Anyone up for theology?

Oh and to whomever posted about it before, the meaning of life is easy. The meaning of life is to give life meaning So says the wise sage Arjen Luccassen.

 

Agreen, awesome post. I enjoyed reading it. And this

was the highlight of the thread for me.

 

Marshmallow, think of it along these lines.

A business is owned by a bunch of stockholders. All of the stockholders are active participants in the company, and the company has a big decision to make. A relocation could be in the works. 51% of the stockholders want the company to move to Seattle. 49% of the stockholders want the company to move to Portland. So, what happens? Well, the company moves to Seattle, of course!

The point of Christianity, and Southern Baptism in particular, is denial of self and submission to Christ. Good works are great and conversion is cool, but only through loving, believing, and giving yourself to Jesus can one be saved. Think of your life as a business owned by a bunch of stockholders, where all of the stockholders are your desires. Obviously, how much stock you put into each desire reflects on your life, and the point of life, by a Southern Baptist, is to put all the stock you can into Jesus, and only by putting stock in Jesus can you relocate to Heaven.

Now, in Christianity you've got the protagonist, Christ ( and God and the Holy Spirit, because they are the same ), and you've got the antagonist, Satan. Christ is the embodiment of selflessness. Satan, the embodiment or pride. ( In fact, it says in the Bible that Satan was born from pride. )

A lot of people might say, "Of course I'm a selfish, wretched sinner, but I'm not perfect.", and that's true, but Jesus isn't asking you to be perfect. That's his job. He's asking you to give at least give two ****s about him when it matters most. It might seem like you do, but you need to honestly ask yourself if that's true, because I doubt anyone on this planet cares more for Jesus than they do for themselves.

Want to how I know? Because if you use Hell as your determining factor in whether or not you believe in Jesus, you are as much a gold digger as anyone who marries anyone because of how nice his or her house is.

Want to know how I really know? Because, if you really love Jesus, then you'll do anything for him, right? Okay, then swap Heaven and Hell. Lets say that for believing in Christ, you go to Hell for eternity, and for being, say, an atheist, you go to Heaven for all eternity. You know what is the right thing to do, but which one are you going to choose? If your wife and kids are in Heaven, what are you going to do?

It doesn't matter what else happens to that company. If it has 51% stock in Seattle, it's going to Seattle. If you've got 51% stock in yourself, you're going to Hell.

So where are you really putting your stock? Can you honestly say that Jesus is leading your life? What do you really want for this company we call our soul? You must be willing, as Jesus says, to give up everything for Him.

If you can honestly concede that you are willing to go to Hell for Jesus, then I will take out time to seriously reconsider Christianity. You've got a potential convert on your hands.




edit: Damnit, I'm too late!

 

Thomas Jefferson edited and published his own version of the New Testament, that removed all the references to supernatural acts and miracles, only leaving in the moral statement

 

Are you trying to insinuate that I do not know my own religion?

The lecture was nice, but unnecessary. I loved this argument however, and it is in fact one of the most intelligent and creative ones I have ever seen.

I would die, go to hell and burn forever simply because Jesus died so that I may have a chance at eternal life. If it was asked of me, then yes, I would burn in hell. Others might not, and that's fine. But the truth is this: where my family goes (be it heaven or hell) holds no weight with me. They made their choices, and I'll make mine. And I do not seek to convert you, so do not think I am saying this so that you will have a Saul-esque flash-from-the-Heavens experience and repent. I honestly couldn't care less. As you said, picking hell is the right thing to do, and I will choose that.

However, I will never have to deal with this issue (or so I believe), so it is a null point. And if my hypothetical situations get no credibility, then neither does this. I see not how holding me to the double standard of being forced to answer other people's hypotheticals and having my own ignored or rebutted solves anything, but okay.

I knew I should have just left.

Peace guys.

 

It's getting a bit warm around here.

Click.