Wow, I disagree with everyone on this thread. I must be in one of my brooding theological moods today. :)
Here goes... Mike: If you find nothing objectionable about the demon-spirit of Jezebel that drives men and women to enact twisted forms of Satanic worship, commonly known as "porn," then you're Bible is less useful to you than a role of toilet paper, as Ricardo observed--actually, quite astutely. You might as well trade it in. Loving the Bible but denying the spirit of the God it expresses by embracing the spirit of death that works out its abject hatred for God in loveless acts of sexual degradation is indeed some kind of idolatry. The spirit of God will not be fooled by indignation over the trading of a Bible for porn, if the indignant person in his heart finds nothing in the former that condemns the latter. God knows our hearts. We can deceive everyone, including ourselves; but not Him. IMHO the "atheists" who came up with this "porn for Bibles" exchange idea are actually anti-christians (versus honest atheists), but at least they are cajoling people to admit openly which side they choose: the spirit of God, or the lust of the flesh. This is a sad thing, because we know what the vast majority even of Christians choose. On a positive not, this will save a lot of red tape at the Lake of Fire Inbound Processing Center. ;) Nick: You seem to think the inner man, a savage beast which needs occasional outlets of his aggression, is somehow tamed by inflaming, then pacifying, his passions. There is a better way to deal with that inner man: you can crucify him, and by regeneration of your human spirit, overcome that beast inside. Replacing it will be a new spirit, born of the spirit of God, that turns lust to love, confusion to order, and war to peace, over time, by means of faithful obedience to the spirit of God working in your spirit to heal you and prepare you for whatever good works God has created you. Christ is not a book or a building where hypocrites dwell. He is God Almighty, maker of everything you see around you and Lord of everything, yea, even of the climate, which changes by various means according to His will, not man's. I won't even mention the cosmos. Oh, one more thing: Jesus talked about hell rather vividly in several places in the gospels. So, my guess is the early Christians had some notion of the idea before the charlatans figured out how to profit from the fear of it, later on. Helio: Whatever. Ricardo: I actually liked your reply to Mike, as you probably guessed by now. In this you are right: The Bible, studied in search of truth, does indeed impart a spirit to the human spirit, namely, the spirit of God, for it testifies of Him. Otherwise, it really is just ink on paper, and it is not the Spirit itself. But you and Nick are wrong in your admiration of porn. Sure, it satisfies the flesh, and on the surface of things seems to calm "the beast" inside. But it also imparts a spirit, usually, the spirit of Jezebel, a particularly powerful (and these days popular) demon that is happy to keep your inner beast a hopeless slave of the flesh. But, it's your right to enjoy it, while you can. Good luck with that. Steven: Purgatory is a false doctrine, so that men can "with a clean conscience" as it were die in a state of sin (rebellion), and hear those awful words at their final judgment: "Get away from me, ye workers of iniquity; I never knew you." A daily relationship with the living God by a human spirit that perseveres in faith until the end is the only thing that saves. The physical Bible doesn't save, saying some canned prayer one time and going to church every week or merely doing good works to show how holy you are don't save. Membership in this or that church is pointless, unless you have the love of Christ working in and through you every moment of every day--something that can only come about by real contrition and cheerful sacrifice. Don't pin your hopes on getting your sins sand-blasted off your soul one day in some mythical Decontamination Chamber of Heaven. Those sins have been removed already by the blood of the Lamb, but only for those who live in Christ Jesus until the day they die. Everyone: Have a nice day! ;) - Publius On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 1:43 PM, Michael Madigan <[email protected]> wrote: > IT's not the porno I object to, it's trading it for a bible. > > > --- On Wed, 3/3/10, Nicholas Geti <[email protected]> wrote: > >> From: Nicholas Geti <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: [OT] How Atheists win friends. >> To: "ProFox Email List" <[email protected]> >> Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010, 12:42 PM >> Porn is so much more fun. Keeps one's >> psyche on an even keel. Better than >> ranting and suppressing one's ID only to have it come out >> later in violent >> and socially unacceptable ways. >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Michael Madigan" <[email protected]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 10:16 PM >> Subject: [OT] How Atheists win friends. >> >> >> > Atheists are so well-adjusted. >> > >> > http://www.breitbart.tv/atheist-agenda-texas-college-group-offers-porn-for-bibles-swap/ >> > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. 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