Dear Foxy

Thank you for you well-considered and gracious response to my question on forgiveness. And also for maintaining your sense of humour even when the subject is one we all know you take very seriously.

You are one special lady!

Now, if only I could get a response from Poly. But as usual, he's disappeared and started another thread!

Bronwyn I didn’t mean to accuse or condemn anyone.

Scripture fills in regarding “ sin” and “forgiveness”, so while this message was addressed to RObert, it was pointed at Christians (the offenders here, right?).

From the reaction on this forum to Christian contributors, these concepts are alienating to anyone who does not believe the bible to be the word of God.

My point was this: it is the message which is unpopular and rejected, therefore all Christians have a responsibility to get it right.

I can’t even accept the concept of “damn us all….to eternal hellfire” as being biblical, or more relevantly, put myself in the position of doing the damning.

Hell was a literal place on earth, where the Israelites set up altars to “idols” or other Gods, and followed the practice of child sacrifice by burning children alive.

While Hell is mentioned in the NT (12 times), it is used to evoke an image of this consuming fire, the fire of Gehenna (the Valley of Hinnom). It is used as a metaphor for God’s judgement.

Hollywood movies, medieval art etc. and the apocalyptic zeitgeist of the 21st Century, are responsible for the vision of hellfire which you evoke here.

Again, the idea of God’s judgement sits uncomfortably with (well, most of us!) but especially those who reject the claims of the bible: ie. that God’s sovereignty over his kingdom brings us all under His judgement and authority (whether you believe in Him, or not).

RObert, I really don’t agree with everything brothers Gibo and Runner say. I have confronted Gibo’s eschatological zeal before. I believe some of the conclusions drawn are creatively rather than accurately correlating biblical prophecy and contemporary events. I am open to some of those events having already occurred, historically.

I don’t disagree with the underlying assumption: that God’s judgement will be brought to bear, so I usually don’t feel compelled to hold them accountable.

I can’t promise to trawl through all those previous posts although I’ll scrutinize future posts vigilantly– the only inspired word is the word of God, after all.

Come on,moderator!

What has all this got to do with the saying of the Lord's Prayer in Parliament?

"with all this talk about MARSHMALLOWS et al. No other website would allow such aberrations. Waffle.That is all it is."

Great idea, socratease! waffles would go really well with marshmallows.

Haaa hahahaha.

Waffles as well! This is shaping up to be a real hoot of a party for all us unbelievers!

Hell,A! lol. Well, I think what is hell, is what man puts his mind through thinking about if one exists or not.

Heaven! Is this a place where we dip crackers in philadelphia cream cheese, work for ten minutes, and have the rest of the day off, is paradise? works for me.lol.

And if hell is the case, MAN! it must be packed by now.

I would love know how an entity burns, that would be a very clever trick. No nervous system etc.

People have the right to believe in what ever they like, but what if polycarp is right!

I guess its cream-cheese again!

No heart disease, no rock and roll, being crap scared if you make a mistake, no sex,lol, and its all white!

I,d better bring my sun-glasses.

I,m glad everyone's takes what they say with a pinch of salt, cause if religious people are right, they just might have the last laugh.

Lets not be too quick to judge.

Hindu! I,m coming back as a tree!lol Ploy! Please make sure those dog owners have there pets on a leash.

You people are the greatest! This thread is a winner, if you take it the right way. I still haven't stopped lol.

EVO is going now! all look after yourselves and love everyone and everything, cause we only have one planet, and i,m sure on line opinions quality debates will continue with the greatness you have all made it.
Thank-you, and may your god be with you.

EVO