Jews--Christians--Muslims...same God?

[Little_Star_1]

I agree with you that Christians are to love the Lord their God with all their heart soul and mind and their neighbors as themselves. Yet, we all fall short. We all fail. I also agree that Muslims should be given the freedom to believe what they choose no matter where they are living. I do realize as well that there is tremendous persecution for those who follow “the Way” in Muslim countries. We pray for them and our hearts break for them. Those working inside those countries trying to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ are in terrible danger. We pray for them too.

I would like to point out that the suffering Christians are going through in Muslim countries is being caused by individuals that think they understand the Qu’ran. It is not being caused by all Muslims and most Muslims are against it. It is just like the Catholic church allowed the Knights Templar to kill and torment Jews and Muslims, or during the Spanish Inquisition. Or, how Jews were forced to pretend to be Christian to own property and survive throughout Catholic countries in Europe.

Also, someone said “we allow” Muslims to worship as they please. We don’t allow them anything. They have that right on their own accord as God allows it.

 

[SAVINGRACE]

There is certainly a lot of preaching going on in this thread. Excessive redundant verbiage just clutters up the text. Also, IMHO, preaching doesn’t accomplish anything except serve as an opportunity to vent one’s feelings such as one might expect from a performer on a stage. You are not contributing anything to me that is helpful in the dialogue by insisting that your way is the only way. This is a non-Catholic website and preaching to non-Catholics about how they are wrong leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Um no, this is Catholic Answers Forums, a Catholic website. The thread is titled non-Catholic religions but doesn’t mean Catholics cannot participate.

I agree with you regarding preaching and excessive redundant verbiage (new word I learned today- verbiage). It does not contribute to healthy dialogue.

 

[daler]

Christ who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Molly,
I grew up singing the song that says: “God in three Persons…” and believed probably not too much different than yourself. Over the years, encountering people of many different beliefs, my beliefs, while at the core, are not so different than when I grew up, have expanded to embrace all of God’s people from all over the planet.
What I learned is that everyone is expecting “their” Prophet to return, from Buddhists, to Hindus, to Jews, Christians, Muslims, and American Indians. Every body is expecting the Lord to appear, according to their understanding, and like the Jews, will reject anyone who doesn’t fulfill all the literal descriptions they have been taught. To this day, Jews don’t accept Jesus because He didn’t come and conquer the Romans and set up an earthly dominion. It doesn’t matter that Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.”, cause that’s what they were expecting and He didn’t do it the way they thought it must happen.
What else is interesting to me, as a Baha’i, is that there are hundreds of prophecies from all of these various religions which converge in time and place and indicate the Promised One of all these religions is the same Figure. Still, the Buddhists think His name must be Maitreye, the Hindus say Krishna, the Jews await the Lord of Host, Christians the Return of Christ, Muslims the Mihdi, etc. They all have their own expectations of what His Name is when He is to appear, and how, and when, etc…
Essentially, they all describe something akin to "There shall be One Fold and One Shepherd, but they can’t agree on what the Shepherd’s name is. Each wants it to be his own.
Just thought I’d throw that in, and by the way, I am very thankful to you for the courtesy with which you responded. It means a lot, and doesn’t always happen here.
God bless, daler

 

[daler]

I would like to point out that the suffering Christians are going through in Muslim countries is being caused by individuals that think they understand the Qu’ran. It is not being caused by all Muslims and most Muslims are against it. It is just like the Catholic church allowed the Knights Templar to kill and torment Jews and Muslims, or during the Spanish Inquisition. Or, how Jews were forced to pretend to be Christian to own property and survive throughout Catholic countries in Europe.

Also, someone said “we allow” Muslims to worship as they please. We don’t allow them anything. They have that right on their own accord as God allows it.

And it wasn’t until sometime in the 1970’s that Native Americans were finally “allowed” to practice their own religion(s) in the good ole USA.
My mother worked at a school where the Lakota were beaten, locked up, and starved for so much as speaking their language…

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

daler;10881354]Yes, a Muslim who preaches to Christians that Jesus was not the Son of God is “bad/sinful” (He is contradicting the words of Christ).

