Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: ariafrost
Originally posted by: Crono
Living a life in Christ gives a peace that passes all understanding and gives peace regardless of situation; whether you are in the midst of persecution, or in the happiest moment of your life, you can find peace in having the right relationship with the true and living God. Without acknowledging that you are (as well as I and everyone who ever lived - except Christ, who was and is the Son of God) are a sinner, and truly repenting for sin, you cannot come before God and know Him. Every single religion that exists says you can be saved by what YOU do (which is nothing but pride), but God says it is what HE has done by allowing His son to die on the cross for you. Man cannot save himself from sin.
In the Bible, there are definitely examples of people living in sin and who do not show true peace within them; these are examples of people who either at that time were living in sin or for most of their lives were living in sin, and we are not to follow their paths, but warned to be wary of them. But there are also examples of people, like Paul and Jesus, who had peace within them that was so great that they could endure so much and affect the lives of many because they lived by faith and according to the Word of the Lord. There are also many examples of no earthly peace on a national level. Unfortunately, as long as we are living in a fallen world, there will always be wars and violence because of the evil of our hearts. But when Christ returns, and after the judgement, there will be true peace both internally and externally over all the earth.
Well said. The Old Testament is the covenant with the Israelites where God exacted swift justice against all sinners. The New Testament is the new covenant where God reserves judgment for the sake of Christ who died for us. It is the teachings of Jesus and his disciples that show us how to live in peace and at peace with one another.
Christians who would advocate violence are not following the teachings of Christ and should be reprimanded by their brethren to remember that it is not our position to judge others.
nevermind the Crusades, and all other wars fought by the Popes in order to spread Christianity.
The Bible is filled with instances of violence and war in the name of spreading religion. Jesus talks about peace, which is cool beans and all. Problem is:
1) You must follow him and 2) Those who do must actually listen to what he says. I'd say a good 70% of Christians don't seem to think that way. If those in the news are an accurate sample of Christians in general (let us hope that they are not)
Of course, a good protion of the world doesn't want to be Christian, and it's inherently wrong to think that they should be. Islam, according to Mohamet's word and actions, is not peaceful at all. It can be practiced in peaceful ways, and is by many...but jihad is a central tenet of it. Judaism survives b/c the Caananites were slaughtered for their land--the land that God had "promised" the Hebrews. Not that different from slaughtering the Native Americans so that our good Christain soldiers could have land to live on and prosper.
best bet is to stick with Atheism, Taoism, or Bhuddism.