Agreed. My pastor encourages this continually.
I have no qualms with birth control, personally, but I respect the Catholic stance on the issue. From my understanding, the Catholic church is against birth control because it allows men and women to negate (some of) the consequences of pre-marital sex. And if you take away the possibility of a man needing to take responsibility for his sexual actions, it encourages a devaluation of women. A man who can go screw whoever he feels like and not worry about it because she's on birth control or he slapped some rubber on is a man who can easily come to regard women as objects and playthings instead of partners and helpmeets.
So his heaven would be packed with criminals and deadbeats... Oh, like his supper table? Also, I kind of seem to recall maybe there was something in there about "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" and "Anyone who breaks even a small part of the law is guilty of breaking all of it" and "I tell you the truth, if a man even looks at a woman with lust in his heart, it is the same as if he had committed adultery with her". According to all that, a) every one is a criminal and dead beat, b) I suck just as much as you do c) we are all unworthy of God's grace d) I'm a liar, cheat, adulterer, thief, murderer, etc. and so are you e) everyone sucks f) no one is worthy of entrance into heaven g) I don't know how many times I have to restate the same point before you get it through your thick skull
I don't know who started it, but I agree, you're not going to get any special reward in heaven because you went and blew up a coffee shop
Deut 18:4 "You are to give him the fristfruits of your grain, new wine... (the list goes on)" Lev 27:30 "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees belongs to the Lord..." Deut 12:17 "You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts." (Notice the distinction between the "tithe" (or tenth) and the freewill offerings and other gifts. Mark 12:41-44 "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.'" (also found in Luke 21) If you can find ANY Biblical basis for your position, I'd love to see it, because I've got pages to support mine.
God tells us over and over again He will provide for us. I refer you to
Luke 12:22-34 "...Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these..." Please go read the rest. My post is getting too long already.
Not all miracles are big, earth-shattering ordeals. Every sunrise is a miracle. Every breath, every beat of a bird's wings, every lost item found. Miracles never cease, and are everywhere. You just need to appreciate them for what they are.
We are all God's creation, and he loves everyone. However, we are not all God's children. That title is reserved for those who have accepted their inheritance as brothers and sisters of Christ, through Christ's blood sacrifice. The very nature of God (as omniscient and omnipotent) shows that God does indeed know our every move. "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you" and all that.
My personal theory on the unchanging nature of God is that God, and heaven, exist outside of space-time. Perhaps in a different dimension or universe altogether. If one can remove themselves from space-time at will, they can then insert themselves back in at any point and be the same at the beginning of time as at the end of it. I do not believe that our concept of time is something that contains God.
But that's science, which I'm told by so many self-assured liberals has no place in a religious discussion :jester: