Christian-Calvinist Adjacent? Time will tell. Father, husband, business owner. I like to argue, but would prefer to learn to like to debate. Cook a mean steak.
@JoshuaBarzon I bought the 36". I can cook ALL of the burgers now! You want pancakes to feed 8 people? Round 1 and oh look, all the batter has been used! Lol
The yous and the mes of the world would both be arrested, charged and likely convicted for what we would have done has we been there to witness that.
But, the yous and the mes of the world live in places where that still (thankfully) is not commonplace.
In fact, it is likely not common place here because there are still enough yous and mes here.
The 6 million dollar queation is: How do we keep it that way?
@farmingandJesus Not sure what those feel like, but I hated on Crocs for years. They look stupid. Then I tried a pair on.
I don't want to compare that day in importance to my wedding day, or the birth of my daughter, but if you were to ask my feet to compare that day?
Well....
Interesting. I did not grow up in a reformed or Calvinistic church. And if you had asked me when I was 7 years old I would have told you that God punished Jesus for sins I committed.
It begs the question: if He wasn't punished for our sins, what exactly was He punished for? Or is being beaten and humiliated not punishment?
@borbafett@farmingandJesus My thoughts exactly. The arrogance of a quote like that. These people reach a level of success (or really, fame is probably more to blame than simply success) that disconnects them from reality.
If a promised condition is not met when the conditional actions have been taken, it is unjust.
The opposite of unjust is just, not mercy. Otherwise mercy and justice become interchangeable categories, and they clearly are not.
-Justice is giving what is owed.
-Mercy is withholding a deserved punishment.
-Unjust is failing to give what is owed.
So if withholding the promised outcome after the condition is met would be unjust, then granting the promised outcome is necessarily just.
My point is not that the recipient earned it. My point is that the promisor is now obligated to keep his word.
"The debate is whether mercy is conditioned upon..."
Here is where that particular argument falls apart.
Let's say a rebel deserves punishment under a just law. The king offers to withhold that punishment on one condition: lay down your arms and apologize.
The rebel deserves punishment before he lays down his arms and apologizes. He still deserves punishment afterward. Nothing about the rebel has changed.
However, once the king says, "If you lay down your arms and apologize, I will not punish you," the king has made a promise. If the rebel fulfills the condition and the king punishes him anyway, the king is unjust because he has broken his word.
That means once the condition is met, the king is obligated to do what he promised. If he does it, he is acting justly. If he does not, he is acting unjustly.
This is not to say necessarily, that God is obligated in the same way that man would be obligated to remain just, but that God, BEING just, cannot be unjust, as He cannot stop BEING god.
Justice is deserved. Mercy is not.
Therefore, the moment mercy is conditioned on anything, its fulfillment is no longer mercy. It becomes an act of justice and faithfulness to a promise.
No, I am not sinless. But I also do not give myself a pass for my sin because "it's complicated" or because "it's not black and white."
Every sin deserves God's judgment. That is precisely why we need Christ.
You have repeatedly said that abortion is murder. Not "kind of murder." Not "morally similar to murder."
Murder, 100%.
If that is true, then the people committing it are, by definition, COMMITTING MURDER. I am struggling to understand how you can affirm the first statement while objecting to the second. If they had killed your mother, you wouldnt be telling us all about how "it's complicated," or that people who kill your mother and then grow, repent, prosper and make their proximate world a better place after murdering your mother are equally admirable. You would be saying repent and be saved, before you are executed.
The issue is not whether circumstances are difficult. Many sins occur under difficult circumstances. Adultery can be complicated. Theft can be complicated. Lying can be complicated. Murder can be complicated. The difficulty of a situation does not change the moral nature of the act.
Nor does Christianity teach that we should remain silent about sin because we ourselves are sinners.
Jesus said:
"Do not judge by appearances, but πjudge with right judgment."π
John 7: 24
Paul said:
"As for those who persist in sin,
πrebuke them in the presence of all."π
1 Timothy 5: 20
"Therefore πrebuke them sharply."π
Titus 1: 13
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead
πexpose them."π
Ephesians 5: 11
"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;
πreprove, rebuke, and exhort."π
2 Timothy 4:.2
The "judge not" passage in Matthew 7 is about hypocrisy, not abandoning moral judgment altogether. Jesus tells us to remove the log from our own eye so that we can see clearly to remove the speck from our brother's eye.
The Christian position is not: "I am a sinner, therefore I cannot call sin what it is." It is: "I am a sinner saved by grace, therefore I must call sin what it is, INCLUDING my own."
Junius: "Hey Kangmin, I agree with you that this is morally murder. I agree with you that from a Christian perspective, this is murder. However, it's not black and white..."
No, sir, you do NOT agree with him on any of the perspectives that you claim to. It is murder, or it is not murder. There is no third option in which, from a Christian perspective, God would consider you innocent because "it's too hard."
@heaveniscallin1@nathancoxey One cant perform any number of good works in order to please God and satisfy His wrath. We are accepted by God SOLELY based on Christ's obedience.
God tells us to repent. Yet, it isnt something that we do on our own, but something that God Himself grants.
Like everything.else, God makes requirements, and then provides Himself the very things that are required. Because we are unable to do do so ourselves.
We truly are entirely reliant on Him for every step of salvation.
If a final state is predestined, the means of getting to to that final state must also be predestined.
If a final destination is guaranteed, then all possible futures where you fail to arrive at said destination have by necessity been eliminated.
If all possible futures where you fail to arrive at a destination are NOT eliminated, then there is no destiny, definitely no "pre," no guarantees.
This is why logic and reason are so important.
God hates all sin completely. I see no evidence in Scripture that He is merely annoyed by some sins but furious about others. Sin is rebellion against a holy God, and He hates all of it.
That said, Scripture clearly distinguishes between sins in their consequences and effects. Homosexuality (like murder or adultery) is highlighted not because it is necessarily the worst sin imaginable, but because its effects extend beyond the individual and into the family, the community, and society as a whole.
It has already been mentioned that it is a rejection of God's created order, but I don't think that alone explains why it is often singled out. There are many sins that violate God's design (I mean, really, all of them). What seems to set certain sins apart is the scope of the damage they cause when they become accepted, normalized, or celebrated within a culture.
Likewise, I think the death penalties prescribed in Scripture reflect not merely God's hatred of sin, but His desire to preserve the holiness and stability of Israel as a covenant nation.
In other words, I don't think that the death penalty was necessarily God saying, "I hate this sin more than all the others, therefore punish it more severely." Rather, it is God knowing that certain sins are especially destructive and far reaching, and the death penalty is not only judgment upon the offender, but also a mercy toward the larger community that otherwise suffers the consequences of allowing such sins to spread unchecked.
Get out of here with that negativity!!!!
Chicken nuggets are objectively tasty, to the point that they bring joy.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is also joy.
Hence, chicken nuggets (whatever they are made of) are the best medicine.
Try to wiggle out of that logic!
The thief was mocking Jesus prior to his conversion. Why would someone who professed faith in Jesus publicly (was baptised) then be mocking Jesus?
Matthew 27: 44
"And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way."
Mark 15: 32
"...Those who were crucified with him also reviled him."
Define adult man. I would say that most males these days dont seem to develop working brains until almost 30. Maybe a few years earlier if they have kids. Maybe.
Still, almost no life experience. Not enough to justify the absolute assurance he seems to have about every topic under the sun he comments on.