Skip to main content

Originally Posted by semiannualchick:
Originally Posted by mary haddock:

yes my GOD is good,this is where choices come in,even you have your choice, there will be a day coming when you can't say you were NOT told of MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!  IT'S YOUR CHOICE!! ALL YOU WROTE ISTRUE BUT ITS BY CHOICE    DUH!!!!!!!!!!!    HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS IN THSE PEOPLES HEART AND MINDS? I PRAY GOD HITS YOU ON THE HEAD AND KNOCKS SOME SENCE INTO YOU,I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO GO TO HELL,BUT IT'S YOUR CHOICE.!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU CAUSE  MY GOD IS LOVE.

_______________________________

Do you know that typing in capital letters is a form of screaming at someone? Since you're a "Christian", I'll give you the benefit of doubt & assume you didn't know. If you do know, why would you want to scream at someone for having an opinion different than your own? Or why do it at all? Screaming will not get your point across, it just turns people away or at least it would me.

 

You pray God hits Best on the head because you believe she doesn't have any sense?? And after all that, you tell her you love her while screaming?  Real Christian of you, Mary.

first off let me say i didn't know i was screaming!! i will say i'm sorry for that. and i didn't mean for god to literally hit her on the head.See how people have different points!!,yes i am a christian and proud of it.there are alot of ways to look at this topic,i see nothing wrong in what the judge suggested,yes he could have gave other alternates,but this would have been the peoples choice to take it or not.yes he could have put them on the highways and byways to help keep our roads cleanor work for habitat for humanity.or take care of abused animals",just some suggestions" it still would be a choice,if that is what the judge ordered. people just want god out of everything,but take god's word for it,someday they might wish that they had.there should be no arguring over god,believe it or not that is our choice.my heart aches for unbelievers,we are all sinners,but through jesus christ we can be forgiven,and i thank god for jesus.


 

Originally Posted by O No!:
<omitted due to the text not being what I was commenting on and to allow for space>

I don't know what to say about your experience at the party except to say that I MYSELF, have never even seen a Christian raise their VOICE when debating an atheist in real life. As a matter of fact, back when I was an atheist, I would get into heated debates with the Christians I knew. But the only one "heated" was myself. The Christians would just smile and say they "knew better", and their smugness about their beliefs made me angry. I realize NOW that it was not SMUGNESS, but inner security they exhibited.

 

Thank you O NO for sharing this.  I heard another similar experience expressed in a share group from another Christian who said essentially the same thing you did.  I could only think how so often it isn't words that are said/typed or actions/behavior but God's Holy Spirit works in ways that many Christians never understand when God is working in the life of another person. 

 

Under the Heading, the Marks of a True Christian

Romans 12:9-21 (ESV)
{9} Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
{10} Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
{11} Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
{12} Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
{13} Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
{14} Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
{15} Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
{16} Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
{17} Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
{18} If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
{19} Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
{20} To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
{21} Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

We are now in the second possibly third generation of kids and people from the days when they could actually teach Bible in School as an elective a choice of students and/or parents to make.  From the time when prayer became a taboo and from the elimination of God from as much as secularist could remove God from.   The debates or opposition to just teaching that many believe in Creation as an alternate theory for how life became is cloaked as a violation of the First Amendment.  Where has this go us to?  What are the changes in morals and the view of human life from the fifties unto today's graduates?

 

When you instill, indoctrinate, and teach that life is but an accident and remove all significance from it then you have people who lose respect for human life.  It is no more taboo to snuff out a human life or violate a human than it is to squash a roach on the floor for as for life they both have the same significance, they were both an accident.  As time continues as more and more those who with to remove God from everything and everywhere get their ways through the courts and school curriculum there will be exponential changes and growth of those who no longer hold anything as sacred or special and have no moral compass. 

 

I do fear for the youth today for as many, on here, and around do not believe in God, respect God, or God's ability to watch over and bless a nation I fear one day God's Blessings will cease.  America will reap what was sewn in earlier generations and that is thew way it has been throughout centuries.  Be cautious what you wish for you may get it.

 

So what do secularist blame the degradation of society on?  What is the cause of the decline of morality?  Some would call say that we have more freedom now.  I was spending time in youtube the other night watching some of the comedy roast that Dean Martin used to have.  Then picking out various entertainers that participated in those roast and watched act's of theirs.  It's amazing how comedy or what it takes to get a laugh has changed over 30 years or so.  It doesn't mean the people themselves changed but what we allow to be broadcast has given Cable TV and the like but a comparison of comedy then to comedy now is profound.  Even comics and comedic shows from Old Time Radio's days and then the 60's shows.  Today you cannot see a "comedy" presentation without having it laced with profanity and sexual innuendos.  Oh there are some but very few and it seems to be a dying art, the ability to get a laugh using "clean" material.  

Originally Posted by mary haddock:

first off let me say i didn't know i was screaming!! i will say i'm sorry for that. and i didn't mean for god to literally hit her on the head.See how people have different points!!,yes i am a christian and proud of it.

 

people just want god out of everything,but take god's word for it,someday they might wish that they had.there should be no arguring over god,believe it or not that is our choice.my heart aches for unbelievers,we are all sinners,but through jesus christ we can be forgiven,and i thank god for jesus.

____________________________

Good to know you didn’t know you were screaming.

Since God can’t hit anyone on the head, I realize that you didn’t mean literally hit her.  We all have our own opinions about any topic on this forum. Doesn’t make one right & another wrong but each of us is entitled to an opinion. Sort of like someone being color blind. They may see yellow when you see blue.

 

I disagree that people want God out of everything. The ones that don’t believe in God just don’t want Him shoved down their throats & being told they’re going to a Hell they don’t believe in. You may not understand how they can feel that way but they don’t understand how you can believe in something that is non-existent in their eyes. No one should be put down for the beliefs they have or don’t have.

 

Most people that don’t believe have read some of the Bible, if not all, for them to chose to believe in it or not. Some were raised in church & a Christian home but chose at a later time to not believe. It’s not up to you or I to judge those people.

 

I’ve said before & will say again that I’m sort of in the middle. I can quote the Bible with the best of them, I was raised in a Christian home, & at one time was saved & baptized. I’ve been judged by the “Christian folks” & have no use for those that tell me they love me in one breath & that I’m going to Hell in the next.

 

I’ve never understood, if Christians have the faith in prayer as they claim to have, why they can’t just pray for someone they see as lost, instead of having the need to preach & shove it down our throats. There’s a church on every block if we want to be preached to.

If your heart aches for any unbeliever, I suggest you take that faith you claim to have & pray for them, instead of coming at them like they’re stupid for believing differently than you do.

They may not want your prayer but unless you shout it from the roof tops they won’t know.

 

My opinion is in no way meant to criticize or offend you, it’s just what it is…..my opinion.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by semiannualchick:
Originally Posted by mary haddock:

first off let me say i didn't know i was screaming!! i will say i'm sorry for that. and i didn't mean for god to literally hit her on the head.See how people have different points!!,yes i am a christian and proud of it.

 

people just want god out of everything,but take god's word for it,someday they might wish that they had.there should be no arguring over god,believe it or not that is our choice.my heart aches for unbelievers,we are all sinners,but through jesus christ we can be forgiven,and i thank god for jesus.

____________________________

Good to know you didn’t know you were screaming.

Since God can’t hit anyone on the head, I realize that you didn’t mean literally hit her.  We all have our own opinions about any topic on this forum. Doesn’t make one right & another wrong but each of us is entitled to an opinion. Sort of like someone being color blind. They may see yellow when you see blue.

 

I disagree that people want God out of everything. The ones that don’t believe in God just don’t want Him shoved down their throats & being told they’re going to a Hell they don’t believe in. You may not understand how they can feel that way but they don’t understand how you can believe in something that is non-existent in their eyes. No one should be put down for the beliefs they have or don’t have.

 Semi, thought I would reply to this post because I have made the statement about people wanting religion out of everything.  That certainly isn't the case with ALL but it also is with some just as there are all types of Christians that fall along the spectrum so when I make that statement just know I'm not lumping all into that category. 


Also, I think you know and understand, I am not one that believes in "shoving" anything down someone's throat.  While I may be forward, in this forum, it's because I consider it very appropriate, in this forum, to defend the gospel and at times share, at times with scripture, what I believe and answer various topics.  While yes I do understand that there are some that feel it necessary to force feed people their beliefs, and worse, their judgment upon others,  I hope you know I'm not one of them and disapprove of that approach. 


