Comments for Avoiding Evil

Comment on Boundaries in Christian Relationships by Sunny Chen

Sunny Chen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:44:20 +0000

Thank you so much for sharing your thought, I agree with your point as well. Recently I have met two brother and sister, they are having issue to set-up boundaries at work and turned out to get into more troubles with their managers/coworkers later ( not mention they have been blamed for things wrongfully ). I tried to share my thoughts that I don’t think “keep quiet when they have been wrongfully accused” or “keep doing things freely for everybody” is the right Christian attitude ( that’s not what I understand from Jesus’s teaching ), but they said I am not “Christian” enough and they also said as Christian, we should continue to suffer, this is the teaching from Jesus. I found out this is pretty common for most of the brothers/sisters I have known and I have no enough wisdom to point out what’s wrong in the picture. Thank you very much for your sharing, I pray to God to give everybody wisdom to understand Jesus’s real teaching.

Comment on How Should Christians View Halloween? by Clark

Clark — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:05:49 +0000

I feel like Halloween has been taken away from us. My family home was pretty strict when I was a kid, but Halloween and trick-or-treating were things we were allowed to do. I even remember a church sponsered haunted house. The Christian climate changed toward Halloween sometime during the 80′s, as evangelicals equated it to Satanism.

It’s true that the roots of Halloween were in pagan practice; but what about Easter and Christmas? I’m not saying we do away with those traditions, but Christians need to know where they came from. More (perhaps too much more) here: http://wp.me/pfpoV-q3

Comment on Does God REALLY Forget Our Sins? by David

David — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:48:56 +0000

God didn’t create evil or sin. Cold doesn’t exist. According to the laws of physics what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Darkness doesn’t exist either. Light can be studied but not darkness. Evil doesn’t exist either it is just like darkness and cold. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when a man does not have God’s love present in his heart. Sin is a result of Man’s disobedience. nothing else. God is faithful to forgive us of sin because he said he would.

Comment on Is Judaism different from Paganism? by Kevin M. Crowder

Kevin M. Crowder — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:44:13 +0000

Ty,

You have hit on the quintessential dichotomy of Christianity. Yet you are not the first. The beloved apostle in his first epistle desires us to wrangle with this very aspect of Christianity. If we sin we are not in Christ…If we are in Christ we will not sin…yet we sin…and he writes this why? So that we may have complete joy, so that we may not sin, so that we might have eternal life.

Here is my take. We are commanded to Love God but it impossible to love God. We are commanded to not sin–being in Christ. Yet we sin (at least I do; even in my Bible bubble in Seminary). The end game is that I draw closer to him daily, needing Him daily, praising Him daily. His wrath does not scare me for there is now therefore no condemnation… But my lack of love for Him shames me. Why do I sin? Because I love my sin more than I love Him.

Even the apostles ran in the sight of danger. They physically walked with the Lord. I run at even less. Oh that He would pour divine wrath on my to keep me close to His side should be my prayer.

Lastly, sin have a divine purpose. I trust you do not think that sin is just an irritation that annoys God and one day He will do away with it. He hates sin of course. But He allows it to draw us closer to Him.

The dichotomies are real. Learn to live with them. Learn to embrace them.

The answer to many of your complex questions above is simply YES (with a great big grin)

