Since when does sharing your opinion mean that you are judging someone??  I haven't read ANYWHERE that ANYONE has said. "I'm right, you're wrong" This has been a discussion about what people believe, if you feel that you are being judged, don't read the post!  good greif!  Am I missing something?

One correction to Shawna's statement "...one of the 1000 hindu gods.",

The Hindus actually have one. Their name for God is Brahman. You can think of all of their other "gods" as humanly conceived aspects of the Brahman. It is also interesting that Hindus believe that all religions, rightly understood, can bring their followers to salvation. They also aren't stuck on the notion that if one path is true then the other paths must be false. Why? Because to Hindus, life is a continuum and you can travel all the paths you like. If not in this life then in the next. They regard all sincere attempts to find divine truth as valid.

Phoetic-

I am a little confused about your comment.... and maybe it's just me or maybe I am just really tired. But you were saying something about knowing Gary and knowing him on different levels and knowing God by hearing and seeing... kind of like knowing Gary.

What was your point? where you saying to get to know God you have to listen and see things about him, like you would need to do to get to know Gary? Is that what you meant?

????

portiajules

An article I found for you that may provide some insight on your concern over Hitler's treatment of homosexuals: My comments are in brackets:

There is a large amount of evidence that Hitler was gay. Hitler is listed as a homosexual in Viennese police records, due to the fact that he had supported himself as a male prostitute in Vienna from 1907 to 1912. Hitler was in Vienna, a cultural center, because he wanted to be a painter, an artist, but nearly starved and resorted to prostitution. (Isn’t it true the arts in general and cities known for such enclaves of artistic people have a disproportionate share of homosexuals?) Eva Braun, his mistress wrote that Hitler believed "physical contact with me would be to him a contamination of the mission." (Sounds like they were not getting together)

In the 1920s and 30s, homosexuality was known as "the German vice" across Europe because they had so many homosexuals. Germany was actually the birthplace of the gay rights movement and they were successful in passing some of the first legislation in history to protect homosexuals. It was from this large population of homosexuals that the NAZI party drew much of its membership.

We’ve all known gay people. Some of us even have gay friends. But do you know anyone who isn’t gay that is surrounded by people who are? Hitler’s Youth leader, Baldur Von Schirach was bisexual and a pedophile; Hitler's private attorney, Reich Legal Director, was an open homosexual. Minister of Justice, Hans Frank was a homosexual; Hitler's adjutant Wilhelm Bruckner was bisexual; Walther Funk, Reich Minister of Economics and Hitler's personal financial advisor was frequently called a "notorious" homosexual. Hitler's second in command Hermann Goering often dressed up in drag. (Yuk! Can you imagine that pig in a dress with heels purse and lipstick?) All of Hitler’s personal bodyguards were gay. Even his chauffeur was gay.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone seeing that most of the top ranking SS from the very beginning were also homosexual. Ernst Roehm, the First leader and founder of the Nazi Party was an open homosexual. Hitler was his protégé. Roehm created the Nazi party on the idea of being proud to be called ultra-masculine, male supremacist. In fact, they actually thought because of their homosexuality they were ultra-masculine and didn’t need women for anything, including sex and companionship. (This is not unlike the warlike Spartan Greeks who only mated with women to procreate) The idea was that because they had no personal need for women, homosexual men were superior to even heterosexual men. (An attitude of superiority is a hallmark of many gay people I've met) The Nazi founders believed that homosexual men were the foundation of all great nation-states and represented the elite strata of human society. Naturally, to support their argument they drew much of their pride from the accomplishments of the Greeks, a civilization widely know for homosexuality.