It is bad for a Muslim to deny Christ because no muslim existed nor was present when Jesus walked the earth to give witness to the Muslim view of Jesus Christ. Islam is an infant compared to Christianity who were the witnesses with the Jews and pagan Romans who witnessed and recorded the events of Jesus Christ being crucified. A Muslim deny’s what history records and has eyewitnessed to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Just like the Christian who chooses to go about his life without preaching the Gospel-that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and to have eternal life a person needs to believe He is the Saviour-is “bad/sinful”.

Please explain why it is “bad/sinful” to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all humanity? When God’s Word calls believers to this revelation from God.

We are all full of sin (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, etc.) just some of us are forgiven in the Holy Bible’s terms.

A baptized Catholic is not full of sin, but forgiven of original sin, actual sin and punishment of sin. A confessed Catholic has been forgiven of sin. How do justify “some of us” are forgiven by biblical terms? For a Catholic the biblical practices are still practiced today in our faith via sacraments which Jesus Christ himself instituted and gave to His Church. We Catholics are perculiar people, and we do not fit your generalities of christians.

Molly, If I may enter into this conversation a bit, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One and Messiah, and the Son of God, but not “begotten” in a physical or biological sense, but rather in a spiritual sense, meaning that He is related eternally to God in a way that we are not. We then are through Him related to God, and without Him we are not.

Catholics believe that Jesus who was born of the blessed Virgin Mary, is the only begotten Son of God, sacred scripture reveals this. Jesus is begotten of the Father because Jesus is of the same essence as of the Father which we Catholics profess as “Consubstantial” with the Father. Jesus was begotten not made. Because John 1:1-4, 14 reveals that Jesus is the Word of God, who was in the beginning with God and the Word was God.

I am glad you did not use the term “Trinity” to your application because it would of revealed a heresy of Jesus Christ. There is much more to digress in regards to Jesus Christ nature and how "know one goes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

I think that the terminology in the Quran is saying something to this effect, that “God is not begotten, nor does He beget”, and emphasizes the perspective that God sends us Messengers Who bare His Message, even as Jesus Himself says plainly: “These are not My words, but HIm that sent Me.”

The Quran reveals a heretical view of the blessed Trinity which is never Christian. The begetting and or begotten that is revealed from the Quran is never Catholic. Because the Quran takes the begotten to have carnal relations and understandings of the flesh which the biblical begotten Son of God never takes on this type of carnal meaning which is foreign to 2000 years of Catholic understanding.

Simply to help you understand the Catholic position in regards to the Father sending the Son is never the way the Quran or Muslims carnally interpret these scriptures. A quick excercise to help you understand the Catholic biblical position of the sending for example is; When you say “I love you” to your loved one. It is your own word distinct from your person that the reciever of the “I love you” has recieved. You sent your love via your word, and the reciever recieved all of you, but distinctly only by your word was identified as yours, but the receiver never saw your words fly through the air, the receiver enjoyed your word from the hearing, invisible yet made present. The Word of God is God is what Catholics believe, the Word is distinct from the Father but comes from the Father who sends His “I love you” through His Word to our hearing. But this is magnified eternally from our Catholic Faith, so that no Muslim, no man could ever exhaust God’s esssence. We can only understand what God has revealed to His Church spoken and understood in eternal spiritual terms that reveal eternal realities, for we did not recieve a spirit of the world but of God so that we possess the mind of Christ, not of men described in natural terms and understandings…

Please read 1Corinthians 2:5-16 will reveal that Catholics have the mind of Christ not of men or carnal understandings. Because we practice these biblical principles. Muslims reject the Holy Spirit as a heresy. One cannot compare the Catholic spiritual realities which God has revealed to a Mulsim understanding that remains grounded in carnal understandings.

Peace be with you

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

I agree with you that Christians are to love the Lord their God with all their heart soul and mind and their neighbors as themselves. Yet, we all fall short. We all fail.** I also agree that Muslims should be given the freedom to believe what they choose no matter where they are living. ** I do realize as well that there is tremendous persecution for those who follow “the Way” in Muslim countries. We pray for them and our hearts break for them. Those working inside those countries trying to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ are in terrible danger. We pray for them too.

Would you contest a Muslim who believes that the Quran teaches them to murder any professed Muslim in Islam who converts from Islam?

