Is America a Biblical Nation?

[okinrus]

Show me the scripture in regards to group prayer.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."(Matthew 18:20)

How, again, show me scripture asserting that the holy spirit can show man the heart of another man?

How else did Peter know Simon's heart in this passage? "When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, "May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. You have no share or lot in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God...For I see that you are filled with bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity".

What???Proof it to who exactly...I'm in a closet without anybodies knowledge addressing god? I'm trying to proof my own righteousness to god..of course, isn't that the point???

So your not proving your righteousness to me by saying that you pray in a closet? You cannot prove your own righeousness to God since it comes from God. You seem righteous for the most part, but you are quite bitter on these forums.

Plus, are you accusing the bible of promoting self righteousness, for it clearly compulses us to pray in private:
[6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Please address the biblical scripture.

No, Jesus is saying to avoid all distractions when praying, and not to pray in order to be self-righteous.

But the bible says that the potential of hypocracy is very high in groups, plus it singles out and calls for private religion, so what is your point, if you even have one?

No, not thousands of private religions, but one united underneath the church. Praying in a group is not in error because the collective group is praying. How could one prove that he is more righteous than the other when we are all saying our prayer as one voice at the same time? There is short period of time for private prayer during the mass, but we say this in private without speaking. So prayer itself is never in competition during mass.

Surah 107 speaks of those that are unmidfull of their prayers..

It says also,107.4] "So woe to the praying ones, Who are unmindful of their prayers,Who do (good) to be seen".

And what is the difference....?

Having no objection to it is indifference.

 

[Medicine*Woman]

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."(Matthew 18:20)

How else did Peter know Simon's heart in this passage? "When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, "May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. You have no share or lot in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God...For I see that you are filled with bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity".

So your not proving your righteousness to me by saying that you pray in a closet? You cannot prove your own righeousness to God since it comes from God. You seem righteous for the most part, but you are quite bitter on these forums.

No, Jesus is saying to avoid all distractions when praying, and not to pray in order to be self-righteous.

No, not thousands of private religions, but one united underneath the church. Praying in a group is not in error because the collective group is praying. How could one prove that he is more righteous than the other when we are all saying our prayer as one voice at the same time? There is short period of time for private prayer during the mass, but we say this in private without speaking. So prayer itself is never in competition during mass.

It says also,107.4] "So woe to the praying ones, Who are unmindful of their prayers,Who do (good) to be seen".

Having no objection to it is indifference.

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M*W: I remember one time when I was a "good" Catholic when the priest's homily was about group prayer. After the homily, he came down from the lecturn and asked the congregation if they would like to share a prayer request at which time the rest of us prayed for whatever it was the person asked. Several parishoners spoke up by asking for specific things like financial help, help with a sick or wayward child, help with marital problems, help with careers, etc. Then there was a lull, and no one else spoke up. It was like I received a message in my head at that time telling me to ask for prayers for people who need them but don't know how to ask. I spoke up and asked the parishoners to pray for those who have needs but who don't know what to pray for. The priest said that was a good prayer request, because sometimes people are confused as what to prayer for, kind of like a dilemma situation. He asked the parishoners to pray for those who don't know what they need and to pray for those who don't know how to ask. That just about included everybody. It was a spiritually moving experience for me as well as I would guess everybody else. Group prayer is powerful. Funny I haven't forgotten this incident after all these years. There were times my daughters and I got together to pray for a specific thing, like my mother's health. The four of us would sit on my bed, join hands, and pray for our needs and other's needs. This was long after I gave up Christianity, yet I know our prayers were answered in unity. There IS strength in unity, and God was right there with us. (okinrus, can you believe I am stating this?). These times were confirmations that God was with us wherever WE are.

 

[okinrus]

okinrus, can you believe I am stating this?).

Yes, I do believe. The danger of group prayer is when it becomes communication between two people, and not the group in unity with God.

 

[mrmufin]

You are wrong, many scientists that believe in this theory have strong faith that it's correct and holds the answer to the purpose of life for humanity.

Scientists have something much more reliable than faith to support biological evolution. It's called evidence, and it's revealed in the fossil record, DNA sampling, carbon and radiometric dating methods and the nested heirarchy of species.

I've yet to hear any scientist assert that evolutionary theories answer "the purpose of life for humanity"; instead the theory evolution answers the origins of human life by common ancestry, random mutations and natural selection. In the same sense, the theories of gravity do not tell us whether or not people should be thrown off cliffs.

Regards,
mrmufin

 

[mrmufin]

Yes, but it's not on par with my faith in God because God has not revealed that Evolution is true. In particular, how life actually got started is difficult to explain without God's divine providence.

Has God revealed that quantum electrodynamics is true, or does the computer that you're reading this message on act by some mysterious, un-godly principle for which you have no faith? Has God revealed that special relativity, the second law of thermodynamics or the wave particle duality of nature is true? Has God yet revealed that the we don't live in a geocentric universe wherein our planet provides the preferred frame of reference amidst the luminiferous ether?

Perhaps the origins of life are difficult to explain, but asserting "Godidit" offers no real explanation at all. Phlogiston theory did an adequate job of "explaining" why combustible stuff burns... until it was falsified.

Regards,
mrmufin

 

[okinrus]

Has God revealed that quantum electrodynamics is true, or does the computer that you're reading this message on act by some mysterious, un-godly principle for which you have no faith? Has God revealed that special relativity, the second law of thermodynamics or the wave particle duality of nature is true? Has God yet revealed that the we don't live in a geocentric universe wherein our planet provides the preferred frame of reference amidst the luminiferous ether?

God has no use in revealing these things to us since they may be found out by men in their due time.

Perhaps the origins of life are difficult to explain, but asserting "Godidit" offers no real explanation at all. Phlogiston theory did an adequate job of "explaining" why combustible stuff burns... until it was falsified.

As I said before, Evolution is not an article of faith. Someone is free to believe in evolution with the provision that evolution was under God's providence. You have no way to scientificly falsify God's providence because it is outside of the realm science. Thus, your belief or unbelief in this matter is either faith in God or faith in the world.

 

[Turduckin]

I've yet to hear any scientist assert that evolutionary theories answer "the purpose of life for humanity"; instead the theory evolution answers the origins of human life by common ancestry, random mutations and natural selection. In the same sense, the theories of gravity do not tell us whether or not people should be thrown off cliffs.

Your assertion on ignorance (you have yet to hear) is almost as irritating as listening to 'xtian fundies' butcher and hack science. But I will succomb to weakness and respond to this digression anyway.
I suspect that there have been one or two scientists over the years who have tried to use science as allegory or metaphor to answer philosophical/moral questions - for example: Social Darwinism from Evolution theory or Moral Relativism from Relativity and the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
The topic at hand is whether or not America is a Biblical Nation - the subtext being is there historical justification for turning this nation into a theocracy?