GBU, I think there's something missing here. THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD. All the so-called gods that men believe in and worship, are not gods at all. Some time back on some Christain broadcast a friend heard this and related it to me. "We need to pray so we can counteract the prayers of Islam". False gods are dumb, deaf, and blind. Does Christianity believe in any truth anymore?
Read the whole account of 1 Kings 18:
1 Kings 18:24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
Acts 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Evidently the Greeks were so superstitious that they didn't want to neglect from worshipping all the gods there was, or could be, so they erected an altar to one they may have left out! Man can worship anything he chooses, but according to God's Word there is only ONE that hears prayers.
And His name is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
is that it was woefully vague. By asking "Are we all praying to the same God"?, the poster fails to be specific in whether thay are asking 'are all who call themselves Christians praying to the same God'?, are all religions?, is there more than one God? etc.. Why is this important you say? Consider that even on this very website, there are two forums with the title Christian, one the "Enlightened Christian" forum, and this one, Biblical Christianity. Both would of course claim that they are worshipping or following after Jesus. Then there are other esoteric forums also on Curezone that also make frequent mention of "the Christ" and therefore many of these folks would be happy to call themselves Christian as well.
Knowing the intent of the question is as important as knowing the specifics in order to give the answer. And although the great majority on this forum would say the answer is Jesus Christ is the only God, then we run into the problem that Jesus Christ means different things to different people, obviously everyone can't be right. Without having the benefit of clarity, a response can be truthful but inadequate in reaching the target,
Having been on Curezone for a very long time, I have seen these types of non-revealing, cryptic questions be used as bait, rather than because there is any sincere desire to obtain an answer. I'm not saying this is what it is for sure, but that given the brevity of the question there is a great possibility of that being the case. If the person is sincere, they will come back with a more specific question and clear intent.
And BTW, demons are delighted to "answer" the prayers offered them through false identities claiming godhood. It keeps a whole world bound to flase belief systems because they have supernatural occurrences to prove it....
Nope, still here. I don't think any forum actually gets deleted, some just get used a lot less.
Anyway, here it is:
http://curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=554
>>i know exactly what youre talking about. to me, they are superstitious beliefs that turn the word of god into a book of magic incantations. they dont DO anything. they are lip service.<<
I think you are now demonstrating the perfect reason why there is an Enlightened/Esoteric Christian forum, and this plain vanilla, no frills Biblical forum. Part of Biblical Christiaity is to accept and affirm the Godhood of Jesus Christ, His atonement, authority over all things created for and by Him and delegated authority of believers. We are clearly told that there is no other name under heaven or on earth by which all knees shall bow and all tongues confess His Lordship.
To say that the name of Yashua HaMaschiach/ Jesus Christ is not important on a Biblical discussion forum is ludicrous. Not because you don't have a right to your opinion, or to say that you haven't researched your subject carefully and drawn your own conclusions, but those conclusons are contrary to the stated purposes of this support forum. So what happens if I go into the VWT forum and say that Iodine is a pertty brown stuff but is totally poisonous. Do I hit instant popularity?
I'm sorry Trapper, if what I said sounded like you yourself don't belong here. You and I have both been around Curezone for quite sometime and I've become rather fond of you. I was very happy when you were given a forum with W and V.
However what disturbed me greatly was your statement that there was no particular meaning to the name of Jesus or God. That is what I feel is at odds with Scripture and therefore at odds with this forum, which is a Biblically based forum. The Enlightened forum on the other hand, was created for just those areas in which people who claim Christianity as their faith, but have widely different ideas or definitions of what that entails can freely express those particular tangents.
Although the detractors of Christianity always point out that Christianity has many denominations or divisions, what I see is that if you read the statements of faith for the overwhelming majority of these main denominations, you will find that the basic foundations are always the same. The importance of the name of the Saviour, whether we want to say Jesus, Yashuah. Jèsu, or what have you, is not only an integral part of the faith, but clearly supported by Scripyure.
I'm not one to like engaging in long drawn out debates on gospel issues, and perhaps what you are not seing is that others may have valid experiences as well although different from yours. Ultimately though, it is not our individual experiences that are the defining criteria for what is gospel truth, it is the gospel itself. Furthermore, although as I've said I do not like engaging in contentions either, I do feel it is my call to conscience to speak up when the name which is above every other name comes into question, especially wthin the context of this Biblical support forum. If this same conversaton had popped up in the Christian debate or any other forum, I would not have even thought of replying. No, I'm not uncomfortable with the opinions of others, in fact I have made it a point to defend freedom of speech and thought throughout all of my adult life. But here on this little turf of the web, I don't feel that it is suppressing free speech when I or anyone else does what we were asked to do even in the face of persecutions, and that is to earnestly contend for the faith.
I hope that clears my intentions to you, even though I'm sure we may not agree. I still love ya :-)
I agree with your last paragraph. Jesus is the truth, the light, and the way. There is no greater joy than walking closely with Him. He makes Himself known in so many ways and directly into our lives, and yes, without this special, personal relationship, the Bible becomes a dry read. But the Spirit of God makes it all alive and everything worth it.
As far as Catholics, for obvious reasons I find their theology very flawed also, yet I wish we could all have the faith and love they display. The real evil lies behind their leadership in the vatican, and yet I believe God honors that faith and love and works through them in spite of their leadership in high places. The workings out of salvation is very individual.
Love and peace to you Trapper ..... ~♥♥♥~