[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
<<< I sincerely believe your interpretation of what happened to you is a result of your environment. If you had been born in another country, you would have attributed what happened to you to some other diety, or to enlightenment, or something else. [/quote]After confessing myself a convicted capital criminal before the throne of the God of the bible? Acknowledging my total helplessness and utter lack of redeeming virtue to this God and asking that He mercifully save me from eternal death by the blood and resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth?
How silly of me. It could have been any ol far out n funky friendly force. From day one it’s been captain cosmos masquerading as the King of kings and Lord of lords because I live in the western world. Slippery little devil. Had me fooled. He must do a killer allah, brahman and CappedAndPlanIt too. Unless there’s more than one?
This is proof to nobody but me and I would never present it any other way, but I know His presence and I know His voice. There is no other part of my life that even remotely approaches the living Word of God in my heart testifying to the written word of God in my hands. It is power, victory, peace and joy. It carries a foundational certitude that is not possible to adequately describe to someone who has never experienced it, but requires no explanation when talking to someone who has.
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
<<< I sincerely believe your interpretation of what happened to you is a result of your environment. If you had been born in another country, you would have attributed what happened to you to some other diety, or to enlightenment, or something else. [/quote]After confessing myself a convicted capital criminal before the throne of the God of the bible? Acknowledging my total helplessness and utter lack of redeeming virtue to this God and asking that He mercifully save me from eternal death by the blood and resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth?
How silly of me. It could have been any ol far out n funky friendly force. From day one it’s been captain cosmos masquerading as the King of kings and Lord of lords because I live in the western world. Slippery little devil. Had me fooled. He must do a killer allah, brahman and CappedAndPlanIt too. Unless there’s more than one?
This is proof to nobody but me and I would never present it any other way, but I know His presence and I know His voice. There is no other part of my life that even remotely approaches the living Word of God in my heart testifying to the written word of God in my hands. It is power, victory, peace and joy. It carries a foundational certitude that is not possible to adequately describe to someone who has never experienced it, but requires no explanation when talking to someone who has.
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Ok, so you really feel something. From where do you come to the conclusion that the source of the feeling is properly identified with a male adverb? Why, in particular, a “he” as opposed to an “it”?
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote: Ok, so you really feel something. From where do you come to the conclusion that the source of the feeling is properly identified with a male adverb? Why, in particular, a “he” as opposed to an “it”?[/quote]Ya know, I think I actually perceive this was an honest question from you man. It is not a feeling and it answers to none of the senses. Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. By word is meant communication and power. The first chapter of the gospel of John is exploding with vivid revelation of this.
Verse 1- “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God”. Verse 14- “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. (no idea) Verse 18- “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” The word “explained” here is translated from a Greek word where we get the term “exegesis” which means the linguistic science of grammatically extracting the communicated content of scripture from it’s original languages. The Son, the Word, is the exegete of God. He alone is the fullest communication, exposition, indeed revelation of God Himself to and in the case of believers, in man.
The scriptures are the written Word of God. They communicate in written form what Christ communicates in His very being. The Holy Spirit indwells a person in their resurrection from death to the life of Christ Himself. You may have heard Christians say “Jesus lives in my heart” and “I’m filled with the Spirit”. Both are true. (no idea). That indwelling presence of the God who in the beginning said “let there be light”, it says in Hebrews 10:15, “testifies to us” and then the writer quotes a bunch of scripture. In Romans 8:16 Paul says “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,” >>>
The whole of the gospel, the Kingdom of God is, for the time being at least, both not of this world and within every true Christian (no idea). All I can do is tell you and make some feeble attempt to describe how I experience it. There is no flutter of angel’s wings on my face. No audible voices, no physical sensations (usually) and I have never seen God with my eyes. I don’t float through my days with a goofy starry eyed smile on my face either. I don’t know how else to express it except to simply say that He is “there”… “here”. Yes, He communicates with me personally, directly and subjectively. Not all the time, but when He does it is the clearest, most precise information I ever heard of and it doesn’t even come in conventional language “per se” You probably really think I’m nuts now, but that’s how it is. It all begins and ends with faith that He gave and gives me.
As for How He is addressed and referred to? I address and refer to Him in the masculine because that’s the way He refers to Himself. I believe a careful study of scripture reveals that what we know as the male and female genders do not apply to God in anything like the same way they do to us. Male and female together represent the image of God in man. (Which isn’t to say that singleness does not have it’s very high virtue in those to whom it is given.) This is why sex and marriage are utterly sacred and their perversion an especial affront to God.
I just woke up. Trib, your posts are hard to follow at times. I’m not sure what you meant by inserting (no idea) a few times there.
Also, you said God never spoke to you directly, in the sense of hearing a booming voice, but then said that the masculine is how He refers to Himself… how do you mean he refers to himself? In the sense of actually haven spoken to some?
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
I just woke up. Trib, >>>[/quote] I’ll suspend judgment on this for now =] [quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:your posts are hard to follow at times. >>>[/quote]I assure you I don’t intend them to be that way. [quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:<<< I’m not sure what you meant by inserting (no idea) a few times there. >>>[/quote]They meant, I have no idea how the immediately preceding divine concept works, but believe it anyway.
