@seoulsearch, thank you for taking the time to explain your thoughts and position. Your posts are well written, and I can relate with the time given to put them together. I have read through each of the passages that you had referenced, and concur with many, many of the points that you have made. I hope that you will never hesitate to reply to my posts, and I am looking forward to not only getting to know you and others better, but that we can also grow together in faith with genuine Christian love. I left a little room of disagreement when it comes to us making images, to leave room for further discussion, as you pointed out so well already, that so many people are without any discernment, and as you mentioned also that wear crosses around their necks, and have bumber stickers on their cars, but are absolutely godless in their deeds and actions. We will be able to tie this directly in with the evil examples done in movies, t.v. shows, and music videos as well. Over all, I agree with 99% of what you wrote. Oh, before I forget, would you mind telling me a little bit more about the Church that you went to, such as what Denomination, and so forth that had the Elders that gave you the instruction?
@Lynx, you're welcome and thank you for reading the posts. Sadly, many people just skip past and don't care, but we can see that in a lot of instances, there are a lot of false teachers with some elongated posts that can make anyone go cross-eyed. (LoLz!!), and then there are false teachers obviouslly that have their own agendas, but the goal here is to unite genuine Christians into discussion of the important issues that we are facing, as well as the Churches. I have some chores to do today, and do not have the quality time to begin to put some things together, but hopefully I will be able to do so later, and if not, then in the morning.
I hope that each of you and everyone are doing well and enjoy your day.
Hi J-T,
Thank you so much for your very thoughtful and considerate answers. I am extremely touched that you would take the time to read what I wrote and also take a look at the passages I listed (I try to include the text to make it easier to read, but I type it out rather than copying and pasting so I sometimes give a quick summary.)
To answer your question, I was brought up in the Lutheran church (WELS synod,) attended Lutheran day schools, Sunday school, and Vacation Bible school from kindergarten through my graduation. As a young adult, I spent many years in an Assemblies of God church, which is where I encountered people who seemed to look for a demon behind everything, thus spurring my personal studies to learn more about discernment. Although I grew up in church and regularly study the Bible, I am certainly no Bible scholar or even student and this is why I generally stay away from debates. I am definitely not built for long periods of intense study and background research, but I admire those who do, which is why I often choose to just read along.
I alo know I am no match for most of the people here on this site (regarding Biblical debates,) but I do indeed read the Bible regularly. I am currently on my 7th time through (just started 1 Chronicles today,) and I choose to read a different translation every time in order to pick up things I missed the last time (such as in my post about the bronze snake and the use of "fiery" vs. "poisonous.")
What about yourself, J-T? What kind of church are you attending, and where did you acquire most of your Biblical studies?
To be honest, such debates, for some reason, exhaust and deplete all my energy so I don't engage in them very often, but I want to tell you how truly appreciative I am that you take the time to listen to and consider the other side. This is a big part of what made me want to answer. I admire your attitude that we are here to help each other learn, not automatically tear each other down or criticize one another for perhaps not being as knowledgeable as those with the gift of scholarship.
This will probably be my last post about this subject, but I want to thank you again for your hospitality during our exchange (and with Lynx as well.) I'll probably see you again soon in another thread.
Hope all is well with you and have a blessed day.
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