Would you protest against a Muslim who believes that no muslim is to be taught Christianity from a true Christian?

Would you protest against a Muslim who believes that all other religions are infidels including those of the book, and require conversion to Islam or death? Which the Quran teaches.

I don’t agree that any religion or government has the right to conquer and kill those who refuse to be Muslim or submitt to Islam, should come under severe duress and persecution or death by Muslims.

Islam has historically proven itself to be a religion of divide and conquer as It’s goal and purpose in the world. For this reason nations do well to not recognize Islam as a religion, with this motivation of it’s members’s.

 

[rinnie]

This is a really cool thing to know. I didn’t know this one. Thank you!

 

[MollyMac]

Exactly where in the Bible did St. Paul say this?

Philippians 2.

 

[MollyMac]

There is certainly a lot of preaching going on in this thread. Excessive redundant verbiage just clutters up the text. Also, IMHO, preaching doesn’t accomplish anything except serve as an opportunity to vent one’s feelings such as one might expect from a performer on a stage. You are not contributing anything to me that is helpful in the dialogue by insisting that your way is the only way. This is a non-Catholic website and preaching to non-Catholics about how they are wrong leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Are you preaching at everyone?

 

[MollyMac]

Christ who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Molly,
I grew up singing the song that says: “God in three Persons…” and believed probably not too much different than yourself. Over the years, encountering people of many different beliefs, my beliefs, while at the core, are not so different than when I grew up, have expanded to embrace all of God’s people from all over the planet.
What I learned is that everyone is expecting “their” Prophet to return, from Buddhists, to Hindus, to Jews, Christians, Muslims, and American Indians. Every body is expecting the Lord to appear, according to their understanding, and like the Jews, will reject anyone who doesn’t fulfill all the literal descriptions they have been taught. To this day, Jews don’t accept Jesus because He didn’t come and conquer the Romans and set up an earthly dominion. It doesn’t matter that Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.”, cause that’s what they were expecting and He didn’t do it the way they thought it must happen.
What else is interesting to me, as a Baha’i, is that there are hundreds of prophecies from all of these various religions which converge in time and place and indicate the Promised One of all these religions is the same Figure. Still, the Buddhists think His name must be Maitreye, the Hindus say Krishna, the Jews await the Lord of Host, Christians the Return of Christ, Muslims the Mihdi, etc. They all have their own expectations of what His Name is when He is to appear, and how, and when, etc…
Essentially, they all describe something akin to "There shall be One Fold and One Shepherd, but they can’t agree on what the Shepherd’s name is. Each wants it to be his own.
Just thought I’d throw that in, and by the way, I am very thankful to you for the courtesy with which you responded. It means a lot, and doesn’t always happen here.
God bless, daler

Hi daler. I respect your honesty and your clear answers of what you believe and YOUR courtesy.

In response to what you posted above I will say this: there is a difference between Jesus Christ and Antichrist.

 

[MollyMac]

Would you contest a Muslim who believes that the Quran teaches them to murder any professed Muslim in Islam who converts from Islam?

Would you protest against a Muslim who believes that no muslim is to be taught Christianity from a true Christian?

Would you protest against a Muslim who believes that all other religions are infidels including those of the book, and require conversion to Islam or death? Which the Quran teaches.

I don’t agree that any religion or government has the right to conquer and kill those who refuse to be Muslim or submitt to Islam, should come under severe duress and persecution or death by Muslims.

Islam has historically proven itself to be a religion of divide and conquer as It’s goal and purpose in the world. For this reason nations do well to not recognize Islam as a religion, with this motivation of it’s members’s.

Gabriel,

You are right. I agree with you. What I should have posted is that I believe that a Muslim has the “right” to believe what they choose, BUT NOT the right to live out what their religion says they should do (I am certain some will disagree). I disregard the qur’an and believe Mohammed was a false prophet. I disagree with what the Shahada says. If a Muslim chooses to believe Islam is the one true religion then that is what they choose. They have that right. Would I want to live in a Muslim country? No. I would surely be persecuted or killed because I firmly believe Jesus Christ is Saviour and Lord over all.

 

[MollyMac]

Gabriel, you asked-
“Please explain why it is “bad/sinful” to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all humanity? When God’s Word calls believers to this revelation from God.”

