Ok, so I am truly getting bored of the forums here and it's dawned on me why:
A lot of people here are really fake.
I see a lot of people (especially guys) trying to impress everyone (especially women) with their (wisdom.)
A lot of posts here read like a pastor preaching a sermon and it's boring.
Guys, especially those who have been on here quite a while, you will not attract a lady by posting bland, "sheeple" remarks that don't show your confidence, competence, and testosterone.
I mean really. Either ask a question or don't.
Either answer a question with what you perceive to be the truth and give it a well thought out answer at that. Please don't bore us with your parroting of what you pastor or sunday school teacher said the week before.
If you must quote anything, please quote a scholar.
Maybe all of my, well I guess, ranting leads me to this:
Those who see themselves as wise in their own eyes are foolish and guys desperately trying to find a date on the internet are a blight on the earth.
"Willing to lie about how we met..." really theDave? your a piece of work aren't you? i cannot throw any stones, Lord knows i'm not perfect but brother. please.... just... stop acting like a insolent child. you sound bitter. jealous of men who have managed to encourage thought time and time again through their knowledgeable words. i want to encourage you to learn from example, instead of trying to be someone's knight and shinning armour by trying to belittle and slander well meaning persons who have who are human just like the rest of us. God bless.
i just read some of your... 'paraphernalia' and came to the conclusion that maybe your going through rough time, i heard somewhere that trouble makers are troubled people. so CDFF, let's pray for him. in fact, i am going to start a thread over in the prayer request section.
Yall, Thedave said he was bored. I'm sure he was trying to provoke on purpose to get a rise out of everyone. I think the post is best left alone, we have given him enough entertainment for one day.
1babygirl: I like you. you are a cool and wise person and you sure do keep your head in situations... kudos.
First I will address a very obvious question: Why am I even on this website?
It's simple, I like to participate in internet chat forums.
Do I browse through other members' profiles and sent them messages?
Absolutely!
But check this out! One of my best friends and go to buddies for advice is a chick named bethany that I met on eHarmony over three years ago!
And I haven't been a member of eHarmony in over three years as well. And the story of me joining eHarmony in the first place is because I was cooped up in a trailer in Mexico hurt because my girlfriend had just broken up with me and I wanted to talk to a christian chick that spoke english.
Am I on here to get a date?
No.
I'm not opposed to getting a date over the internet but that ain't why I'm here. But I would love to meet another Bethany.
Archimedes, I REALLY like you!
The trouble with keyboards is that I have a hard time conveying tone of voice.
I am neither petulant nor a child. I am not easily annoyed... ok, yes I am.
But I'm annoyed by things like traffic, not being able to find something I'm looking for and then realizing that it was on my desk the entire time, and my guitar constantly falling out of tune.
They're all minor irritations that allow me lighten the spirits of those around me. It really is funny when I get irritated.
But I don't take blindsided kidney shots at people.
Kudos on "calling me out!" But dude, but if you didn't want to argue on the forum then you should have just sent me a private message like you asked me to do. Twice.
I didn't name people because DontHitThatMark was right! I can't tell the motives of people. Btw, Mark, I've got to hand it to you on your second post! Cute ;)
And even more than not being able tell motives (which is partially true, because as we are on a dating website, a lot of people here are probably looking for a date. When they come on the forum they try to put their best foot forward. They don't want to look weak, or less than spiritual. So when there's a lot of fluff with no real substance out there what am I supposed to think?)
Anyway, because I can't truly tell the motives of those who post things and I can only go on conclusions that I draw because of where we are and what most of the people who are here are doing here.
Follow?
So I'm not being cowardly by not "calling people out."
How do I know that the person that I "call out" isn't truly passionate about the things that they are posting and that out of their excited about what they are posting and can't wait for everyone to see it?
i don't. i don't. I Don't. I Don't. I DON'T!
So I will never, EVER, call someone out unless I have a personal relationship with them in real life and not on the internet.
And even then I will do it behind closed doors.
Unfortunately doing what I'm not trying to do is both my gift and my curse and with great power comes great responsibility.
Edw, I hadn't read a single post of yours before I started this
thread. You truly weren't on my mind when I posted this and if I hurt your feelings then I am sorry.
But I do speak truth and I won't take it back.
I want to see something raw. real.
I am ever learning that my words seldom hit the floor and that my inability to beat around the bush doesn't help the delivery... at all.
And "I'm willing to lie about how we met" is a clever tagline that's there for the sole purpose of making people laugh. And if I met someone on here or on any other website I'd be honest about it.
A piece of work?
Indeed I am. You see, I know the truth about me. I AM a piece of work. I'm an existentialist and sometimes that conflicts with my Christianity and I'm forced to reconcile the two.
More than that my Christian brothers and sisters are seldom able to help me in this struggle so then I'm alienated from my family.
Alone.
And I hate myself because I can't just live and be happy but instead I have to figure out the puzzle.
And I have to do it alone.
So yes, I ache for an intellectual Christian culture. I ache and tremble and yearn for it.
I'll tell you, I'm weak. What strength do I have? What righteousness?
None.
On that post that Mark copied to here I listed some questions. These are my questions. They're real. And the biggest one, Edw, is from Socrates:
Does God hate something because it's evil, or is it evil because God hates it?
Nyanda, you have no clue the troubled person that I am but I will tell you that I am not jealous of any one of the men that are on here. But I'll take the prayer.
Thank for your kind words for me. Dave, I have an IQ of 124. It's not genius but it has blessed me with the ability to understand the complex concepts of physics, chemistry and biology to be able to teach it. I could study the word in the breakdown of Greek and Hebrew if I wanted to and I do a mean crossword puzzle. God has called me to teach His Word and I am humbled by the great responsibility of that with the knowledge that he will judge teachers on a different plain.