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
Also, you said God never spoke to you directly, in the sense of hearing a booming voice,>>>[/quote]That’s true. Booming or otherwise. I have never heard God with my ears though I have heard His voice many times. >>>[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote: but then said that the masculine is how He refers to Himself… how do you mean he refers to himself? In the sense of actually haven spoken to some?[/quote]The bible, God’s written Word, when referring to Him directly, does so in masculine pronouns. He, Him, Himself, His etc. The times He has spoken to my heart, gender was no part of His reference to Himself at all.
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
I just woke up. Trib, >>>[/quote] I’ll suspend judgment on this for now =] [quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:your posts are hard to follow at times. >>>[/quote]I assure you I don’t intend them to be that way. [quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:<<< I’m not sure what you meant by inserting (no idea) a few times there. >>>[/quote]They meant, I have no idea how the immediately preceding divine concept works, but believe it anyway.
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
Also, you said God never spoke to you directly, in the sense of hearing a booming voice,>>>[/quote]That’s true. Booming or otherwise. I have never heard God with my ears though I have heard His voice many times. >>>[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote: but then said that the masculine is how He refers to Himself… how do you mean he refers to himself? In the sense of actually haven spoken to some?[/quote]The bible, God’s written Word, when referring to Him directly, does so in masculine pronouns. He, Him, Himself, His etc. The times He has spoken to my heart, gender was no part of His reference to Himself at all.
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This really isnt an attack, but it just strikes me as odd. Lets say that everytime God ‘spoke’ to someone who was writing a part of the bible, He spoke to them in the same nongendered way he spoke to you. Yet because all of them use the term “he” (etc), you continue to do that. Stuff like that is a small part of what I mean about your interpretation being environmental.
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
This really isnt an attack, but it just strikes me as odd. Lets say that everytime God ‘spoke’ to someone who was writing a part of the bible, He spoke to them in the same nongendered way he spoke to you. Yet because all of them use the term “he” (etc), you continue to do that. Stuff like that is a small part of what I mean about your interpretation being environmental.[/quote]
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote: This really isnt an attack, but it just strikes me as odd. Lets say that everytime God ‘spoke’ to someone who was writing a part of the bible, He spoke to them in the same nongendered way he spoke to you. Yet because all of them use the term “he” (etc), you continue to do that. Stuff like that is a small part of what I mean about your interpretation being environmental.[/quote]That’s a fair question, but that also isn’t what happened every time, or any time God moved upon one of the authors of scripture. Old or new testament. His speaking to me is for me. I am not writing scripture neither am I speaking prophetically to the church at large. He inspired the authors to refer to Himself as a He… Father. From Genesis to Revelation. (And HE saw that it was good). When God speaks to me it isn’t in sentences so that it would even be easy to discern gender at all. It’s like whole concepts stamped on my mind all at once. In fact stamping might even be a good way to describe it.
When people communicate it’s in a linear fashion. One component of a language at a time until it forms a thought. When I hear from the Lord it’s like several sentences on a rubber stamp that is all contemporaneously impressed upon my mind in a package much smaller than what it would be if it were typed or spoken. That’s the best I can do for a description. I will just become aware of information in my mind that I did not think myself. The really weird part is I can accurately write it down, but in my mind it doesn’t look like the sentences I write even though I know the sentences are correct. How’s that for hard to follow. I can barely follow myself.
Of course you will most likely be staring at your screen wondering if America is safe with a deluded crackpot like me roaming free. I’m just being honest with ya man. This isn’t a daily occurrence and it rarely comes when I ask though the sense of His presence is there as long as I’m paying attention.
[quote]forbes wrote:
I have a atheist friend (whom I have debated) that believes in parallel universes, time travel and teleportation (especially the former two).
Not all atheists believe those things but Im trying to illustrate a point that many atheists believe in such hypothetical nonsense yet completely scoff at the idea of a creator. [/quote]
It’s entirely possible that you are projecting the idea of belief onto what your friend has presented to you as plausible realities.
Personally, I find it unlikely that an atheist would “believe” in anything. It’s just not typical of the personality type.
I could be wrong, but all we have here is your word on it.
There was a book back in the 70s that claimed God came in a space ship, created man in a test tube , created the bible as the first means of education. I do not think it is that hard to believe . A little different but right up the alley is this movie
[quote]pittbulll wrote:
There was a book back in the 70s that claimed God came in a space ship, created man in a test tube , created the bible as the first means of education. I do not think it is that hard to believe . A little different but right up the alley is this movie
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I am going to die, that is why I am a Catholic. I follow Natural Law and have moral convictions, I have absolute moral convictions, and the lack of moral convictions in the government and in the family is a clear reason for the worsening of this great nation.
[quote]forbes wrote:
I have a atheist friend (whom I have debated) that believes in parallel universes, time travel and teleportation (especially the former two).
Not all atheists believe those things but Im trying to illustrate a point that many atheists believe in such hypothetical nonsense yet completely scoff at the idea of a creator. [/quote]
Time travel and teleportation can be a very real thing in the near future.