Sorry, my post was not clear. I reread it and it did seem a bit jumbled. What I meant to say was it is sinful for a person, for example to go throughout his whole life with the knowledge of the True Gospel of Jesus Christ and never share that gospel with anyone. Does it send you to hell? No, but it is sinful. We are called, as Christians, to be a light. If you hide it, if you quench the Spirit, I’d regard that as a sin since it contradicts what we are called to do and since it directly disobeys God’s instructions.

Then you asked, “How do justify “some of us” are forgiven by biblical terms?”

Sorry, I was unclear again. What I should have said was those who believe Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and believe that He is the Saviour are justified. They are forgiven. Those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He is not the Saviour, according to Jesus, will be denied eternal life with Him, they will be denied before the Father. Who is the liar but he who denies Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father.

 

[daler]

Hi daler. I respect your honesty and your clear answers of what you believe and YOUR courtesy.

In response to what you posted above I will say this: there is a difference between Jesus Christ and Antichrist.

Molly,
I’m not sure what you’re saying here. It sounds like, or comes across like anyone who doesn’t share your particular beliefs is following an anti-Christ. Is that what you are saying?? If so, then all of the Indians of North America were following an anti-Christ… No matter that they were infinitely more honest and noble than the savage and brutal people who subjugated them, wrote hundreds of treaties all written “In the year of our Lord…”, breaking every one of them, nearly causing the extinction of millions of buffalo as part of a well-planned system of genocide, brought alcohol to them and insisted that they go to their churches in order to be saved, etc, etc, etc.
Molly, something is wrong with this picture, in my opinion, and I don’t think this is what you are intending to say. This is the history of western civilization, and the Christians were no closer to God in practice than the Muslims to Allah, although it is the same God everyone professes to worship and follow.
The Buddhists I’ve known definitely are not anti-Christ followers, nor are the Muslims whom I’ve known. Just very much good, family oriented people, among whom are a few bad apples. If all someone knew of Christianity was what the Ku Klux Klan did to blacks, and what happened to the Indians, one could well say that Christians were followers of the the anti-Christ. Throw in the Inquisitions and the case is closed.
I’m not a Muslim, but have read the Quran and it specifically respects the “people of the Book”, meaning Jews and Christians, and requires that Muslims allow them to follow the teachings of Moses and Jesus and that “There shall be no compulsion in religion”. That being said, is that the practice? Sadly, Islam became as corrupted as Christianity, throughout its history, and it is true, that in many countries, in one form or another, they “compel” people to believe and persecute those who break from “Islam”, as they see it.
The persecution of the Baha’is by Muslims is quite extreme, yet I find myself defending the “true” Muslims even as I defend the “true” Christians. My wife’s aunt and cousins were imprisoned in Iran for being Baha’is, threatened with death if they did not recant their Faith. My friend’s sister has served 5 years of a 20 year sentence for being a Baha’i. Iranian prisons are no picnic, and they could all be freed is they would simply deny their sincere beliefs that Baha’u’llah is a Manifestation of God for this age.
“All of the Prophets of God proclaim the same Faith”, but people don’t accept that, and interpret the Holy Books according to their own fancy and exclude others from the heaven they conceive to be reserved for themselves. It has always been so.
God bless

 

[MollyMac]