Heinrich Himmler even complained "Does it not constitute a danger to the Nazi movement if it can be said that Nazi leaders are chosen for sexual reasons?" Apparently Himmler was not complaining so much about all the rampant homosexuality around him but that being a homosexual seemed to be the only qualifying factor as to who got promoted in the SS. Ernst Roehm, as the head of 2.5 million Storm Troopers had units of several hundred thousand Storm Troopers where all the men, without exception, were homosexuals. In fact, the favorite meeting place where some of the earliest formative meetings of the Nazi Party had been held was a "gay" bar in Munich called the Bratwurstglockl where Ernst Roehm kept a table reserved for himself. At the Bratwurstglockl, Roehm and associates Edmund Heines, Karl Ernst, Captain Rohrbein, Captain Petersdorf, Count Ernst Helldorf and the rest-would meet to plan strategy. These were the men who orchestrated the Nazi campaign of intimidation and terror. All of them were homosexuals. (Even the liberal movie makers depict and stereotype the Nazis as being sexual perverts)

So why did Hitler come down so hard on homosexuals, locking many in jail and sending them to death camps? He did but it wasn’t practiced across the board, many historians say it was just an excuse to go after people who he saw as enemies of the Nazi Party.

the laws as stated in Leviticus are "old law" that applied to a certain group of people during a certain time period. When Jesus was born - along with him came the "new law".

This is a common misconception of the christian faith. There are very conservative christians out there who still follow the "old law" strictly - and alot of Christian critics who point to those verses out of context as proof that the Bible is for the crazy.

Read the new testament and see if you can tell the difference. the old testament speaks about judgement and sin. The new testament speaks about love and forgiveness.

I'm an traffic engineer in the state of california. When a situation arises and I need to look up the standards in a book. I'll usually go to the most recent book which was revised in 2006, specifically for the state of california. I DO NOT go to a book dated 1999 for the State of Florida.

God means what he says, and does not need to apologize. I believe that he did "literally" mean that homosexuals be killed under the Old Testament covenant. This should sober people up that take sin lightly. God hates sin, and is utterly and totally Holy. This reveals depth and ferocity of that hatred. How easy it is for us humans to mock and denigrate those that believe the bible literally, as if it were a sign of compete lunacy and an illiterate and shallow understanding. God's word is true literally, and though every man be a liar, God is not. With that said, and in reference to Gary's fear that someone would focus on only that passage and therefore, take it as their mission to kill all homosexuals. Indeed, unfortunately, that has happened, and we see this kind of perverted view represented many, many times on network TV shows. The believer is portrayed as a befuddled nincompoop, or as a raving fanatical lunatic, with no part of their sensibilities in touch with reality.

Though I would never claim to understand how all the parts fit together, or the answers to all the testing questions that human beings can come up with, I can say that without any doubt, God wrote the Bible to be believed and to reveal himself. If we cannot rely on the Bible, then it is only a human creation, and any Christian would be foolish to live according to it's teachings. You have brought up only one of the many things that are difficult to understand from a human viewpoint of justice, holiness and mercy. We can't comprehend how God could be merciful, kind and worthy of worship, if he commands his followers to kill homosexuals, or sends someone to hell for eternity to burn forever and ever.

Yes, it definitely is difficult to swallow, and to comprehend it's immensity. However, there are so many, many evidences that the Bible is supernatural, and divinely written, that anyone that knows Him, and knows how he has crafted his prophecies to predict history hundreds of years before it happened. Read Isaiah 53, which was written hundeds of years before Jesus came to earth. There are literally hundreds of prophecies relating to the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah written way before He came.

I was a skeptic, and blind to the things of God, and at that time it was an easy thing to ridicule somoene who claimed there was only one way to God. By God's grace, He reached down to this wandering reformed Jewish person, and arrested me with his claims, and I learned of the offer of forgiveness through faith. It was Him that saved me, and not me who chose and found him by my intelligence, will and effort. I address those of us who know Him, to specifically pray by name for Gary, and all those who mock "literal" believers. Isn't it interesting how the tolerance and acceptance stops when it comes to Bible-believing evangelical Christians. The first ten or twenty thousand believers were Jews --- Orthodox Jews --- and Gentiles did not get the message until a little bit later in the process. Anyway, Jesus said "Forgive them, for they know not what they do". That was true then, when they hammered the nails in his pure hands and feet, and it is true now when people choose to ridicule those that lift up His name, and His Word.

dgrove21

great post, dgrove21!

That was in the book of Leviticus, which was given to the people of Israel who were under the law and seeing God do amazing things. God was introducing himself to the pagan world, which had no concept of ultimate right and wrong. It was all about holiness. It was like having an ultra-Olympic team that hasn't been doing that great, and a new coach comes in to show them where they need to be. The coach would say, "if you have one piece of chocolate, you're off the team." Did he say that if any athlete ate chocolate he would banish them from sports? No, only if the athletes on his team did.

The Bible never, ever commands the wanton slaughter of homosexuals. The same God who commanded they should be put to death in Leviticus is the One who came in the form of a man, a tiny little baby, and died on the cross for all mankind, and then rose again so that any sinner, including homosexuals, could be 100% forgiven and fully accepted if they believe in what He did and repent of their sin. The cross is the perfect satisfaction of God's character, because it displays 100% of His justice and wrath while displaying 100% of His love and mercy. If you want to see the difference between Muslims and Christians, ultra-radical Muslims still murder homosexuals, while we as Christians show them love and acceptance, and tell them that through obedience, God can set them free and give them a much better life than they are told they have to accept.

Gary, this subject has nothing to do with true Christianity. First, let me say that the bible is not in error or inconsistent here. Under the law of the old testament we were seperated from God by sin. Jesus came and died and rose again that we would not have to live under the law anymore. We now live under grace. Jesus, by dying on the cross paid the price for all sin in past, present and future. Many say that He died for our sins, but I believe what He did was even greater, He died so that we could come into relationship with God the Father, have healing, prosper financially, etc... Salvation is so much greater than just dying for our sins.

This verse you gave is definitely from the bible, but is from the old covenant and there are more scriptures I could add to show how life was under the old covenant. Let me give you another scripture to ponder.

Leviticus 20:10
" 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Sin under the old covenant was dealt with very harshly, and remember this was the law of the land at that time, just like we have laws here in the US, and there in Canada. So, these verses don't apply to us today. This law of the old covenant has been superceded by a better covenant called GRACE.

I realize that many christians, or even people who claim to be christians mistakenly use scriptures from the old covenant that don't apply to us today, but they are wrong to do so. But, many non-christians also use these scriptures to try to attack christians or even the validity of the bible, and this is ignorant because they have not read the bible in its entirety.

I don't have enough time to post all that I would like right now, so I will post more later.

I can't believe it..all these quotes and stuff are about and coming from scriptures in the Old Testament..you all are stuck in the OT but won't touch the New Testament of Jesus' teachings..so spiritually blind..let go of the law people, we are no longer under the law but under grace but being spiritually blind you cannot see that.  Do I take the entire bible literally?  Nope...you have to look at who the writer is writing to and about..for instance, you would not take everything literally in Revelation..when the bible talks figuratively it explains itself..put yourself in the mind or place of the writer..they did not have the words to describe things back then as we do now, hence all the different updated versions.  But you will not find the answers or see the "insight" of scriptures until you are truly Born Again.  Christian Radicals?  hummmm....I am not judging..God has already pronounced judgement, read it.  Christians are obligated to share the truth of God's word to an unbeliveing world..we just read and state what is already written.  The sin of mankind has already been judged.  EVERYONE has been born wrong Heather.  ALL have been born into sin. All have sin, yes me included.  But that is why Christ came. He is the way out of eternal punishment and the wrath of God that will come.  Trust Jesus Christ as your savior and your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will all of a sudden see what us Christians in this forum are talking about.  Many atheists and scientists even have come to realize that when the accepted Christ. We are not judging, God already has.  Sure God is love, he offered His only son to die for us.  No greater love is there than that.  God also is a God of judgement and will not overlook sin.

Hitler was gay...  well  he was also a vegatarian.  

KILL THE VEGGIES!!!  LONG LIVE CARNIVORES!!!

I think this discussion has run its course.

Next topic,  Is Dog a racist, if so should we kill him.  After all he's just white trash(which is totally ok to say.)LOL

Not yet...I'll keep the topic going...somewhat!

As a Christian I don't believe sodomites should be put to death...Everyone...the whole planet is under grace...including sodomites. It's a choice people you either accept or reject. And the power to choose life & death is in your own hands.

