byronarnold

Hello Byronarnold. Welcome back to Xisto. I am guessing that you have joined Xisto, left, and came back looking at your myCENT status, post status, and join status so no need to explain how to link your forum and billing accounts. I also love strategy games. My favorite's are AoE III, chess, and another one that I can't think of right now.

Yes, I left and came back. Decided I wanted that web hosting again. lol.

I love AoE II and Chess. Right now I am addicted to C-Evo. The BEST Civ 2 knock off ever, Lol.

Welcome back to Xisto! Once you're here...you can't leave!
So, go get posting!

I have been posting. I am already a step ahead of ya. I have been posting. Haven't caught the Xisto addiction yet though. Lol.

Both games are freeware, based upon Civilization II. I personally like C-Evo better. Although I can never win at either! Lol.

Hello Everyone...
Just a new member of the forum...

Im hoping to learn much on this forum.

Thanks!

A lot of newbs are overwhelmed by how big the boards are. I advise you not to try to keep up with everything that goes on here. Pick the forums that interst you the most, and just watch those boards.

For example, I am usually to be found on the Religion and Spirituality boards.

In a way aged music is the truest because it is most simple.It doesn't have to rely on odd time signatures and key shifts and
technology to get the message across.
Simplicity is the thing that people will remember the most in the long run.

Although most Bach and Beethoven is hardly simple.

Simplicity is indeed a thing that is often taken for granted. Look at the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for example. The modern church heaps so much under the "Gospel", but the Gospel is really quite simple: Jesus came to take away the sins of the world through his blood shed. There were people saved in the Book of Acts, long before the New Testament was written, and a long LONG time before the modern Chrurches complex theology of what the "Gospel" is.

Give me that "Old Time Religion", the Religion that Peter and James taught long ago.

I was listening to "Amazing Grace" earlier on Youtube and now I am listening to "Just a Closer Walk". I had forgotten that even the old hymns can touch the soul so deeply.Don't get me wrong, I love contemporary worship music. "I can Only Imagine" by MercyMe speaks to my soul just as much. But in my zealousness to find copntemporary music to worship with, I forgot that the old hymns could do just a good job.I am definately going to have to mix it up and include music of both in my personal worship!

Hello, I am Byronarnold. I live in western Ohio. I am a nerd who loves strategy games and loves reading and studying.

 

I am a Christian-Universalist. I believe that, through the blood of Christ, all men will eventually be reconciled to God. While I do believe in punishment for sins (both in this life and after we die), I do not believe that any punishment is eternal, except for Satan and his demons. The punishment for man is corrective punishment (that is the meaning of the Greek word the New Testament uses for punishment; kolasis means corrective punishment), afterwards we will be reconciled to God.

 

I believe in both evolution and creation. I believe in the Gap theology, and believe evolution happened during the gap and that everything was destroyed during Satan's fall, and the creation story of Genesis 1:3-2:3 was God re-creating the heavens and the earth.

 

I believe in soul sleep. After we die, it is like sleep for us. We know nothing and are completely unconcious until the Resurrections in the Last Days.

 

I love science-fiction. My favorite tv shows are Star Trek TNG and Star Trek Enterprise; Stargate SG-1 and SG-Universe. My favorite movies are all the Star Trek movies and Star Wars. My favorite Book (besides the Bible, of course) is Battlefield Earth and the Foundation series. I also love the 2001 series by Arthur C. Clarke.

 

Well, thats me. I am just a religious nerd, I guess. Lol.

I believe in Evolution.

 

I believe in Creation.

 

Yes, I believe in both.

 

How? You may ask?

 

The secret is in Genesis 1:1-2. Lets take a look at the Scriptures.

 

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters

.

 

The word translated "was" from the Hebrew is better translated as "became". Most of the time, when you see "was" or "is" in your Old Testament Bible, it was supplied by the Translators for clarity. They were not in the oroginal Hebrew, because they are implied by the language. The fact that this word "was" actually in the original Hebrew text should give us a clue. Anyways, verse two is better translated as "The earth became without form and void..."

 

So why would the Earth become desolate? I believe it was the Fall of Satan. I mean, we can clearly see that Satan rebelled before the Creation story in Gensis 1:3-2:3. After all, we see him in the Garden of Eden leading Adam and Eve to sin.

 

So the Creation story in Genesis 1:3-2:3 is actually a RE-Creation story rather than a creation story. God is re-creating the world after God's judgement against Satan and his fallen angel comrades.

