Hello! New here

[Adrian17]

I am an agnostic desperately searching for god, and believe me I have looked in many places. I have read the Qur'an, studied Buddhism, and even dabbled in some Hindu texts. There was even a time when I looked to the Occult for answers, but after finding no refuge anywhere, I decided to look to the Christian faith. I might also add that my mother is a devout Christian, though she is full Pentecostal.

However, considering my little knowledge on the subject, there are some things that I am not clear on, such as:

What exactly is hell? Is it nothing more than eternal torture in a furnace?

What constitutes as an eternity? How can one enter or leave an existance in a place which knows no time, no boundaries?

What do the good Christians that go to heaven do for an eternity? I mean, it's an ETERNITY.

Why is Jesus' name never mentioned in the old testament, if it is true that God and Jesus created man in 'Their own image'?

Is the use of drugs (mainly smoking marijuana) condemned according to the bible? And is it true that the disciples of Jesus used drugs? (Opium in particular)

I apologise for the number of questions, I am just new and curious and eager to get started!

[Imam Rashik]

Re: Hello! New here

The Holy Quran has told you that taking of intoxicants is wrong. Why have you not become a Muslim after reading The Holy Quran?

[Adrian17]

Re: Hello! New here

The Holy Quran has told you that taking of intoxicants is wrong. Why have you not become a Muslim after reading The Holy Quran?

I couldn't believe what I read.

Good rules to live by, but to put it simply it was too far fetched.

[Billy Bob Jenkins]

Re: Hello! New here

I couldn't believe what I read.

Good rules to live by, but to put it simply it was too far fetched.

You think these are good rules to live by?

They hate Christians and they hate you too.

KORAN commands to kill infidels:

Allah is an enemy to unbelievers. - Sura 2:98

On unbelievers is the curse of Allah. - Sura 2:161

Slay them wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. - 2:191

Fight against them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme. (different translation: ) Fight them until there is no persecution and the religion is God's entirely. - Sura 2:193 and 8:39

Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. - 2:216
(different translation: ) Prescribed for you is fighting, though it is hateful to you.

..... martyrs.... Enter heaven - Surah 3:140-43

If you should die or be killed in the cause of Allah, His mercy and forgiveness would surely be better than all they riches they amass. If you should die or be killed, before Him you shall all be gathered. - 3:157-8

You must not think that those who were slain in the cause of Allah are dead. They are alive, and well-provided for by their Lord. - Surah 3:169-71

Let those fight in the cause of God who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fights in the cause of God, whether he is slain or victorious, soon we shall give him a great reward. - Surah 4:74

Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil. - 4:76

But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever you find them. - 4:89

Therefore, we stirred among them enmity and hatred, which shall endure till the Day of Resurrection, when Allah will declare to them all that they have done. - 5:14

O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Those of you who make them his friends is one of them. God does not guide an unjust people. - 5:54

Make war on them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme - 8:39

O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there are 20 steadfast men among you, they shall vanquish 200; and if there are a hundred, they shall rout a thousand unbelievers, for they are devoid of understanding. - 8:65

It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he has made slaughter in the land. - 8:67

Allah will humble the unbelievers. Allah and His apostle are free from obligations to idol-worshipers. Proclaim a woeful punishment to the unbelievers. - 9:2-3

When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. - 9:5

Believers! Know that idolators are unclean. - 9:28

Fight those who believe neither in God nor the Last Day, nor what has been forbidden by God and his messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are People of the Book, until they pay the tribute and have been humbled. - 9:29 (another source: ) The unbelievers are impure and their abode is hell. (another source: ) Humiliate the non-Muslims to such an extent that they surrender and pay tribute.

Whether unarmed or well-equipped, march on and fight for the cause of Allah, with your wealth and your persons. - 9:41

O Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites. Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end. - 9:73

Allah has purchased of their faithful lives and worldly goods, and in return has promised them the Garden. They will fight for His cause, kill and be killed. - 9:111

Fight unbelievers who are near to you. 9:123 (different translation:
Believers! Make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Let them find harshness in you. (another source: ) Ye who believe! Murder those of the disbelievers....

As for those who are slain in the cause of Allah, He will not allow their works to perish. He will vouchsafe them guidance and ennoble their state; He will admit them to the Paradise He has made known to them. - 10:4-15

Allah has cursed the unbelievers and proposed for them a blazing hell. - 33:60

Unbelievers are enemies of Allah and they will roast in hell. - 41:14

When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds, then set them free, either by grace or ransom, until the war lays down its burdens. - 47:4
(different translation: ) When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads, and when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly.

