gotigrz's - 'Jesus is the only way to heaven' thread, split from "Is Ed... a Christian Again?" Options

[shave98765]

good.

if all of this is true of ed... i can't say that i can go back to jamming to selling the drama or i alone, or whatever... but, i can say that i am very very happy and proud of ed kowalczyk.

This whole thread is funny.

You make it sound like Ed is a close personal friend of yours(and if that was the case, you should call him Eddie). If we "truly loved Eddie K." Are you serious? You truly love him? I love listening to his music...but would never go so far as to say I love him. I don't know him. I'm not friends with him, we don't hang out. I check his website every day, I follow his twitter and obviously i want him to be happy, but at the end of the day I realize what it is...he's an entertainer, trying to make a living, and I'm a fan. The music itself...definitely takes on a larger meaning than that...and it's definitely helped get me through some rough spots in my life.

Nobody should care what religion he is. If he has discovered/rediscovered his Christian side, and it makes him happy, good for him, I'm happy for him. If he has not, and that makes him happy, then that's great too. Do you think Ed cares what religion you are? Or I am? Or any of us? No.

I myself follow no particular religion, and definitely have not found God. I do no go to him searching for answers. With that said, I enjoy Love Shines...even if many people think that song sucks. I can enjoy any of his songs, without caring what his religious beliefs are. If he has found his Christian side, you can't jam with Selling The Drama or I Alone? Then I think you have issues that go far deeper then your religious beliefs.

And..."it's amazing how someone finding Jesus can bring such joy to someone's life (mine) and bring such sorrow to others..." I don't think anybody life will be filled with sorrow because Ed has "found Jesus." We'll be disappointed if we don't like his music...but his religious beliefs will have zero effect on my life.

"i just wish some of the ones on this board would find the Lord if they haven't yet." You sit here and criticize people for pushing their message of hoping Ed hasn't discovered his Christian side as being selfish...yet you turn around and try to push your religion on us. "i'm only hoping the best for everyone." No, you don't, you just care about pushing your message across. You clearly didn't come to this topic with an open mind. Don't misconstrue this post either, I respect all religions, and believe religion is a great thing. Just not for me, at least not at this point in my life.

On the flip side, to think that Ed can't write good music because of some newfound religious belief...that's just silly.

[gotigrz]

"Nobody should care what religion he is."

if you're a Christian,... you want others to be, too. not for your sake, but for theirs.

"Do you think Ed cares what religion you are?"

if he has truly given his heart and soul to Jesus... then yes, i do.

"yet you turn around and try to push your religion on us"

see, that's the problem... to a non-believer... when anyone that is a Christian even brings up the fact that Jesus is their Lord and Saviour... they think they are trying to "push" their beliefs on someone. i'm not doing that. i'm telling you what i believe and why i believe it. and, for me to want the same for anyone else is my decision. if you think me being happy for ed, that he found Christ, is pushing my beliefs on you... then you're the one with the problem.

"I respect all religions, and believe religion is a great thing. Just not for me, at least not at this point in my life."

see, you don't get it... Christianity isn't "something to get you through the day"... becoming a Christian isn't going to make your life easier... it's actually going to make it harder. but, i know that It will keep my soul for eternity with the Lord.

[iateyourcookie]

i think people forget that Christians didn't make their own rules about God.

Mate, this is naive at best. 2,000-odd years of chinese whispers and ambiguous translations don't help.

To demonstrate:

Do you know why the flood was forty days and forty nights, and why Noah waited another forty days before opening the ark? And remember how they wandered in the desert for forty days, and Moses camped on the mountain for forty nights, and how Jesus fasted for forty days? And then that time the spies took forty days to scout out the promised lands, and when Nineveh had forty days to repent? Oh, and how many days did Jesus have to withstand Satan's temptations...?

'Forty', in ancient Hebrew, generally represented 'many'; not necessarily one more than thirty-nine. And yet, biblically, it is deemed to be exact. If such a small and innocuous word can be mistranslated and now stated as fact, how much of the texts can actually be directly taken as gospel?

Organised religion has always interpreted and enforced the 'word of god' to their own benefit. Look at the Crusades, for Christ's sake. An open mind is the greatest gift that the Lord gave us, and choosing to close it to the opinions of others only spurns that offering and makes for a lesser person.

Challenge your assumptions and tolerate those of others. Your belief is exactly that, only that; and so, is no more fair for you to presume accuracy than anyone else.