 

So where does Evolution come in?

 

There's a reason that just about every scientist (95% of all scientists, and over 99% of scientists in the Life sciences [such as biology]) believe in Evolution. There is quite a lot of evidence in several different fields of science that attest to evolution. So when did it happen then, to fit with the Bible? I believe it was between the creation of the Universe (the Big Bang and following events) in Genesis 1:1 and Satan's Fall and God's judgement against the Earth in Genesis 1:2. I believe that the majority of time of the known universe (several billion years) exist within this time frame, and this is when life evolved over the course of billions of years and thats when God destroyed everything as part of his judegement. Then he recreated everything as described in the first creation story.

 

Yes, I know there is no biblical support that evolution happend during the "gap" between Genesis 1:1-2 (and most Gap theologists deny evolution ever happening), but the writers of the Bible had no clue about evolution, so God didn't mention it when he inspired the writing of the Bible. With the evidence of evolution, it had to have happened sometime. I think it best logically fits there.

 

Gap creationism (also known as Ruin-Restoration creationism, Restoration creationism, or "The Gap Theory"), is a form of Old Earth creationism that posits that the six-day creation, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved literal 24-hour days, but that there was a gap of time between two distinct creations in the first and the second verses of Genesis, explaining many scientific observations, including the age of the Earth.

~"Gap Creationism", Wikipedia

I have seen this argument before. However, if i am to be convinced that "aion" (and "aionios") should not ever be considered as "everlasting" or something similar, i would require sources (preferably objective) that doesn't, after all it mentions, basically mean, "it depends on context." Likewise, "age-enduring:" am i supposed to assume this means it will come to an end? If it endures the ages, shouldn't it be more logical to assume that it doesn't come to an end?

There is a phrase that Jesus uses throughout Matthew (13:39, 49; 24:3; 28:20): the end of the aion. Obviously, if aion has an end, it cannot mean eternity. Aionios is the adjective form of aion, referring not to eternal but to a time period covered by aion. Hence the translation I offered above: age-enduring.

 

Yes, Jesus's act can justify all men, but as explicitly mentioned by Romans 5:17 and 5:21, this requires Christ, therefore anyone who does not have Christ will not be justified.

Yes, Christ's action was necessary for the justification of all men. I never denied that. I in fact agree with Paul when he says:

 

if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

I also agree with Paul when he says:

 

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Romans 2:9-11)

Paul says that all it takes to be saved is to confess and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord. He also says that everyone will do that. Obviously, then, everyone will be saved! I am not saying that there won't be judgement in the Lake of Fire for those who have died in their sins, but I am saying that that judgement is not eternal for anyone except Satan and his fallen angels! Those of us who accept Jesus in this life will bypass that punishment for our sins. Those who don't will go through that punishment. But after that there will be no doubt in their minds that Jesus is Lord, and that he died so that they may eventually be reconciled to God. They will, at that moment, confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, to the Glory of God

 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

If he is patient, then why must that patience end at death? I mean, what is the point in a kolasis (Greek for corrective punishment) after death if it is not to rehabilitate the soul and lead to its reconciliation with God?

The Grek word for "eternal" (and its cognates such as "forever") does not signify "eternal". There is no Biblical Greek term that matches with our conception of "eternal". The Greek word is "aion" which signifies an undetermined amount of time. A better translation than "eternal" is "age-enduring" (compare the Young's Literal Translation of the Bible. Also, see this page for more information on "aion"). What most translations translate as "eternal punishment" is better translated as "age-enduring correction", since in the Greek the word for punishment (kolasis) refers to corrective punishment. This makes sense, since God is our Father. A Father does not punish children just to punish them, but to correct and teach them.

 

Romans 5:18, which I quoted above, seems to me very clear as supporting Christian Universalism. The context (Please read Romans 5:12-21) shows that they are talking about all human beings , not just those in Christ. And, according to this passage, Jesus' "one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men."

The Bible does not support any dates for the end of the world. Not 2012, nor 2000 years after his death. In fact, hear the words of Jesus:

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (Matthew 24:36, ESV)

It is super clear that no date for the end of the world can be supported by the Bible. The 2012 hoax comes from pagan sources, the Mayans. And its not even the ned of the world according to them. Only the end of an age.

 

Please, people, start reading your Bibles. Do not fall into paganism, or you will face the judgement after your life has ended.