I think people have become too sophisticated & intelligent to understand the simple message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why the word of God is an offense to these people & some of you also…it’s become a stumbling block to you & them. Intellectuals, atheists, non believers etc...Especially here in America these people will find & make any excuse in the world to reject God, Christ, the bible & its teachings! Why? In our American culture we think we have it made, we have everything we need…I mean we got it going on! While the rest of the world fights, kills, dies, starves & cries out to God. Here in America we have a need for nothing & for the most part people don’t care & don't want to believe in God. Americans are spoiled brats!!

It's in our nature to reject & doubt what we don't know or are not willing to understand or are not willing to conform too. As intelligent & sophisticated as some people are they will never get it! Christianity…Jesus Christ requires for you to change your life around…360 degrees! He wants & expects you to turn from your current course & most people are not willing to do that. In all honesty I think this is what people don’t want, they don’t want to change. People love being who they are…& do not want to change for anyone! God calls this being stiff necked! You ever seen the picture of the donkey who stands his ground & does not budge an inch… & you have a person on the other end pulling on a rope trying to move the donkey. The bible compares this to rebellion! It’s being stiff necked!

People attack, mock or try to discredit Christianity as if Christianity is the new kid on the block; people compare religions against Christianity as if there is another alternative God gave man. Mans alternative religions are just that, they are mans attempt to reach God & they are all as filthy rags to the Christian God, all other religions are mans attempt at telling God, this is the way I'm going to worship you! In essence you’re telling God I'm going to do what I want to do, as if man can give God an ultimatum. How foolish!

Christianity is unique in that Jesus Christ the Savior of mankind was born as an innocent baby; God chose to come to earth as a baby! An innocent little baby, He chose to come to earth as the most helpless, harmless & in the most humble way possible. He came to bring a message of love & hope, to a world full of lost & hurting people, and you know what? Here we are in the year 2007 & the planet is still filled with lost & hurting people. Out of all other religions of the world...He is the only one to claim He was God in flesh! He is the only one to die in such a horrendous manner for the sins of mankind but if that wasn't enough? He also claims to have risen again...He is the only one that has any empty tomb, go to Jerusalem & you will find the sepulcher he was put in...& you will find it empty!

Next time you’re out & about take a look around & watch people...watch how they interact, & how they go about their busy lives...giving no thought to their eternal destiny. Some people walk around with their nose in the air, so full of pride & so full of themselves...as if life is good, so perfect as if nothing can go wrong & as if this is all their is...always thinking of themselves, what they can buy next to make themselves happy & what's in it for me? Not bothering to think of the lives of other's or worse yet not bothering to think about their own spiritual welfare or their eternity.

To mankind there are many ways into heaven...to God the creator of all things there is only one way into heaven & it's through his son Jesus Christ...not Mohammad, Buddha, Krishna or any other number of man made excuses. There are not many ways, there is only the way! And it’s in Jesus! And yes!! Millions if not billions of people are wrong! And millions will be lost & find themselves in hell...no offense! But it's in the book!

The bible says about hell:

Therefore hell hath ENLARGED herself, and opened her mouth WITHOUT MEASURE: and their GLORY, AND THEIR MULTIUDE, and THEIR POMP, AND HE THAT REJOICETH, SHALL DECEND INTO IT. - Isaiah 5:14
(Emphasis mine) This scripture says millions if not billions of people can fit into hell don't you agree!)

When the flood came to destroy Noah's generation, only eight people were saved! (A few people)
When Sodom & Gomorrah was burned & destroyed by the Lord God only Lot & his daughter's survived. (A few people)

Think about this for a moment...have you ever wondered where the millions of people that came before us are? You can rest assured there are many in heaven but there are probably 100 times as many in hell. I mean is life so meaningless that over the past few thousand years that man has occupied this planet, that millions of people if not billions have passed through this earth & have gone on into eternity. Where are these people now? What happened to them after they died? Did they vaporize into nothing? What's the purpose of existence & living? What's the purpose of life with its ups & downs if there is nothing else after this life? It doesn't make any sense man!

And yeah to some extent some of you are right! You don't have to be born again...you'll just die lost & without hope...according to the bible. John 3:3, Acts 2:38, Romans 8:9.

But the question remains...WHAT IF YOUR WRONG? Are you willing to bet your eternal destiny on that assumption?

There is a saying in Christian circles & I've even heard my own pastor say that Christians! Christians! Can be so heavenly minded & be no earthly good. For the most part he is right...some Christians can become so "spiritually minded they become no good" Johnny Cash has a song titled “No Earthly Good"

Here is a link to a skit on http://Godtube.com you can view:

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5&page=1&viewtype=&category=tf

For any of you to fully understand each of those sentences from the Leviticus passages that Gary has translated, you have to understand each passage as a whole. You cannot take pieces and parts and apply it. The Bible is meant to be read and studied in a hermeneutic style. It is not supposed to be read and used by taking a piece here and a piece there. Therefore you cannot pull pieces of Scripture an assume that it is plaguing the death of homosexuals.

Do I agree, No. For any of you to fully understand each of those sentences from the Leviticus passages that Gary has translated, you have to understand each passage as a whole. You cannot take pieces and parts and apply it. The Bible is meant to be read and studied in a hermeneutic style. It is not supposed to be read and used by taking a piece here and a piece there. Therefore you cannot pull pieces of Scripture an assume that it is plaguing the death of homosexuals.

Well...I guess my Fellowship at the National Holocaust Museum that I participated is out the window now that I know that Hitler and all the leaders of the Nazi party were gay...hmmmm...all the books, articles, artifacts, histories I studied were lies, the year long coarse I teach on the Holocaust is wrong....wow....sorry, don't buy it....I know those comments were really sarcastic...but I just don't get why people want to try and make others feel badly about who they are....I know about Roehm and the fact he was gay and had gay friends,  he was Hitler's closest friend, but then Himmler, who HATED homosexuals set him up.... I also know that the "Revisionists" have come up with some pretty interesting "facts" to twist documented history.  But hey...I am out of here...I LOVE my gay and lesbian friends, always will...as I love my friends of all Faith's and Belief systems....just like that awesome guy, Jesus Christ who walked the earth 2000 years ago...

DHEssemer, if I cannot convince YOU that you are a little bit right, because you believe that you are COMPLETELY right, we will always have this abyss between cultures and religions.

To compare a game replay to who is right in religion is a bit simplistic, don't you think? How can we do that with religion, unless the end of the world occurs, and the supposed judgment day calls the play? The end of the world has been announced every century. Think about it. See the logic, if nothing else.

Saying there is only "one truth" is also very dangerous. There is never only one truth. Truth evolves with new discoveries, and maturity. As science develops, so does "truth". The earth used to be flat, people thought the sun rotated around earth, and people died for believing otherwise. We have barely scratched the surface of "truth".

"Jesus is alive...a living God". Lots of religions believe that a God is alive, not in the sense that we can meet Him for coffee at Starbucks, but that the spiritual presence is there. The person can feel it. This is not a Christian exclusive. Living Gods have traversed history in different cultures and religions. If you do a little research, you would find out about this.

God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. God is perfect. His creation is imperfect? He would allow his creation to be imperfect? Now, why would He play that game? Is HE some kind of sadist? Can God derive pleasure in giving us a kind of "Survival on Earth" game show to see how we get out of trouble? Do you need to test a loved one to prove their love to us? Why cannot you simply accept their love and love them in return, with no funny games? Makes me think how we pride ourselves in "reconstructing" a country after we blew the hell out of it. Makes us feel like we're doing something for the people. It's a Christian thing. "Here, let me blow your leg off, I'll design you an artificial limb. We've got the best technology for building artificial limbs. I'm sure you'll like it."

So you're saying that the Red Cross and many other helping organizations that have been consistently helping people in dire need for years, and over many continents only employ a majority of Christians? Some organizations have lots of medical supplies, medical equipment and experienced medical specialists. Some don't. In fact, when we put an embargo against Irak, there was not much medical supplies going around, either. So, I many not be surprised that some Muslim organizations would look after their own, first because of lack of supplies. It's easy to be generous, when you have the budget to do so. I don't know, I'm just guessing.

