Christian Dating

It doesn't matter how long some Christians date , It's just like at the end some get married and then they are shocked and amazed saying "I didn't know he/she is like this" !.

Well We just need to keep in mind that Before we get Marriages right , we must get the Dating right.

Now the Whole Purpose of Dating is about Discovering....The learning of what somebody really like.

So many Christians are buying to the idea of "a Soul Mate" , rather than really looking at the person character and evaluating what is the person like...who are they ?. They just keep looking for this magical connection called 'Soul Mate" which is a concept based on pagan teaching (Greek Mythology). We sometimes as Christians take some wrong concepts and spiritualize it saying that "God has one special person just for you."..The Bible never talked about a Soul Mate !.

That's why christian man or woman should choose his/her mate relying on God 's word which is represented in Bible and matching the Characterstics of a True Christian.

Let's put Five Essential things that must be kept in mind while Dating:

1) Faith : You shouldn't be dating or marrying someone who is unbeliever because the min you do that , you are connecting with someone who doesn't live by Christian Principles.

2) Watch their Reactions :You need to look at their reactions . It's easy to act or pretend but it's really hard to react in a certain way because when you react then you will find what you really made of.

3) Factor their Past:You need to factor in their Past. Yes things in past are forgiven and white as snow before God BUT There are still residual effects of that stuff.

For Example: Person just got saved and Yes everything became new in christ BUT you are not marrying his/her spirit only but you are marrying the package (The whole person) and They need to work that stuff out. Keep in mind that once someone get saved , it takes time to work that out. Some christian Women who marry Guys because they became Christians...they have no time to see and now they are in misery.

God didn't invent Marriage to make you Miserable...You just need time to discover your partner and This should be done in Dating Process.

4) Their Family:It's really amazing How many Christians get married and they are miserable because of his/her spouse's family , They can't stand to the family.

If you can't stand to his/her Family then Run and find someone else! .Don't expect that his/her Family won't be involved in your Life after Marriage because simply they are part of your spouse life !....Also The Family should be given Birth to another Family and You should be part of this Whole Deal.

5) Use a Good Counselor in your Love Life: I mean don't Trust your own Decisions. Idealy It can be Pastor , a Friend or Someone you can Really Trust , Someone you can ask for Counseling about your Love Life. Listening to your Heart only will get you into Trouble in these things because Heart can be deceiving especially because all Emotions are there.

Bible says "Desire Wisdom and Understanding."

Some Christians despise Wisdom and desire Miracle.

.....despise Advice and desire Divine Revelation.

We have got to Stop That and Start being SMARTER !.

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Catholic Church is NOT the Whore of Babylon

Bible Evidences that Show that The Catholic Church is NOT the Whore of Babylon

I think we have to make an important distinction. Pagan Rome of the first century is much different than Christian Rome (Catholic Church).... Pagan Rome tried to squash and kill Christianity, while Christian Rome embraced it. It was a massive conversion and perhaps one of the most important historical moments in Christian history. It is quite likely that Revelation is speaking about Rome, but it is speaking about ancient Pagan Rome.

I would like to stress that this study does not represent the opinion of a cerain denomination but my own belief based on the biblical truth.

Probably EVERY Denomination has some Doctrinal Errors BUT They ALL Complete each others in HARMONY because Jesus's Church is ONE and UNIVERSAL !

But when There is an Accusation Then We must study God's word to Know the TRUTH about it.!!

Now Let's Continue our Study Together

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1) Persecuting The Apostles and Prophets

When the Whore falls we read,

"Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you....In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth" ( Rev 18:20, 24).

This shows that the Whore persecuted not just Christians, but apostles and prophets. Apostles existed only in the first century, since one of the requirements for being an apostle was seeing the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1)..This proves that we are talking here about Pagan Rome and not Catholic Church (Christian Rome)!.

And For The Persecutions that Happened throughout History by the Early Catholic Church against the Protestant Reformation...We can't deny this Fact

Most certainly there have been some BAD POPES throughout history. Some Believers will point to this as proof that the Catholic Church is Pagan. Even Jesus chose a bad disciple, Judas. We don't say "Hey Jesus can't be the Saviour, he was pagan because he had a bad disciple." Of the first apostles, 11 out of twelve deserted him in Gethsemane .. Why would we think the Church would be spared from bad people if Jesus' original 12 yielded to the attacks of the devil.

Yet, The 11 disciples were not Bad like Judas !!...They became GREAT Apostles !.

