What does it TAKE??

[shioman]

Hey people,... doing another survey here for a project. =) If you could help me out, that would be great!

The question is,...

What do you think you need to do to please God?

Any answers would be appreciated.

Thanks!

- Shioman

[Y2J]

That would depend on your religion . I feel the best way to is to keep the mitzvahs as best I can

[Nija]

Read the Satanic Bible?

[Markel]

Wow. Nothing like making your first post such light topic!

In mathematics, they teach you about necessary and sufficient conditions. It sounds like you are looking for a sufficient condition, which is difficult to summarize. I would suggest considering such passages as Matt. 3:17, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." The "sufficient" answer to "What pleases God?" is Jesus Christ.

One other consideration: Hebrews 11:6 says "And without faith it is impossible to please Him". Thus faith is a necessary condition to pleasing God.

Put the two together, and I think you get a pretty good answer to the question about what you need to do to please God.

[Twilight]

God? What God?

[eSDee]

If you really want to take a survey, put together a form and host it on homestead or tripod or your website if you have one. By asking a question on a message board, you are going to taint your results. If you really want to start a discussion, say "what does it take? I think..." etc, etc.

Until then, you'll get no satisfaction from me, newbie! :hehehmm:

[zenbooty]

Travel like a king
Listen to the inner voice
A higher wisdom is at work for you
Conqering the stumbling blocks come easier
When the conqueror is in tune with the infinite
Every ending is a new beginning
Life is an endless unfoldment
Change your mind, and you change your relation to time

You can find the answer
The solution lies within the problem
The answer is in every question
Dig it?
An attitude is all you need to rise and walk away
Inspire yourself
Your life is yours
It fits you like your skin

The oak sleeps in the acorn
The giant sequoia tree sleeps in its tiny seed
The bird waits in the egg
God waits for his unfoldment in man
Fly on, children
Play on

You gravitate to that which you secretly love most
You meet in life the exact reproduction of your own thoughts
There is no chance, coincidence or accident
In a world ruled by law and divine order
You rise as high as your dominant aspiration
You descend to the level of your lowest concept of your self
Free your mind and your ass will follow

The infinite intelligence within you knows the answers
Its nature is to respond to your thoughts
Be careful of the thought-seeds you plant in the garden of your mind
For seeds grow after their kind

Play on, children

Every thought felt as true
Or allowed to be accepted as true by your conscious mind
Take roots in your subconscious
Blossoms sooner or later into an act
And bears its own fruit
Good thoughts bring forth good fruit
Bullshit thoughts rot your meat
Think right, and you can fly
The kingdom of heaven is within
Free your mind, and your ass will follow

Play on, children
Sing on, lady
Yeah

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by Markel
Wow. Nothing like making your first post such light topic!

In mathematics, they teach you about necessary and sufficient conditions. It sounds like you are looking for a sufficient condition, which is difficult to summarize. I would suggest considering such passages as Matt. 3:17, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." The "sufficient" answer to "What pleases God?" is Jesus Christ.

One other consideration: Hebrews 11:6 says "And without faith it is impossible to please Him". Thus faith is a necessary condition to pleasing God.

Put the two together, and I think you get a pretty good answer to the question about what you need to do to please God.


Be his son and have faith?

[Markel]

Originally posted by LPM

Be his son and have faith? [/B]

Close to what I was thinking. "Have faith in His Son" is more what I had in mind. However, faith in His Son will make you His son, and can make you like His Son.

[mojo]

i dunno. if i knew, i am not sure i would be alive to tell about it. if i find out, i will let you know. hopefully if i am right, you will listen. if you find out, let me know. hopefully if you are right, i will....

[DoPeY5007]

Originally posted by Twilight
God? What God?



that's what I am say'n...

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by Markel

Originally posted by LPM

Be his son and have faith?

Close to what I was thinking. "Have faith in His Son" is more what I had in mind. However, faith in His Son will make you His son, and can make you like His Son. [/B]

If I AM his son, naturally, I'd like him, because frankly, I'm a great guy.

To answer the question...you don't have to do anything to please God, he already loves you. Now, it's what you don't do that gets you the nicer apartments in the afterlife thats important.

