An encounter with an angel... Or not.

[The Theist]

1) How can a Christian know when something was genuinely from God? Please be creative with your answer instead of calling her a fake Christian. You don't know her therefore you can't make that call.

2) Knowledge (in the broadest sense of the word) clearly alters what one percieves. Had she not lost confidence in people she wouldn't have figured this guy out and therefore everyone would have been in agreement that it was an angel. Thoughts?

The term angel, in the Hebrew or Greek, means messenger. When it is applied to a physical human being it is translated simply as messenger, and when applied either to a spiritual being or a spiritual being in a temporary human form it is translated as angel.

Basically it means a messenger, or a messenger from God. In order to determine if this person you met was a messenger from God you have first simply to test if his message. If it is in line with what God has spoken to man, in the Bible, then it is possible.

I'm not privy to the entire meeting, but from what information you gave I don't think an angel would have given you that advice. A Christian might have, but not an angel.

The Bible says that to seek knowledge of Jehovah and Christ leads to everlasting life. A Christian thinks you can buy a ticket to heaven by being "good."

The Bible says to test even every inspired scripture to see if they originate with God. A Christian can hardly be bothered since they are so busy living the aforementioned "good" life.

[FallentoReason]

It would seem to be a potential issue of free will, if you look at it in that way, wouldn't it?

Wow....... All this time that has never occured to me. I'm bringing this up next Bible study!

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1) How can a Christian know when something was genuinely from God? Please be creative with your answer instead of calling her a fake Christian. You don't know her therefore you can't make that call.

2) Knowledge (in the broadest sense of the word) clearly alters what one percieves. Had she not lost confidence in people she wouldn't have figured this guy out and therefore everyone would have been in agreement that it was an angel. Thoughts?

The term angel, in the Hebrew or Greek, means messenger. When it is applied to a physical human being it is translated simply as messenger, and when applied either to a spiritual being or a spiritual being in a temporary human form it is translated as angel.

Basically it means a messenger, or a messenger from God. In order to determine if this person you met was a messenger from God you have first simply to test if his message. If it is in line with what God has spoken to man, in the Bible, then it is possible.

I'm not privy to the entire meeting, but from what information you gave I don't think an angel would have given you that advice. A Christian might have, but not an angel.


The Bible says that to seek knowledge of Jehovah and Christ leads to everlasting life. A Christian thinks you can buy a ticket to heaven by being "good."

The Bible says to test even every inspired scripture to see if they originate with God. A Christian can hardly be bothered since they are so busy living the aforementioned "good" life.

Interesting take on things. What spoke to me is in the bolded. I did exactly that; seek knowledge. Look at me now, I'm in a place where I never thought I could ever be. Did God want me to deconvert?

[Welsh cake]

I did not preach to anyone in the restaurant, I confronted them on what they stated and wore out their little fannies.

You shouldn't have confronted them. And that's preaching you asshat.

I made no scene, did not get excited,

Why did they wish you were not so bold then?

If I find myself in the same situation, I will respond in like manner. They started it and I put an end to it, which I had a right in this country to do, no matter what you think, as a matter of fact seems what I did closely resembles those passages from Romans.

Once again. Fuck you. Started it? Started WHAT? You overheard someone else's conservation. You didn't like it one little minute and confronted them. Interrupting their conservation. No one else was complaining about them. You fucking started the disturbance and no one else.

Your free speech gives you no damn right to hinder other people's free speech, not in a privately-run business, or anywhere else for that matter.

I was not in the wrong

Yes we all know you think that.

Not even part of you felt what you were doing was disrespectful in the least.

It was they who were a disgrace, they had a young Christian with them and they thought they would make an example of him, God decided differently.

WHERE THE FUCK DID THIS COME FROM?

You conveniently left out THAT IMPORTANT DETAIL FROM THE EXCHANGE AND THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH MENTIONING NOW? DID THIS ACTUALLY EVER HAPPEN? OR ARE YOU MAKING UP SHIT AS YOU'RE GOING ALONG?