Who doesn't sin ?! . Bible says "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

SO DON'T BE DECIEVED !!!.

We ALL come short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23)

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2) The Seven Heads

Continuing in Revelation, the angel begins to explain to John the woman's symbolism: "This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while" (Rev.17:9-10).

This passage gives us one reason why the Catholic Church cannot be the Whore. We are told that the heads "are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come." If five of these kings had fallen in John's day and one of them was still in existence, then the Whore must have existed in John's day. Yet Christian Rome and Vatican City did not. However, pagan Rome did have a line of emperors, and the majority of commentators see this as the line of kings to which 17:10 refers. Five of these emperors are referred to as having already fallen, one as still reigning in John's time, and another yet to come. Since Jerusalem had no such line of kings in the first century, this gives us evidence that the Beast (though not the Whore) is Pagan Rome not Christian Rome (Catholic Church).

Now bring in the distinction between Pagan Rome and Vatican City-the city where the Catholic Church is headquartered. Vatican City is not built on seven hills, but only one: Vatican Hill, which is not one of the seven upon which ancient Pagan Rome was built. Those seven hills are on the east side of the Tiber river; Vatican Hill is on the west !!

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3) Clothed in Purple and Red

"and cry out: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!" (Revelation 18:16)

Purple and red are not the dominant colors of Catholic clerical vestments. White is. All priests wear white (including bishops and cardinals when they are saying Mass)-even the pope does so.

The liturgical meaning of purple and red in Catholic symbolism. Purple symbolizes repentance, and red honors the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs.

God commanded that scarlet yarn and wool be used in liturgical ceremonies (Lev. 14:4, 6, 49-52; Num. 19:6), and He commanded that the priests' vestments be made with purple and scarlet yarn .(Ex. 28:15, 33 and Ex.39:1-8)

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4) Reigns over Kings

"The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)

This passage of Revelation makes sense when it is referring to Pagan Rome but makes no sense when Christians try to associate it with modern Christian Rome. The passage says that the Whore will have power over kings. Modern Rome has no power over modern "kings", in fact there are almost no kings left in the world. Nor does the Church have power over political leaders, otherwise abortion, contraception, and pornography would not be legal in the civilized world. Revelation says that whore was the center of commerce. (Rev 18:17-19) No economist today will say that modern Rome is a leader in commerce. The US, Japan etc are. However, ancient Pagan Rome was a leader in commerce.

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Buddhism and Christianity 2

III. Suffering

A. Buddhist Teaching

The Buddhist teaching regarding suffering is based on the "Four truths":

1. Suffering is an essential part of life. Troubles are basic and inherent to life.

2. The cause of suffering is human desire.

Man suffers because of his desire for personal enjoyment and possessions, but especially because of the desire to continue to exist as an individual, separate and distinct from others. The highest destiny of man, according to many Buddhists, is to cease existence as a separate and distinct individual, and enter the state of Nirvana. The earthly life is an illusion, but due to ignorance man continues to desire to exist. This desire causes rebirth to other lives and since life involves suffering, we continue to suffer.

3. The solution to suffering is to eliminate earthly desires, especially the desire to exist as an individual.

4. The steps to defeat these desires are the "Eightfold Path" (see point IV below).

B. The Bible Teaching about Suffering

It is true that suffering is a part of life. (Job 5:7) "But man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."

This basically agrees with the first "truth" of Buddhism.

Suffering exists as the consequences of man's sin or as a temptation to sin.

(1 Peter 2:19-22) Jesus suffered, though he was guilty of no sin. We should suffer in the same way.

1 Peter 4:14-16, Some suffering is the result of our evil doing, but instead we may suffer because others do some evil to us. So not all suffering is the result of our own sins. Sometimes we suffer because others sin.

Hence, suffering may or may not be the result or our own wrong desires.

Buddhism teaches us to eliminate all natural desires. The Bible says that every natural desire has a good and proper way to be fulfilled.

The proper goal of man is, not to eliminate all desires from his life, but to know God's will and control the desires accordingly.

The way to overcome suffering is, not to strive to defeat it yourself, but to trust in God and serve Him.

Romans 8:16-18 - If we suffer with Christ we receive a reward far greater than the suffering. [James 1:12; 2 Corinthians 4:16f; Matthew 5:10ff]

Buddhism does not have a solution to suffering. Only the Bible provides a true solution.