You say Christians do not want to kill others that are not Christians. Read the Crusades. We killed a lot of Muslims. How many people were killed during the Inquisition? Those who did not believe in the Catholic faith were burned, maimed, tortured, killed – Christians against Christians. As mostly Christian North Americans, I don't know how many Buddhists we killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the atomic bomb. Those were not soldiers, they were civilians. In fact, we are the only Christians who ever used the atomic bomb so far, and we are scared shitless that non-Christians do unto us what we did unto them. Is not that a Christian saying: "Do unto others as you would others do unto you?" Man, we've got some serious Karma coming our way!

How many Jews did we allow to be killed by ignoring what was happening in Europe? What about the Vatican during the Nazi invasions. Why was the Vatican spared? Partially, because the German nation was and is a Christian nation, and partially because the Jewish extermination was ignored by the Pope. How many German Christians killed Christian Europeans? How many communists did we kill in Vietnam? How many Muslims did we kill in Kuwait, Iraq, Iran (through funding Saddham Hussein in the Iran/Irak war), and Afghanistan? Many more than the 2,900 or so lives in the Twin Towers, and soldiers that we sent overseas. As Christians, we have been killing non-Christians for years.

Grant you, we don't say that we're going to kill non-Christians because they are non-Christians. We don't make that distinction. We use the term "democracy", (and pick a little oil, while we're at it). Neither do the fundamentalists say that they are going to kill Christians because they are Christians. They would like that Americans get out of Saudi Arabia and their Mecca – holiest of holy place, and that we mind our own business in running their countries and cultures.

Mainstream Muslim communities have lived alongside other religions for centuries in peace. One must not confuse fundamentalists with mainstream. However, if we continue to not be willing to understand differences, mainstream will be pulled in fundamentalism. Are we not, as North Americans, “taking out” people who do not believe in democracy?

If the basis of Christianity is to serve others, should we not serve them what they really want - unconditionally - instead of deciding what they need, for them? I believe THAT would be real Christianity...:)

Portiajules: You said in your last post:

“I know about Roehm and the fact he was gay and had gay friends, he was Hitler's closest friend, but then Himmler, who HATED homosexuals set him up.”

You seem to agree Hitler was surrounded many open homosexuals. Maybe you need to understand there are two classes of male homosexuals; the effeminate-womanish type and the aggressive masculine type. This latter classification is what the German Nazi’s were based upon and they resented the other class of homosexuals and wanted to get rid of them. They did too, including lesbians.

The Nazi inner circle viewed themselves as masculine warlike conquers. They considered themselves superior to all including heterosexual men. They often compared themselves to the Spartan Greeks who were warlike and didn’t mate with women except to bring children into the world and supply the army with new recruits. If imperfect children were born to the Spartans, they were killed. Sounds just like the Nazi doctrine of kill the infirm doesn’t it?

Healthy children were taken away from their mothers at a very early age so they could be conditioned toward brutality and a harsh military life. Sounds like the Hitler Youth and the Nazi ideal that the state should raise the children. You know it takes a village!

Spartan children were beaten and taught to be ruthless and to show no compassion whatsoever. They were taught to steal. They were considered mature when they had killed another human being, usually a slave. Which brings up another point. The Spartans kept slaves of races and people they considered to be inferior to them. They often worked them to death. Sound familiar?

Of course the Spartans were also paired to a homosexual partner within their military group. After they had served a full military career they would return home and do their final duty for the state (Reich) by impregnating a woman. You must remember, these homosexual Spartans were anything but effeminate. They would kill you as easily as look at you. This is the model the German Nazi’s used.

The SA brown shirts created by Ernst Roehm that brought the Nazi party to power were street brawlers and murders. Their character was no different from that of the Spartans. They too were primarily composed of homosexuals of the same masculine character. They created constant unrest and turmoil in the cities. Hitler promised to bring order if the people elected him. They did and he called off the SA led by his buddy Roehm. Oldest trick in the book, Create the problem and then provide the solution. Dumb people fall for it every time.

