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Old 02-21-2006, 05:49 PM
Legion Legion is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 35
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Stop attacking me and address my ideas. Perhaps true faith IS born out of hysteria, or accompanies it. When God reveals Himself to sinful men, their response is tpically one of intense fear and trembling, such that they cannot stand, let alone maintain control of their various faculties. When God reveals himself to the elect, the response is one of ecstasy and overwhelming, indescribable, almost painful, joy. This is hysteria. What else but proper recognition of unworthiness and sin will lead one to recognize the need for salvation? True wisdom is a result of the fear of The Holy (Ps 111:10).

Is God angry and judging and wrathful? Certainly. God's wrath towards sin is a common theme throughout the Holy Scripture (Rom 2:5). Justice is as much a part of God's nature as mercy.

To discriminate against what you call my shallow God-view is inconsistent with your philosophy, too. I do not claim to agree with your philosophy of pluralism, but it makes no sense for you to proclaim the diversity of God, and then proceed to criticize my perception of the Almighty. Perhaps some consider God to be more than merely "love and compassion". There are many kinds of wickedness that are not deserving of love. How then do we deal with such things if we cannot hate them with holy hatred (Heb 1:9)? In many situations, mercy is not even to be shown to the perpetrators of wickedness, as rulers are God's instruments of wrath against the wicked (Rom 13:4). God's compassion is free, but not universal. Some people have been created for mercy, some for wrath (9:21).

Not all people are saved, because not every religion is true, and saying so is NOT idolatry. Only Christ can bring humans to salvation (14:6). In fact, religions are mutually exclusive, by virtue of their sanctity. Saying that every religion is holy is as good as saying that none are, because it removes the absolute singular unique holy otherness of the god that that religion worships. Different religions preach very different gods. One of the many paradoxes of Christianity is God's diversity in unity; the Trinity; the Three in One. God's diversity does not manifest itself in a diversity of many faiths, but rather in the unity of one. This is apparently foolish and nonsensical, however, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those to whom He has sent His Holy Spirit: for the Gospel proves to be foolishness and a stumbling-block to those who have not been chosen by God. For the foolishness of the Lord is wiser than the wisdom of mankind. Arrogant? Haughty? Judgemental? [Not that it makes any sense to be judgemental of judgmentalism] 1 Corinthians 1 would indicate otherwise. The reasoning and false wisdom of men is worthless in comparison to the paradox of the True Gospel.

Paul, inspired by the Holy Ghost writes this to the elect at Ephesus: "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
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