Baritron :   If it's fake and I am wrong about God, judgement day, Hell etc. then I've got nothing to lose, but if you are wrong in believing there's no God who will judge you for your sins, no Hell, no consequence of your actions, then you've got everything to lose...

Oldschool777 :   I think my whole post gets kind of warped in its understanding, that's why I specifically addressed it to real Christians - I do not mean it in a "holier than thou" attitude.  The ones you referred to in your post are the typical "false converts".  Dressing in your "Sunday best" does not make you more holy or "Christian" - man made rules, aka religion taught us to do that on Sundays, as you have rightly mentioned.  You don't have to worry about  "them".  God can see past the mask.  He sees us for who we really are - doesn't matter how well we dress or how righteous we try to look and sound on Sundays.  It's easy to speak "Christianese".  I know, I've been there.  Once you truly meet the one and only,  living God, all masks are off.  There's no more faking it because when He gets hold of your heart, you realise how much of a jack@$$ you really are - not to humiliate you, but to humble you so you will realise you're not that great and you need Him for everything in your life.  If you have a proud heart and think the sun shines from the part where you sit on, God will not and cannot forgive you, because He "resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”(James 4:6)  So once again - don't fret about those "Christians" - God sees the heart. 

"But,I think we forget this one little detail about religion...They are thought up by man and henceforth are flawed."
Agree 100%

"We may have a copy of the rules,but the rules are also written by man."
Yes, but inspired by God.  The Bible is "God breathed".  It was God's Spirit leading these men to write down His words, His truths.  It's a whole other topic by itself.

Baritron : How could anyone, having been delivered from sin's penalty, eternity in hell, go back to living the same life that had him on the path to hell in the first place? How could anyone, having been cleansed from the defilement of sin, desire to go back to the same cesspool of depravity? How could anyone, knowing what Jesus Christ did on our behalf, go on living as if He were not important? How could anyone, realizing how much Christ suffered for our sins, continue sinning as if those sufferings were meaningless?
Romans 6:11-15 declares, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

For the truly converted, then, continuing to live sinfully is not an option. Because our conversion resulted in a completely new nature, our desire is to no longer live in sin. Yes, we still sin, but instead of wallowing in it as we once did, we now hate it and wish to be delivered from it. The idea of “taking advantage” of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf by continuing to live sinfully is unthinkable. If a person believes himself to be a Christian and still desires to live the old, sinful life, he has reason to doubt his salvation. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Ghostbear1111 :  

"God experiences emotion as much as humanity does" and "He punishes because He is angry and disappointed"

It would be foolish to ignore the passages in scripture that talk about God’s anger. Yes, God does get angry; there are many examples in the Bible of this. He “displays his wrath every day” (Psalm 7:11).  However, we must not equate God’s anger with our own human experiences of that emotion. We must look again to the Bible. Ephesians 4:26–27 tells us it is possible to experience anger but not sin. As God cannot sin, we know that His anger is righteous, unlike the common experience of anger in ourselves. As James 1:20 says, “Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

The context of the verses of God getting angry reveals why He gets angry. God gets angry when there is a violation of His character. God is righteous, just, and holy, and none of these attributes can be compromised (Exodus 20:4–6; Isaiah 42:8). God was angry with the nation of Israel and with Israel’s kings every time they turned away from obeying Him (e.g., 1 Kings 11:9–10; 17:18). The wicked practices of the nations in Canaan, such as child sacrifice and sexual perversion, aroused God’s anger to the point He commanded Israel to completely destroy them—every man, woman, child, and animal—to remove wickedness from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–6). Just as a parent becomes angry at anything that would hurt his children, so God’s anger is directed at that which would harm His people and their relationship with Him. “‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live’” (Ezekiel 33:11).

In the New Testament, Jesus got angry with the religious teachers and leaders of that day for using religion for their own gain and keeping people in bondage (John 2:13–16; Mark 3:4–5). Romans 1:18 tells us God’s anger, or wrath, comes against “the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” So God gets angry at the wickedness in people, and He opposes that wickedness in an effort to turn them from evil, that they may find true life and freedom in Him. Even in His anger, God’s motivation is love for people; to restore the relationship that sin destroyed. 

A common mistake that's made is that people, including Christians distinguish between an angry Old Testament God and a loving, peaceful New Testament God.  Guys, God is the same, now and forever (Malachi 3:6).  The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New testament.  See examples above.

It's been a while, but here I am

This is not a debate.  Just a thought and something I want to share with fellow Christians, but feel free to comment.   I've been listening to a teaching the other day and the Pastor said something that was maybe obvious from a Christian's perspective, but for me it was quite profound.  God can't be disappointed.  He is never disappointed in you.  It's not like He's going, "Oops!  I didn't know you where going to do that."  He is All-knowing and outside of time.  He is not and cannot be surprised by anything, so if there's disappointment, it's almost always coming from you.  We condemn ourselves when we fall into that same old sin for the 100th time.  God knew.  He always does.  What you have to do is plain and simple.  Go to Him and repent.  For God is "good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You." (Psalm 86:5)  Just confess your sins and "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).
That's a promise.

Seems like money is the common thread in this thread   A difficult thing (especially for the providers in the home) to surrender to God, but a very necessary thing to trust Him with.  I personally still struggle to do that completely.  Even still, God has provided for us in many ways that we were not sure of how to "work it out" and that in itself is a miracle.  When you are at the end of yourself and God comes through for you.  In this way it is impossible for you to get the glory or to claim that "I did this".  Only God - who is the only One deserving of it - gets the glory in these situations.
Here's a "curve ball" or maybe not:  Miracles however, does not produce faith.  Would like to see your thoughts on this.

