smaller,
My own experience was different. So I have to go with the reality of that experience as God in Christ showed me.
I picked up a living Bible one day, never having been able to read much in the old KJV prior. I was able to read with intense interest on that day the first 3 Gospels. And the accounts really moved me differently then they ever did before. A couple days later I cracked open the old KJV to see if I could read through it, and started where I left off, at the book of John. Read through the whole thing. As I put the Bible back in the drawer, I was considering deeply what I had read, and God in Christ came to me, in my heart, and showed me that He Is Real and that He loves me. I felt His Love.
That day, I changed. I was from that moment on no longer 'alone' in heart.
There is no tradition that can do this. God in Christ reaches many believers in similar ways. None come identically. All are called 'individually' as they are drawn.
Pews are full of practitioners. I was one myself. But I didn't really know the Lord as I did that day in my heart.
this is a great testimonial, but it does not speak to the topic, nor it is theology. You do realize that Mormons say the same thing. I had two clients that were Scientoligists who belonged to a very large church here in this city. Tney stated the same thing.
However, you have already denied that scripture is actually true,
YOur response......
Oh please. I believe every jot and tittle is fully true and fully applicable to this moment. Do I believe it is so as your sect does? No. God ceased being a 'tradition' to me on the day He loved me.
therein lies the crux of the matter. Just take the groups I mentioned above. They look at scripture as well and say the very same thing you are saying. YOu have already enlightened us that you have a completely different interpretation of those scriptures than of historical Christianity.
By the way, God never was a tradition. Again, some misinformation from your bad experience with the RCC. Christ is Christ, who gave man His divine revelation to the Apostles. That revelation was entrusted to Christ's Church here on earth and is being guarded and preserved by the Holy Spirit. That is also in scripture but I'm sure that you have changed the interpretation to fit your tradition. as do all the above as well.
I have no idea why you think that conglomeration of authority is God in Christ. I sincerely don't. They are not and can not be. God in Christ is God in Christ and thankfully that won't change on the views of a bunch of fallible men who seek to vaunt their authority on other believers. If that works for you, fine.
Rosy it up all you want.
The pope will never be Christ on earth to me nor will your conglomeration of bishops be Christ on earth to me. That is not going to happen in my eyes.
You have made that quite clear. It is also clear that you have established yourself as God, you have complete authority over a text, you will interpret it to suit your taste and understanding and it will stand infallibly true. You have made that very clear. Of course that is in direct contradiction of scripture, even the simple reading of it.
I understand you are trying fruitlessly to spin this matter to make your church and your church alone God in Christ on earth. It will remain a sight of vanity to me. No amount of false equations is convincing. All of those types of statements are falsehoods coming from your own mind.
Never said anything of that sort.
I have never spoke about my Church. I don't have a church that I created or developed. I'm speaking in regard to Christ's Church, His Body, the one He established here on earth. I happen to be a member of it, but it is not my church. That might be part of your misunderstanding. Scripture does not say that we should develop our own church and then assume He enters it because we say so.
The question should be is am I of His Church, not whether He is in my church.
Now, if you want to claim that you and your group are THEE ONLY BODY of Christ via your various exercises and rituals I will just say you and your group have very poor eyesight.
You are certainly welcome to see that way. It won't make one bit of difference to me.
My understanding of scripture is that Christ established ONLY ONE Church here on earth. That same Church is still in existance as He promised. So is the Gospel which is unified through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Historical record shows that it is in fact so. The historical record is the authentic witness of the power of the Holy Spirit within Christ's Body. NO one says you must be compelled to believe what scripture actually says. YOu are a free man to believe whatever you wish.
No, I am not apt to associate well with believers who want to burn other believers alive in fire. Such believers make me want to puke.
You have stated this before, and in the last post I asked where in scripture does it say that Christ will burn believers alive in fire. Again, I think some misunderstanding here on your bad experience with the RCC.
Well, apparently you can only really love believers in your sect alone and you must condemn all other believers in your heart, as your sect commands you to do.
You are welcome to call that 'love.' I don't.
Obviously you are quite bitter as well about your experience. But to transpose that misunderstanding upon all others surely cannot be love. Where does Christ say that we should condemn any man? Must be part of your misunderstanding again.
Believe like me or fry alive forever will remain a very hollow claim of love in my ears. If for example I had to stake my salvation on the difference between your view and the 4 words of the RCC you know what? I think you are all off the tracks and nearly insane by using that as the basis of damnation to each others.
AGain, you are associating your bad RCC experience on to all others.
I asked you in the last post also, which are those 4 words you keep talking about?
Grown men of faith for hundreds of years damning each others to hell over 4 little words. That is how twisted faith became in 'traditions.'
what four words. And can you give an example where the Orthdox have damned any to hell, expecially on some four words. Again, your experience with the RCC is not the experience of any other group.
I'm not going to be staking my salvation to your 4 little word wagon, no. You guys can all play your little authority game all you want. When you grow up come and talk.
again, what four words.
But aside from that, why do you object to the authority of Christ? Why must you insert your own authority?
Oh please. Your sect believes that everyone outside of themselves are going to burn alive forever. Don't try to hide that open fact. They demand that you damn other believers outside your little sect to that fate.
And that is also the heady little power monger that now sits in your own heart.
I don't know anyone who has stated that. You are again transferring your bad experience with the RCC upon all others. YOu are not speaking from facts, but emotion.
Who are you kidding. There are many authorities today in your sect and on the other side of the aisle who continue to volley HERESY HERESY to each others.
Then from time to time some of the better religious politicians at the top of the pile get together and make political dialogs between. Then when they are done they go back to their heresy stands within their sect. It's a fiasco.
They all talk a big talk, but in the end only ONE of them wants to be the king.
The politicians of the world are much better at that game.
Again, you are highly emotional regarding whatever bad experience you might have had with the RCC.
Regarding Heresy, the Church has always guarded the Gospel of Christ via the Holy Spirit from false teachings.
That is what this OP is about. For you and all sola scripturists and self determined authority over a text it is quite evident that is no test for false teachings. Each individual is the master of his own religion and should not be concerned with any others. True is true as one declares it for oneself.
YOu have even gone the additional route in also saying that any other view is immaterial anyway. All will still be saved in spite of any view.
This is what Jesus rebuked the Pharisees about. The traditions of man making scripture, null and void. It is your philosophy that everything is acceptable. It seems your philosophy contradicts scripture.
YOur response.....
Your group just reproduced what blinded Israel did and put a christian spin on it.
So Christ created a tradition, the same as the Pharisees but put a christian spin on it. YOu do have a unique interpretation of scripture to say the least. Of course, any denial of Truth, opens the door wide for substitutes which is essentially the practice of sola scriptura with all of its traditions.
Well, unfortunately with any sectarian it really doesn't matter what is said, they only hear what their sect has programmed them to hear. They can hear nothing else.
Our little friends of the SDA are no different. No matter what is said whatever comes out of their programming is Saturday church and no pork. They are programmed by their sects and that is all they can hear.
The essence of 'all' such hearings is identical. "I am justified by [this sectarian construct] and you are not.
I can respect them for at least attempting to keep their doctrinal body pure. This is the problem that this OP, I presume is trying to determine from a sola scripturists method. The SDA and Jehovah Witnessess, as well as some other groups, all try to hold to a base doctrinal body even though they are also sola scripturists.
They derived their particular interpretation from scripture. NOw, above you stated that it did not matter what these groups beleived since they will be saved anyway. Which is somewhat different from most other groups. The ONLY question is who is Truth. Christ as He revealed Himself and gave us His revelation and promised to preserve it within His Body, or a church and philosophy of some individual or group who simply bases there personal interpretaion from a text.
I called upon God in Christ to save me and He did. End of conversation for me. None of your spin is true nor will it change that matter for me.
You see you seek to damn me if I don't believe like you. I hear your voice clearly, and reject it.
Everyone makes a choice regarding Christ. We all will stand in judgement before Him.
They seem to be doing an excellent job of that all on their own. It's not me that divided any of them. Sorry.
As to your 'satan' card,
IF any man hears His Voice and calls upon Him in simple faith, He will show Himself to them and in them.
And such will also recognize the voice of every deceiver, instantly.
Never said you divided them, but that your personal tradition is one of those divisions, even though you also state that none of them, including yours, I presume, makes any difference anyway. All will be saved.
So, we have your test for false teachings. But you have not helped to determine a general test or a universal test for Truth. Except to say that it does not matter.
) or whatever can be fed, just go there?? where they can 'feed'? 
