Not true. God HIMSELF instituted the death penalty for mankind when he spoke to Noah in Genesis chapter 9, when he said, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man."

Thermionic

Bob

Once read a book called,"How The Irish Saved Civilisation." Claims there were remnants of the Holy Roman Empire left in the far reaches of Ireland during the Dark Ages. And they kept the book alive for some time.
I like Eccliesiasteses and Revelations.

Yes, and no. God has not ever changed, from before that time until now. The difference is, there is now a different dispensation in effect for God's people. When te death penalty was set in order, it was the dispensation of human government, followed by the dispensation of the levitical Law of Moses, followed by the dispensation of grace. Capital punishment was never abolished throughout these dispensations.

The "Christian soldier" thing in the context of violence is a farce. Throughout the ages, it's been used by entities taking up the moniker of "Christian," to impose their silly "religion." You cannot impose it on anyone, it is strictly voluntary. You cannot "convert to it." You cannot become one by calling yourself one or by believeing you are. Calling yourself a Christian or going to church doesn't make you one any more than standing in your garage and calling yourself a car makes you a car. You must be born again to become a Christian. And the Christian soldier's battle is a spiritual one, not against flesh and blood.

Christianity is not a religion, although many religions that are called such are indeed practiced. Christianity is a REAL, supernatural, life-changing experience with the living God. Religion is what man does in vain to reach a holy God, which is impossible to do because of man's sin. OTOH, salvation is what God has done to reach man, which DOES work, because sin is eliminated. Religion is something a man adds TO his ways, but salvation will separate a man FROM his ways.

The Bible was written by many pens, but by one author, the Holy Ghost, as he gave the inspiration. There are no contradictions anywhere, on the contrary it compliments itself from beginning to end. The teachings of Christ do not contradict the Old Testament in any manner. The Law was given because of transgressors, so that sin could be defined, but it could not forgive sin or make you righteous. It was so complex, no one could keep it.

Jesus came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it as only he could, so it's true righteousness could be fulfilled in those who accepted him. Not by the obedience of the letter of the Law, as man cannot not fulfill it's righteousness in his sinful, iniquitous state, but through repentance and accepting the sacrifice of Christ that paid the debt of sin.

With your sins forgiven through repentance and accepting Jesus into your heart, your spirit (which was dead because of sin) is made alive through the blood, and the eyes of the spiritual understanding and consciousness of the spiritual realm are opened. With sin and iniquity out of the way, fellowship with God is attained, just as with Adam and Eve in the garden. You are given a different spirit, the Spirit of Christ, and his righteousness is fulfilled in you. The Old Testament Law could not take away sin, it only told what sin was. Christ's sacrifice is the only thing that could take away sin.

Because a born again child of God has his Spirit, the commandment is stricter than the Law. As long as one who has been born again stays in close communion with God, and yields to the Spirit instead of his flesh, he will not sin, indeed cannot sin, because there is no longer any iniquity in him.

Because a real, true blue, Holy Ghost-filled believer no longer has the fallen, sinful Adamitic nature, Jesus made some changes to the commandments. Whereas under the Law it was permitted to hate your neighbor, while under grace it is sin. Under the Law, adultery was punishable by death, but lusting was not a transgression. Under grace, merely looking on a woman to lust is equal with the very act of adultery. Under the Law, drunkenness was permitted. Under grace, it is listed right beside cold blooded murder on the list of the sins of the flesh.

I used to believe it was nothing but religion and a crutch for weak-minded people, and that the Bible was a farce and full of contradictions. That is, until one night 12 years ago when I was sick of how I was feeling inside. I knew there must be a better way. I wasn't at all what most would call a "bad person," but I did harbor a good bit of bitterness and discontent inside, and although I didn't hurt anybody, I still had a bad temper. From drinking a few beers on the weekend, I started getting pretty lit on Saturdays, and then went to drinking some during the week a night or two. I was feeling more empty and discontent on the inside all the time.

I knelt at my bedside at home one night, with a repentant heart, and asked Jesus to save me. I didn't even know what I was really asking, and didn't know a single Bible verse. But, I had a sincere heart, and someone met me in that bedroom and I began to weep and cry, and I felt the weight of what seemed like hundreds of pounds lifted from my back and shoulders, and a warm feeling of peace and love I'd never felt before flooded my body.

