Dear Hustler,
The other thread may not have worked out, so I pray that this thread will. I am sorry for any inconvieniences and unanswered questions. Let's try and open a new thread to answer your questions, and this time, let's ask them one by one and answer them one by one so that this may be productive and that we may all benefit.
If anybody is looking to be hostile, or does not feel like being nice, please don't post here, we are here to help our friend hustler.
Let us pray that he will be enlightened, that his heart and mind and soul will be opened. Hustler, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to ask them, and I hope that you will be enlightened, and all of us with you.
The first question here is to you hustler, please answer it before discussing anything else.
I ask this just out of curiosity. Why did you open the other thread?
I hope to hear from you soon, and please everybody else, help me out, because I don't have the knowledge to answer the questions that hustler seeks to be answered.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.
Comments
This is my first for you to answer, why does Christians eat pork when in one of the passages, which i cant remember (correct me if im wrong) pigs are of dirt?
That is my first question, and "lordhavemercy", i thank you for your great love you shown me, but i didn't come here to change but to learn Christianity and what you guys believe in.
and ur christian attitude,
ur a great example, God bless u and reward u...
GJI
I hope that in this thread, as Lord Have Mercy said, we can all be more productive. Let us all remember that we are not here to attack, but to learn together.
Thankyou for your question: I don't know exactly which passage you are referring to but it may be in Deuteronomy Chapter 14
This is in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible (Which the Jewish follow). Now, in the New Testament, many ancient traditions had become attached to some religious beliefs, and some religious leaders at the time (scribes and pharisees) had forgotten the idea and point behind God's teachings and instead were taking everything written down, to mean only what it LITERALLY SAID.
So, in confrontation with some of their traditions, Christ explained and taught us the TRUE VALUE and APPRECIATION of His words.
He said:
"Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man" (Matt 15:11).
When His Disciples asked Him to explain, He said:
"Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." (Matt 15:17-20)
So it is clear that eating pork is not going to defile a person, but instead it is the internal purity which is important. Through God's strength may we overcome the temptations we face each day, and learn to be cautious with what we say, think and do. May we also remember to give the Glory due to God, our Loving Father.
I hope that has helped,
please pray for my weakness
God Bless :)
To tell you the truth, i'm really excited about this thread - its bound to teach us ALL alot about Christianity.
Just to add one lil' thing to Minrew's answer... Theres something REALLY important that we all need to get our minds around. When the OT was written, there was no salvation - it just wasn't an option [because of our fallen nature and original sin] - THEN in the NT when Christ came, he redeemed us and gave us stacks and stacks of grace, mercy, love and forgiveness ... so now, alot of the things which were practiced in the OT are no longer practiced because Christ bridged that gap ...
For example, we no longer stone adulteresses [a common practice of the OT] - this is because Christ has given us FORGIVENESS of our sins - so we no longer die if we repent... get me??
Anyway... about your question specifically, here is a quote straight from the bible... check this out...
Acts 10:9-16
Peter's Vision
9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."
14But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean."
15And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "[u]What God has cleansed you must not call common." 16This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. [/u]
[emphasis mine... ]
So yeh... God Himself is saying "Its OK" ... this happened another time in the bible too, but i can't recall exactly where its from... maybe someone else knows it ??
Well... thats enough from me for now...
I'm looking forward to the rest of the questions and responses from others here - i think this going to be a very educational thread and i'm excited :)
God Bless y'all.
Sorry if my questions feel abit ordinary, however, wasn't the the NT produced after Christ? And the OT before Christ? Which one is more reliable and which one is better? Or is NT just a modern version of OT?
Yes, the OT was written before Christ came to earth and the NT begins with a recount of His life here... and goes from there.
Neither is "more reliable or better" - you can't read one without the other or else Christ's whole mission here on earth wouldn't make sense. The NT completes the OT. If we didn't have the OT [which explains original sin and our fallen nature] then the issues of the NT [like salvation, redemption and grace] just wouldn't make sense... does that make sense??
The NT isn't a modern version of the OT - rather, like i said before, it COMPLETES the OT. The OT contains hundreds of prophesies about Christ and His coming.... ALL of these are fulfilled in the NT. Also, we still use certain things from the OT, for e.g. the 10 commandments are something all Christians are called to live by... however, not all the punishments of the OT are still caried out cause that debt was paid on the cross by Christ who was the randsom for all of us. When He died, He gave us forgiveness, and a second chance...
SO... all in all - we need both. The Bible MUST be approached as a whole, complete Book.
Hope this helps... if not, keep asking :)
God Bless ya!
Matthew 5:17 - Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
[quote author=hustler link=board=4;threadid=584;start=0#msg9892 date=1093952920]
Sorry if my questions feel abit ordinary
Hey hustler,
I hope all the answers are helping you out in understanding Christianity. Of course your questions are not ordinary, the reason you ask them is because you don't know, so that makes them all great questions, because you know more with every question you ask.
I'm so excited too god child, I personally hope to learn a lot too.
Dear brothers and Sisters,
Sorry if my questions feel abit ordinary, however, wasn't the the NT produced after Christ? And the OT before Christ? Which one is more reliable and which one is better? Or is NT just a modern version of OT?
hey guys! In a book by H.G. Bishop Moussa The Characteristics of Orthodox Teaching he talks about the bible and how it should be read. he says "It is a well known fact that both the testments of the Holy Bible are studied as one unit. "For the Old Testment is revealed in the New, and the New Testment is hidden in the old," says St.Augustine."
hope that helped
That was the question, now to the comment. As I have said before, Christianity does not contradict itself. If you want to study Christianity, then study it with an open mind and accepting heart. You have pointed out all the things that YOU think are wrong. But how about you start pointing out the beautiful things? The whole Bible is beautiful, so that would be hard to do, but for once, instead of thinking with a negative attitude, think with a positive attitude. Jesus Christ came and saved us all, every one of us, whether you believe that or not. He could've very simply said, "Fine, these people treat me this way? Well then I will not save them." But not only did He do it out of unconditonal love, but if you really think about it, not everybody was bad. He was not going to do something horrible like leaving all our souls to perish, because of these people, no matter how many millions there were. Do you remember the story of Noah and the ark? Everybody was flooded and everybody died, except for Noah and his family. He could've said, "I will flood everybody, even Noah and his family. I mean, they only are a few people, it doesn't really matter." But you know what hustler? Our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, cares about EVERY single one of us. He died for me, he died for him and her, he died for YOU, again, whether you believe that or not it is up to you.
Please, hustler, do not respond back with something rude, I do not want that. Just do me this favor by keeping this thread nice, and I will too. If you do not believe my post above, please don't respond harshly, just very simply say, "I don't believe in what you said." But hustler, I will again remind you that God has his arms open for every one of us, and no matter how many times we fall, or how many times we are lost, or whatever it is that will make a father distant from his children, He will forgive us as long as we truly repent and confess.
God bless you hustler, and if it is right for you, God will teach you everything you need to know.