Those who are slain in the way of Allah - he will never let their deeds be lost. Soon will he guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden, which he has announced for them. - 47:5

Muslims are harsh against the unbelievers, merciful to one another. - 48:25

Muhammad is Allah's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. Through them, Allah seeks to enrage the unbelievers. - 48:29

Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal sternly with them. Hell shall be their home, evil their fate. - 66:9

The unbelievers among the People of the Book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. - 98:51

KORAN promises of houris (virgins) in heaven:

Single-minded slaves of Allah... will be honored in the Gardens of delight, on couches facing one another; A cup from a gushing spring is brought round for them, white, delicious to the drinkers, wherein there is no headache nor are they made mad thereby. And with them are those of modest gaze, with lovely eyes, pure as they were hidden eggs. - Surah 37:40-49

Lo, for those who ward off evil is a happy journey's end, Gardens of Eden, whereof the gates are opened for the, wherein, reclining, they call for plenteous fruit and cool drink therein. And with them are those of modest gaze, companions. This it is that ye are promised for the Day of Reckoning. - 38:50-54

Lo! Those who kept their duty will be in a place secure, amid gardens and water-springs, attired in silk and silk embroidery, facing one another.... And we shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes. They call therein for every fruit in safety. They taste not death therein, save the first death. And He hath saved them from the doom of hell, a bounty from thy Lord. That is the supreme triumph. - 44:51-57

Lo! Those who kept their duty dwell in gardens and delight... reclining on ranged couches. And we wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes... and we provide them with fruit and meat such as they desire.... - 52:17-22

...Reclining upon couches lined with silk brocade, the fruit of both the gardens near to hand.... Therein are those of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinni will have touched before them.... - 55:54-56

Those are they who will be brought nigh, in gardens of delight... reclining therein face to face. There wait on them immortal youths... and fair ones with wide, lovely eyes, like unto hidden pearls, reward for what they used to do.... Lo! We have created them a creation, and made them virgins, lovers, friends. - 56:11-37
(Different translation) Companions with beautiful, big and lustrous eyes... virgin-pure and undefiled.

Koran "sharia" punishments:

As for the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah. - Surah 5:38

[Adrian17]

Re: Hello! New here

Well, to the above poster, I'm not dead yet, nor do I suffer any affliction that I am aware of

And by saying they are good rules to live by, I meant some of the basic fundamentals. The 'Golden Rule', as some might say.

[Imam Rashik]

Re: Hello! New here

I couldn't believe what I read.

Good rules to live by, but to put it simply it was too far fetched.

You could not understand The Holy Quran and what teaches. There is nothing that is "too far fetched". I will give these Holy Quran verses to reconsider.

SURA 2. AL-BAQARA
1. Alif Lam Mim.
2. This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard [against evil].
3. Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them.
4. And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was revealed before you and they are sure of the hereafter.
5. These are on a right course from their Lord and these it is that shall be successful.

[Levi Jones]

Re: Hello! New here

I am an agnostic desperately searching for god, and believe me I have looked in many places. I have read the Qur'an, studied Buddhism, and even dabbled in some Hindu texts. There was even a time when I looked to the Occult for answers, but after finding no refuge anywhere, I decided to look to the Christian faith. I might also add that my mother is a devout Christian, though she is full Pentecostal.

Oh boy. A spiritual tourist. Having a little stopover on your way to scientology or mormonism?

What exactly is hell? Is it nothing more than eternal torture in a furnace?

Yes.

Matthew 13:49-50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

It's also a lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
What constitutes as an eternity? How can one enter or leave an existance in a place which knows no time, no boundaries?

Jesus describes hell in more detail in Luke 16:23-24
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

What do the good Christians that go to heaven do for an eternity? I mean, it's an ETERNITY.

I guess we will all be perfectly happy placid little souls forever and ever.

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Why is Jesus' name never mentioned in the old testament, if it is true that God and Jesus created man in 'Their own image'?

Jesus was prophesied many times in the Old Testament. There are passages in Job that mention God has sons.

Job 2:1-2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Is the use of drugs (mainly smoking marijuana) condemned according to the bible?

Yes.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Peter 1:17-19
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Thessalonians 5:4-8
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

1 Peter 4:7
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

And is it true that the disciples of Jesus used drugs? (Opium in particular)

They drank wine, but there is no mention of opium or marihuana that I know of.

[Bible Student]

Re: Hello! New here

I am an agnostic desperately searching for god, and believe me I have looked in many places. I have read the Qur'an, studied Buddhism, and even dabbled in some Hindu texts. There was even a time when I looked to the Occult for answers, but after finding no refuge anywhere, I decided to look to the Christian faith. I might also add that my mother is a devout Christian, though she is full Pentecostal.