I do wonder though, in the case of a few that are constantly negative, constantly demeaning to Christians and do not seem to care to have dialog or debate but constantly harass or heckle, why a person that doesn't care to have dialog comes in a place where they know Christ, with respect to Christians, or Religion with respect to other faiths will be or has a very good chance to be talked about.  Many may have an interest or curiosity but to jump in just to "call BS" on everything Christian because their opinion is different isn't really neighborly.  They already know they don't agree with anything and if their only reason is to come in and call BS on what they don't share an opinion of, knowing that the forum is for Religion, then that is equivalent to Christians who invade Atheist forums preaching and condemning them.  Those are the ones I don't understand remaining here for no other reason than to harass, frankly. 

 

Most people that don’t believe have read some of the Bible, if not all, for them to chose to believe in it or not. Some were raised in church & a Christian home but chose at a later time to not believe. It’s not up to you or I to judge those people.

 

I’ve said before & will say again that I’m sort of in the middle. I can quote the Bible with the best of them, I was raised in a Christian home, & at one time was saved & baptized. I’ve been judged by the “Christian folks” & have no use for those that tell me they love me in one breath & that I’m going to Hell in the next.

 

Any Christian, in my opinion, pronouncing judgment upon another individual (Christian or not), is not abiding by Christ directions or living according to the Scriptures.  That is my own opinion and might not be shared by others but I have yet to have anyone show me where it is commanded that we set in judgment of another human.  I have yet also, even though I have ask, for anyone to show me, from Scripture, an example of Christ doing so during His earthly ministry.

 

I’ve never understood, if Christians have the faith in prayer as they claim to have, why they can’t just pray for someone they see as lost, instead of having the need to preach & shove it down our throats. There’s a church on every block if we want to be preached to.

If your heart aches for any unbeliever, I suggest you take that faith you claim to have & pray for them, instead of coming at them like they’re stupid for believing differently than you do.

They may not want your prayer but unless you shout it from the roof tops they won’t know.

 

My opinion is in no way meant to criticize or offend you, it’s just what it is…..my opinion.

 

I do realize that you are speaking, first person.  In other words as someone who has experienced such treatment and occurrences.  This is very regretful, at least to me, and not scriptural, in my opinion.  Realize that Christians are not perfect but just as imperfect as anyone else so they make mistakes also.  Likewise anyone telling you that you have to get rid of all your sin(s) in order to be saved or get right with God is also disingenuous to the Scriptures and what Christ said. There are many people that are given the impression that they have to perfect themselves and conform to someone elses morals or standards in order to accept Christ.  That is not true either for there are many people, I have met, that love God and have said to me I'm not ready to give up living right now but when I get ready I'll ask Jesus in my heart then.  I fully believe they have been given a corrupted gospel and one that is not true.  I do believe that God can work through specific people, in the lives of another person, but no person has the right to be in judgment of you, or me, or anyone else for if they do then they are not following Christ example.  Both those examples, that I just gave, having to perfect their life according to someone's standards and being hyper judgmental are the two things I believe most Christians have a tendency to do, that causes harm to the cause of Christ.  But again that is just my opinion


Very good and sincere reply.  I still see you as a very thoughtful and caring person even though you responded to me in another post indicating you get riled up at times.  Sometimes people have a right and reason to, myself included.    

 

 

Operation Restore Our Community or “ROC”...begins next week. The city judge will either let misdemenor offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year.

If offenders elect church, they’re allowed to pick the place of worship, but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender’s case will be dismissed.

The trouble is that this is clearly unconstitutional, under the Establishment Clause caselaw. Both conservative and liberal Justices agree that coercion of religious practice violates the Establishment Clause. And while they disagree on what counts as coercion of religious practice (e.g., does being exposed to prayer, and socially pressured to stand and remain silent, at a high school graduation ceremony that isn’t legally required, qualify as coercion?), this is not a close case: Just as it would coerce religious practice to say someone who hasn’t been convicted of a crime, “go to church or we’ll send you to jail,” so it coerces religious practice to say someone who has been convicted of a crime, “go to church or you’ll stay in jail.” Police chief Mike Rowland is quoted as saying the program “doesn’t violate separation of church and state issues because it allows the offender to choose church or jail ... and the church of their choice,” but that’s a parody of the concept of “choice” — again, one might as well say that a law that tells everyone, “go to church every week or you’ll go to jail” is constitutional because it lets citizens “choose” whether to go to church or to jail.