Molly,
I’m not sure what you’re saying here. It sounds like, or comes across like anyone who doesn’t share your particular beliefs is following an anti-Christ. Is that what you are saying?? If so, then all of the Indians of North America were following an anti-Christ… No matter that they were infinitely more honest and noble than the savage and brutal people who subjugated them, wrote hundreds of treaties all written “In the year of our Lord…”, breaking every one of them, nearly causing the extinction of millions of buffalo as part of a well-planned system of genocide, brought alcohol to them and insisted that they go to their churches in order to be saved, etc, etc, etc.
Molly, something is wrong with this picture, in my opinion, and I don’t think this is what you are intending to say. This is the history of western civilization, and the Christians were no closer to God in practice than the Muslims to Allah, although it is the same God everyone professes to worship and follow.
The Buddhists I’ve known definitely are not anti-Christ followers, nor are the Muslims whom I’ve known. Just very much good, family oriented people, among whom are a few bad apples. If all someone knew of Christianity was what the Ku Klux Klan did to blacks, and what happened to the Indians, one could well say that Christians were followers of the the anti-Christ. Throw in the Inquisitions and the case is closed.
I’m not a Muslim, but have read the Quran and it specifically respects the “people of the Book”, meaning Jews and Christians, and requires that Muslims allow them to follow the teachings of Moses and Jesus and that “There shall be no compulsion in religion”. That being said, is that the practice? Sadly, Islam became as corrupted as Christianity, throughout its history, and it is true, that in many countries, in one form or another, they “compel” people to believe and persecute those who break from “Islam”, as they see it.
The persecution of the Baha’is by Muslims is quite extreme, yet I find myself defending the “true” Muslims even as I defend the “true” Christians. My wife’s aunt and cousins were imprisoned in Iran for being Baha’is, threatened with death if they did not recant their Faith. My friend’s sister has served 5 years of a 20 year sentence for being a Baha’i. Iranian prisons are no picnic, and they could all be freed is they would simply deny their sincere beliefs that Baha’u’llah is a Manifestation of God for this age.
“All of the Prophets of God proclaim the same Faith”, but people don’t accept that, and interpret the Holy Books according to their own fancy and exclude others from the heaven they conceive to be reserved for themselves. It has always been so.
God bless

daler, I appreciate your sincerity. I cannot answer for those “Christians” who brutally murdered people because of their beliefs. I cannot answer for the Muslims that are persecuting your family members that are obviously dear to you. I cannot answer for Hindu extremists or Klan members or anyone else. What can do is say this- I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Christ clearly states in several passages that He is the WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE. He is the Door, He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. He is the Bread of Life. He is the Only way to the Father. If a person rejects Him, they reject the Father. I’ve quoted the Bible plenty in this thread, so I will not requote or “preach” since some seem to get offended by that. I can only give the scripture that I believe to be the true Gospel. If one does not believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah and is not their Saviour, then no, I do not believe they are on the road that leads to eternal life with Him. Jesus says in Matthew 7- “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” I’m so sorry your family is going through such turmoil. If you don’t mind, I will keep them in prayers. I know you and many on this forum will not agree with me. I understand. Thank you for being so kind in your responses, daler.

 

[nmgauss]

daler, I appreciate your sincerity. I cannot answer for those “Christians” who brutally murdered people because of their beliefs. I cannot answer for the Muslims that are persecuting your family members that are obviously dear to you. I cannot answer for Hindu extremists or Klan members or anyone else. What can do is say this- I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Christ clearly states in several passages that He is the WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE. He is the Door, He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. He is the Bread of Life. He is the Only way to the Father. If a person rejects Him, they reject the Father. I’ve quoted the Bible plenty in this thread, so I will not requote or “preach” since some seem to get offended by that. I can only give the scripture that I believe to be the true Gospel. If one does not believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah and is not their Saviour, then no, I do not believe they are on the road that leads to eternal life with Him. Jesus says in Matthew 7- “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” I’m so sorry your family is going through such turmoil. If you don’t mind, I will keep them in prayers. I know you and many on this forum will not agree with me. I understand. Thank you for being so kind in your responses, daler.

This is obviously a two-way conversation and is very verbose. Verbose messages are better delivered orally, because voice level and pitch can be used to get across your point. That is the view of ancient priests and has a long tradition among the Jews. If you have to exchange redundant messages with each other, it is better to do it by email. Most of this text is a waste of our time to try to muddle through.

 

[daler]

daler, I appreciate your sincerity. I cannot answer for those “Christians” who brutally murdered people because of their beliefs. I cannot answer for the Muslims that are persecuting your family members that are obviously dear to you. I cannot answer for Hindu extremists or Klan members or anyone else. What can do is say this- I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Christ clearly states in several passages that He is the WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE. He is the Door, He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. He is the Bread of Life. He is the Only way to the Father. If a person rejects Him, they reject the Father. I’ve quoted the Bible plenty in this thread, so I will not requote or “preach” since some seem to get offended by that. I can only give the scripture that I believe to be the true Gospel. If one does not believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah and is not their Saviour, then no, I do not believe they are on the road that leads to eternal life with Him. Jesus says in Matthew 7- “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” I’m so sorry your family is going through such turmoil. If you don’t mind, I will keep them in prayers. I know you and many on this forum will not agree with me. I understand. Thank you for being so kind in your responses, daler.

