Are you writing all of this yourself?
Are you writing all of this yourself?
I've been writing anti Roman Catholicism posts on internet forums since around 1997. At this late stage of the game, what you're seeing is pretty much copy and paste from my archives.
To answer your question: Yes, I composed it all myself.
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I'm not a missionary, nor am I an evangelist, a salesman or a recruiter. It matters little to me where I post because online forums are just a hobby of mine. I'm not really on them for the Lord. I'm on them for the entertainment they provide; and they're a pretty good soap box too.
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I don't think most professing Christians even know what grace is. I suspect that most are under the impression that grace is somehow a quantifiable substance like butter and gasoline; but in regards to God, grace is an abstract noun that expresses qualities apart from substance.
The New Testament Greek word for *grace is charis (khar'-ece); which means: graciousness. Webster's defines *graciousness as: kind, courteous, inclined to good will, generous, charitable, merciful, altruistic, compassionate, thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, considerate, and tactful.
Cordial stresses warmth and heartiness
Affable implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation or requests or proposals
Genial stresses cheerfulness and even joviality
Sociable suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others
Generous is characterized by a noble or forbearing spirit; viz: magnanimous, kindly, and liberal in giving
Charitable means full of love for, and goodwill toward, others; viz: benevolent, tolerant, and lenient.
Altruistic means unselfish regard for, or devotion to, the welfare of others; viz: a desire to be of service to others for no other reason than it just feels good to do so.
Tactful indicates a keen sense of what to do, or say, in order to maintain good relations with others in order to resolve and/or avoid unnecessary conflict.
The Old Testament Hebrew word for "grace" is chen (khane); and means the same as charis (e.g. Gen 6:8).
When you put all those lovely attributes together, you get a pretty good picture of the bright side of God's personality. A gracious personality is the total opposite of a pernicious nature. A gracious person is mild, rather than aggressive, combative, confrontational, defensive, competitive, assertive, thin skinned, dominating, and self-centered.
In many Christian minds, it is truly believed that a sinner's salvation rests upon the grace of God; but in most minds that is nothing in the world but a mental spin to mask their true belief that it is by the grace of God that they now have a chance to earn their salvation, where before, they had no chance to earn it.
So when you strip away the spin, you're right back to the reality that the plans of salvation enjoying the widest acceptance are essentially merit systems based upon personal performance rather than upon the kindness and generosity of God's altruistic nature.
Some Xians construe Phlp 2:12 to insist that salvation is a merit award based upon performance. However, for those of us who currently possess eternal life; the New Testament actually reveals that rescue from the wrath of God is a gratuity; which is a gift with no strings attached and nothing expected in return.
†. Eph 2:8-10 ...God spared us by His grace when we believed. And we can't take credit for this; it's a gratuity from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
†. Titus 3:5 ...Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He spared us
†. John 3:16-18 ...For God so cared for the world that he donated His one and only child, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God didn't send His child into the world to condemn the world, but rather, to spare the world through him.
Although God is now in a position to spare the whole world; He won't because He has decreed that only those of the world who listen to His testimony, and believe Christ's crucifixion actually works to ransom people from the wrath of God, qualify to take advantage of it.
†. Mark 16:15-17 ...He said to them; Go into all the world and preach the gospel everywhere to everyone. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be damned.
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