Lest we forget, there are many other famous warlike conquering homosexuals in history such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. They killed thousands if not millions like Hitler. This is not revisionist history. This is fact.

RichardJ7,

You say that only one truth can be dangerous, but I ask you why? That fact is that there can only be one truth, either there is a God or He doesn't exist, and the God of the bible can't be the hindu god, muslim god, or the god of any other religion, because each religion is completely different. So, only one belief system can be right, and even atheism is a religion too. I'm the father of two beautiful daughters and it would be like saying that they can decide who their father is, and there is no right or wrong it's relative to what they believe, it doesn't change the fact that I'm their father, and the one who played a part in their creation. Although I believe that Jesus is the only way, I believe everyone has a right to believe any way that they want. And Gary, like your christian friends, which you seem to have many of, I would never try to convert you either. I believe the best witness is to live a life that shows the love of Christ.

God's creation was perfect in the beginning but He did give man a choice to love Him, or choose to disobey Him which man eventually did, and because of this corruption came into the world, which has been a curse on the world ever since. But, God so loved us that He gave us a way out by His only son Jesus who died for us. Now, you don't have to follow Him and can choose for follow another god or be an atheist, but that doesn't change whether God exists, or if there is one true God.

I have no doubt that God does exist because at the age of 15 I had the swine flu and ran a fever of 105 for a week straight, and died, no pulse, breathing, anything. Rescue workers were there, but when I was pronounced dead my dad laid his hands on me and rebuked death in the name of Jesus. My heart started beating again, and I started breathing again. Emergency workers were astounded, I was transported to the hospital, and after an initial examination the doctor told my father that I had been dead for some time because I still didn't have any reflexes at all, and he said that the reflexes are the last thing to go. He said that it had to be a miracle that I wasn't brain dead. Afterward a team of doctors ran every test from EEGs, EKGS, CAT Scans, xrays, blood test, I was in the hospital for about two weeks while they ran all of these tests. The doctors were amazed and said that I should have had brain damage, but all tests came back negative, and I was finally sent home with a clean bill of health. During the time I was dead, I felt myself moving toward a bright light. So, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that God exists.

It's true that there have been christians, or those who claim to be christians who have killed in the name of Jesus, like what happened in the crusades, but they were doing it against the will of God. I am amazed that you would bring up Japan, as they attacked us totally unprovoked and killed many of our young men and women. The reason we dropped the atomic bomb is because it was calculated that a conventional war with Japan would have cost millions of lives. I'm also amazed that you blame christians for dropping that bomb. It seems that every war now is the fault of christians. I guess every war, imbargo that the US or UN brings against another country is caused by christians. I am absolutely astonished when you bring up Vietnam, because when we left the communist killed millions of innocent people in the killing fields. They would not have died if we hadn't left when we did. I don't know if we should have gotten involved in that war in the first place, but the reason we went there was to save innocent lives. The sad thing is it became a political war much like the Iraq war has become, and it becomes almost impossible to win a political war.

As far as Islam, I don't think you really have any idea of how they believe. It is a fact that they believe that if we don't convert to islam that we are to die. They are bent on the destruction of Israel, and all christians, jews, hindus, buddists, and anyone that does not convert to islam. We are considered infidels and no higher than dogs to them. I have no problem with anyone who wants to be a muslim, as that is their choice and right, but they don't have the right to kill me. Maybe you don't know this but Arabs are cousins to the Hebrews, and islam came about to counter the Jewish faith. It was founded by Mohammad who was a mercenary, and hated the Jewish people. You say the Mainstream Muslim communities have lived alongside other religions for centuries in peace, but please tell me where? It's true that muslims have lived alongside other religions in non-muslim countries in peace, but if I were to go to a muslim country I would be prisoned or worse yet killed for openly practicing my christian faith. Many muslims have been beheaded for converting to christianity.

Tell me why it is wrong for us to be in muslim land, but it is okay for them to live here or in non-muslim countries in the world, I just don't get this. France is made up about 30% arab muslims now, and I ask would it be okay for France to start killing muslims because they are in their land?