Molly,
Thank you for your kindness and prayers. I agree with everything you have quoted here. I sincerely do. Please believe me on this.
“So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.”
There are heavy truths here, of which people have different understandings, and this must be so, for we are all either following His path or we are not. If we are, we may be in slightly different places on the road, and like people looking at the same bouquet of flowers, one sees the rose, another the daisy, etc, from the side they are looking at. Also, the blind men and the elephant, talking about the same elephant, though one has ahold of the tail and insists the elephant is a rope, while one holds the legs and “knows” that the elephant is a tree, while each thinks the other is a fool.
I don’t think anyone is a fool, by any stretch, for the sincerity and goodness comes through loud and clear, and is appreciated very much. Rather, I do think that in large part, God has placed us on different sides of the same elephant. Clearly, Jews and Christians are holding parts of the same critter, and Muslims accept all of the Prophets gone before Muhammad, while each group refuses to believe in the next Prophet chronologically following. The question becomes, is there more to this elephant than I understand there to be?
Is it possible that the “man behind the curtains”, as in the Wizard of Oz, is projecting His Voice through different “speakers”? That the One Who says, “Before Abraham was, I am” can send a Message to humanity through all of the descendants of Abraham, ie, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab, Baha’u’llah…

 

[daler]

This is obviously a two-way conversation and is very verbose. Verbose messages are better delivered orally, because voice level and pitch can be used to get across your point. That is the view of ancient priests and has a long tradition among the Jews. If you have to exchange redundant messages with each other, it is better to do it by email. Most of this text is a waste of our time to try to muddle through.

Sorry, nmgauss, will try to keep that in mind.

 

[mek42]

This is obviously a two-way conversations one is very verbose. Verbose messages are better delivered orally, because voice level and pitch can be used to get across your point. That is the view of ancient priests and has a long tradition among the Jews. If you have to exchange redundant messages with each other, it is better to do it by email. Most of this text is a waste of our time to try to muddle through.

I learned much from the posts of the two people involved. If some people do not enjoy reading well paragraphed posts on a forum, maybe Twitter is a better match for them.

 

[Little_Star_1]

There is certainly a lot of preaching going on in this thread. Excessive redundant verbiage just clutters up the text. Also, IMHO, preaching doesn’t accomplish anything except serve as an opportunity to vent one’s feelings such as one might expect from a performer on a stage. You are not contributing anything to me that is helpful in the dialogue by insisting that your way is the only way. This is a non-Catholic website and preaching to non-Catholics about how they are wrong leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I think what this poster is taking to be preaching has been the expression of opinion on how God works, not preaching. It may sound that way to some, but I doubt if that was the intention of those that posted. I was accused of doing that and I sure as heck was only stating my beliefs formed from reading the Bible and numerous commentaries on the Bible, and the reading I have done on religious topics and, also, through experience.

Are people supposed to freely express themselves or need we worry that others may not like what they write because they don’t find it interesting, agree with it or that their style of expression may not appeal to some people? Is that to be a concern when posting? I mean this is a website that is dedicated to those that want to discuss the Father and that is going to bring up waves and waves of emotion. I would hope that it does.

Personally, I enjoy the posts that come from the hearts of the posters. Additionally, I thought that all posts were for the benefit of all other posters, not one in particular. Am I missing something or is the author of the above quote in charge of determining the proper direction for content?

Back on topic, I have said it once and I still firmly believe that God is God no matter what you may call your religion and even if you believe all others are praying to someone different than you. There is but one God.

 

[nmgauss]

I learned much from the posts of the two people involved. If some people do not enjoy reading well paragraphed posts on a forum, maybe Twitter is a better match for them.

According to the rules of this forum, excess verbiage is undesirable. This includes quotes of entire messages longer than a couple hundred words. To compound the problem by adding your own thousand word answer to a thousand word quote is to completely ignore the principle of using as few words as possible to make your point.

I learned in a graduate school expository writing course that I was using too many words. Since then, I have recognized excess verbiage as a barrier to communication, especially in a dialogue.