However, considering my little knowledge on the subject, there are some things that I am not clear on, such as:

What exactly is hell? Is it nothing more than eternal torture in a furnace?

You are asking those questions? Really????? Did you even attempt to read the Sticky Threads that all new participants, Unsaved Trash, are required to read? I'm sure Pastor Ezekiel will be by shortly to chastise you for being such a miscreant. Or perhaps in his benevolence he might only provide you with the links to the required reading.

But I have to ask, have you never attempted to open up your 1611 King James Bible and find the answers yourself?

Here are some of the things the bible says about laziness otherwise known as sloth [normally I would use the proper spelling and wording from the 1611 King James Bible, but seeing how slothful you are I will use a more modern wording]:

Proverbs 6:6-11 -- Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

Proverbs 10:4-5 -- He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

Proverbs 19:24-25 -- A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

Acts 20:34-35 -- Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Matthew 25:26 -- His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

What constitutes as an eternity? How can one enter or leave an existance in a place which knows no time, no boundaries?

What do the good Christians that go to heaven do for an eternity? I mean, it's an ETERNITY.

Why the silly questions? All you need to know is that the God-breathed words say it is so. God said it! You should believe it!!

Why is Jesus' name never mentioned in the old testament, if it is true that God and Jesus created man in 'Their own image'?

Well technically the name Jesus is mentioned in the Old Testament but the 1611 King James Bible translators in their infinite wisdom [so people like you who are too lazy to do their own thinking] wanted you to be able to distinguish between the minor person and the King of Kings. Joshua and Jesus are exactly the same names in Hebrew and Greek. In addition Jesus is mentioned many, many times in all of the Old Testament prophecies but not exactly by His name. Those prophecies are no coincidence.

Is the use of drugs (mainly smoking marijuana) condemned according to the bible? And is it true that the disciples of Jesus used drugs? (Opium in particular)

Have you ever opened up a bible in your life? Try it. You might find that you like it. I'm sure you won't like the alternative, hellfire and eternal damnation. The only way you are going to get saved and avoid them is to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, and that will only come about if you make a daily habit of reading your 1611 King James Bible. Now the reason I mention this (besides being concerned about your immortal soul) is that if you open up your bible you can see whether it mentions marijuana or opium.

Since it is obvious that you are too lazy (and totally unconcerned whether you suffer the wages of sin or not) I will help you out. Nowhere in the bible will you see the words marijuana nor opium. You are reading too much atheist bull crap. Stop reading that junk and crack open your bible and do some reading for yourself.

Now you might have read in those heathen atheist books pretending to be medical and botanical references that anointing oil contained frankincense, marijuana seeds and myrrh (which are psychotropic/hallucinogenic). But let's get real here. The main ingredient of holy oil is olive oil. You can perform this experiment yourself -- try to smoke olive oil. How far did you get? See how silly the notion is?

All those references to Christians (anointed ones) being drug crazed were propaganda written by that heathen, pagan Roman nation. They hated Christians because they believed and worshiped the one true God and Rome was embarrassed by their millions of gods.

I apologise for the number of questions, I am just new and curious and eager to get started!

I truly cannot understand with something as eternally vital as one's immortal soul why you don't open the 1611 King James Bible, those God-breathed words and find the answers yourself.

I can't believe I wasted so much time on someone too lazy to do their own reading. I have to get back to studying my 1611 King James Bible. If you have any more dumb questions that are already answered in the bible, feel free to ask.

[Pastor Ezekiel]

Re: Hello! New here

I am an agnostic desperately searching for god, and believe me I have looked in many places. I have read the Qur'an, studied Buddhism, and even dabbled in some Hindu texts. There was even a time when I looked to the Occult for answers, but after finding no refuge anywhere, I decided to look to the Christian faith. I might also add that my mother is a devout Christian, though she is full Pentecostal.

However, considering my little knowledge on the subject, there are some things that I am not clear on, such as:

What exactly is hell? Is it nothing more than eternal torture in a furnace?

What constitutes as an eternity? How can one enter or leave an existance in a place which knows no time, no boundaries?

What do the good Christians that go to heaven do for an eternity? I mean, it's an ETERNITY.

Why is Jesus' name never mentioned in the old testament, if it is true that God and Jesus created man in 'Their own image'?

Is the use of drugs (mainly smoking marijuana) condemned according to the bible? And is it true that the disciples of Jesus used drugs? (Opium in particular)

I apologise for the number of questions, I am just new and curious and eager to get started!

If you'd like to find out more about Landover Baptist Church, please read THIS thread created especially for new posters.

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[X-treme Zealotry]

Re: Hello! New here

I couldn't believe what I read.

Good rules to live by, but to put it simply it was too far fetched.

As opposed to nothing exploding and turning into the universe being near fetched.