FiveChildren

Why is it that some folks have such a hard time believing in God? Is it because we often times try to reason through issues like "How can evil exist if God is good?" You wouldn't be the first to stumble on that question. Many struggle with the idea of evil, it can be a large obstacle to believing in God. But consider this, without a concept of ultimate good, how can we have any idea of what evil is? I believe that the limit of my knowledge prevents me from being able to understand how God could allow the pain and suffering we see in the world each day. But I also believe that God is not limited, that he uses these situations to bring us closer to him, that he has allowed these things to happen for our own greater good. We may not understand them now, but we will have the opportunity to understand them once we join the Lord. The Weaver by Grant Colfax Tuller My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me. I cannot choose the colors, He worketh steadily. Oft times ...

Just as Luther was partially wrong when he stated "Man's will is enslaved either to God or to Satan, but it is never free", so Calvin is also partially wrong with his stance on predestination. I am not a Calvinist, nor am I an Armenianist(hope that is the correct spelling). Only the scripture is correct, and there are many verses that support both stances. So what we have here is a problem with mutual exclusivity by both doctrines. Let me make one thing very clear, I don't feel that there is anything wrong with any denomination (as my parents are Catholic, and I know they are saved). I don't want to give the appearance of bashing anyone's beliefs. What I am stating here and in my previous post are my opinions. I disagree with much of what is taught in many churches, denominational or not. I have been to a number of each, and left feeling far worse than when I went in. I believe in Gods' word, not in any particular doctrine. I'll leave it at that. ...

This is the first part of a multi-part post, I started putting it all together and realized it was too big for a single post. Part 1 is about Religion, Part 2 will be about Calvinism, specifically predestination. Beyond that, I'll see what remains and go on from there. A bit of background is usually helpful, and in this case, I believe important. I was raised Catholic. I left Catholicism when I was 18, and with one or two exceptions, I have never been back (I was however married in a Catholic Cathedral, old habits do die hard I guess). I have been for many years as is my wife, a Christian. If you spoke to my relatives and most of my close friends, confrontational is a word that might be used to describe me (among many other, much nicer, gentler words. OK maybe not). Generally, in regard to my beliefs, I am not that way. With this post, that is about to change. I would like to define one word for now, one that is important to this discussion: Religion - Websters and Britannic...