Do You Believe in an Apocalypse?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That's why I think religion should be more about a way of life than about a list of do's and don'ts.

Then you should consider making your own religion.

Because the Ten Commandments are clearly a list of do's and dont's.

I'm not some loner renegade with these crazy ideas.

You think the fact that there are more of you that think like you lends credence to your ideas?

No wonder you're religious. Whether something is true or not has nothing to do with how many people believe it.

The Liberal Christian Network

While liberal Christians share a similar faith language with conservative / evangelical / orthodox Christians, many times we have different meanings attached to those words and offer a different vision of the faith than some people might realize. Unfortunately there is no cut and dried test per se that will land a believer firmly in the liberal camp. Many of them are evangelical and /or still draw strongly from the Orthodox traditions. However for the sake of identification the following will give some illumination as to the general beliefs of many (but not all) liberal, progressive and postmodern Christians:

1) We are willing to be open to all the possibilities of who Jesus was said to be, and focus more on His life than His death. We may question His divinity, believe in the Trinity, or be Unitarian.

2) We believe that the Bible contains truth but is not always literal. We believe that it is a map and not the final destination of our journey.

3) We believe other faiths contain truths as well.

4) We believe that asking questions is okay, and that there is rarely such a thing as a single black and white answer to those questions.

5) We are seeking closeness to God, not points for following certain rules which will buy our way into heaven. We take Jesus' admonitions to the Pharisees to heart and focus on the grace and compassion of God.

6) We welcome other seekers regardless of who they are as God wants us to include people rather than exclude them.

7) Many of us believe in universal salvation.

http://www.hostdiva.com/liberalchristians/...4&Itemid=31

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

So the group has a website. So what?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So the group has a website. So what?

I'm trying a little PR for Christianity so that those offended by some people's answers that 'all Muslims will go to hell,' will understand that Christian Fundamentalists don't speak for all Christians.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

So the group has a website. So what?

I'm trying a little PR for Christianity so that those offended by some people's answers that 'all Muslims will go to hell,' will understand that Christian Fundamentalists don't speak for all Christians.

Well, maybe whoever wrote that ALL muslims go to hell is trying to make issues. Why would you think Christian Fundamentalists said that? 2 of us for sure on here are Christian Fundamentalist and neither of us voted like that. I didnt do that, My vote was that The Time is SOON for Apocalypse. No one on here stated that they voted about all muslims going to hell, so who are you trying to convince of your beliefs?

Edited November 13, 2008 by TamaraLovesAdam

[Sassy1natl 0]

Nice to know that I am completely liberal 360 degrees....lol

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So the group has a website. So what?

I'm trying a little PR for Christianity so that those offended by some people's answers that 'all Muslims will go to hell,' will understand that Christian Fundamentalists don't speak for all Christians.

Well, maybe whoever wrote that ALL muslims go to hell is trying to make issues. Why would you think Christian Fundamentalists said that? 2 of us for sure on here are Christian Fundamentalist and neither of us voted like that. I didnt do that, My vote was that The Time is SOON for Apocalypse. No one on here stated that they voted about all muslims going to hell, so who are you trying to convince of your beliefs?

You believe in Universal Salvation?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

From Wikipedia:

Universal reconciliation, also called universal salvation or sometimes simply universalism, is the Christian doctrine or belief that all will receive salvation due to the love and mercy of God.

...

The belief in the eventual salvation of all humankind has been a topic of debate throughout the history of the Christian faith ... Today, most Christian denominations reject the doctrine of universal reconciliation.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

From Wikipedia:

Universal reconciliation, also called universal salvation or sometimes simply universalism, is the Christian doctrine or belief that all will receive salvation due to the love and mercy of God.

...

The belief in the eventual salvation of all humankind has been a topic of debate throughout the history of the Christian faith ... Today, most Christian denominations reject the doctrine of universal reconciliation.

...maybe I am a loner renegade.

To me, the idea of God who sends people to a fiery pit for eternity just seems too simplistic and it really contradicts the notion of God loving us unconditionally. I know some Christians would say then there isn't any incentive to do good, but that too seems like a simplistic understanding of morality. Do we not commit murder because we'll be punished or because we believe it to be wrong?

Edited November 13, 2008 by Mister Fancypants

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Christian Religion vs True Relationship

Please understand, I'm not selling "Christian religion" here. If anything, I still believe "religion" has kept more people from God than anything else in history.

Actually, I've discovered that true Christianity isn't a Christian religion at all - it's discovering and establishing a relationship with God. It's trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross for you and me,1 not on what we can do for ourselves.2

"True Christianity" isn't about "organized religion." It's not about hierarchical structures, ornate buildings, flamboyant preachers, or traditional rules and rituals. In fact, let's just drop the "Christianity" label all together. Simply, it's pursuing and reconciling three basic questions of life:

Does God exist? If so, what am I going to do about it?

Is the Bible true? If so, what does that mean for me?

Who is Jesus? If he is who he claims to be, how will this reality change my life?

Again, it's not about the so-called "Christian religion" at all...

It's not about the man-made machine we know today as "Christianity"...

It's all about Jesus.

He's either the Son of God who offers the only true hope for the world, or he's not.

Done.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Is the Bible true? If so, what does that mean for me?

That's the heart of why there is such a wide array of different beliefs among Christians. For one, truth and fact are not interchangeable. So when you say that you believe in the Apocalypse, you are basing it on one interpretation of the Book of Revelations. Interpreting what truths are in the Bible isn't always an easy thing and the Bible is not the only source for truth. Buddha spoke of many truths, same with Mohammad. There are many universal truths about our humanity that aren't necessarily expressed in the Bible.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Its not just about the book of Revelations Steven.

End Times - In the Words of Jesus Himself

The End Times: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:6-8; Mark 13:7-8 NIV).

Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21:10-11 NIV).

End Times - A Record of Recent Earthquakes in the 90's

Signs of the "End Times" are all around us. Just check out a chronology of major earthquakes over the last ten years:

December 12, 1992 - Indonesia - A quake measuring 6.8 killed at least 2,200 people throughout an eastern section of islands.

September 30, 1993 - India - A string of quakes killed almost 10,000 people in western and southern India. The largest quake measured 6.4.

June 6, 1994 - Columbia - A quake and resultant mudslides killed about 1,000 people in the Paez River valley in southwestern Colombia.

January 17, 1995 - Japan - A quake measuring 7.2 killed 6,430 people in Kobe.

May 28, 1995 - Russia - An earthquake measuring 7.5, Russia's largest on record, killed 1,989 people in the eastern portion of the country.

February 28, 1997 - Iran - A quake measuring 5.5 killed about 1,000 people in northern Iran.

May 10, 1997 - Iran - A quake measuring 7.1 killed 1,560 people in eastern Iran near the Afghan border.

February 4, 1998 - Afghanistan - A quake measuring 6.1 killed at least 4,500 people in the Takhar province.

May 30, 1998 - Afghanistan - A quake measuring 6.9 killed about 4,000 people in the Takhar province.

July 17, 1998 - Papua New Guinea - An under-sea quake measuring 7.1 created three tidal waves, which killed approximately 2,100 people.

January 25, 1999 - Columbia - A quake measuring 6.3 killed about 1,170 people in the central region.

August 17, 1999 - Turkey - At least 17,800 people were killed by a 7.4 quake.

September 21, 1999 - Taiwan - A quake measuring 7.6 killed at least 2,000 people in central Taiwan.

End Times - 21st century Earthquakes

January 26, 2001 - India - An monster earthquake measuring 7.7 struck the western state of Gujarat and neighboring Pakistan, killing at least 19,700 people.

March 26, 2002 - Afghanistan - At least 1,800 people were killed when a series of earthquakes struck northern Afghanistan and destroyed the district capital of Nahrin.

June 22, 2002 - Iran - A quake measuring a 6 killed at least 500 people in northwestern Iran.

February 24, 2003 - China - A magnitude 6.3+ earthquake killed at least 266 people in western China.

May 1, 2003 - Turkey - A 6.4 quake killed 167 people in southwestern Turkey.

December 26, 2003 - Iran - A massive earthquake killed more than 30,000 people in Bam, Iran.

December 26, 2004 – Off the coast of Northern Sumatra – A 9.0 underwater earthquake devastated the Indian Ocean region with tsunamis that killed over 283,000 people.

October 8, 2005 – Kashmir – A 7.6-7.8 earthquake killed between 100,000 and 150,000 people. Many more people are still homeless.

May 26, 2006 – Java, Indonesia – A 6.3 earthquake killed over 6,000 people and seriously injured another 33,000. More than 200,000 are homeless.

End Times - We Knew It Was Coming

The End Times: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV). But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10 NIV).

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Revelations does state that lukewarm christians will go to hell. Why wasn't that on the list? Muslims are the ONLY people on earth who pray regularly, fast regularly, dress and act modestly, refrain from drinking/drugs/harmful substances, you know, all the stuff that the Bible instructs people to do but somehow that hard stuff falls through the cracks? Why pick Muslims out as being hell-bound? Could that be a sign of the hardship and persecution of the last true followers of the true God in the last days as stated in the book? Just throwing some thoughts out here.

err, that's y'all protestant christians.. there's no problem with catholics and booze

Jesus drank wine

Saludos,

Caro

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Its not just about the book of Revelations Steven.

End Times - In the Words of Jesus Himself

The End Times: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:6-8; Mark 13:7-8 NIV).

Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21:10-11 NIV).

Well for one, the authors of the Gospel used their own artistic license when the wrote what they did. That isn't to say that none of what they state as Jesus wasn't accurate, but the did embellish. Secondly, the Lord's Prayer also says, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Just from logical point of view (setting aside any biblical interpretations) - it doesn't make any sense that God would destroy the earth. The Hebrews were not scientists - when a natural catastrophe happened, they thought it was God's Hand doing the work.

I don't know if you read that interpretation that I posted earlier, but it's pretty logical to see just what the Book of Revelations was referring to - the Beast being Nero, etc. People have been fearing the end of the world for centuries - thoroughly convinced that events like WWII were signs that it was near. I think the negative consequence of doomsday believing is that people are less inclined to worry about long term solutions, not just in terms of the environment, but also things like world peace.

Edited November 13, 2008 by Mister Fancypants

[jundp 191]

1. Yes I believe in an Apocalypse

2. Yes, I believe Jesus will return one day

3. I am Catholic and I do not believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, but I have read and studied it and continue to do so

4. I attend Mass regularly and am involved in my parish in many ways

[PlatyPius 5]

Ever since the bible was written and read to people, they have believed that the end times were upon them. The year 1000 (or 1001, depending on who was doing the prophesying) was OBVIOUSLY the end of the world. Then there was a series of events that followed the outline in revelations. Then there was another series of events. Then another. Still no end of the world. More predictions, more xians walking around saying that the world was ending soon. In 2000 they said that there was no doubt - this was IT. World hasn't ended yet. Guess what. World isn't going to end as predicted in revelations. It's all a load of hooey. I'd hate to live my life constantly thinking that the world is going to end soon, that I have a bunch of rules to obey or I'll burn for all eternity, etc. I prefer my method, which is to live my life a certain way because it is 'right'; not because some invisible dude in the sky says so. I don't fear the end of the world, I don't fear "hell". I just fear fanatics.