Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site qantel.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!decwrl!amd!dual!qantel!ken From: ken@qantel.UUCP (Ken Nichols) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Understanding the Bible Message-ID: <179@qantel.UUCP> Date: Wed, 8-Aug-84 20:09:16 EDT Article-I.D.: qantel.179 Posted: Wed Aug 8 20:09:16 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Aug-84 02:25:03 EDT Organization: MDS Qantel, Hayward CA. Lines: 60 ME> Of course reading the Bible 52 times in a year would be worthless to you. ME> Your mind is not going to understand it, because you are spiritually blind. > I can't figure out from your message whether you're really serious or >not. The inability to understand the "word of god" before you believe in god >seems to be a kind of catch 22. You can't understand till you believe. You >can't believe till you understand. You expect people to figure out god >without reading the bible? How are they supposed to reach this salvation and >get their holy spirit? You can't be serious. O.K. So, maybe I got a little carried away. To much flame and not enough brain. Of course the common man can understand a small portion of the Bible. At least enough to be saved. But the person I was replying to did not see what value the Bible had because he got nothing more out of it. The point I was trying to get across was that only the Spirit can reveal the deeper mysteries (ie. beyond salvation) of the Bible to man. ME> God does not reveal the truths of the Bible to unbelievers, that would be ME> throwing "Pearls before the Swine" as it says in Mathew. Only the ME> Holy Spirit given at salvation will cause you to understand the Bible. With ME> this understanding you could read it 522,000,000 times and still find ME> something you've never seen before. > I love that "pearls before the swine" stuff. Anyone who doesn't believe >as you do is a pig? Is it any wonder there are religious wars. Not all >christians are like you but most have a real blind spot. There are lots of >reasons I'm no longer a christian but the "holier than thou" attitude most >*professed* christians have is one of the biggies. If I were still a >christian I wouldn't want a spiritual bigot like you defending my belief. >Jerry Hey, I didn't write it, Jesus said it. As for you being a pig, the statement is not meant to be taken literaly. It's figurative. Just as you don't give something of priceless worth to someone who does not care to know its value, so God does not reveal the priceless treasures of his Word to someone who doesn't believe the simple truths of the Bible. As to you no longer being a Christian, I'm afraid I'll have to offend you by saying that either you still are a Christian, but are out of fellowship with God, or you never were a Christian in the first place. Once you have excepted the free gift of God in the form of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross you are saved once for all. You can't just drop God completely out of your life if you are really saved. I agree that a "holier than thou" attitude is a problem that a lot of Christians have (who said I was perfect). My statement, however, was not a personal attack on anyone, I was just quoting the Bible and letting the Spirit lead. On the other hand I am sort of a bigot because I believe that anyone who does not believe the fundamentals of the Christian faith (mostly concerning Jesus Christ) will perish in Hell. But then that wasn't my idea either, it was God's. A bigot for Jesus, "...holding forth the Ken N. word of life..." ...!ucbvax!dual!qantel!ken Phil 2:16 -------