Fuck me. You're full of dishonest shit G-C.

[The Theist]

Interesting take on things. What spoke to me is in the bolded. I did exactly that; seek knowledge. Look at me now, I'm in a place where I never thought I could ever be. Did God want me to deconvert?

Possibly but doubtfully. If you were really seeking knowledge it is quite likely that God wanted you to get out of organized religion, which is corrupted by the traditions of men.

If you mean by "deconvert" as in becoming an atheist then no, God wouldn't want that for you unless you wanted it for yourself. If you wanted it for yourself then you should and will have it. That isn't necessarily any more founded upon accurate knowledge than the alternative, though. Keep that in mind. Ultimately it doesn't matter if what you want is not to believe. One can't decide these things. Though we tend to believe what we want to believe, knowledge seldom has anything to do with it.

As the Bible says, the demons have faith and yet shudder. What you believe is only the first part of the question.

[Epimethean]

"Though we tend to believe what we want to believe, knowledge seldom has anything to do with it."

This.

But how does that address non-belief?

[Taqiyya Mockingbird]

@FallentoReason, if this person you referred to said anything, any one thing that was against scripture, then he was not an angel sent by God, he however could be someone influenced by Satan, I doubt it though why would Satan need to bother with an unbeliever, you are already in the basket. Satan's mission is bigger than individuals, he wants people by the masses and when he can get people to believe he's not real, he's gotten them hook, line and sinker. So your guy was someone who happened to be there, just like I was awhile back when some atheist were eating were I was. They made sure everyone around them knew what they thought of Christ. I took it to heart an challenged them in front of the whole restaurant and before I left they wished they had not been so bold. Young ones beware of a bold stance in public, there are many Christians like me who will take up your challenge, remember we are intelligent and know the scriptures, we do not need the Bible with us to look up passages.

What a piece of shit you are. And to have the utter arrogance to ascribe your own delusional belligerence to your Big Imaginary Friend.

If I were there you would be taking a trip to the pokey.

[Godscreated]

@ Welsh cake, I am not making anything up, I did not mention the Christian that was with them because I did not see it as that important, guess I was wrong, actually I did not think the conversation would go this far. I called them on the things they were saying and they could not defend them, I suppose that's why they wished I wasn't so bold, they found themselves embarrassed.

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@FallentoReason, if this person you referred to said anything, any one thing that was against scripture, then he was not an angel sent by God, he however could be someone influenced by Satan, I doubt it though why would Satan need to bother with an unbeliever, you are already in the basket. Satan's mission is bigger than individuals, he wants people by the masses and when he can get people to believe he's not real, he's gotten them hook, line and sinker. So your guy was someone who happened to be there, just like I was awhile back when some atheist were eating were I was. They made sure everyone around them knew what they thought of Christ. I took it to heart an challenged them in front of the whole restaurant and before I left they wished they had not been so bold. Young ones beware of a bold stance in public, there are many Christians like me who will take up your challenge, remember we are intelligent and know the scriptures, we do not need the Bible with us to look up passages.

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What a piece of shit you are. And to have the utter arrogance to ascribe your own delusional belligerence to your Big Imaginary Friend.

If I were there you would be taking a trip to the pokey.

A trip to the pokey on what charges, that these guys got embarrassed because they shot off their mouths, again

[Reforged]

"Bold"? If by bold you mean like a downs syndrome child who runs after his ball into a busy road then yes, you are very bold.

[Taqiyya Mockingbird]

A trip to the pokey on what charges

Disturbing the peace and shitting your pants in public.

[Godscreated]

A trip to the pokey on what charges

Disturbing the peace and shitting your pants in public.

Oh childish one, your petty use of language. Disturbing the peace, there were those who thought what I did was the right thing to do, though I did not do it for any reaction from anyone. My wife was with me and told me the reaction of the people there, I had not noticed, it seems that in this restaurant the majority agreed, this is the American way. If you had been there I know what you would have done, crawled into a corner and hid.