TRNDRVR said:
Beer swilling pagan? And you know this of me how? What shoes of mine have you been in? You sir are showing your ignorance by posting dribble like this. Until you know someone personally, don't compare them to how you ARE.
Also, I take it you're 'born again'? What was your rock bottom? Drugs? Alcohol? Ex-con? Gay? Or just outright a weak minded person?
Try to rely on yourself for once instead of a book of fiction. That way you have nobody to blame but yourself.
PS By your definition, I'm an athiest. I'm 44 years old, been the same woman for 27+ years, 2 kids, and I'm a proffesional in my career. I'm still looking for the 'piece of shit' factor in myself. :dunno:
Guess you didn't see the word "some" in that clause...
Anyway, I'm glad that you know enough about the universe to say that you know for certain that there is no God out there somewhere. Perhaps you intended to say that YOU are God, for that is about the only way that you could actually know enough about EVERYTHING to know for certain that there is no Christian God.
About relying on oneself -- what is it about Christianity that smacks of weakness and not taking care of oneself? Just because we have faith in God doesn't mean that we sit around all day on our blessed assurances. I am more than capable as a man, whether Christian or not to take care of business, but I place my trust in Jesus Christ becasue there is ONE THING I cannot take care of -- and that is my eternal destiny.
My rock bottom? I lost my second son in childbirth. At that time, I would have said that I was a Christian. After all, I was Anglo, American, and not a Buddhist or a Hindu, what else would I be? I was SO sadly mistaken and merely "religious" at the time, and when it really counted, my "religion" was worthless. That night, when I heard the screams of anguish from my wife (yes, we are still married -- very happily now for 28 years) and the "minister" came and told us that he didn't have any good answers, we told him to take his god, his book, and his church and shove them up his... well, you get the point.
We then walked away from ANYTHING resembling church and God. We lived like hell and were damn proud of it. I was up to a case a day, and did a lot of things to hurt me, my family, and my career. Things I'm not very proud of. Oh, I also had a mouth that would stop most of you in your tracks... It was into that scenario that God inserted His REAL presence -- and it took 7 years to do so.
Am I "born again?" You bet I am. But it didn't have a SINGLE THING to do with me! I was NOT a God-seeker -- not at all. No, God came looking for me -- just like He is looking for a lot of you. The rest of it is a long story, but it culminated with my saying what I thought at the time was a "silly little prayer" -- to ask Jesus to be my Savior -- that is -- IF -- He existed. I discovered that He did.
I gave up drinking, cussing, lots of other stuff, and after another year, found a church to join. After another year (do I sound like a skeptic?) my wife and I finally became baptized members of that church, and within a year were teaching and leading messed up young people to Christ. From that point, God showed His real intention and called me into full time vocational ministry. I was licensed in 1993, and ordained in 1997. I am just about to finish an Advanced Master of Divinity in Church Planting at a major seminary.
About being a "man." I travel all over the United States and Canada doing pioneer mission work. I was in Mississippi a couple weeks after Katrina doing disaster work and helping people that were less fortunate than I. I ran a chainsaw for a week, and cut out about 40 trees -- many from inside homes where they fell. I've been to Mexico, Newfoundland, and almost all points between doing church work -- and wheeling my off-road vehicles. I even did a wedding exactly on the point on Top of the World trail in Moab, Utah. I think that any suggestion that I might be weak is rather misplaced... I have faith, but that does not mean weakness.