There is a judgement after death for those who have not achieved salvation. The New Testament makes that very clear. But, in light of the scriptures that say that all will be reconciled to God, I believe that this judgement is only temporary. I personally believe it to be based upon your sins. For example, Hitler will have a greater punishment than a common thief. The thief will have a greater punishment than someone who just told fibs here and there. After the punishment, they will be reconciled to God.

 

Here are some more verses that support Universalism:

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those

who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the

resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all

will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,

after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end,

when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has

abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until

He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be

abolished is death. (I Cor. 15:20-26)

 

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,

visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or

authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He

is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head

of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from

the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in

Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made

peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether

things on earth or things in heaven. (Col. 1:15-20)

 

For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope

on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of

believers. (1 Tim. 4:10)

 

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only,

but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

 

And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under

the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To

Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and

glory and dominion forever and ever." (Rev. 5:13)

 

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of

the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the

grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like

that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:15-21)

 

...being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11.)

 

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will,

according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to

an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the

summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things

upon the earth (Ephesians 1:8b-10)

 

For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to

all. (Romans 11:32)

 

Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You

have given Him, He may give eternal life. (John 17:2)

We are all sinners. But God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son as a ransom for the sins of the world. By his blood, by his cross, we are all forgiven of our sins. That is not to say that we are free to sin. There is a judgement for all. But by Christ's blood the judgement has already been taken care of for us.

(Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV).)

Christian Universalism says that by God's grace through Jesus Christ's sacrifice, ALL will eventually be saved. This was a prevalent view in the early church, and many of the church fathers believed it. But orthodoxy was established in 325 C.E. at Nicea. And since then, it has been heresy to believe in Christian Universalism.

But lets take a look at what the Bible says about it. Please notice the word "all" in the following scriptures:

1 Cor 15:22: "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
Col 1:19-20: "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Rom 5:18: "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men."

Rom 11:32: "For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all."

ALL means ALL. I don't think there is anyway to limit its meaning to just "some". I think from these scriptures its pretty clear that God plans to save everyone!

This is only a sampling of the scriptures found that support the idea of Christian Universalism. For more, watch this video: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

I currently don't have the time to keep up with this forum and a website in addition to my job. So, how would I delte my hosting account? I don't want to delete my Xisto forum account, I like the discussions here, and I may want to try a website gain someday, but right now I don't have the time. Is it possible to keep my forum account but have my hosting account deleted?Thanks for any and all info!!!Byron Arnold

here what i woud suggest is be optimestic thats the solution for all !"Positive thinking really works researchers say. It is a known fact that optimism pays more dividends than pessimism. People who think positively fare better in many ways they are healthier, they are happier, they live longer and they are more successful in their jobs than pessimists.
Though no one can be optimistic all the time, we can try our level best to see the things around us in a positive way. Worry and fear trigger negative reactions, whereas hope and faith promote positive ones. Though the worldly person adopts hundreds of ways to develop positive attitudes and thoughts, we, the children of God, have a much more valuable resource in our hands! It is not anything else but the Bible which is full of hundreds of promises which our Lord has given us to claim as our own.

So dont get Confused that whether there is life after death , there is one for sure , so believe be optimestic !! Go Ahead..

Who says believing in life after death is optimistic? To me, its pessimistic, for the simple reason that the vast majority of humans who have ever lived is, according to most religions, going to hell!!! To me, its more optimistic to say that all are equal in death (i.e., they all face the same fate, nonexistence after death), just as they should have been in life.

I was wondering if anyone could give me a step by step instructions for setting up an addon domain? I tried setting one up following the video tutorial, and I got an error (see the attached bmp file).Thanks, and peace to all!!!P.S., In Screen 1, I left the passwordx blank for obvious security reasons. It was filled out when I attempted to set up an addon domain.

"God", to me, is the entirety of existence. That is, the Universe is "god". Beyond the Physical universe, there is no god. For more info, you can go to the topic I posted on these forums, http://forums.xisto.com/topic/58177-introduction-to-pantheism-a-very-short-explanation-to-natural-spirituality/.

Well, I hope everyone has a good day! Peace!!!!

Etymology

The word pantheism comes from two words: pan is a Greek word meaning "all" (also used as , whereas theism means "a belief in god(s)", from the Greek word theos (which also had a meaning of "divine").

 

Definition

Putting the parts together, we get the meaning "the universe is divine". Not divine as in "a supernatural being who created, sustains, and rules the universe", but as in "inspiring a deep reverence and/or awe".

