Final-Fan said:
I do believe this. I no longer believe in God but then and now I found it impossible to accept that you could be a 100% dick and still genuinely be open to God in your heart. I know people who try to be good often fail but some people fail so hard so much I dunno if they're really trying. |
The text involves people repenting, having a change of mind, deciding that a way is wrong. In that, that should clear up being the 100% dik. As for some other people, they have things in their mind, they can't be anything but. Besides this, you have others who are so blasted cocksure about their way, there is no way they change. They hearts are hardened, and set in ways that aren't good. People could be governed by fear.
As far as the Counter-Reformation, there was that from the Catholic Church. But, I was talking about post Reformation Protestants which ended up being all about free will, and pushing a sliver of what Luther wrote, and ran with it (I believe the original poster is likely in the camp). And the Catholic Church had tried to reconcile things, but it got very messy. One could say the entire issue comes down to having a Pope, and centering the Christian faith around that. In that approach (Here I give an Orthodox critique of the West), the idea is one man Bible = right understanding. People end up disagreeing with the Pope, so they become Popes themselves.
In regards to myself, I am camped in the Eastern Orthodox camp as far as the Christian faith goes. I have had a long journey and studied the history of Christian thought, to try to sort things out. The East is kind of a last stop for me at this point. I have nowhere else to go. Outside of some issues I haven't been able to grasp, I found the East happened to be closer to what I believed when I did sola scriptura than what the West had. The whole judicial framework just seems odd to me to put Jesus in, and the Christian faith. It has Calvary as something that God had to do, in order to vent anger so people don't go to Hell. See, according to a judicial focused view, sins need to be PAID for, and you can't just forgive. So, with th West, you need Calvary as bloody as possible, and you wear crucifixes. I do overstate a bit, in putting how the focus isn't correct as I see it. The way I see it, the whole covanent, sacrificies and even the death of Jesus have to do with establishing something from the start, NOT paying for damage done in the past. Sins get forgiven, not paid for.
Anyhow, I could go on deeper here with my thoughts, if people are insistent on discussing what the Christian faith is... on a forum about VIDEOGAMES. If anyone wants to send me a message, maybe I can discuss my thoughts off this forum, unless people want me to continue. I don't think this is the place to really get into it. I kinda feel like that off-topic on a videogame forum should maybe be about music or things not as deep. Maybe people can vent about religion and politics.
I do wish you luck on your sorting things out. I do know how hard things can be there. I have had to deal with them myself. After agnosticism, in 1985 (wow the years go by) I had decided I would walk through protestantism and see what was there. I figure God would have to show up in there somewhere. I can say I found stuff I didn't expect. I did get a lot of insight in things, although I can say a box of insight is only useful in the right context.