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IV. Achieving the Goal of Life

A. Buddhist Teaching

Conservative Buddhists follow the "Eightfold Path"

This is a way of life consisting of 8 steps in which one disciplines himself till all earthly desires are eliminated. The idea is to avoid two extremes: avoid indulging in luxury and pleasures, but also avoid self-torture or depriving oneself of necessities.

The eight steps are: right views, aspirations, speech, conduct, mode of livelihood, effort, awareness, and concentration. Great self-control is needed to develop these to necessary perfection.

This process depends on human effort without divine aid (remember, conservative Buddhism has nothing to do with God).

Liberal Buddhists teach that there are many different methods to accomplish the purpose of life.

The leading concept of realizing perfection among liberal Buddhists involve Bodhisattvas. These are people who earn perfection (as above), but postpone Nirvana in order to provide perfection for others. Other Buddhists, at lower stages of perfection, can obtain Nirvana by appealing to their favorite Bodishattva - honoring, praying, repeating his name. Thus his merit is transferred to them. This is much easier than the conservative view, for not all must earn perfection.

B. The Bible Teaching

Man cannot save himself without God.

Jesus is the Savior.

Liberal Buddhism says some men can save other men. The Bible says no man can save himself, nor can anyone else save him except Jesus.

Romans 3:23 , All men have sinned. How can another man who sinned die to pay the penalty for my sins? He deserves to die for his own sins. Jesus was the Divine Son of God who died for our sins though He was sinless (1 Peter 2:21-24).

It is not true that some must be perfect to be saved but others can be saved on lesser conditions. All must be saved by accepting the same conditions.

Acts 10:34,35, God is no respecter of persons; in every nation, he who fears God and works righteousness will be acceptable.

Conclusion

Buddhism worships either no god or else false gods. Many Buddhists believe that man must achieve the solution to his own problems over a period of many lives by human effort.

The gospel provides the only true way to worship the only true God. It provides a way for man to be forgiven by the death of the Son of God who paid the penalty for our sins. To receive the benefit, we must trust Jesus and obey Him in this life. Then we have the hope of eternal life.

Buddhism and Christianity 1

Tolerance is something we wouldn't hold to when considering a medical question. If someone with questionable qualifications were giving medicine to our child, surely we wouldn't stand back and ignore it on the basis of tolerance. Why then should we ignore dangers, inaccuracies, etc. when it comes to the well-being of the soul? Taking a critical stance is not always wrong. The Bible is not silent when it comes to speaking out against false teachings.

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The History of Buddhism

Buddhism is similar on a number of points to Hinduism. Buddhism began in India in about the 6th century B.C., and from there it spread throughout Asia. Today it is found mainly in Japan, China, and the Far East.

The system was begun by Gautama Buddha (the title "Buddha" means "one who is enlightened"). He was born about 563 B.C., and raised in a very wealthy family where he was protected from problems and suffering. Later he was exposed to suffering and became concerned with the cause of it. At age 29 he left his wife and son to seek a solution.

He tried and rejected both Hinduism and extreme self-deprival (asceticism). After 6 years of seeking, he arrived at the system that became Buddhism. He established an order of monks and one of nuns devoted to his plan of overcoming suffering, then he spent the rest of his life as a wandering religious teacher.

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Major divisions of Buddhism

Buddhists have tried to adapt their religion to the views of people converted from other religions. The result was that people could believe almost anything and be Buddhist. The differences within Buddhism can be likened, not to the differences between Catholics and Protestants, but to those between Christians, Jews, and Moslems. These vast differences make it extremely difficult to characterize Buddhism in general. No matter how you attempt to describe Buddhism, many Buddhists will object because they believe some different variation of Buddhism. [WR 169]

We will examine two major branches of Buddhism:

* Theravada is the older, conservative wing which follows the original teachings of Gautama. These Buddhists are found mainly in Southern Asia - Thailand, Burma, etc.

* Mahayana is the newer, liberal wing of Buddhism. Those of this view refer to conservatives as the "little vehicle" and themselves as the "great vehicle" because they believe their views are more practical for most people. They are found mainly in central and northern Asia - Japan, China, Korea, etc.

We will attempt to describe some concepts often accepted in Buddhism, but please remember that there are vast variations within Buddhism. The material here presented is based on the Encyclopedia Britannica .

