DanielNegreanu 141 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I just thought I'd share some of the devotionals that I read with you all. I'm not forcing any of this down your throat, so if you don't want to read about it please just disregard the devotional. If you are curious, though, I plan on posting a devotional every day or so:Keep Your Eyes On The PrizePHILIPPIANS 3:14 KJV14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling ofGod in Christ Jesus.What will really matter at the end of your life on earth?Will what you are giving attention to now still be importantthen?Or, will you be filled with regret for what you did -- ordidn't do?Distractions abound. TV, phone calls, web sites, books, movies.It might be a good idea to stop and evaluate how you areinvesting your time.1 CORINTHIANS 9:24 NIV24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but onlyone gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.Run to win. Win what?The true prize is to know God intimately and be His friend.2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 NIV18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what isunseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen iseternal.One day, possibly soon, you will stand before God. Why notorder your life now based on that "final reckoning?"A wise person would not invest everything in somethingtemporary. A wise person invests in something that will last.Invest your life wisely!SAY THIS: Lord, help me to keep my eyes on what is importantand lasting. Link to post Share on other sites
HangukMiguk 8 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Nice man! Glad you're doing this.I'll certainly be trying to read this daily, as I'm trying to get back closer to God again. Link to post Share on other sites
DanielNegreanu 141 Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 Cool. I'm hoping to keep this section clean and without debate. I'm all for the debates and think they are healthy, but I'm just hoping that non-believers will be kind enough to leave these threads for those that are interested. The rest of the forum is basically for the never ending atheist-Christian battles, but I don't want them interfering with the devotional threads. If they do, I'm going to instruct the moderators to move those posts. Link to post Share on other sites
chrozzo 19 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Cool. I'm hoping to keep this section clean and without debate. I'm all for the debates and think they are healthy, but I'm just hoping that non-believers will be kind enough to leave these threads for those that are interested. The rest of the forum is basically for the never ending atheist-Christian battles, but I don't want them interfering with the devotional threads. If they do, I'm going to instruct the moderators to move those posts.very nice DN, I will look forward to these...off to a nice start as well Link to post Share on other sites
gavindagr8 0 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Good to see this on here, I am looking forward to it. Link to post Share on other sites
cu in 4years Dan 1 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 this idea sounds really cool. ile be reading for sure. 1st one was great 2. good work. Link to post Share on other sites
Jimshoen 0 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Thanks DN. I look forward to adding this to my day. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Amen brother! Link to post Share on other sites
Zeatrix 0 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Cool. I'm hoping to keep this section clean and without debate. I'm all for the debates and think they are healthy, but I'm just hoping that non-believers will be kind enough to leave these threads for those that are interested. The rest of the forum is basically for the never ending atheist-Christian battles, but I don't want them interfering with the devotional threads. If they do, I'm going to instruct the moderators to move those posts.Sorry to not follow the rules but this will be the first and last time.One thing I find interesting is that religious people are allowed to teach their beliefs to non believers and that is accepted. What isn't accepted on the other hand is for non believers to teach their beliefs to religious people, it's some kind of taboo, and frankly, I don't get that...To anyone that is religious I therefore strongly urge you to watch a show called "John Safran vs God" which is a hilarious and very interesting show with a lot of good points, kind of like the book Daniel recommends and sends to people for free, but the other way around. Basicly the show is hosted by a jew that has become an atheist and he dedicates the show to taking a look at religion and popping a few baloons while he's at it.Not sure if it is aired in conservative US but you can probably find it online if you look hard. Watch it, if not for the message, for the humour.EDIT:Hmm, I did the looking for you so that you won't have to. You can download all the episodes (eight in total) at this adress: http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3373726 as long as you have a smart little program called BitTorrent installed. Otherwise download and install it from www.bittorrent.comThe homepage of the show is: http://www.johnsafranvsgod.comAnd if you don't know how to play some of the episodes (*.ogm) use the VLC video player (http://www.videolan.org/)The best way might just be to buy the DVD at: http://www.johnsafran.com/dvds.htmlThx for your time... Link to post Share on other sites
GamblinLeaf 0 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Very nice, my friend. I'm also glad you're doing this.Question: If you're going to be keeping this particular section debate/flame free, would it be ok for us to post devotional-style scriptures as well if we see or come across something uplifting? Link to post Share on other sites
