Why did God create us and what did he do before he created us?

[Filmproducer]

Originally posted by standingfirminChrist:
I submit, if we did take all the Bibles and burned them as SB suggested, we would not have the full counsel of God.

Jesus said to search the scriptures. How is one to search that which one has destroyed? Now, it may be true that some have memorized the majority of the Bible, or just a few verses.

But if we get rid of the written Word, we do not have all the answers that God wants us to have. He had men to write that Bible for a reason.

God did not inspire men to pen His Word down on paper just so someone in the distant future could burn it. Come on folks...

That is true, SFIC. However, I don't think SB was saying we should burn all the Bibles just to burn them. There are those who are against Christianity and the Bible. We have freedom of religion, but many others do not. God forbid this should change in the future. This may happen, who knows. He was posing a hypothetical. He has not said that we should not study the bible because of some hypothetical possibility that physical bibles may be burned in the future.

 

[SuperBaptist]

PS-I have never said "burn the Bibles". Only a close-minded twister of words would suggest that. I said I could witness even if they burned the Bibles. And the Holy Spirit has no needs for material possessions.

 

[DHK]

Originally posted by SuperBaptist:
PS-I have never said "burn the Bibles". Only a close-minded twister of words would suggest that. I said I could witness even if they burned the Bibles. And the Holy Spirit has no needs for material possessions.

No. Here is what you did say which suggests what you believe:

Mine is to change MY religion back to one of love, faith, prayer and yes, listening--meditating. I see many who have done what I did for many years, read and memorize the Holy Bible rather than truly having Mine is to change MY religion back to one of love, faith, prayer and yes, listening--meditating. I see many who have done what I did for many years, read and memorize the Holy Bible rather than truly having faith in the guidance by the Holy Spirit.

If they burn all the Bibles tomorrow, the Word shall still live on through the Alpha and Omega.

If they burn all the Bibles tomorrow, the Word shall still live on through the Alpha and Omega.[/quote]

1. This is YOUR religion that you are defining, not Christianity.
2. You clearly say that what you did in the past--reading, memorizing the Word of God is not the way to go. Rather "having faith in the guidance by the Holy Spirit."
3. Clearly the Bible is not important to you. Study and memorization of it was something you did in the past, but no more. It is not important. You chase after some mystical Jesus by "having faith in the guidance of Holy Spirit."
4. IF you burn all the Bibles...
Sure this is a supposition. I realize that. But nevertheless it points to the truth that you believe. You say that if all the Bibles were burned you would still have the Word of God in "the Alpha and the Omega," or in Jesus Christ. This is your mystical Jesus that you find outside the pages of Bible. This is gnosticism. We don't know Christ apart from the Bible.
DHK

 

[standingfirminChrist]

By your words you shall be justified, by your words you shall be condemned.

 

[wopik]

Why did God create us

God is reproducing Himself.

Let us make man in our image, after our KIND.


God created great whales, after thier KIND - Gen. 1:21.


Cattle, creeping things after their KIND.


Let us make man in our image, after our KIND.

 

[DHK]

Originally posted by wopik:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Why did God create us

God is reproducing Himself.
</font>[/QUOTE]What do you mean by this?
It sounds like Mormonism.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

sounds much like mormonism, yes.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

God reproducing Himself is a Church of God doctrine. I found a page on the internet.

 

[J. Jump]

Wow this thread took off in all kinds of directions in a hurry

If you want to find out what the purpose of man's creation was you need not look any further than the first chapter of Genesis. We are told there why we were created and that is to have dominion over the earth.

And one day mankind will realize his purpose and reign over the earth through his positional standing with/in Christ.

 

[Bible-boy]

Originally posted by Filmproducer:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by DHK:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Filmproducer:
DHK, I am sorry, but that is not fair. He just said that he focuses on the red letter, but does NOT exclude the rest of the Bible. That you may doctrinal differences is clear, but calling him a mystical gnostic is not being truthful.

If they burn all the Bibles tomorrow, the Word shall still live on through the Alpha and Omega.

What does this quote mean to you Filmproducer? It means that the Bible is not necessary. When Tyndale translated the Bible into English the RCC tried to burn all the copies of the Bible because they didn't want it in the hands of the common person. SB says that it doesn't even need to exist in the hands of the common person. It doesn't need to exist at all. Burn it. Put your faith in some mystical Jesus instead.
DHK </font>[/QUOTE]First of all, it is obvious that you have msunderstood what he meant. One does not need a "paper" bible to be saved.</font>[/QUOTE]Nonsense. You can not come to Christ apart from the Christ revealed in the written Word of God today. How else can you come to saving faith in Christ?

Originally posted by Filmproducer:
Our faith is not based in the paper pages of the bible. As Christians it is our duty to read and study the Word of God. If someone were to burn my bible tomorrow I would not lose my salvation or faith.

This is correct. Your continued salvation depends on Christ and His righteousness. However, you could not have come to know Him and have faith in Him in the first place apart from His being revealed to you in the Bible.

 

[Bible-boy]

Originally posted by Johnv:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by standingfirminChrist:
... thinks the Holy Spirit will win souls to the kingdom without the written Word of God...

In all fairness, there are quite a few people on this baord who got saved befoer they even cracked open a bible. So I guess it could be said that they god saved without the Word. OTOH, their salvation was consistent with what is written in the Word, so along those lines, you have a point. </font>[/QUOTE]John,

While what you are saying may be true (about getting saved without actually reading the Bible). However, what you are negelecting to acknowledge is that someone led the person to Christ (told the the gospel of Christ). That someone had read the Bible. Therefore, all you have done to to remove the conversion process by one step away from the Bible.

 

[Jim1999]

Remember, the disciples in Jesus' day did not have our New Testament,,"Ye must be born again...". Yet, they led people, and great crowds, to the Lord Jesus in salvation without benefit of the written word.

Many a soul has entered a church and heard the gospel for the first time and walked the aisle in utter conviction and great sorrow. Ultimately WE need the word to understand what God has said and to delineate truth. The word is essential to growth, just as a compass is essential to knowing where we are going in the wilderness.

Now, Paul tells us in Romans that we are without excuse because even nature tells us about God...it is then up to us to find the rest of the way.

In Russia, uner brutal communism, people had just simple portions of pages of the scripture, and yet they went forward in the lord Jesus.

We are the ones, in modern Christianity, that demanded that everyone make a huge howl, roll in the aisles and shout hallelujah when they get "saved". We tend to ignore those quiet moments such as Nicodemus, when he sat aside with Jesus and discussed religious matters.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Filmproducer]

Thank you Jim. Bible-Boy you are reading too much into my words. I did not say that one could be saved without hearing the Word of God. I said that one could be saved without seeing a physical bible. We can witness to others without showing them a Bible. As Christians, here in the US and elsewhere, we are lucky to have the freedom to read our Bibles to our hearts content. Some people do not have that luxury, but that does not mean they cannot be saved.

 

[SuperBaptist]

Good stuff!

 

[SuperBaptist]

Thank you for such clearminded analysis. There clearly those that have never looked beyond their time or place. Modernday Russia, the days before Gutenburg, the Word lived and people found Christ.

I just talk with my fingers. I see many here use one finger and sometimes HIGH FIVE ... like they scored, even when they didn't.