Comment on Is Judaism different from Paganism? by Ty

Ty — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:40:41 +0000

K,
You say our G-D desires and demands obediance from us and; you say that in fact He demands our all. Knowing this, you admit you are still not perfect and have daily transgressions, which is pefectly understandable since you are only human. But with that said, my previous statement implies that we will always mess up and it is such a casual occurance that we can expect such a behavior from our fellow neighbors. My point is perhaps the bar was set too high and if this is a known fact why would such behavior anger the All-Knowing G-D, especially since He was going to provide atonement anyways Himself. This resembles a “there is no hero without the villain” scenario. We would not need a Saviour if He was not a jealous G-D who is angered by our slip ups. I wanted to avoid the Saviour in this discussion because my questions concerning Him and His nature are numerous and I just want to clear up my previous question of how can our perfect G-D get angry at us and threaten to severely punish us when He Himself knows we cannot live up to His expectations. His wrath scares us into obedience, it just seems like a characteristic we would see in a bad parent who then later glorifies themselves claiming they are so good because they put food on the table or did something else that they are supposed to do in the first place. We, as His children, cannot be held responsible for not being perfect and so I think His anger cannot be justified, and His anger leading to His wrath is further unjustified. Who would get angry and beat a child who didn’t know any better? not a perfect parent but rather an average human parent who just lost their temper and regretted it later. So once again I’m lost as to how can our G-D, the single perfect existance our minds can barely grasp, get jealous, angry, and even wrathful?

Comment on Is Judaism different from Paganism? by Kevin M. Crowder

Kevin M. Crowder — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:34:39 +0000

Ty,

Our God is a jealous God not because He fears possible competition but because He desires and demands obedience from His people. When we do things (or do not do things) which excite His jealousy we envoke His wrath and anger. This is a good thing for it reveals His holy righteousness and power over sin. Who would not want to serve a jealous God? Oprah? I find comfort in a God who desires and demands my ALL. I find comfort in a God who is angered to wrath over sin. I find comfort in a God who provides atonement in the death of His very Son for my sins so that I might even have the possiblility of of not making Him jealous and angry–something I am unable to do of my own accord–for I daily, even with my salvation, offend a righteous and holy God.

Comment on Is Judaism different from Paganism? by Ty

Ty — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:25:01 +0000

Pressed:One point you made in your arguement was that the G-D of the Israelites is not another pagan deity because He does not have have petty and weak human-like qualities. You say pagan gods are clearly created by man because they have these characteristics and they have a history that includes wars btwn good/evil and bearing children who are gods just like their parents. So I ask, isn’t our G-D, the HOLY ONE of Israel, a jealous G-D? and angry at times? Getting angry at something that is below you and jealous at what it has created (as possible competition for you) seems truly like a person whom we would refer to as an idiot. My beliefs are very similar to yours Pressed and to say the least I am impressed with your site so I am asking for your opinion as to how could our G-D, the single perfect existance our minds can barely grasp, even for a second appear in such a different light?

Any opinions/ideas from any or all are appreciated
Ty.

Comment on Transformed Church (Part 2) by Avoiding Evil » Blog Archive » The Transformed Church (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

Avoiding Evil » Blog Archive » The Transformed Church (1 Timothy 1:12-17) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:58:03 +0000

[...] View previous posts: 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 1 Timothy1:3-11 [...]

Comment on Transformed Church (Part 3) by RevKev

RevKev — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:18:25 +0000

You mean Paul prefered for Elders and Pastors to study and preach the Word over attending sporting events and fill in for the Wal-Mart greeter???

I thought it was Paul who said “I will be all things to all people and do all things for all people so that by all possible means, I might burn out.”

-k

PS: I am really enjoying this series of yours.

Comment on Transformed Church (Part 2) by Pressed

Pressed — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:58:36 +0000

Mmmmm. In retrospect that statement should have been clarified a little better. “The Gospel” was probably not the right word to use there since I meant it more as a statement of hindering the work and function of the church. As you pointed out it would indeed hinder the blessings that come from obedience to God and rightfully handling or living the Word of Truth.

Paul’s message about the speculating member is that they are misguided by false doctrine and as you say that is where there must be some encouragement in study and understanding of the Scripture.

I would never suggest that dialogues over biblical issues are not productive. I think having the dialogue is important so that we can come to an understanding of the text. However, to dialogue or even argue over things that are not biblical or things that come about because of faulty theology is unproductive. False teaching that leads to speculation and vain discussions must be corrected with the Word of Truth. That is where the fruitful dialogue will take place. That was the point I was attempting to make anyway.