[Markel]

I always enjoy a good discussion (but I don't want to get into debate). So, as long as things are staying civil, I'm glad to continue.


Originally posted by LPM
[/B]
To answer the question...you don't have to do anything to please God, he already loves you. Now, it's what you don't do that gets you the nicer apartments in the afterlife thats important. [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm wondering what you base this idea on. According to the source that I am quoting, that's not true. For example, Ephesians 2:1-5 says "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)."

In the state of "not doing anything", it says we are the "children of disobedience", which is quite different from being His sons (yet, as you say, He does love us).

[LPMiller]

I'm being silly.

But really, I don't think we can please or displease God per se, I mean...he's God. Da Man should be above that sort of thing.

Now, personally, I don't hold a lot of stock in the bible, because I don't trust a document that went through 4000 years of copy editors. But I think the gist of God is there.

God loves us. God doesn't want us to do bad things. Don't do them. Any else is just people once again making things more complex than they need to. Because I refuse to believe God is going to punish someone because they never met a preacher before, or who led a good and holy life and yet, never stepped in to a church.

I don't accept the idea that Ignorance of the Word is no excuse. That would make God a bit of a jerk, and my God ain't like that.

But I understand others don't see it that way, that's cool. As long as you ain't a Sci Tol. I hate Sci Tol. Hey, I'm all about religious tolerance, which is why I like the ULC. But Sci Tol doesn't fit my view of a religion. God doesn't cost money, I don't see why Xenu does.

[oblongmelon]

take a look around you everyday and be thankful.

[johnnymk]

You are absolutely correct, Markel.
There is no way to the Father except through his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are saved through faith by grace; It is a gift from God,it is not of works and not through yourselves, lest anyone should boast.
In other words, Jesus paid the price of our sins on the cross. But for people who do not accept that Free Gift, they will perish forever.
Grace is undeserved merit. We do not deserve to be saved from eternal punishment, but God provided a way out, because of his love for us.
A gift is something you take for the asking. You don't work for gifts, especially when the gift-giver tells you it's free.

[Markel]

Originally posted by LPM

God loves us. God doesn't want us to do bad things. Don't do them. Any else is just people once again making things more complex than they need to. Because I refuse to believe God is going to punish someone because they never met a preacher before, or who led a good and holy life and yet, never stepped in to a church.

I don't accept the idea that Ignorance of the Word is no excuse. That would make God a bit of a jerk, and my God ain't like that.


We can never be "put in a box" and say what He can and can't do. (I'm not suggesting that you are -- just continuing the discussion.) I don't think we will every in this live fully comprehend the love of God. But there is another side to Him that we need to be equally aware of, and that is His justice. He is absolutely just, and He will never compromise His standards. Do you know how you feel when there is a blantant violation of justice and someone who is clearly guilty gets off scott free? I have a confidence that God's justice will be absolutely right. He will never condemn the innocent, but neither will He ever clear the guilty.

My intention is to be sure of what His verdict on my life will be. And I'm not basing it on how good I can try to be (although I certainly seek to do what is right). I believe that God's justice can only be satisfied by what His Son did in our behalf. Romans 3:24-26 (NASV) says "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

[hapoo]

:disa: I dont even want to start another religous flame war... but :disa: Such blasphemy.

[Markel]

Originally posted by hapoo
:disa: I dont even want to start another religous flame war... but :disa: Such blasphemy.

Hapoo,

As I said earlier, I have no intention of getting involved in any kind of flame war, either. However, I would be interested in knowing what you are referring to as "blasphemy".

[hapoo]

Originally posted by Markel

Hapoo,

As I said earlier, I have no intention of getting involved in any kind of flame war, either. However, I would be interested in knowing what you are referring to as "blasphemy".

As long as we're agreeing on the no-flame war... for the sole purpose of education i'll explain.

In my religon there are some fundamental idea's. They are very similar to christianity but with a couple major diferences.
There is only 1 god, he has neither mother, father nor any relatives. He was not born will not die and has NO OFFSPRING. He can not be seen or heard directly. He sends down messangers to get his message through to us.
While my religon fully accepts Christianity it points these facts out very clearly, hence to say that Jesus is god or gods son is blashemous. And to put so much emphasise on Jesus is idol warship. While he was a very important man he was Nothing More than a man.

[Markel]

Hapoo,

Thanks for your response. It helps to see that we are coming from different "directions". As far as the things you state, I think it will have to be "we agree to disagree", as there really isn't any reconcilliation between the things you say and the things that the Bible says about Jesus.

[TheLoneGunman]

Possibilities:

A. Slaughter those that are non-believers as infidels
B. Forcibly convert non-believers and then apply "A"
C. Spead the "word" along with all sorts of fatal disease and then apply "B"
D. Create religious literature that demonizes others, then apply "C"


At least that has been the plan of Christianity.

If you are Moslem, add:

E. Strap bombs to yourself and go into a market, disco, shopping center or school bus and detonate it when you have the maximum number of innocent victims

[hapoo]

Originally posted by TheLoneGunman
Possibilities:

A. Slaughter those that are non-believers as infidels
B. Forcibly convert non-believers and then apply "A"
C. Spead the "word" along with all sorts of fatal disease and then apply "B"
D. Create religious literature that demonizes others, then apply "C"


At least that has been the plan of Christianity.

If you are Moslem, add:

E. Strap bombs to yourself and go into a market, disco, shopping center or school bus and detonate it when you have the maximum number of innocent victims


Dude... enough with the religion bashing. Its not cool or funny.

[TheLoneGunman]

I don't think it is funny to spend 2000 years killing others that believe other things either.

Please don't dismiss the Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, Slaughter of the American Indians, Incas, Mayans, etc, Pograms, the Holocaust, Jihads, and other horrible events with pleas of "don't rehash the past"

You are SERIOUSLY out of touch with reality!!

[hapoo]

Originally posted by TheLoneGunman

You are SERIOUSLY out of touch with reality!!


Do you see me strapping a bomb to myself and blowing people up??? your making gross generalizations about people. I live happily with people of other religions and beliefs but when people talk shit about my beliefs like you have i can understand why people do what they do. You dont believe in god or religion? thats fine with me. But could this world work without faith in a higher power?? i seriously doubt it. Take a look at communism... atheism in practice.

[TheLoneGunman]

Take a look at all the dead, injured and persecuted in: Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, etc.

Religion in action.

[Markel]

Originally posted by TheLoneGunman
I don't think it is funny to spend 2000 years killing others that believe other things either.

Please don't dismiss the Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, Slaughter of the American Indians, Incas, Mayans, etc, Pograms, the Holocaust, Jihads, and other horrible events with pleas of "don't rehash the past"

You are SERIOUSLY out of touch with reality!!

Making that kind of generalization is like saying the acts of Hitler are a demonstration of government in action.

[TheLoneGunman]

They are.

Hitler (not unlike a certain US President) received a minority of the popular vote, yet he still became the leader. He also began his systematic persecution of others WITHIN the structure of government. He passed laws through the elected Reichstag and enforced them with the civilian police forces. Only when it became too hard to handle did he exceed the governmental structure.

In Israel, the instigators of terrorism are the "Palestinian Authority Police" These are the only Palestinians authorized to carry most weapons and they are used in the majority of cases against the Israelis instead of against lawbreakers (as in other police forces around the world). Further, these "police" refuse to arrest known terrorists operating in their midst (even those identified by third party countries like the US).

The government, bureaucratic, and religous structures can be bent in such a way as to cause harm instead of preventing it and that was my point. The Supreme Being has become an excuse for people's misbehavior towards others. This is unconscionable.

[Markel]

Maybe my analogy wasn't quite what I intended. What I am trying to say is that you are painting with a broad brush. The attrocities done in the name of "religion" have zero to do with obeying what Jesus taught. They are the acts of man-made, self-serving heirarchies. Such things unquestionably existed in the days of Jesus Christ (both religious and governmental) but He never espoused these acts -- in fact, He taught quite the opposite: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you." Interestingly enough, this has to do with the topic of this thread, as He continues, "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."

p.s. That certain US President was in accordance with the laws of the land -- the same laws which applied to EVERY President that has been elected for the past <mumble> years.