Some constitutional rights, to be sure, are largely lost for the duration of one’s criminal sentence — free speech rights, the right to bear arms (which is often limited even beyond one’s sentence), the normal limits on searches and seizures, and such. But the Establishment Clause right to be free from coercion of religious practice remains.

Indeed, many courts have held that letting inmates get extra privileges or reduce their sentences by going to Alcoholics Anonymous violates the Establishment Clause (see, among many other cases, Griffin v. Coughlin (N.Y. 1996)), because Alcoholics Anonymous has a religious dimension. It’s even clearer that letting people avoid jail by going to church violates the Establishment Clause. Indeed, the Mississippi Supreme Court has recently held that a judge’s decision to order people to attend church as a condition of bail is not just unconstitutional, but merits a 30-day suspension from the bench.

The new practice also violates the Alabama Constitution, which expressly provides (art. I, § 3) that, among other things, “no one shall be compelled by law to attend any place of worship.” Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer.

 

http://volokh.com/2011/09/25/c...alternative-to-jail/

 

 

com·pel

<input class="au" title="Listen to the pronunciation of compel" type="button" /> verb \kəm-ˈpel\
com·pelledcom·pel·ling
<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#appId=246481352045554&xfbml=1" type="text/javascript"></script>

Definition of COMPEL

transitive verb
1
: to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly <hunger compelled him to eat>
2
: to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure
Originally Posted by semiannualchick:
Originally Posted by mary haddock:

first off let me say i didn't know i was screaming!! i will say i'm sorry for that. and i didn't mean for god to literally hit her on the head.See how people have different points!!,yes i am a christian and proud of it.

 

people just want god out of everything,but take god's word for it,someday they might wish that they had.there should be no arguring over god,believe it or not that is our choice.my heart aches for unbelievers,we are all sinners,but through jesus christ we can be forgiven,and i thank god for jesus.

____________________________

Good to know you didn’t know you were screaming.

Since God can’t hit anyone on the head, I realize that you didn’t mean literally hit her.  We all have our own opinions about any topic on this forum. Doesn’t make one right & another wrong but each of us is entitled to an opinion. Sort of like someone being color blind. They may see yellow when you see blue.

 

I disagree that people want God out of everything. The ones that don’t believe in God just don’t want Him shoved down their throats & being told they’re going to a Hell they don’t believe in. You may not understand how they can feel that way but they don’t understand how you can believe in something that is non-existent in their eyes. No one should be put down for the beliefs they have or don’t have.

 

Most people that don’t believe have read some of the Bible, if not all, for them to chose to believe in it or not. Some were raised in church & a Christian home but chose at a later time to not believe. It’s not up to you or I to judge those people.

 

I’ve said before & will say again that I’m sort of in the middle. I can quote the Bible with the best of them, I was raised in a Christian home, & at one time was saved & baptized. I’ve been judged by the “Christian folks” & have no use for those that tell me they love me in one breath & that I’m going to Hell in the next.

 

I’ve never understood, if Christians have the faith in prayer as they claim to have, why they can’t just pray for someone they see as lost, instead of having the need to preach & shove it down our throats. There’s a church on every block if we want to be preached to.

If your heart aches for any unbeliever, I suggest you take that faith you claim to have & pray for them, instead of coming at them like they’re stupid for believing differently than you do.

They may not want your prayer but unless you shout it from the roof tops they won’t know.

 

My opinion is in no way meant to criticize or offend you, it’s just what it is…..my opinion.

 

 

 

i'm not trying to push it down anybody's throat,that is peoples choice,yes i do pray for unbelievers,i am not their judge and i don't claim to be.i belive what i believe and i don't let other denominations persuade me,i believe what i read in the bible.you are not offending,or criticising me.i just wish the world of people could get along.and  this is my opinion' there is a god.


 

Originally Posted by mary haddock:
Originally Posted by semiannualchick:
Originally Posted by mary haddock:

first off let me say i didn't know i was screaming!! i will say i'm sorry for that. and i didn't mean for god to literally hit her on the head.See how people have different points!!,yes i am a christian and proud of it.