Since that night 12 years ago, I've never drank another drop, and had no desire to do so. I have no malice, guile, or bitterness in my heart at all anymore.

I also had one of the filthiest mouths of anyone I've ever known, and I've not said a single word of profanity since that day. The cusser moved out when Jesus moved in. The two cannot exist together.

My temper was gone. Now, I practically do not get angry AT ALL, and when I do it is very slow to come and very mild; never even raising my voice above a normal speaking tone even at the worst.

If Christ moves in, there will be a huge change in your life immediately. The things you once loved, you will hate, and the things you once hated, you'll love. I used to HATE church, and would go maybe once a year on Easter to make someone else happy. Well, teh Lord called me to preach and I've since been the assistant pastor of a church and spent about 7 years evangelizing. I never attend church less than 3 times a week, and am usually looking forward to the next service by the time the one I'm in is over! I've spent two weeks at a time in church every night several times.

I've seen countless people saved and delivered instantly, completely, and permanently from alcoholism, drug addiction, you name it. I myself have been completely healed of everything from an ingrown toenail to extreme, uncontrollable, undiagnosed chronic high blood pressure. I've seen others instantly healed from cancer, diabetes (some of them on their death beds!), problems with the heart, back, stomach, legs, ears, eyes, everything, and even seen deformed hands and fingers and broken bones healed instantly. Babies, kids, teens, young adults, middle age, elderly. I've seen a 12 year old girl that had never walked without braces on her legs take them off and run around. I've seen people come up out of wheelchairs shouting and dancing.

Yes, this thing is VERY REAL. You don't see it much because of all the hypocrisy, worldliness, and sin in most of the "church world" today, but that doesn't affect God one iota. What God will do for whosoever will has not changed and will not. Until you meet Jesus, you do not really know what love, peace, or joy are in any sense of the words. He is the Prince of Peace, God is love, and as the Bible describes born-again salvation: "Joy unspeakable, and full of glory." Indeed, there are no words to express it..... Jesus. To know him, is to love him. And to know his love for YOU.

Thermionic

"All that fervor" is the direct result of what he did for me, and what I feel in my soul, even now as I type this reply. If you could just feel what I feel, know what I know, know WHO I know, have what I have, you'd be as fervent as I am! Tonight was church, and I jumped, I ran, I raised my hands, I cried, I SHOUTED for joy in the presence of the Lord! And to think I was an ultra-introvert before.... It was Jesus Christ, Buddha didn't have a thing to do with it. Buddha's dead and rotten in the ground. Jesus OTOH is alive and well, and makes his abode inside me and many others. Dead men don't deliver, set free, make new, give joy and peace, and you don't feel their presence.

I've even seen the VISIBLE glory of the Lord come down like a mist in the church house, like it did at Solomon's temple in the Old Testament. A lot of the old timers often tell of 50 years ago, when they saw it very often, and every single service was filled with deliverance, healing, and great manifestations of the power of God. The churches today no longer believe what they did 50 years ago, and certainly don't live what they lived 50 years ago, and that's why you don't see it, don't hear of it, and why most of the church world today is regarded as nothing but "your religion of choice." The born-again salvation, the new and abundant life, and freedom from sin are no longer taught very much.

But, it's still just as real today as then, still just as real as when the 120 in the upper room were baptized with the Holy Ghost after Christ's ascension, just as real as when Paul, Philip, and Peter worked miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. For anyone who'll believe and pay the price in humbling themself and seeking God's face with a whole heart, witholding nothing, God still does what he did back then. God today doesn't move in the old-time way of the early/mid 1900's campmeetings and revivals, because people don't believe or live the old-time way! But the real power is still there.

My mind comes to an old friend of mine, who ended up a youth evangelist. He was a longtime heroin addict, who was contemplating suicide one day while sitting in the park. He looked up and said, "God, if you're real, show yourself and save me." He had just shot up a lot of smack, and he said the INSTANT those words left his mouth, he was stone cold sober..... He broke down, and repented and got saved right there. He never had a single withdrawl symptom, no, not one.......... REAL salvation power, not a religion!

My best friend before I got saved was one of the worst alcoholics I've ever known, and was doing a lot of speed as well. He was in his early '20s, and his parents were divorcing after 25 years of marriage. He ended up with the family home, which was filled with all the family memories. He turned to more and more drink and drugs to drown his sorrows, and just went deeper into depression.

