The Circus Man
I WAS educated in the strictest So-called "orthodox faith." When I was from ten to fourteen years of age, I attended prayer meetings where I could almost feel the burning waves and smell the sulphurous fumes. I remember the shrieks and groans of suffering children and parents and even aged grandparents. I would return to my home and with the utmost sincerity ask God to take me out of the world if He would only Save me from hell. I professed to love God, Said I hoped I loved Him as I heard my elders do. Necessarily before this seething sulphurous sea of flame my love must have been similar to the love a woman would feel to a tyrant who with a loaded pistol pointed at her heart bade her love him or die. I grew to know that true love cannot be forced. We cannot love the unlovely. "We love Him because He first loved us."
In speaking of my Universalist faith I shall not stop to defend those basal beliefs on which it rests in common with all other Christian doctrines. I shall assume, without giving my reasons, the being of God, the authority of Jesus, the truth of the trend of Scripture, and the immortality of all Souls. I shall speak chiefly on only those points which differentiate mine from other Christian sects. I can make no argument for a universe finally obedient which will have any force to one who denies the being of God. An argument for endless discord can be made which all atheists would accept : indeed, all modern arguments for that idea play into the hands of atheists.
These arguments assert a God who either cannot, or will not, bring the creation of His hands to order; hence he is not God -not infinite. His name should begin with a small letter. The atheist accepts the argument, and if there is an arch-fiend he certainly laughs. No argument for a finally harmonious universe can be made save on the basis of Christian theism. I do not, indeed, insist that a man must accept my definition or conception of Deity; but some conception which does not rob Him of the necessary attributes of His being. He may say with Arnold, " A power not ourselves which makes for righteousness." Very well; if only Arnold's God continues to make for righteousness, Universalism is assured. If, however, one is able to say with Jesus, "Our Father who art in heaven," the argument is still stronger. To him who believes neither of these ideas of God nor their equivalent, I can make no argument which will avail.
Continued below
http://www.pacificuu.org/publ/univ/writings/barnum_why.html
Quote from: FineLinen on May 13, 2019, 04:31:19 PM
If one is able to say with Jesus, "Our Father who art in heaven,"....
To actually call God our Father is the nutshell of life for me.
Jesus refers to the significance of a father of earth would not give his child a stone to eat.
We are to come before our Father as a child runs to their own dad.
All other rules regulations definitions distract from that statement of who we really are and why we are here to learn for a glorious future, not an oppressive one.
I totally agree Ross , and Finelinen
believing , either everyone is saved or no one is saved !
Being born in the world as bound under the law of sin and death and the fear of failure ,from being slaves mentality
to being sons is a huge leap of faith and working of the Holy Spirit to set us free by the truth , and crossing over from death thinking , to Life thinking can only come from trusting in Jesus Christ completely being your savior .
AS the grace of God has given you some rest and peace and even joy !
To know Him as He is a Loving FATHER ......... 1 John 3 Children of God
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.
And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.
We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure....
Quote from: Ross on May 14, 2019, 02:38:12 AM
Quote from: FineLinen on May 13, 2019, 04:31:19 PM
If one is able to say with Jesus, "Our Father who art in heaven,"....
To actually call God our Father is the nutshell of life for me.
Jesus refers to the significance of a father of earth would not give his child a stone to eat.
We are to come before our Father as a child runs to their own dad.
All other rules regulations definitions distract from that statement of who we really are and why we are here to learn for a glorious future, not an oppressive one.
Amen! :thumbsup:
OP - how cool! Barnum was a CU! I have a print of a photo on our wall which my (dear) mother in law gave to us years ago, of the circus train - Barnum and Bailey's I believe, as it was traveling on a local beautiful stone railroad bridge. Neither here nor there of course, just interesting. To me anyway, lol. It's just we've always liked having it, and feel an affinity with it.. a piece of history I guess..