Am new to this forum. I am a Christian seeker that just stopped my RCIA (Right of Christian Initiation for Adults in Catholicism) classes because of serious problems with the teachings of Hell.
I support your decision. Seek the Lord in the scriptures, through prayer, ask for His infilling and to lead you - not men's traditions and rules. You'll find much good information here, but still, sort through it all prayerfully and under guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It's not by man's edict, but "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" Romans 10:9
James.
:cloud9: Welcome....... :thumbsup:
I was almost at the point of despair - that most people will be damned if we don't have the right amount or kind of faith and good deeds or slip up one day and die in our sins. And even if we did "make it" to heaven ... what about all the tortured souls who will never have a second chance? Horrible to think that we would think of God as less merciful than a typical man. In our prisons we give sentence to fit the crime, and we are evil men!
Matthew 7:11 (New King James Version)
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Thanks for the welcome everyone.
P.S. I am realizing that most churches ( Catholic or Protestant) believe in hell so I would feel like a hypocrite to still attend a church while not believing this. At the same time, I feel isolated in my faith. Do any of you attend a regular church for fellowship? :dontknow:
Quote from: Werner on November 19, 2009, 07:02:35 AM
I was almost at the point of despair - that most people will be damned if we don't have the right amount or kind of faith and good deeds or slip up one day and die in our sins. And even if we did "make it" to heaven ... what about all the tortured souls who will never have a second chance? Horrible to think that we would think of God as less merciful than a typical man. In our prisons we give sentence to fit the crime, and we are evil men!
Matthew 7:11 (New King James Version)
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Thanks for the welcome everyone.
P.S. I am realizing that most churches ( Catholic or Protestant) believe in hell so I would feel like a hypocrite to still attend a church while not believing this. At the same time, I feel isolated in my faith. Do any of you attend a regular church for fellowship? :dontknow:
Welcome, brother. So good to have you. You were rightly troubled, obviously because God has given you a soft heart! I'm so thankful each time I come here and see someone new who was truly troubled about the fate of people other than themselves! Bless you. You are in for a lot of joy!
To answer your question, I personally had to stop attending church back in 2001 after I came to the understanding of God's wonderful plan for all people. Because, as you have said, I would have to ACT like a hypocrite in order to attend any of the traditional churches in my area, and I just cannot do that.
Peace!
Anne
Welcome Werner :bgdance:
Hi Werner,
I am fairly new here too. Welcome!
I have stopped attending church as well. I cannot find anyone around here who doesn't think I am completely nuts for believing in UR (or worse, an antichrist even!). I just can't bear to go... most of the teachings center around eternal hell and it makes my blood boil! It's sad that many "non -Christians" are much more caring and accepting than "Christians" when Christians are the ones who are supposed to be preaching love and hope! But it just shows that as a man thinks, so he becomes. (Most men will burn in hell for eternity=an uncaring spirit...).
Anyway, welcome, everyone here is very caring and I am sure you will feel like you are home here. :HeartThrob:
:cloud9: I don't attend anywhere; haven't for years, except as He leads occasionally for His purposes. I would like to point out that the OT Jews who are part of the types and shadows we can glean wisdom from, kept their sons being instructed by mother UNTIL the son reached age 6 and then he was given to the FATHER to learn the law/Word.
This is where we develop a closer relationship with HIM, and learn to really appreciate each one He brings into our lives, ie. those that do the will of my Father are my brethren. Welcome to the family. Blessings..... :girlheart:
Hi And Welcome Werner :icon_flower:
:icon_flower:
:welcome: to the Tent :hihat:
Take some time to review the many good articles on the main site! :thumbsup:
http://www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html
Paul
Welcome Werner! So glad to have you here! :happy3: :HeartThrob:
Personally, I've never attended church in the first place so I really don't know what I'm missing (or what I'm not missing.) But there are plenty of folks who believe in UR who still attend a building church. I see nothing wrong with it, as long as it doesn't start to bog you down and steal your peace. If you just remember that we're all on the path back home, folks are at different spots on the path, some are just in a great amount of darkness in regards to the true character of God. But...every knee will bow. All hearts will eventually finally be rid of all darkness, ignorance, etc. He will be ALL in ALL! :HeartThrob:
In the meantime, you have a lot of new friends here to talk with! And... sometimes, it's a little easier to lay it all out on the line and get your thoughts out about things with people online than it is with people close to you. That can be very helpful. Take advantage of that.
Peace to you bro, and welcome!!
:HeartThrob:,
sparrow
Hi Werner
And Welcome :icon_flower: NASB 1 CORINTH 3
16Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
metaphphoically the spiritual temple consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by and in Christ
the True church is much bigger than any one place can hold :thumbsup:
when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name Jesus Christ is with them :HeartThrob:
Again welcome Brother
willieH: Hi Werner... :welcome: to Tentmaker!
I spent approximately 25yrs in the "church" thing... (20 w/Salvation Army & 5 w/7th Day Adventists)...
Church is whenever 2 or more are gathered in His name... for He is there in the midst...
I welcome you new brother, and along with the many articles on Tentmaker -- J. Preston Eby as well as L. Ray Smith & Elwin Roach -- have much insight to offer:
Eby -- http://www.godfire.net/eby/
Smith -- http://bible-truths.com/
Roach -- http://www.godfire.net/index.html
Peace...
...willieH :cloud9: