Moses was High
Out of context: Reply #243
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- gramme0
Blue, would you say that from what little you know of me, there is no evidence of a Christ-like life? By that I mean being kind to those who are unkind to me, self-controlled, quick to forgive, slow to anger, honest, wise, so on...I'm honestly asking you. You might not be able to answer, since we can only know so much about each other in this discussions; however I am interested in your thoughts.
I personally know many professing Christians who have been totally transformed by the gospel. Speaking for myself, before I became a Christian, I was thoroughly lacking in self control, had no moral scruples about sexuality, I was dishonest, I cheated when I could get away with it, I stole money from customers and employers, I was disrespectful and rebelled against all authority – basically anyone who got in my way. I was rude, self-centered, self-serving and worst of all, I knew exactly what I was doing. I knew the difference between right and wrong, I just chose to do whatever the hell suited me, whatever advanced my own agenda.
Basically, I was an asshole. The company I kept reflected that. I've always thought you can judge a man's character by his friends. The people I called my friends did not reflect very well on my own character.
Eventually, God broke my heart. The change did not happen overnight. It took time. Over the course of about 1 1/2 years, I became disenchanted with partying. I realized that I did not truly respect the woman I was in love with at the time. She had intended to stay a virgin until marriage; I had talked her into sleeping with me. I fully realize it takes two to tango, but I was a bad influence nevertheless. That relationship fell apart not long after I told her we should stop sleeping together – over time her conscience had become seared like mine, and she did not take this decision well.
The rest is a long and complicated story, but through these events and others that followed, my conscience came back with a vengeance. I remember the day I got a DWI as clearly as it was yesterday (in spite of how drunk I was). When a friend picked me up from the police station in the wee hours, I was so ashamed I couldn't even look at her. For the first time in my life, I began to have serious regrets for the way I had been living. The rest is a bit of a mystery. I had wandered away from the church I grew up in; I had denounced my faith; I had not regularly attended church in years. One day it just all fell apart, and everything changed.
I was 24 and living at home, not long after finishing my degree. I sat down my folks one day and told them everything. I totally lost it. I told them I was tired of running, tired of chasing after things that proved to hold no meaning. I felt an inch tall, but at the same time it seemed a huge weight had been lifted from me.
Since then, I am anything but perfect – some of you have even witnessed me lose my temper here in the past. But the change is undeniable and dramatic, and is apparent to even my non-Christian friends. Even they will tell you that I am a different person.
Believe what you want about the origins of the faith. But you cannot pick and choose the words of Jesus that resonate with you and throw out the rest. Either it's all right, or it's all wrong. The Bible is unclear on some things, but it's crystal clear on that. Jesus did not say "I am A way, A truth, A life." He said "I am THE way, THE truth, THE life. No man comes to the Father but through me."
There is really no way around this statement. In order to maintain intellectual honesty, one must either believe it and live accordingly, or call Jesus a liar and a charlatan. Jesus is not a sweet, blue-collar guy who said a few profound things. He is either fully God as well as fully man, or he was a sadistic faker and deserved his death on the cross for misleading so many people. I get so weary of people cherry picking from the Bible the passages they like and discarding the rest. You want to talk about arrogance? There it is, on display. Who are we to decide what is true wisdom and what is not? I Who are we to say that God did or didn't do anything, or that he even exists? He does not need us to validate his existence; he has already done so. It's written in scripture, it's in the fossil record, it's in the intricate order of the world around us. We either simply believe it, or we believe something else. Of course, I cannot scientifically PROVE beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of God, or any God for that matter. Neither can you disprove it.
What is so self-serving about surrendering ones will to God, and owning him as sovereign over all? Such a belief confirms our smallness and the narrow scope of our understanding. I'll tell you what is self-serving: doing whatever makes you feel good. Claiming that truth is relative, that we all define truth on a personal basis and that no truth exists beyond that. What is self-serving? Twisting the words of Christ to suit ones own agenda. Taking the Bible out of context in order to disprove its truths. What is self-serving? Denying that we are born corrupt, that we do wrong on a regular basis, that we deserve justice. What is self serving? Pushing away the freely offered salvation offered by God, because we are just fine without it, thank you very much. TheBlueOne, you talk of hypocrisy; but I suggest you take an introspective look before pursuing such condemnation any further. You might find that you resemble those remarks.
More to come.
- gramme, I was addressing Teleos more than you specifically.TheBlueOne