually do this?" "Im gonna do it". "I hope everything goes great" "that was awsome!" In both scenarios, people showed the essence of eternal salvation. The difference is you can do those things, (dream of possiblilitys) as well as keep the hope that was so powerful if you can find faith in Jesus. The Gospel reveals to us that we are cleary understood. We were designed to prosper, we have great minds that can believe in things not even seen. I personally dont think that was a design flaw. I dont see animals flying planes or writing emails! The point is we have a great imagination, some absolutely brilliant, but without Faith, Hope, and Love, we really dont have anything. The salvation offered in the Gospel gives us these things on an eternal level. We find faith in God because he reveals himself to us, we find hope that is sure because of the genuine faith, our sure hope lets us live with Joy, in all circumstances, because we know that Jesus was resurrected and asceded into Heaven and that we will be with him for eternity. How you ask? Just as your faith grew into making your first jump, our faith grows in our daily walk with God. For me, I have seen life, I have felt loved in measures I could only hope for before, I feel fulfilled daily, my desires for the things that kept me bound are almost non-existant, I see nature in a new light, I have heard God listening, I feel his presence daily, I am inspired with secrets of his heart, revealtions of wisdom that I do not deserve, I have dreams that I can actually fly in, not just a little, but seriously fly (it takes faith to fly), I have seen it transform others lives in ways that are indescribable. I think I could go on an on, but again, either you heard, or you didnt. But please dont lose your possibility because you only look for things that are probable. "We didn't start the fire"

If you really mean that, why object to me saying the Bible was written after the fact and not by eye witnesses when you know I am correct? If you hold the Bible to as high a standard as you think, what happens when you hold the Koran to the same standards? What about the Hindu Vedas? Homer's Iliad and Odyssey? What is it about the Bible that makes it valid when these others are not? Nothing, that's what. You may not know how good a question that really is. Read the Koran, Read the Odyssey, Read the Vedas, Read the Gospel, explore, seek, ask, or dont. One of the most important things about the truth is no one can reveal it to you. Many people have read the Gospel and received nothing out of it. Isaiah of the bible wrote some 800yrs before the birth of Jesus, that the secrets were going to be hidden in parables. Many theologists have studied the parables and have still not recieved the secrets. I read the Gospel first and knew it was the truth. I had no idea that Jesus had been prophesied all throughout the old testament. "We didn't start the fire"

That's JO sefus, Ryno! I told you I wasnt a theologists!!!!!!! "We didn't start the fire"

I have read the passages and much of each of the entire books they were in and I stand by what I believe them to say. I don't believe the Bible states anywhere that it is wrong to have multiple spouses. I wasn't putting forth my opinion about polygamy at all - still not. Just whether or not the Bible condemns it. If God did not want people to have multiple spouses, it would have said so - kinda like the 10 commandments. There are many clear don'ts in the Bible, I just don't think this is one of them. Perhaps you are agreeing with me - it's a bit difficult from your posting. Re: the last quote about content, I would say that content has to come from inside you - it is a state of mind - an attitude you choose to have in life. I understand. Very good points! "We didn't start the fire"

1. We know beyond a reasonable doubt, if not the shadow of a doubt, who wrote the gospels which make up the new testament. Critics (A.K.A. conspiracy theorists) of the gospels are the ones who have cast doubt on who the authors were by fabricating and/or manipulating facts. There's no reason to believe that they weren't written by the authors they've traditionally been attributed to. 2. There is other contemporary literature about or mentioning the life of Christ. There are four gospels. That's four separate books! (People tend to think of the Bible as one book. It's actually 66 books bound together in one volume. It's like an anthology.) Four books about Jesus' life which are just different enough to lend credibility to their originality, and just enough alike to present a unified message. Christ is also mentioned by non-Christian historians writing within 150 years of his life-- more historians mentioned Jesus than mentioned the Roman Emperor at the time, Tiberius Caesar. Didnt Bo sefus right some stuff as well? "We didn't start the fire"

Quote>My conviction would be stronger if I knew I could save someone I love. >You cannot save anyone from themselves. Period. Whether it's drugs, or alcohol, or abusive relationships. Even if you think that they are going to burn in hell because they're gay, or they don't accept Jesus Christ as their own personal savior, or they don't worship Allah, or whatever. Indeed, often an invasive attempt to "save" them will have exactly the opposite effect. Your right I, nor you, nor anyone else can save someone from themselves, but God can. The Gospel, though written by man, is the power of God. We become living miracles, what I have seen and been witness to I cannot ignore, the power is too great to not share, so forgive me. I want to ask you about faith, hope, and love. What do they mean to you? >What do they mean? What do they mean to you? Not what man has defined them by. Of course all humans share them, in fact, I belive we need them. I believe they are the power behind life itself. Wouldnt belief without evidence be a pretty powerful thing? Hope is a belief things will get better, but hope has no power without faith, you have to know what your hoping for right? Love, not enough is known about loves power, as its true power also lies in faith, someone saying they will die for you is different than someone actually doing it. I dont believe anyone will burn in hell because they are gay. It is sin the likes of lust to me. Sin and hell has been given very interesting dynamics. Do this, and you will go to hell. It does not say that at all in the Gospel, nor in the new testament. What it says is that we are already condemned in our sin, were slaves to it, its really not a matter at all about how much sin your into, or which ones in particualr. It is a matter of Truth. The truth is what sets us free. We cannot control our conscience, it controls us. Either we listen to it or we dont. If we dont then there is a stain of guilt that sits there until it is cleansed. This stain gets darker and darker, hardens our hearts, depresses us, makes life almost unlivable. After a while, it becomes something we dont really even remember, but it has not gone anywhere, it is hidden and the more we put on it, the deeper it goes, it gets covered with more and more, until our hearts are so hard that we forget how to love. Truth is the only thing that brings it all out, and the only acceptable atonement for what is revealed, all the shame, all the guilt, all the pain, is the blood of Jesus. The truth is you dont want to believe that Jesus is the only way, therefore you choose not to. I had this same problem. You want everyone to find Heaven and everyone to be as comfortable with you as you are with them. Your a peacemaker, as am I, but unfortunately, it seems when you find something that is hard to accept, you choose not to believe it. Respectfully. But you have a sense of justice within you right? Sometimes it is so inflamed that you feel you cannot control it? Dont we think God, in whoms image we are made burns in the same way? i mean we have the death penalty in this age, we arent much different than the old school. What we do is ignore it all, its easier that way. "We didn't start the fire"

Another inportant point here is that we actually do not know who wrote the original gospels. Also why is there no other litriture wirtten by authors of the time that mentions anything about the life of Christ???? I dont believe any of us are theologists. Are you? I am sorry, but if you havent received what the Gospel is all about by just reading it, then unfortuanately you may never. Forgive me, but I am becoming more and more aware of why Jesus spoke in Parables. It is truly a gift, for us to accept or deny. "We didn't start the fire"