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Meaning, I take it, that you cannot CALL someone who's a non-Christian--defined as rejecting the Trinity and/or the Nicene Creed--by that term, that's all.
I prefer Pagan anyway.
Certainly. Not much before the first books of the NT were written, but still before, And some of the NT wasn't written until close to the end of the first century AD.
From everything we know from history, yes. And certainly also from what the NT relays to us on its own pages, after that part...
What about them?
Christ gave them a certain degree of authority. But the Christian community cast additional authority upon them, not surprisingly, because they had known the Savior personally.
That being the case, it is understandable that believers in the first century considered the...
No, I don't think they're pointless; and I do think the problem has probably been on the increase in recent years, considering how our elders and civic leaders have taken to calling each other by the most terrible names and terms.
But at the same time, is a commitment to reduce bullying the...
Jason, this is a "snoopy" question, but you list yourself as a Unitarian and yet your posts sound like they were written by a generally conservative (and concerned) Christian. This is confusing.
So.....your own family and the whole of the Christian population of the USA are one and the same?
No. Of course, that cannot be argued.
That said, I appreciate one element of the point you are trying to make--that the church and its people ought to show a higher commitment to a moral...
"Mirrors?" I think that needs a more precise term or explanation if we are to appreciate what your thinking on this matter actually is.
If you mean that Christians get as many divorces per capita as non-religious persons, I doubt that very much. And, as I was saying before, the Christian...
Secular values have steadily gained ground in America. That applies to divorce just as well as it does to abortion, drug use, disrespect for law and order, intemperate speech, dirty politics, and more in that vein.
The more that traditional values are 'dissed'--and that trend be enshrined in...
Some Christians, I think you mean.
I personally know many Christians who very quietly go about doing simply wonderful charitable work and do it for the love of God and in the manner taught by Christ. I would suppose that you know such people yourself.
Was the Holocaust a project launched by...
That would be the reason we have different Christian denominations, I suppose. ;)
But although it is possible to string together a number of apparent similarities, that doesn't make for a very solid case when asserting as true such a theory as this one. And that's especially noteworthy when it...
None of that which you've referred to implies that any essential doctrine is to be based upon church custom if it's without Biblical support.
Yes, we all know that the Apostles were critically important to the spread of the faith, that the church of Christ is the vehicle by which the...
The idea of having none at all be lit is something that normally is done for Good Friday services in the liturgical churches, but otherwise we have two lighted candles ("lights") on the altar for services with Holy Communion.
Some churches that favor more ceremony have six lights in addition to...
That would be the view most often associated with the Catholic Church, yes.
Could be.
Or it could simply be said in the sense of "Look at her. She is in need of your support."
:)
The first of those is simply the accumulated customs, etc. of a society, but speaking theologically, there is...
Ah, then I will bear that in mind. Thanks.
You know, it's sometimes tricky to know what is motivating one of the newer posters. Is he actually seeking answers about matters he doesn't understand? Is he instead setting the rest of us up for some sort of putdown? Or maybe he thinks of himself as...
The two most common "takes" on the matter are these: 1) this statement of Jesus indicates to us that John was Jesus' brother or half-brother, so that he's simply saying "John, you have to step up now. Look after our mother when I'm not here."
The other one holds that 2) Jesus is naming John, a...
Good post, Lanman. I liked it...and I appreciated the earlier one, too.
As I understand what has been posted, you and I both contended that there is something of a case that can be made for the idea of connecting Mary and the Ark, but that it's a stretch.
Also, you pointed out here that a good...
What's the Biblical principle that you see in that verse? Generally, the message there is seen as being limited to the connection between Mary and John (about which there are several different theories). I wouldn't think it would be a good example of a "Biblical principle" that is to be applied...
Making these unwarranted connections is typical of Roman Catholicism, however. In order to justify some of the doctrines that almost no other Christians believe, some 'fast footwork' like this Mary-Ark explanation is needed.
Another example concerns the Assumption of Mary (bodily into heaven)...
If you are not, you're still entitled to believe almost anything you want concerning this issue.
However, you asked the question without also asking what any one particular church or one particular poster here on the forums thinks about the matter, so referring you to the answer that is the...