Singelli : Sorry for going off topic, but I don't think intelligence has got anything to do with it.  If it had then I would never have made a single post   There are so many wonderful, credible resources out there which answers almost any conceivable question that one might have of especially the Christian faith and everything surrounding it, Biblically.  All the work and research has already been done, I am really just echoing the insights and "findings".  For the rest of the stuff I just use life experiences and what the Lord has spoken into my own life and apply it.  I sometimes wish I could give shorter, to the point answers, but it is not always possible, especially if you're "young in the faith" or a non-believer, then more expansive explanations are needed.  It also gets difficult when English is not your first language.  Many times I know what I want to say, but I do not know how to pen it down properly in clear English, that's where the resources are also invaluable, since most of the time they say exactly what I want to convey, but in a more simple and "eloquent" fashion, if you know what I mean.
You are right.  This topic does not really qualify as apologetics since we're not "defending the faith", but you have answered my question in such a way that your way of thinking made sense and was perfectly clear to me.  Why? Because it contained truth and to my mind all of these qualities are prerequisites for defending the faith.

Singelli : No wonder you're a teacher.  Clear and concise.  Ever considered getting into apologetics perhaps?

cylonbait :  "If the bible is the true word of god, there is no evidence of it."

The bible contradicts itself many times...

Bold claims about Christianity and the Bible.  Can you back these up?.  I'm asking sincerely - Is this something you genuinely researched and found out yourself or did you get this from an Atheist website?

"Christians have something to die for, but Atheists have everything to live for."

This is so true, but do you truly understand it?

Singelli :  "I don't think we can make exceptions for / justify everything by saying "Does it uplift God's name?"

Forget about tattoos for the moment - How would you suggest a Christian should go about in making choices about basically anything if you can't measure it against, "Does this glorify God?"  Not trying to trip you up.  Just trying to follow your thinking.

Steffenfield :   Well, it turned out fine on my side   Nice song.  Looking at the video got me thinking again.  How many come for the show and the lights and how many actually come to meet God?  Just a thought...

I just happen to stumble on this thread since it was posted on the Board as a "trending" thread.  I just want to say, yaaay, if someone sees the light for what a forum truly is.  Some people pour out their lives here hoping that there's someone who will hear their cries and if no one responds, it feels like your life ends.  Welcome to forum reality.  I do not want to pin a percentage on it, but MANY people on forums in general are not who they say they are anyway - such is life in cyberspace. 




However, you will get one or two people that is true.  Hang on to them, but don't get any hangups.  Be firm with your opinions, but give them with respect and sincerity and back them up with the facts where possible.  Don't "rage quit" like a noob - take criticism "gracefully".  Take a moment.  Take a breath.  Take a break.  Process it.  Come back.  Post.  Never take stuff too personal, unless it's a PM   Finally, if you sincerely give advice or help to someone on a forum - Don't expect anything in return.  Ever.  You will save yourself a world of pain.  Like Singelli said - invest your time in REAL people. 

If I can put it in order:

1.  Christian Conservatives
2.  Debate / Logic / News discussion
3.  Whatever interests me after the above

Why?  The above forums especially no.1 is really close to my heart and being a Christian I (sometimes) feel obligated to reply to genuine questions about the Christian faith. 
Every thing else I reply to simply because I have an interest in it or if I feel I can really help someone with an answer.

I mostly reply to threads where there's sincere questions and the person/s are genuinely looking for answers.  If I feel that I can relate or help, I will reply.

plasticinsanity : I think that was a good trade-off   The irony is that fitness or going to the gym can become an addiction as well :/  So finding a balance (with almost everything) is key.

plasticinsanity :  Yeah thats more than enough. I only went about 3 times a week for about an hour. 

Sword legion :  "I would burn this thread with an undying passion."

^ This.  XD

and also...

Singelli :  "...And no offence to the thread creator or anyone posting here. Just... for us who are a little more conservative than most, it's blasphemous to imagine being in the place of God.  Hence, the laugh."

^ this

Beastmode64 :    "Male private parts" would've sufficed...Yes, I am old skool

Oldschool777 :  Sheesh.  That's brave.  The stuff puts my heart rate up too much and I become jittery.  Love the taste though, but yeah - it's not good for you.  

plasticinsanity :  I am not an expert - far from it, but be careful with supplements, especially with protein powders.  If you are absolutely a gym freak and your body fat is really low and you need the extra proteins then by all means go for it.  If you only gym (specifically weight training) occasionally and you don't really have a balanced diet, protein shakes can make you fat, very quickly.  I used to use the stuff and I got "bigger" really quickly but I also gained unwanted fat because I did not follow a proper diet and I did not exercise often enough to burn the fat.  I would suggest, if you haven't already, focus on a proper training program and diet first then go for the supplements if you really feel you need to.

To get back on topic - I just have water, before during and after.  Yes, Powerade is good if you have done a lot of cardiovascular stuff and you need to replace some electrolytes.

Equilibrium.  Yes it was released after The Matrix and wardrobe wise, it looked like the cast literally just walked from the Matrix set on to the Equilibrium set, but the story for me was quite unique.  I would say this is a must for every sci-fi fan.

I love it when it's done tastefully.  However, creating your masterpiece on the wall of someone else's property is not cool no matter how cool the piece looks.  The cities and towns should actually employ (if they're not doing it already) proper graffiti artists to "fix up" areas with "bad" graffiti by covering it with their own art, but it should somehow "blend" in with the area.  I'm mainly talking about public places like train stations, community centres with walls facing the road etc.  Stay away from private property though.