Survey: US Religious Landscape in Flux

Kaifung »

Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:04 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Here's a little factoid:

Originally the term "catholic" (lower case "c") defined the early church as "universal." So to be called a catholic Christian was acknowledging your part in the entire body of the church, spanning time and place alike. It wasn't until the institution of the Roman Catholic Church (upper case "C"), over four centuries later, that the term began to refer to catholicism. Given our heritage (and not Roman Catholic), we are all catholic Christians, belonging to the universal church body of Christ. - God Bless

My Answer: Get Rid of All Bitterness and Forgive

Kaifung »

Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:48 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

The message of the gospel, and the entire Bible for that matter, IS grace and forgiveness, not condemnation. This continuity is apparent in the Old Testament as well as the New. Just because we understand God from a human perspective does not limit God to human reasoning. That would be arrogance for any man. To address the issues at hand: I would argue that any apparent "punishment" in Scripture is designed to bring us back to God, throwing ourselves on His mercy (2 Samuel 4:10-14). Keep in mind there are far worse tragedies than our temporal wars, famines, plagues, etc. Eternal separation from God, for example. Mike, it is true that Christianity is commonly represented by men who are not faithful to their words. This is unfortunate and Scripture makes plain it will not go well with them. Perhaps men of faith with your conviction are what is needed. But do not presume to reform and set yourself up as judge without proper foundation and understanding of what you are talking about... because that makes you no better than the men you despise. - God Bless