Mattnxtc 0 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 ZeaOne thing I would say is that you are free to share what you feel are your beliefs. I do think you might find though that your beliefs are a lot closer to the beliefs of a "religious" person thoughAs for the nonchristian ideas, evolution is the leading nonreligion idea. its really the only alternative that I can think of...if there are more by all means share them Link to post Share on other sites
Vatche 0 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Sorry to not follow the rules but this will be the first and last time.One thing I find interesting is that religious people are allowed to teach their beliefs to non believers and that is accepted. What isn't accepted on the other hand is for non believers to teach their beliefs to religious people, it's some kind of taboo, and frankly, I don't get that...To anyone that is religious I therefore strongly urge you to watch a show called "John Safran vs God" which is a hilarious and very interesting show with a lot of good points, kind of like the book Daniel recommends and sends to people for free, but the other way around. Basicly the show is hosted by a jew that has become an atheist and he dedicates the show to taking a look at religion and popping a few baloons while he's at it.Not sure if it is aired in conservative US but you can probably find it online if you look hard. Watch it, if not for the message, for the humour.EDIT:Hmm, I did the looking for you so that you won't have to. You can download all the episodes (eight in total) at this adress: http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3373726 as long as you have a smart little program called BitTorrent installed. Otherwise download and install it from www.bittorrent.comThe homepage of the show is: http://www.johnsafranvsgod.comAnd if you don't know how to play some of the episodes (*.ogm) use the VLC video player (http://www.videolan.org/)The best way might just be to buy the DVD at: http://www.johnsafran.com/dvds.htmlThx for your time...loll..u have the a whole forum disignated for Religion...DN asked for one simple thing, for THIS thread to stay debate free, but yet, u come in here spamming ur garbage. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Sorry to not follow the rules but this will be the first and last time.One thing I find interesting is that religious people are allowed to teach their beliefs to non believers and that is accepted. What isn't accepted on the other hand is for non believers to teach their beliefs to religious people, it's some kind of taboo, and frankly, I don't get that...To anyone that is religious I therefore strongly urge you to watch a show called "John Safran vs God" which is a hilarious and very interesting show with a lot of good points, kind of like the book Daniel recommends and sends to people for free, but the other way around. Basicly the show is hosted by a jew that has become an atheist and he dedicates the show to taking a look at religion and popping a few baloons while he's at it.Not sure if it is aired in conservative US but you can probably find it online if you look hard. Watch it, if not for the message, for the humour.EDIT:Hmm, I did the looking for you so that you won't have to. You can download all the episodes (eight in total) at this adress: http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3373726 as long as you have a smart little program called BitTorrent installed. Otherwise download and install it from www.bittorrent.comThe homepage of the show is: http://www.johnsafranvsgod.comAnd if you don't know how to play some of the episodes (*.ogm) use the VLC video player (http://www.videolan.org/)The best way might just be to buy the DVD at: http://www.johnsafran.com/dvds.htmlThx for your time...Last I checked, evolution was taught in all schools and creationism is banned. I think non-believers get to talk about their beliefs plenty.DN, flame this if you want, I know your heart and intent for this page, but a response would only be seen here.God bless Link to post Share on other sites
DanielNegreanu 141 Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 Sorry to not follow the rules but this will be the first and last time.One thing I find interesting is that religious people are allowed to teach their beliefs to non believers and that is accepted. What isn't accepted on the other hand is for non believers to teach their beliefs to religious people, it's some kind of taboo, and frankly, I don't get that...To anyone that is religious I therefore strongly urge you to watch a show called "John Safran vs God" which is a hilarious and very interesting show with a lot of good points, kind of like the book Daniel recommends and sends to people for free, but the other way around. Basicly the show is hosted by a jew that has become an atheist and he dedicates the show to taking a look at religion and popping a few baloons while he's at it.Not sure if it is aired in conservative US but you can probably find it online if you look hard. Watch it, if not for the message, for the humour.EDIT:Hmm, I did the looking for you so that you won't have to. You can download all the episodes (eight in total) at this adress: http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3373726 as long as you have a smart little program called BitTorrent installed. Otherwise download and install it from www.bittorrent.comThe homepage of the show is: http://www.johnsafranvsgod.comAnd if you don't know how to play some of the episodes (*.ogm) use the VLC video player (http://www.videolan.org/)The best way might just be to buy the DVD at: http://www.johnsafran.com/dvds.htmlThx for your time... I'm not sure if what you say is accurate, but I'm happy to take your word for it. The religous people I know are comfortable with listening to non-believers beliefs. In fact, I personally enjoy speaking with atheists to get their take on things. Sometimes they bring up excellent questions which forces mke to look for answers to tough questions. A lot of times, I end up learning more from speaking with atheists than I do from Christians! I can totally understand how TOTALLY INSANE it might seem for atheists to imagine that people believe in something they can't see. I get it, I totally get it. One thing is for certain, no one has ever provided proof that there is no God. Conversely, there is no undisputable proof that there is a God. Both Atheists AND Christians must take a leap of faith: atheists must take the leap that coincidence is the cause of everything, while Christians must take the leap that it was God's doing. Link to post Share on other sites
keith crime 8 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Very Keirkegarde of you DanielSadly most religious discussions are filled by the most insane members of each sideTo tell you the truth my problem with Religion is not the effort to live your life by a code which is fine (although I would like to be good because I have decided it is the right thing to do not because it was handed down on stone), but the wars and inquisitions by people playing my god is better than your god is depressing. maybe you'll dig thisAround 1992 or so, I found myself limping through the San Francisco airport after a basketball mishap, and happened upon a group of nuns selling John Coltrane T-Shirts. What? Hell, it was so weird I had to buy one. A few months later I saw a news piece about the church they belonged to, which didn’t see Coltrane so much as a God but as their patron saint. It’s not as wacky as you’d think. Coltrane devoted his life to turning his love of God into music. The priest who started the church was a saxophone player inspired by Coltrane’s example to kick heroin. To him, the best evidence of God in the world was the beauty of Coltrane’s music. The church has this fantastic painting of Coltrane with flames shooting out of his sax as a symbol, and their services are about as good a three hours of Jazz as you can get these days. They admit anyone and encourage people to bring instruments to participate or to beat on the drums and tambourines that they hand out to their visitors. They knew that people treated them as something of an oddity typical of San Francisco weirdness, but they reminded me of an argument between one of my favorite teachers and a friend of mine in class. He asked her for proof of God and she said that when she looked outside and saw the beauty of nature that it showed her enough evidence. It didn’t convert me but I found it sort of poetic. In the same way, the Coltrane Church is precious to me. I’ll probably never join a religious group, but if I did it would be the St. John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church. Sadly, I heard that rising rents forced them out of their near Height-Asbury Divisidero address.http://www.saintjohncoltrane.com/ Link to post Share on other sites
blacktie31 0 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Good quote from the Dave Ramsey Show the other day.Our best works are just the art on Gods refrigeratorHe loves it bc we did it, but it's nothing compared to what he has done. Link to post Share on other sites
mrdannyg 274 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 just clarifying - is the entire Religion section off-limits for debate, or only this thread? Link to post Share on other sites
natewood3 0 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I'm not sure if what you say is accurate, but I'm happy to take your word for it. The religous people I know are comfortable with listening to non-believers beliefs. In fact, I personally enjoy speaking with atheists to get their take on things. Sometimes they bring up excellent questions which forces mke to look for answers to tough questions. A lot of times, I end up learning more from speaking with atheists than I do from Christians! I can totally understand how TOTALLY INSANE it might seem for atheists to imagine that people believe in something they can't see. I get it, I totally get it. One thing is for certain, no one has ever provided proof that there is no God. Conversely, there is no undisputable proof that there is a God. Both Atheists AND Christians must take a leap of faith: atheists must take the leap that coincidence is the cause of everything, while Christians must take the leap that it was God's doing. I, as a Christian, would contend that there is proof that God exists, and this can be known certainly. Jesus said, Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. The Book of Job tells us, Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.When Peter was preaching in the Book of Acts, he said to the Jews:Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." I don't think it should be simply a possibility that the God of the Christian Bible exists; I believe it is a certainty. There is no other worldview that account for human experience and reality.If we are not here to debate, then this cannot be proven, but I would simply argue this:God is the precondition for intelligibility; for us to make sense of anything or to know anything, the Christian God must exist. There are only two worldviews: those that try to make sense and account for this world apart from the Bible, and the Christian worldview that says the Bible is the only thing that can explain reality. There is worldview A and not-A. I do not believe not-A (all other worldviews) cannot account for human experience and reality. Hence, God exists because of the impossibility of the contrary, meaning if not-A is reduced to absurdity and incoherence and arbitrariness, then A is the only possible option. Hence, God exists because of the impossibility of the contrary (not-A). Like I said, it would take more than that paragraph to convince even a Christian of this argument, let alone an unbeliever. I don't think the issue is whether or not there are facts and evidence that points to God or not. The issue is how do we interpret those facts? An unbelieving worldview, a worldview that does not accept the divine revelation of God, i.e. the Bible, already assumes the Christian God does not exist or Christianity as a system of thought is not true. Therefore, when he/she sees "facts" or "evidence" that points to the Christian God, their perspective and assumptions and outlook on life will not allow them to interpret that evidence and those facts as proof for Christianity. It MUST mean something else and there MUST be another explanation for this so called "proof." Everyone has a worldview through which they see the world, and this interprets everything in the world, including facts and evidence. Their worldview will guide what they accept as evidence and the limits of reality... Link to post Share on other sites
Zeatrix 0 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I'm not sure if what you say is accurate, but I'm happy to take your word for it. The religous people I know are comfortable with listening to non-believers beliefs. In fact, I personally enjoy speaking with atheists to get their take on things.I base my statement on my exchange year in Canada (lived in a small town somewhere between Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta) where basiclt I would find that the people that I expressed my atheism to either became angry or just stoped listening. One guy even said: "I'm gonna beat you if you don't believe in Jesus" which frankly was hilarious, but he sure didn't think so.Anyways, I remembered that after seeing a segment on John Safran vs God where he goes from door to door a la Jehovas witnesses to try to convert Mormons to atheism and some of them become really angry... Link to post Share on other sites
herokid7 0 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Guys, as I understand it DN wants this thread to be debate free. So let's try to respect that. That goes for Christians too. If someone posts a debate that goes against our Christian beliefs, don't respond. The rest of this forum is for that, not this thread. If you want to respond to somebody who posts something here you don't agree with, then start another thread. But, please, let's respect Daniel's request and not debate in this thread. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,751 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Guys, as I understand it DN wants this thread to be debate free. So let's try to respect that. That goes for Christians too. If someone posts a debate that goes against our Christian beliefs, don't respond. The rest of this forum is for that, not this thread. If you want to respond to somebody who posts something here you don't agree with, then start another thread. But, please, let's respect Daniel's request and not debate in this thread.I agree completely. I was a camp counselor at a Christian Camp for 5 summers, and one summer everyone was sharing prayer requests on the last night of camp. Many people were sharing very deep and hurtful things in their lives. After each person had spoken, all the campers would clap. So after awhile this started annoying me, and I stood up and said, "Everyone please be respectful of these people and don't clap when people are obviously upset and need comfort... everyone just stop clapping altogether". When I sat down, half the auditorium clapped. Zeatrix, keith crime, and natewood3 you guys are sitting in the 'dumb half' of the room. Link to post Share on other sites
crowTrobot 2 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 One thing is for certain, no one has ever provided proof that there is no God. Conversely, there is no undisputable proof that there is a God. Both Atheists AND Christians must take a leap of faith: atheists must take the leap that coincidence is the cause of everything, while Christians must take the leap that it was God's doing.agnostics on the other hand don't need to do any leaping. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,751 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I agree completely. I was a camp counselor at a Christian Camp for 5 summers, and one summer everyone was sharing prayer requests on the last night of camp. Many people were sharing very deep and hurtful things in their lives. After each person had spoken, all the campers would clap. So after awhile this started annoying me, and I stood up and said, "Everyone please be respectful of these people and don't clap when people are obviously upset and need comfort... everyone just stop clapping altogether". When I sat down, half the auditorium clapped. Zeatrix, keith crime, and natewood3 you guys are sitting in the 'dumb half' of the room. agnostics on the other hand don't need to do any leaping.Ok, Crow just sat next to them. Link to post Share on other sites
natewood3 0 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I apologize for posting something that seemed like I was arguing or debating or anything of that sort; I definitely was not trying. When I said what I did, I was just making statements. If I remember correctly, I said I would need to discuss it a little, but I don't think I did. I simply quoted some verses and reinforced the fact that I think Christians can be certain about our faith. I definitely was not trying to "argue" with DN or anyone else. It was more an encouragement than anything. If I looked dumb for saying what I did, then so be it. Link to post Share on other sites
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