 

The physical universe all around us is, in my opinion, so more mysterious and awe-inspiring than any of the many deities man has created for himself throughout our history. There have been so many men who have devoted their entire lives to figuring out the mysteries of just one of this universe's many mysteries, and have remained in awe by the universe throughout their entire lives. Many people have built up an entire spirituality around this awe and/or inspiration of the physical universe.

I don't understand how one man's finite torture and pain during a set duration can make up for an almost infinite number of people's* infinite pain for an unlimited duration? (By an almost infinite number of people, I mean every person who died unsaved since at least the alleged Resurrection, if not since the alleged Creation) It would be like a man who has never murdered dying in place of every person on death row for murder (assuming, of course, the government would allow it! (Which it NEVER would!!!)I do not mean to offend anyone. Maybe someone could explain it to me?Peace to all, and have a really good evening!!!

Whe I say "to serve the world" I mean serving money and/or yourself before anything else. I mean it in the sense that jesus put it in that you put worldly possesions before Godly possesions. When one becomes of the world everything they have can be taken away in an instant, but an individual who is of God has their life stored in heaven, it is a little difficult to understand without studying it though. As for environmentalism and humanism, yes, some of them are atheists too, they may not put themselves first, but they do put worldly belongings before God, to make them of the world. Anyways, I hope I explained it enough.

First of all, to serve something doesn't make it a religion. Are the men and women in the armed services part of a distinct religion? (militarism?) Are butlers and maids part of a distinct religion? obviously not!And what's wrong with "serving the world" (sic) when we (mostly) believe that "the world" (that is, they physical universe) is all that there is. It would make no sense for us to serve something we don't believe exists!

peace to all!

Er, if you look at the definition of what a religion is, you'll see that a religion is not always related to a deity or spiritual concept.

 

A religion is a set of beliefs, simply put.

 

With that said, atheism and even science are religions. Heck, all of your superstitions, traditions, and whatnot are included into the definition of what a religion is.

 

As far as that argument for atheism... that was kind of out there, no offense. I think that I'm more atheist and less agnostic; however, I don't see how it works moreso for serving the world. It's simply having no belief in a higher deity. Of course, I know a lot of Christians aren't exactly out to serve God either... it's just the level of dedication to your faith. Some people are hardcore Bible-thumpers and others just are religious just to fulfill any spiritual needs and/or need an "answer" to the unexplained. Whatever floats your boat, really... as long as there are no conflicts that have to deal with making others believe what you believe. Everyone has a right to believe what they want to believe and not have anything forced on them... which is why I hate those door-to-door people that want to "save" you.

Hmmm... Atheism is not a set of beliefs. It is simply the lack of a single belief, namely that of the existence of a divine, supernatural being. If atheism is a religion, then a-unicornism (Unicorns don't exist) is a religion...

 

Just my two cents! Peace!!!

Democracy is the hope that more than half the people are right more than half the time.

I have no idea who said it, but I learned it in government class...

Democracy is not perfect by any means. However it is the best that is currently available, imo.

Of course, many times minorities are SOL. But most modern democracies have safeguards to protect the minorities.

I think atheism is a religion, because instead of serving God, you are serving the world. In Christianity you try to become more Christ like; whereas, in atheism you become more like the world. It's not a defined religion with rules and guidlines to identify atheists, but I think it is a religion, but it isn't viewed as one since it doesn't honor a god per se, but rather worldly things.

WOW... If that's your strongest argument for atheism being a religion...
First of all, what does it mean to serve the world? To better the environment? Or the world's people? these are known as environmentalism and humanism, respectively. And atheists are represented in both camps, but there are also atheists in neither camp. And if we wanted to "be like the world", we'd accept belief in god since that is what the majority of the world believes. While there are conformist atheists, there are also a lot of non- conformist atheists out there too.
So, in my opinion, none of your arguments hold water.
peace to all! have a good day!

I'm just curious as to what everyone's opinion on this is. I know this is a very controversial topic, so everyone please be nice!My opinion is that it is not. You know what they say, "Atheism is a religion like bald is a hair color."

I am a 6. I am not 100%sure, but I am pretty sure there are no supernatural beings. I man, what evidence is there? I have found none!!! Of course if anyone has any, just send them to me. I am open minded and would believe if presented with sufficient evidence.

Why? Go outside, and look at the trees. Look at the birds. You can't tell me God didn't do that.

I can, and if asked, I will. I believe everything in existence has a naturalistic explanation to it. I mean, just because we don't under stand something doesn't mean we have to use the myth, "god did it".

Anyways, just my two cents. Have a good day!!!