Critique Time!

[Drich]

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Visit from a 'messenger' who sat in my truck and told me of my future, as I gave him a ride. A vision/dream of Hell that that plays over in my mind just as clearly as any other memory. A vision that included elements to Hell that I honestly never heard of before, but can be biblically supported. UNheard of medical recoveries. Tested positive for Aids, with physical symptoms, and two weeks later declared free from HIV, burst appendix and over night recovery/no surgery. Tested positive for cancer markers for either non hodgekins limphoma, or prostate cancer. Presenting with other symptoms of prostate cancer. Enlarged prostate, and blood in urine. After 8 months of tests, (after my first ct scan for adominal/prostate cancer is how I was able to confirm my burst appendix) afterward I was cleared of prostate/adominal cancer. I will know by the first of the year whether or not we will need to go further into non hodgekins limphoma.
Not to mention my business and personal life.

We know When God moves in our lives because it is usally when any other movement other than God is not possible...

Drich, have you ever wondered if Christianity is like putting clown makeup on God? Maybe God talks to an Aztec using the Aztec religion and culture. Then God talks to a Christian using the Christian religion and culture. The Christian religion is no more true than the Aztec religion; it is just a language.

Seriously?

The "christian religion/language" was established by Christ/God. If God speaks through this religion would it not make sense to listen?

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Because it was an oral society, we must accept all claims. It's not fair to hold them to standards of evidence that they weren't producing.

Again the claims in scripture can be tested/verified by us on indivisual basis, if we are one bold enough to honestly try and yet humble enough to follow the instructions the bible sets fourth.

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4. In an oral soceity this would be the norm

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I agree. That's a good start, then. Credit where it's due. ]

Thank you.

Gentleness may work well in person, as it can be demonstrated. I find it difficult to balance what the current perception of what gentleness should be, against how Christ Himself was 'gentle' to the pharisees in a place like this.

Jesus didn't seem to have an interest in saving the pharisees. We are in no wise pharisees. A pharisee then was a strictly legalistic Jew. That is not analogous to the atheist position. Legalism is a classic danger for theists, though.

Thats not true. Jesus spent much time ministering to the pharisees and answering their questions. He even went to them on the side. The story of Nicodemus is one where Christ Himself preaches the gospel and goes into great detail in answering every question he had. Eventually leading to his conversion.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicodemus

John 3 if you want to read it for yourself.

Saul of Tarsus is another Pharisee turn Christian via a direct/harsh intervention of Christ.

You and me both, brother! In my case, being humble is recognizing my fallibility and capacity for error. It gets harder as I get older and become more and more right.

I don't expect you to avoid gaining the upper hand, just allow for the possibiltiy that you can be wrong and not brag or crow too much.

while I do enjoy the oppertunity to 'crow' more often then not, once the point has been made or the upper hand has been gained, I will drop the topic if no other questions or comments are made. (I forego the victory lap, and have done since the beginning.)

Nothing wrong with that, in moderation. Through the internet, it's just another claim, though. If you get too extravagant, people will start asking for evidence.

I have offered to show people any and everything I have claimed if they want to come see for themselves. I live in orlando and it is really nice right now. The only thing I asked for is one day out of a weekend and you can do whatever else with your time here. I will make avaiable business, church, friends, family, medical records, who can verify everything I have talked about here.

It's a human capacity to put yourself in someone else's shoes that I expect you possess in full measure, but maybe it's a muscle you could develop with a little exercise.

possibly.

If Christianity is the one true religion and witnessing is the way it's spread and spreading it is what God wants AND empathy is helpful in understanding how to convince people, it seems to me it would be for the greater good to use empathy when witnessing. Persuasion is much more difficult if you don't really 'get' the people you're trying to persuade.

i see empathy for the sake of empathy in a lot of what christians do now. However as with the way Christ spoke the truth of God's message, I don't see the empathy the Christian religion has adopted. How he speaks to the pharisees, the rich young ruler, and even his deciples I don't see it. I see Christ standing for the truth first and then helping the people who truly sought it.

I am not ready for that one yet. If I can suck it up and put my 'feelings' aside and deal with the given facts of the matter then i expect anyone wanting to be apart of a given discussion to do the same.

There is a danger in understanding other people too well. Frankly, believers coming to understand us well is one of the ways atheists are made. Your caution is understandable.