Re-conversion

[Scrawly]

My apologies if that came off as a long diatribe given what you meant.

Not at all! Thanks for your input.

[The Remonstrant]

³A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸⁹

[Sparko]

³A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸⁹

Really? wow. Get a life.

[The Remonstrant]

Really? [W]ow. Get a life.

Is employing proper grammar and punctuation, superscripting scriptural verses, and including the proper citation of the English Bible version(s) one is utilising in a given post too much to require of oneself?

[One Bad Pig]

Is employing proper grammar and punctuation, superscripting scriptural verses, and including the proper citation of the English Bible version(s) one is utilising in a given post too much to require of oneself?

His grammar is fine. He's merely missing the notation "internal citations omitted."

/pedant

[rogue06]

His grammar is fine. He's merely missing the notation "internal citations omitted."

/pedant

I guess we can say that pedantry wasn't something you gave up for Lent.

[One Bad Pig]

I guess we can say that pedantry wasn't something you gave up for Lent.

Lent doesn't start for me until Monday.

[Sparko]

Is employing proper grammar and punctuation, superscripting scriptural verses, and including the proper citation of the English Bible version(s) one is utilising in a given post too much to require of oneself?

It seems all you do is go around correcting other people's posts. At first I thought you were just being a bit humorous, but you are serious. You really need to get a better hobby. It is overly pedantic of you. This is an internet debate forum, not English 101.

[rogue06]

Lent doesn't start for me until Monday.

In that case, pedantificate away.

[The Remonstrant]

It seems all you do is go around correcting other people's posts.

That is an exaggeration.

At first I thought you were just being a bit humorous, but you are serious. You really need to get a better hobby. It is overly pedantic of you. This is an internet debate forum, not English 101.

No offence is/was intended. I make grammatical and punctuational errors on occasion and am happy to later correct them or have them corrected by others if need be.

[Sparko]

That is an exaggeration.



No offence is/was intended. I make grammatical and punctuational errors on occasion and am happy to later correct them or have them corrected by others if need be.

That is very condescending and annoying of you.

[The Remonstrant]

That is very condescending and annoying of you.

You are free to maintain your opinions and misjudgements. I have nothing further to add here.

[One Bad Pig]

You are free to maintain your opinions and misjudgements. I have nothing further to add here.

You do know you just replied to an accusation of being condescending and annoying by exhibiting precisely that behavior, right?

[Sparko]

You are free to maintain your opinions and misjudgements. I have nothing further to add here.

"Here" is superfluous.

[Rushing Jaws]

I don't agree with this assessment. I believe that God makes use of all believers and all types of personalities.

I will use myself as an example. I am a naturally skeptical person...which may be why I am a scientist. However, it is this skepticism that has lead me to Christ. My journey was largely an intellectual one and not an emotional one. This is where I struggle as I am not really an emotional person. I have problems trying to apply logic and reason to too many aspects of my life. I am aware of this. However, I believe that God uses my predispositions to share the good news with others of a similar mindset.

Believe me, I wish I was not like this. It is not a fun place to be. I beg and pray for God to change me so that I may be able to rest in the Gospel more fully. That being said, God gave me the gift of intellectual curiosity. As such I deal with it and thank God for the blessings that he has bestowed on me. A lot of people have gifts that are also curses...why should I be any different?

I live in a world of science and empiricism. I am constantly bombarded with other's beliefs of materialism, reductionism, etc. Being a fallible human being, it takes its toll. I continue to doubt and be uncertain (it comes and goes) but I never give up on my faith in Christ. When I am challenged by skeptics, I fully admit that I may be wrong, that I am not certain, and that I don't have all of the answers. Instead of my uncertainty being met with derision, they usually put their guard down and listen more attentively. I have yet to convert anyone but I don't give up. The one thing that I have been told by my skeptic friends is that they no longer view belief in God as irrational, delusional, and for the simple minded. I consider this a small victory.

If I were to take your warning of being born again (not entirely sure what that means exactly) as a necessity, I would give up. I am just not made that way. However, I don't think that means that I cannot believe that I need a Savior and that Christ was the incarnation of the Word. Maybe my faith is too one dimensional, I fully accept that this may be a possibility and I am working on this.


Furthremore, I don't take Genesis as a historical record. I take Genesis to be a story about creation. Why would God tell us a story about how he created the universe? The same reason that I tell stories to my children when they ask about complex topics that they have no frame of reference for. How could we as limited humans understand God's act of creation? The real explanation would probably be more like...God spoke. That is great but it also wouldn't satisfy our desire for a little more explanation. I don't think that this makes me a liberal. I believe that Jesus was God's son (the Messiah) who died on the cross for our sins, was physically resurrected from the dead, and will return at some future time to judge the living and the dead. Even if I don't think that Johan was really swallowed by a whale...how would this make me a liberal Christian? I would like to apologize in advance if this was not a point that you were trying to make.

IMHO, the Genesis narratives are much like Greek mythology - a mixture of myth, legend, and fact. The Greeks had the heroes and the Giants, the Jews had the Nephilim. The Greeks had eponymous characters like Hellen, Pelasgus, and Dorus; Genesis has Jacob-Israel, and the 12 fathers of the 12 Tribes. The river-god of Jabbok in Gen.31 is the same kind of being as the gods of the Greek rivers.

The similarities cannot be pressed too far, because it would be wrong to muffle what is distinctive and significant about Genesis. But there are genuine similarities, so it cannot be wrong to draw attention to them.