Administrators Tom Wetmore Posted January 12, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 12, 2014 Wisdom from Aristotle - Quote "Absurdity reigns and confusion makes it look good." "Sinless perfection is such a shallow goal." "I love God only as much as the person I love the least." *Forgiveness is always good news. And that is the gospel truth. (And finally, the ideas expressed above are solely my person views and not that of any organization with which I am associated.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kevin H Posted January 12, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 12, 2014 Cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoAspen Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Wisdom from Aristotle - Is this a fake or a genuine challenge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. T. Cross Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 To bad Aristotle was a pagan philosopher and therefore his teachings are wrought with deception and danger (this post brought to you by the letter S, for tongue in cheek gentle sarcasm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rudywoofs (Pam) Posted January 12, 2014 Members Share Posted January 12, 2014 To bad Aristotle was a pagan philosopher and therefore his teachings are wrought with deception and danger lol.. that's the first thing that came to my mind too!! There was a time on C/A when no quotes of pagans were allowed in one's signature. People grow and understanding develops that God can grant wisdom not only to Christians, but to ALL of His children...even pagans. Quote Pam      Meddle Not In the Affairs of Dragons; for You Are Crunchy and Taste Good with Ketchup. If we all sang the same note in the choir, there'd never be any harmony. Funny, isn't it, how we accept Grace for ourselves and demand justice for others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rudywoofs (Pam) Posted January 12, 2014 Members Share Posted January 12, 2014 I think the quote from Aristotle is right on the money! Quote Pam      Meddle Not In the Affairs of Dragons; for You Are Crunchy and Taste Good with Ketchup. If we all sang the same note in the choir, there'd never be any harmony. Funny, isn't it, how we accept Grace for ourselves and demand justice for others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Are we forced to admit that some of these pagan philosophers might still be having some important influence on the way even Christians think today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted January 12, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 12, 2014 I still have a quote from a pagan in my signature... Which begs me to ask the question- where is truth from? And who owns truth? Of course pagans have truth! They mix it with error and that is what makes the error so deceiving. The gift of God is discernment. Discernment may be one of the gifts of the Spirit, would have to go look that up... Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted January 12, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 12, 2014 Pagan philosophers do have a lot of influence on Christians, but in the wrong way. Take, for example, the idea of the natural, inherent immortality of the soul. That idea is not in the Old Testament but came into Judea when Greek culture entered the area. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. T. Cross Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Which begs me to ask the question- where is truth from? And who owns truth? Of course pagans have truth! They mix it with error and that is what makes the error so deceiving. The gift of God is discernment. Discernment may be one of the gifts of the Spirit, would have to go look that up... In the spirit of discussion and debate....... Do you think that Christians mix truth and error any less? If you stand back and look clearly at Christianity, there are how many different Christian denominations? Within those there are an untold amount of sects, cliques and differing opinions. Would you say Christians have any more discernment than Pagans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted January 12, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 12, 2014 Abraham was influenced by the culture of the area when he took on Hagar as a secondary wife. Jacob's wife Rachel brought her father's idol images with her when moving back from his home to Jacob's homeland. God's people never have been perfect. Even when they had the sanctuary and it's services they still didn't, as a general rule, "get it". By the time Jesus came on the scene they were really devoid of understanding concerning the coming of the Messiah. I have a theory, though, as to how truth unfolds and why some do have understanding and some never seem to get it. The question is, What do you do with God's truth when it IS shown to you? If, say, you learn from the Ten Commandments that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord and instead of rejoicing in that you prefer a man-made commandment to transfer the solemnity of it to Sunday, why should God give you any further understanding? There is a promise (John 7:17?) that he that wants to do the will of the Father shall know of the doctrine. I do believe there is a difference in heart between someone who earnestly desires truth and those who have a stubborn heart. I believe that there are honest followers of God who follow the light they have. Then there are those, like the stiff-necked Israelites of old, who were God's people in name but He couldn't do anything with. So it doesn't surprise me to find snippets of truth in surprising places. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted January 12, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 12, 2014 In the spirit of discussion and debate....... Do you think that Christians mix truth and error any less? If you stand back and look clearly at Christianity, there are how many different Christian denominations? Within those there are an untold amount of sects, cliques and differing opinions. Would you say Christians have any more discernment than Pagans. I addressed that in my subsequent post... :) Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. T. Cross Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Originally Posted By: M. T. Cross In the spirit of discussion and debate....... Do you think that Christians mix truth and error any less? If you stand back and look clearly at Christianity, there are how many different Christian denominations? Within those there are an untold amount of sects, cliques and differing opinions. Would you say Christians have any more discernment than Pagans. I addressed that in my subsequent post... Kinda, yeah. Have to go pick the boy up from work, so will share my thoughts when I get back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 12, 2014 Members Share Posted January 12, 2014 Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 12, 2014 Members Share Posted January 12, 2014 Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Quote: The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly, is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed, until past the point at which those changes cannot be reversed. Adolf Hitler Quote: How many people did Adolf Hitler kill? Answer: Adolf Hitler did not personally kill many, but by authorizing the mass extermination of Jews and other minorities, he caused an estimated 11 million people to be murdered in the horror known as the Holocaust. The casualties from World War II would raise this number considerably, to more than 50 million, and as many as 12 million Germans. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_did_Adolf_Hitler_kill He held one overruling principle to be true, that the human race evolved by natural selection, and secondarily, the Jews were no better than animals and he held them to be no more loss than to kill an animal. "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."Genesis 1:27 NLT "Even so, come Lord Jesus!" God cares! Jesus saves! Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. T. Cross Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Originally Posted By: M. T. Cross In the spirit of discussion and debate....... Do you think that Christians mix truth and error any less? If you stand back and look clearly at Christianity, there are how many different Christian denominations? Within those there are an untold amount of sects, cliques and differing opinions. Would you say Christians have any more discernment than Pagans. I addressed that in my subsequent post... Ok, apologies for not getting back as soon as I thought. Your second post actually brings up a whole different point. Christian truth as THE Truth. This is where I have serious misgivings. The only religions that I know of that claim to have THE truth are the Abrahamic ones. Its a very bold claim and is not really backed up. From what I can find searching the interwebz there are globally: Between 2.1 and 2.2 billion Christians Between 1.3 and 1.6 billion Muslims and Judaism has about 14 million followers. However those 3 groups significantly disagree with each other. Within in their individual belief systems they disagree to the point of slaughter in some cases. I realize of course that there are many, many in each group that are there in name only and really don't sincerely study or practice their faith. But still it begs the question, within each of those groups there are those that sincerely study, pray, and practice their faith. They are positive from their study and prayer that they are practicing THE TRUTH. The one and only truth. So who has it right? Now moving on to other religions outside of the JCI ones. There is a whole lot of them that I know nothing about, so I will stick with the ones I do know about rather than talk out of my backside The religions and traditions of the religious community I am a part of generally never claim to have THE truth. (there may be individual practitcioners that do, but they generally are shot down) As a rule Aristotle's suggestion is followed. Each may claim to have a portion of truth, a truth for that path or tradition, a version of truth. In my religion truth is a big big thing. But to claim that we have THE truth would get you pretty much run out. Its a life long quest to find truth and in the end each will only ever find the truth that is rings true to them, that makes the most sense. Please do not confuse that with the "easiest path" but the one that most inspires and humbles each person. If there is a great universal majestic truth out there, none of us have it. Not the Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindu's, Buddhists, Sheiks, Druids, Gwyddons, Kemetics, Hellenics, Wiccan's, Atheists, or any other group I am missing. But I think that all of them have a piece of the puzzle. I would be willing to bet that if we put all those pieces together there would still be missing ones. So Aristotle's advice is a great thing. If we all put aside our egocentric "MY DOGMA IS BIGGER THAN YOUR DOGMA" and actually listened, we might get somewhere...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators debbym Posted January 13, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 13, 2014 when you hold a person to be the the truth, and this is truth is someone who lived over 2k years ago, who you believe to be a human being who is also divine and human in nature, even omnipotent, your relationship to truth has a different paradigm then a relationship to dogma. Quote deb Love awakens love. Let God be true and every man a liar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. T. Cross Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Absolutely Deb, in each persons personal walk. But the religions are full of dogma. Let me ask you this, are you a follower of Christ first, or are you an SDA first and foremost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators debbym Posted January 13, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 13, 2014 Quote: Let me ask you this, are you a follower of Christ first, or are you an SDA first and foremost? a Christian first and an adventist Christian after. In eternity there will be no Adventists. only those who accepted such love. three passions drove every moment of His life, love for God and man, and desire for His Father to be glorified. there was only one who held his faith, and love and obedience in purity before God and man and that was Jesus. i cannot explain how i have the courage to even say i am a follower of Christ, except that i have a vision of his infinite love that would embrace even such as I. "There is not another love like Jesus love to be found anywhere. His love can ride the tempters storm and bring you back a song." words from a song. Quote deb Love awakens love. Let God be true and every man a liar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoAspen Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Exactly, thanks for the thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted January 13, 2014 Administrators Share Posted January 13, 2014 Quote: Let me ask you this, are you a follower of Christ first, or are you an SDA first and foremost? a Christian first and an adventist Christian after. In eternity there will be no Adventists. only those who accepted such love. three passions drove every moment of His life, love for God and man, and desire for His Father to be glorified. there was only one who held his faith, and love and obedience in purity before God and man and that was Jesus. i cannot explain how i have the courage to even say i am a follower of Christ, except that i have a vision of his infinite love that would embrace even such as I. "There is not another love like Jesus love to be found anywhere. His love can ride the tempters storm and bring you back a song." words from a song. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kevin H Posted January 13, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 13, 2014 When Paul was in Athens he quoted a Greek philosopher in his sermon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kevin H Posted January 13, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 13, 2014 Absolutely Deb, in each persons personal walk. But the religions are full of dogma. Let me ask you this, are you a follower of Christ first, or are you an SDA first and foremost? May I give my perspective from this question? First of all I am a worshiper of the creator God who transcends time and space but also reaches out to us within time and space. Thus I accept as brothers and sisters all those who are reaching out to that God in some manner. Second, I believe that this God has revealed himself to people and that the most important revelations have been recorded in the Bible. So second I am a student of the Bible to get to know my God better. In the Bible I read about Jesus, who I understand is the God who I love and worship, having come down to live among us and die for us. Thus I am a follower of Jesus. I see the 3 monotheistic religions that look at the Bible has more truth available to them. Sadly many are not taking advantage of the truth that they have and there are those who do not belong to these religions who are being more faithful with what they understand, but there is a special advantage to members of these 3 religions. I see Seventh-day Adventism as a unique situation: On the one hand we are an organized group, a religion. But on the other hand we are a movement that transcends religion. Our founders came from many different churches, and some of the issues that we are dealing with in the church is because so many of us approach Seventh-day Adventism from different perspectives. Our early missionaries offered the Jews a Jewish version of Adventism. There are Muslims who have applied Adventism to Islam and their faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.