I have to add that I don't have a problem with muslims living here in America, but I just don't get why many justify them killing us because we are in their land.

Old testament was written THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.  While the Bible is inspired of God, how do we know that the writer of a particular book of the Bible wasn't homophobic?  I am Christian and I believe that the Bible is a GUIDELINE for your life. The bible also says that women should be in "subjection" to men; Ummmm I don't think so!  I prefer to stick to the basic priciples of "do unto to others."

Gary,

I really like many of the posts that you have recently put up....abortion, homosexuality, religon, etc., I think you are a briliiant business man and photographer but have not always agreed with your positions on politics and current issues. Thank you for posted these issues in the way you posted them...nuetral and open to both sides. As for the killing of homosexuals as written in the Bible....the Bible does say that but as you get into Christianity you will find that much changed when Jesus died on the cross. The penalty for sin was paid by a savior and was not on the individual any longer. The first chapter of Romans addresses the subject of homosexuality as well. If everyone paid the penalty for their own sins we would all be put to death. Thank God for Jesus! Hope that make some sense.

Todd

My two cents...

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their own set of beliefs. I have made a decision to follow Christ and to believe the words of the entire Bible to be true. Let me say again, the entire Bible. You cannot base a doctrine purely from one passage. The important thing to remember about the Bible is that the whole thing points to Christ who points to God the Father and the Holy Spirit.

So...Do I believe homosexuals should be killed? Quite the contrary. I say love them. I say love the murderers and the rapists and the thieves, liars, prostitutes, etc. Jesus did. He was often criticized because of the sort of people He hung out with. As He put it, He came to save the lost.

Do I believe homosexuality is a sin? Absolutely. But, is it not also a sin to sit in the seat of God and proclaim judgment upon others? Is it not also a sin to go over the speed limit (submission to authorities, etc.)? In the book of James, he spent a great deal of time trying to get the point across that sin is sin is sin. It's all equally repulsive to God and what we consider to be little sins are as contemptible and vile as what we consider to be big sins.

I count myself equal with all in that I have fallen short of God's standard for a perfect life. But, the sacrifice of Christ was, is and forever will be enough to cover my sins.

Formerly, I believed in good republican things like the death penalty. I've come to actually know God and know that's not His heart. Grace and mercy are on His heart. We mustn't forget that God is a jealous God who says it's better to be tossed overboard with a boulder strapped to you than to mislead someone. God wants purity in His people. He wants safety and good health. That was the purpose behind many Old Testament laws.

Geez...I'm trying to give a whole dissertation on Christianity...

All that to say, God is love. He loves us all equally and doesn't want to see harm come to any of us. There's room in heaven for all who want to make it there. But, it does mean a lot of upside-down principles, by the standard of the world. Like being last to be first. Or, lose your life so you can find it. God is so utterly amazing and transforming. Just because people have misrepresented Him doesn't mean that's how He is (ie. the Crusades, Pres. Bush, Jim Jones, most televangelists I've seen, etc.)

For those of you searching for truth, I hope you are encouraged in your pursuit. My revelation cannot be yours. Yours cannot be mine. Just the way it works...It only comes together when you get it for yourself.

Off to enjoy Germany some more and build a nice fire so my room isn't cold.

Anyone here color blind? Well if you are, you might relate to this story:
My ex-father in law "Joe" is color blind...so when "Joe" walks out of his house in the morning and looks up at the sky, to him the sky is purple.
So then you tell "Joe"...no the sky is blue (cyan), it is scientifically proven. So you show "Joe" all the proof and he agrees and believes the sky is blue.
However "Joe" continues to see the sky purple........"Joe's" perception has not been altered.
That's how I feel about the bible....you see it the way you see it...it says one thing to you and another to me. My geographic location, culture, gender and socioeconomic status have an affect on my interpretation of the Bible. I refuse to believe that God would punish me or anyone over a guide that he inspired and not dictated. Also anyone who is caught up in the exact text and what it means, in my opinion is missing the whole point of the Bible.....LOVE.....and you can't very well love someone while judging them can you?
gaeb ramirez