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HarmonicSonic β Use Common Sense
Published: 2010-12-21 04:22:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 4356; Favourites: 259; Downloads: 22
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Really, this stamp can apply to anyone, but my target audience is fellow Christians.I'm not saying we should never reference Scripture, because as Christians that isn't a good idea. But I believe it is seriously overused nowadays. Go into any debate (mainly on stuff like evolution, social issues, Israel, and suchlike) with a radical right-wing Christian and you will understand what I'm talking about. (No, I'm not a liberal, but neither am I an excessively conservative extremist). These folks will almost never give any of their own words on a subject. They will only quote verse after verse after verse out of the Bible. That way they can use the ever-so-convenient "You're not arguing with me; you're arguing with God" line.
We're supposed to follow the example set by Jesus, folks. Jesus didn't go around mindlessly vomiting scripture, platitude, and evangelistic clichΓ©s. Sure, Jesus used scripture on occasion, but he also knew how to think for himself. If God wanted us to be machines, he would have made us thus.
Please don't misunderstand my meaning - as I said earlier , Scripture definitely has its place. As Christians, we ought to have a good understanding of it. But many Christians often seem to think of scripture as "ammunition" in a debate. Trust me - using common sense and your God-given intellect will make people far more willing to listen to what you have to say.
Thank you, $zilla774 for the template.
If you don't want me to say thank you, then don't fave it. If you accuse me of not looking at your profile, I will turn right around and accuse you of not reading the artist comments.
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Comments: 62
Precisely.Β
You get a free 
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I like your stamp, but I would like to point out that Jesus is God. He is scripture. He also referenced the Old Testament so many freaking times that I lost count after a while. When he faced off against Satan, he used scripture to fight him.
I'm not saying that just holding onto scripture for every debate is a good idea, because up against an atheist, it's not gonna work. If you're going to do that, combine scripture with something like science and explain how they coincide with each other.
Paul referenced the old Testament as well as what Jesus said frequently.
Er... I would like to correct you on something. I am a right wing Christian and I don't use only scripture to explain myself. I quote it, then explain what it means. If I knew the greek and Hebrew, then I could really delve deeply into it, but since I don't, I have to go off of the literal meaning of the words.
But don't get me wrong, I do like your stamp. I think it's very true. Especially in Christian rock/pop. There are only a select few who even use their own words to show just how much God means to them while being able to implement scripture within their songs. Modern day worship songs are possibly the worst of them all.
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I like your stamp, but I would like to point out that Jesus is God. He is scripture.
I agree that scripture does have its proper place. But, even though Jesus is God, we're still supposed to follow his example. And he also knew how to think for himself. I should mention that Jesus is not Scripture, however. Jesus isn't scripture, because that would mean that God is scripture. To put scripture on the same level with God is called bibliolatry - a form of idolatry, which is something God tells us not to do in the Ten Commandments.
I would like to correct you on something. I am a right wing Christian and I don't use only scripture to explain myself.
I know that not all right-wing Christians do that. I was really only speaking of the radical or extreme ones - I was careful to make this known in the artist comments.
But don't get me wrong, I do like your stamp. I think it's very true. Especially in Christian rock/pop.
Well, I would tend to disagree with you on the subject of contemporary Christian music - mainly because of the purpose of it. It's not really designed to reach non-Christian listeners. It is for the worship of God. That said, there are some very sensible Christian lyricists out there, too. For lyrics, I'd recommend a group like Casting Crowns or October Project.
Thanks for the input
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This makes total sense
now seeing as *get ready for this* I don't go to church*le gasp*
I don't know all the verses, Scriptures, etc.
But I do believe in a God
And if he gave us common sense, and he gave Jesus common sense, than we shouldn't be following/reciting(well, I don't mean break every Christian rule, there are some you sometimes break, and even I know that.*is 13*) every single verse. We DON'T want to rewrite history do we? (sorry if this sounds offensive, I'm just speaking my mind. that gets me in trouble with bullies a lot, so I'm used to it 
So all in all, I support this stamp 
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I don't know, sometimes I feel like God forgot that step in certain people...
I'm also Christian, and I absolutely cannot stand it when people use scripture to back up their arguments. It's one thing to do that when talking to someone else who believes the scriptures are true, but it is less than useless to use scripture as "proof" when talking to someone who in no way, shape, or form believes the Bible is true, or not literal truth, anyway (like me). And they just don't seem to understand that.
Personally, I think of the Bible as more of a tool for teaching morals than something to be taken as literal truth and history, and never use it in an argument (well, almost never. There are a few Christians around who need to be reminded of certain important things they tend to forget when going on a crusade against anybody who doesn't agree with them). After all, in the case of stories told before writing was widely used, it is impossible to know what the original said. Even with stories that were written down in their original form, we have absolutely no way of knowing the exact connotations of the words chosen, and thus, whether the translations are as accurate as we think they are, or the intent of the writer. They could have just been making stuff up as far as we're concerned, and until someone invents a time machine, we'll never know. That's my logic, anyway.
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That's why you take the scripture and show them how it applies. Unfortunately, even if you do prove to them that it is true, they probably won't believe you.
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I completely agree. You understand me perfectly. It's like this -
The Bible is true.
Why?
Because God says so.
How do you know that?
It's in the Bible.
But I don't believe in the Bible.
But the Bible is true.
Why?
Because God says so.
...ad infinitum. I'm always trying to get that across to people. The Bible is true, but it doesn't prove its own truth.
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Ugh, most annoying argument ever. Circular reasoning does not prove anything other than the arguer's own stupidity 
Course, I suppose if they had some modicum of logic, they wouldn't be extremists now would they...
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Unfortunately, it seems to happen on both sides of any debate to some extent. I suppose that's the problem with extremism of any kind.
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i completly agree, and i'd be neutral in a religious conversation (which most of the time, takes place at relatives housholds)
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