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I. God

A. Buddhist Teaching about God

The Conservative View : Gautama taught nothing about God. He refused even to deny or affirm God's existence. He definitely denied that he himself was divine.Instead his teachings were designed to obtain relief from suffering by means of human effort alone. Original and conservative Buddhism involves neither faith nor worship, neither prayer nor praise nor forgiveness of sins. In that sense, conservative Buddhism is not really a religion but a moral philosophy designed to overcome suffering.

The Liberal View : Liberal Buddhists do accept existence of Deity, an absolute Supreme Being or power. In fact they deify Gautama Buddha as divine, even though he himself denied it!. Prayers and worship are offered to Buddhas, including use of images.

B. The Bible Teaching.

Romans 1:20 - "Though God is invisible, His power and divinity can be seen through the things that are made."

The Conservative View says, "There is no God who created the world and controls man's destiny. Man is his own master. The way is one of self-effort, free from prayer and superstition" .

Well This reminds me with scripture when God said "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2: 13).

Furthermore, man cannot be divine and cannot become God.

Ezekiel 28:2,6-10 - God brings a curse on any man who claims to be God.

Conservative Buddhism contradicts the Bible evidence that God exists and that the purpose of religion is to please God. Liberal Buddhism contradicts the Bible teaching that there is one God and that man is not divine.

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II. The Destiny of Man

A. Buddhist Teaching about God

Rebirth (reincarnation)

Regarding the spirit of man, conservatives believe man has no spirit or inner part that lives after death. Only the consequences of past deeds (karma) lives from life to life. Liberals believe man has a spirit that continues from life to life. Many Buddhists believe that, when a man dies, he will return to live as another human on earth. The cycle of birth and rebirth continues indefinitely until one is "released."

Karma (action)

Everything (good or bad) that happens to a man is the result of his conduct in previous lives. What happens in future lives is determined by his actions now. Nothing is really a result of a person's environment, the acts of others, or the work of God. All is payment for what the person himself did in the past.

Nirvana (release)

Conservative Buddhists believe that the ultimate goal of man is to be released from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. This is a state of rest without continuation of earthly desires. Whether or not this state is conscious is not defined. They deny annihilation, but they also deny existence as individuals distinct from others. Liberal Buddhists do believe in a concept of conscious happiness.

B. The Bible Teaching.

Rebirth (reincarnation)

Man lives and dies (physically) only once. In Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed to man once to die."

"and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."[Ecclesiastes 12:7]. Man lives one life then dies. At Jesus' return, the spirit is reunited with the body and man is judged for that one life. There is no other life on earth and no other chance to please God after this life.

Karma (action)

I'll start by really explaining what karma is defined as. When you really look at it, karma is just about cause and effect. If you do good things, good things will happen to you. If you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. When you apply this to the idea of reincarnation (the origin of the idea of karma), then a person that leads a good life will be reincarnated into a higher state of being, while a person that leads a bad life will be reincarnated into a lower state of being. The way you live your life causes you to either be rewarded or punished.

Whether or not you attribute karma to reincarnation, the idea of "what goes around comes around" is not at all compatible with Christianity. Christianity teaches that we all have done bad things, and we all deserve punishment. We can't atone for our misdeeds by trying to do good deeds. Christianity believes in grace, not karma. They are two completely contradictory ideas, and you cannot logically believe in both. Karma says you get the reward or punishment that you deserve. Grace says you get the reward even if you deserve the punishment.

"The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair." -Be My Escape by Relient K

If we always reap what we sow, the Bible would clearly confirm this. To the contrary; let's look at just a few passages of scripture that contradict karmic philosophy:

Jeremiah 12:13: "They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns, they have strained themselves to no profit."

Psalm 126:5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting."

Galatians 6:7: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."

In contrary to karmic philosophy, we won't necessarily reap what we sow! John 4:38 states, "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored [sown]; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

And 1 Corinthians 3:7 states, "So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth."

As we can see, believers who think that karma is a Christian concept are mistaken (missing the mark). Nothing we think, say or do determines a karmic cycle, for the Bible tells us that our "righteous works" are as filthy rags to the Lord (Isaiah 64:6), and that our righteousness is only in Jesus Christ, our Savior (2 Corinthians 5:21)!

Whilst on the cross, Our Lord promised the good thief he would be with him in paradise that very day. Under karmic law, a thief of his ilk would have necessitated hundreds of life times to remove his own karma. Our Lord carries this burden for each of us. If reincarnation were a reality, perhaps some might like to spend hundreds of lifetimes on this very sad world to be released - but why would they?

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To be Continued "Buddhism and Christianity 2"