We had went to trade school together, and had worked together for about 2 years. He played drums in a very popular local country band, I played guitar in a local rock band, and we'd jam together just for fun, me and him. I knew him more than well enough to know he was really hurting badly, and was falling into deep depression and anger.

Well, he came into work one Monday morning, and was a COMPLETELY different person than he was when he left work Friday evening. I was flabbergasted. Everybody there was! We were all talking about what happened to this fellow, and what could have done it. I mean IT BLEW PEOPLE'S MINDS. Well, he said he got saved the day before, after a friend of his who had recently gotten saved told him what the answer to his problems were.

That's when I realized this thing HAD to be real. I got saved at home that Wednesday night.... 6 co-workers got saved soon afterward by our witness. One was a really bad druggie, who was completely, instantly delivered. They were all blown away by the instantaneous night and day change in me, just like we all had been by my friend. There was no denying what had happened!

My friend and I ended up going to the same church together. We had quit our bands, and were the regular drummer and lead guitarist in that church for years. He's now a preacher as well.

Weekend before last, I saw a bandmate from that old rock band in a local store. I hadn't seen him in a long time, but I knew the second I laid eyes on him what had happened. Sure enough, had gotten saved a few weeks before. The look of life in the eyes, the lifting up of the countenance, the glow of salvation.......... to someone who is saved, it's instantly recognizable, as is the kindred spirit of Christ that you can feel so clearly.

He was a heavy partier with a very bad, rude, negative attitude, one of the foulest mouths in existence, and smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day. The cigarettes were gone with no craving or withdrawl, the foul mouth was gone, he was clean and sober with no desire for a drink or drugs, his spirit was meek and gentle, and I've certainly never seen him so happy and bubbling over with joy. That's what the blood of Christ can do for anyone, whether the vilest and lowest, or the best moral "good" person.

My pastor was the town drunk, and had a reputation as the baddest dude around. He was well known as a brutal fighter, and could and would whip anybody who challenged him. He was raised by alcoholic parents who had him and his siblings drinking and smoking before their teens. By his late teens, he was totally bound by nicotine, alcohol, and drugs and had been in a lot of trouble. He wanted loose, but couldn't get help.

He went to all the religious churches in town, and they all signed him up on the roll, took him along on their functions, and had him sing in the choir. Every church in town baptized him. He went under the water dry and bound, and came up wet and bound. But one day, he found a church that still lived and believed the old-time gospel the other churches had abandoned years before. Do a Google for "Azusa Street Revival" and you can read what I'm talking about!

He went with a friend of his on a joke, to see what all these crazy people were doing down there. He said he could hear them having church 2 blocks away with all the windows closed. But he could also FEEL something far away as well.....

He sat down on the back pew, and something got hold of him. He ran to the altar, and in 5 minutes was delivered. In the 42 years since the moment he got up from that altar, he has never used tobacco, drank a drop, done drugs, or said a single curse word again. I've known him for 10 years, and he's one of the greatest men of God I've ever met. He and his wife, I myself, and my wife just started a new church together 4 months ago. 17 sinners have prayed in the altars so far, and we've seen several healings.

Like my pastor, I tried religion myself for awhile in my teens, and abandoned it after I found there was nothing real about it. But in salvation, I found what I was looking for, something real. There's nothing on this Earth that compares to a real experience with God through Jesus Christ his son. I've been lost and I've been saved, and believe me, saved is better.

You see Manualblock, I wasn't just an average Joe Schmoe with a little drinking problem. I didn't tell you the whole story. My mother had left my father (a career criminal) when I was an infant. I never knew her, and my dad got sent back to the pen soon afterwards. I was raised by my abusive grandfather, who would mercilessly beat me and verbally abuse me. My friends were terrified of my grandpa, and wouldn't come over. I never had a mother or father, no family, no nothing. All my family was drunks and dopers, and never talked to each other. My grandpa died when I was barely 16, leaving me and my elderly grandma alone.

I had so much hurt and pain in me you can't imagine, and the alcohol and drugs were the way of dealing with it. But I finally got help one day, and it wasn't from a shrink or his mind-altering drugs, and it wasn't from a religious "crutch." It didn't cost me a penny, and I didn't have to wait to see the results, either. And it's just as real and as good today (actually better) than it was then.

Thermionic

Damir