All of this means NOTHING concerning my walk with God. Your Christianity or your walk and relationship with God can not be understood through your carnal mind. Believe me, I have tried. Being an intellectual and needing to understand everything through a analytical viewpoint caused me much grief in the beginning of my walk with God. God's Son coming down as a embryo in a human woman to be born, growing to an adult, only to die a horrible death so that you and I and the whole of humankind could be saved, delivered and walk with victory while here on earth sounds like a fairy tale except you believe with your spirit.
I have to admit that I had to look up existentialism, having no idea what that was. Let me tell you from experience, nothing is to be reconciled with your Christianity. The Word stands alone and by itself as God's truth. So when you juxtapose yourself against it, whatever does not line up, YOU must change. Whether that change is your philosophy and way of thinking, your ideas and everything you once held to be true, it doesn't matter. It is God's good pleasure to change your heart and/or your mind if you yield it to Him. It will take you humbling yourself and telling God that He alone rules and being willing to submit yourself, your ideas and everything to Him. I had to realize that it was God that gave me the intelligence quotient that I have. He is the creator of all and He has hidden His truths in His Word to be revealed by the Spirit as we seek Him.
God wants you to be at peace and not be troubled even as you yield and seek Him. I speak peace to you in the Name of Jesus. As you draw near to Him He will draw near to you and you will find the answers you are looking for. You are never alone. He is more than the whole world against you. And you do have a Christian family even here who will rebuke you with love, pray you through any rough patch and rejoice with you when you win.
Let him that would move the world first move himself.
My favorite one that I like to use is:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
(Socrates-469-399 BC)
Apparently Socrates had a problem with low self-esteem because there are many such quotes like this one attributed to him. Or just maybe he accepted the fact that he didn't have all the answers.
Good luck in your quest for stimulating, intellectual Christian conversation. I'm sure if you look for it on here you'll fnd it.
Hi, I just want to say a word or two on the existentialism issue.
If you are trying to make ends meet, Dave, maybe reading Rudolph Bultmann would help a bit. I don't know how well known he is in the states (or if he even got translated), but he was a scholar for NT and Systematics and was influenced much by Heidegger, they were friends.
He is looked at with suspicion by some rather conservative Christians here in Europe (especially German speaking countires) because they think he'd put up a different gospel, but when I read a bit of his works I did not get the impression at all, he appeared to me to be with all his heart and soul seeking for answers and finding a way somehow.
I would not agree with everything he said, but I think he's worth a read.
I also do think that there is a way getting intellect and faith together, but I'd think about starting the other way round: Approach intellect from faith. They don't necessarily speak one against the other, there is no logic reason why Christ would not have risen from the dead etc. It all belongs on what you set as your preconditions.
At least this is more or less the way how I walk my walk. I don't say that there are no problems and that I know all, but it's a way, at least for me.
It has lead me to be something like a nihilist - philosophy wise. But this only points out how wonderful it is to have the Lord as an anchor, a fix point you can hold to, as nihilism alone will leave you alone and lost in space and time.
It was your wording friend that got you into a heap full of trouble.
As you said yourself you are alone.I have not read your profile. So, Why do you not talk about your issues over with your pastor?
We are never alone, god is with us all the time. Why not asl for prayer and find out who the real people are.Impling some people are fakes is always going to start a rukus.That is just a part of life. God knows those things we do not need to know.Dennis
as my grandfather would ask my dad and hippie aunt when they were trying on different religions, beliefs, or philosophies: 'how's that working out for you?'
"Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1Thessalonians 5:21). what good ever came from only caring about yourself? what good would come from it? the most fullilling thing i ever found in life is choosing selflessness and learning to be a good friend.
Dave, You still don''t "get it". You cannot walk into a room full of people and announce "You people bore me. You are all a bunch of Fakers and S*ck Ups and Sad, Desperate People". and expect everyone to applaud you.
Your intial premise was false and then you went downhill from there. Einstein said pretty much the same thing that Socrates said. He said that anyone that claimed to be an expert (a know it all) was someone that had "closed" their mind and therefore would never learn anything new or discover anything new.
Dave, your thoughts are scattered and confused and you seem not to be "at peace". Submit to Jesus. He is The King of Peace. Allow Him to Heal you and Give you that Peace that you seek. This Forum is an excellent place to be Healed. There are many Brothers and Sisters that truly Love you and will listen.
BUT, we will not be Brow-beaten or Be-littled and if you continue we will simply ignore you. Seek fellowship Dave. Find a church that you feel comfortable in and pray with them. Ask Jesus to come and sit with you. Seek Him.
"Nyanda, you have no clue the troubled person that I am but I will tell you that I am not jealous of any one of the men that are on here. But I'll take the prayer."
You have NO clue! or maybe you do... i understand what you were talking about with the puzzle reference, and feeling the need to bridge the gap between your christianity and "existentialism", i do not refer to my struggles in the same way i call it the gaping chasm. between the way things are and the way are are supposed to be. what do i do to "deal" with it? i give it up to the Lord. sometimes i take it back, i fall all the time but at the end of the day and always in the back of my mind i chose him. i know the complexity within me, and i too am a PIECE OF WORK, notice i did not claim innocence.
Arch is right, you simply do not gather the magnitude what what you did by making this thread!
i can tell you that i thoroughly understand, you are not alone. but you got exactly what you were calling out for! attention, alot of it. none negative that i have read. all here for you, to help. or just to pray for you.
notice how sharp cliffs erode after long periods of time and the action of violent/subtle waves and become gorgeous beaches? its the same way your "situation" will be, through the miracle of time, and some beautiful bashing from people who care you will (hopefully) be the jewel that God created you to be.
