Has religion served its purpose?

@rajk999 said
I dismiss you not scripture.

..

Except when scripture is quoted to you, in order to avoid dealing with the conflict your views have with scriptures you go after the one pointing them out to you. You never deal with the conflicts instead you dismiss the person avoiding the only thing that matters which is you do not believe scriptures as they are only as you want them to be.

@kellyjay said
Except when scripture is quoted to you, in order to avoid dealing with the conflict your views have with scriptures you go after the one pointing them out to you. You never deal with the conflicts instead you dismiss the person avoiding the only thing that matters which is you do not believe scriptures as they are only as you want them to be.

Blah Blah blah ... you church people are preachers of dead faith, only full of mouth worship, discouraging people from living righteously. You will reap what you sow.

@rajk999 said
Blah Blah blah ... you church people are preachers of dead faith, only full of mouth worship, discouraging people from living righteously. You will reap what you sow.

I'm not the one who has God making us work for our salvation, getting justified by Jesus and thrown into hell anyway; that would be you. I'm the one simply saying that the scriptures as written has God offering us salvation through Jesus Christ is God's gift to us by grace through faith. We live by giving our lives to Him, laying down our lives, picking up our crosses, and following Him. You have God as a taskmaster, not as a savior who bled and died so we could be redeemed; your pathetic gospel has a redeeming savior throwing the justified into hell after he justifies them.

@kellyjay said
You have God as a taskmaster, not as a savior who bled and died so we could be redeemed; your pathetic gospel has a redeeming savior throwing the justified into hell after he justifies them.

If you were to lose your faith completely in - say - the last year of your life, according to your beliefs now, do you believe you would no longer be "justified" and would be "thrown into hell" after your death?

@fmf said
If you were to lose your faith completely in - say - the last year of your life, according to your beliefs now, do you believe you would no longer be "justified" and would be "thrown into hell" after your death?

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; if I choose sin over Christ, I'm not abiding in Him. If it were all just me, I'd say I could walk away, but He is real, He is the good Shepherd, I'm in good hands. If I put something before Him, that would be a real danger. As it is, my life is His, and everything I have is too, as it all comes from Him, even the very air I breathe; if He chooses to take me home, that is fine, but nothing in this life is worth more to me than Him being in my life. I know what it is to go through great wins and major losses; through it all, He is faithful.

@kellyjay said
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; if I choose sin over Christ, I'm not abiding in Him. If it were all just me, I'd say I could walk away, but He is real, He is the good Shepherd, I'm in good hands. If I put something before Him, that would be a real danger. As it is, my life is His, and everything I have is too, as it all comes from Him, even the very air ...[text shortened]... y life. I know what it is to go through great wins and major losses; through it all, He is faithful.

What you have said is very generic. But I asked a very specific question. I'd be interested in your specific answer.

@fmf said
What you have said is very generic. But I asked a very specific question. I'd be interested in your specific answer.

If I were to turn my back on Christ, what in this universe is more important for that to occur, what possible reason? If my faith is based upon having a good life and something went south, then my faith wouldn't be in Christ; it would be in my happiness. Like I told you, if there is anything before Him in my life, that could happen; sure, I could walk away because something disappointed me.

You got a specific answer to your question if I were to treat Him as a genie and I didn't like something that occurred, then that something was more important than my walk with Him. If I were to treat Him as a genie and demand He gives me what I want; I would deserve to lose my salvation instead of walking out my faith.

@kellyjay said
You got a specific answer to your question if I were to treat Him as a genie and I didn't like something that occurred, then that something was more important than my walk with Him. If I were to treat Him as a genie and demand He gives me what I want; I would deserve to lose my salvation instead of walking out my faith.

I said nothing about treating him like a "genie in a bottle" or "demanding what you want" from him. I asked you about loss of faith. So you believe you would no longer be "justified". And you believe you would be "thrown into hell" after your death?

@fmf said
I said nothing about treating him like a "genie in a bottle" or "demanding what you want" from him. I asked you about loss of faith. So you believe you would no longer be "justified". And you believe you would be "thrown into hell" after your death?

What could happen that could do that? Give me an example where anything common to man that could happen to anyone who has walked with the Lord where they would if they were walking with Him cause them to turn away!

@kellyjay said
If I were to treat Him as a genie and demand He gives me what I want; I would deserve to lose my salvation instead of walking out my faith.

This part of your answer suggests that you don't understand my question. I am talking about loss of faith. If you came to believe God is "a genie in a bottle" and that you could "demand things of him" [i.e. he exists] then you are talking about still having faith while my question was about loss of faith.

@kellyjay said
What could happen that could do that? Give me an example where anything common to man that could happen to anyone who has walked with the Lord where they would if they were walking with Him cause them to turn away!

You've never met a Christian who lost their faith?

@fmf said
This part of your answer suggests that you don't understand my question. I am talking about loss of faith. If you came to believe God is "a genie in a bottle" and that you could "demand things of him" [i.e. he exists] then you are talking about still having faith while my question was about loss of faith.

Loss of faith, you mean all of a sudden I believe God isn't real, or that I don't trust Him because I'm angry with Him? You are not specific here; what exactly are you saying? Suddenly, I disbelieve everything I think is true because some new piece of information I stumble across convinces me God isn't real; what exactly are you asking?

@fmf said
You've never met a Christian who lost their faith?

I have met those that claimed they were but now deny what they once had was ever real because they now say He isn't real, so what they had before wasn't a real relationship, only a possible illusion or something along those lines. Our first conversation covered that.

@kellyjay said
Loss of faith, you mean all of a sudden I believe God isn't real, or that I don't trust Him because I'm angry with Him? You are not specific here; what exactly are you saying? Suddenly, I disbelieve everything I think is true because some new piece of information I stumble across convinces me God isn't real; what exactly are you asking?

Loss of belief that Jesus' identity snd significance was what your fellow Christians think he was. Nothing whatsoever to do with anger.