05-30-2016, 07:06 AM
(05-30-2016, 01:02 AM)Eric the Green Wrote:(05-28-2016, 11:22 PM)radind Wrote: I realize that you are unlikely to accept the barna.org results. The key issue to me is how many have a Biblical worldview.....No, I can't. To me, any member of an evangelical religion, or any loyal and church-going traditional-believing Catholic, has a Biblical worldview. The Barna survey defines it as a very specific, lengthy, and quite superstitious list of outrageous beliefs which they attribute to the Bible. No, that's not a basis for such an assessment.
Quote:I don't belong to or follow any large Christian organization and do not recognize any 'Church' authority except for my local congregation.As I hear your views on some of these religious and "moral" subjects, they are views that can only be the result of belief in traditional teachings as given by Church authority, whether local OR organization-wide. I mean, geez; you seem to accept the Barna interpretation of things, and he says, "Christian families, Christian schools, and Christian churches would be wise to invest more effort and tangible resources into helping young people understand and adopt the core ideas of Christianity..." If that isn't "recognizing Church authority" I dunno what is.
I believe that each person is accountable for his or her views, so I absolutely disagree with your assessment of my views. I think that the large organizations( 'Churches') actually are responsible for most of the problems attributed to Christianity.
Of course, it is every individual's decision whether to believe these things, or generally what spiritual convictions to have. So in that sense, I don't doubt that you have decided what your views are, and take responsibility for them. They are not, however, and as I see it, what Jesus really taught at all. The New Age/New Thought interpretation is correct, as I see it. And I take responsibility for my view on that
But I doubt you can question that the golden rule is Biblical, or that my interpretation of what the resurrection means is true.
Quote:Our points of view ( worldviews) are so different that we are unlikely to agree on much.
Not on some of these sorts of subjects. I find them unfathomable, and you did not try to justify them here, as I challenged you to do. It's a different culture that we come from; a different part of the country too. But, I'm sure I agree with you on some other subjects, as we have in fact.
I posted a few sites just to make the point that there are other points of view( not all from red states) and did not expect agreement. The reason that I reference barn.org is that they do surveys and their definition is OK ( I don’t agree 100%, but the key is the surveys that barna conducts).
This type discussion is best done in person and I this we have exhausted any value for this forum. Probably better to move to private messages or abandon discussion.
I will conclude with the following.
Quote:John 3:16
… "This famous vs. 16, which Luther called "the gospel in miniature," is not content with declaring the measure of the divine love; it asserts its outcome on the plane of history. Yet the result of the Incarnation is not an arbitrary fiat in the sphere of redemption. It confronts men with a moral dilemma. Faced with the alternatives, life or perdition, man has himself the responsibility of the choice that determines his destiny. Faith is the activity of the whole personality. It is not merely intellectual but moral in its nature. The antithesis to faith is not doubt but disobedience (vs. 36). God's purpose in the mission of his Son is not to condemn but to save (vs. 17); yet the reaction of men to this revelation of light determines their end (vs. 18), for it is a man's essential character that is brought under judgment (vs. 19). The test of that character is its attitude to light. The doer of worthless actions dreads and avoids the light for fear of exposure (vs. 20). He who does what is true—an O.T. expression, meaning to act with regard to reality rather than to pretense and display (cf. I John 1:6)—welcomes the light for the opportunity of proving that his deeds have been prompted and empowered by God (vs. 21; cf. Eph. 5:13;…)”…
Interpreter's Bible, The - Exegesis -
Suggested Christian sources if anyone is interested:
Ravi Zacharias, John Lennox, William Lane Craig
http://www.rzim.eu/biography-john-lennox
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/william-lane-craig
Why Belief in God is a Rational Position
http://straighttalkwithclaudiak.com/why-...-position/
Why Belief in God is a Rational Position
… "The Kalam Cosmological Argument was started by a medieval Christian named Philoponus and was developed by Muslims. Apologists and philosophers William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland made it popular.”…
… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil 4:8 (ESV)