 

people just want god out of everything,but take god's word for it,someday they might wish that they had.there should be no arguring over god,believe it or not that is our choice.my heart aches for unbelievers,we are all sinners,but through jesus christ we can be forgiven,and i thank god for jesus.

____________________________

Good to know you didn’t know you were screaming.

Since God can’t hit anyone on the head, I realize that you didn’t mean literally hit her.  We all have our own opinions about any topic on this forum. Doesn’t make one right & another wrong but each of us is entitled to an opinion. Sort of like someone being color blind. They may see yellow when you see blue.

 

I disagree that people want God out of everything. The ones that don’t believe in God just don’t want Him shoved down their throats & being told they’re going to a Hell they don’t believe in. You may not understand how they can feel that way but they don’t understand how you can believe in something that is non-existent in their eyes. No one should be put down for the beliefs they have or don’t have.

 

Most people that don’t believe have read some of the Bible, if not all, for them to chose to believe in it or not. Some were raised in church & a Christian home but chose at a later time to not believe. It’s not up to you or I to judge those people.

 

I’ve said before & will say again that I’m sort of in the middle. I can quote the Bible with the best of them, I was raised in a Christian home, & at one time was saved & baptized. I’ve been judged by the “Christian folks” & have no use for those that tell me they love me in one breath & that I’m going to Hell in the next.

 

I’ve never understood, if Christians have the faith in prayer as they claim to have, why they can’t just pray for someone they see as lost, instead of having the need to preach & shove it down our throats. There’s a church on every block if we want to be preached to.

If your heart aches for any unbeliever, I suggest you take that faith you claim to have & pray for them, instead of coming at them like they’re stupid for believing differently than you do.

They may not want your prayer but unless you shout it from the roof tops they won’t know.

 

My opinion is in no way meant to criticize or offend you, it’s just what it is…..my opinion.

 

 

 

i'm not trying to push it down anybody's throat,that is peoples choice,yes i do pray for unbelievers,i am not their judge and i don't claim to be.i belive what i believe and i don't let other denominations persuade me,i believe what i read in the bible.you are not offending,or criticising me.i just wish the world of people could get along.and  this is my opinion' there is a god.


 

oh, and by the way. i don't call people stupid!!!!!!!god didn't make stupid.


 

Originally Posted by semiannualchick:  

If your heart aches for any unbeliever, I suggest you take that faith you claim to have & pray for them, instead of coming at them like they’re stupid for believing differently than you do.

 

 Originally Posted by mary haddock:

oh,  and by the way. i don't call people stupid!!!!!!!god didn't make stupid.

_____________________________

I didn’t say you call people stupid. Read the bold print in my post above.

Your post has a tone that you find it unbelievable or incredible that any person could not believe in God. That’s why I said “coming at them like they’re stupid”.

 

BTW, did I say God made stupid??? Some people just naturally act or talk stupid. And before you send me a post with a bunch of exclamation marks saying that you don’t act or talk stupid, that remark wasn’t necessarily for you. Just some people in general.

Originally Posted by gbrk:
Semi,
I think you know and understand, I am not one that believes in "shoving" anything down someone's throat. 

Very good and sincere reply.  I still see you as a very thoughtful and caring person even though you responded to me in another post indicating you get riled up at times.  Sometimes people have a right and reason to, myself included.    

____________________________

Yes, I do know that, & I often read your post with interest......if they're not to long.

 

Thank you, but yes, I do get riled up sometimes, especially at Bill Gray whom sets himself above another. If God exist, I can't see that he would be happy with Bill's kind of Christianity.

Back to the drawing board?

 

By Kim Lanier
Religion News Service

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (RNS) An alternative sentencing plan that would give inmates the choice between time in jail or a year in church will be delayed for several weeks while lawyers review it to make sure there are no legal issues.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama sent a letter to city leaders on Monday (Sept. 26) demanding an immediate end to the program, which it says "flagrantly" violates the separation of church and state. The letter also requested public records on the program's development and creation.

"It's good to hear they are delaying implementation," said Alabama ACLU executive director Olivia Turner.

 

 

 

The alternative program will not be offered to all defendants and will be offered at a judge's discretion, Rowland said. Offenders who try the program and find it's not working for them can go back before the judge for a different sentence, according to Rowland.

=====================================================================

Mmmmmm, wonder what that "different" sentencing will be?

Add Reply

Post

Untitled Document
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×