Church for the AT? Article on 'AT Servants'

[dperry]

"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion, still."

"From this may be evident the nature of worship that is forced and of worship that is not forced. Worship that is forced is corporeal, lifeless, vague and gloomy: corporeal because it is of the body and not of the mind, lifeless because there is no life in it, vague because there is no understanding in it, and gloomy because there is no heavenly delight in it. On the other hand, worship that is not forced, when it is genuine, is spiritual, living, clear and joyful: spiritual because there is spirit from the Lord in it, living because there is life from the Lord in it, clear because there is wisdom from the Lord in it, and joyful because there is heaven from the Lord in it. "

--Emanuel Swedenborg, Divine Providence 137

[Newb]

You should all read the "The Razor's Edge" by Somerset Maugham.

[Tinker]

"From this may be evident the nature of worship that is forced and of worship that is not forced. Worship that is forced is corporeal, lifeless, vague and gloomy: corporeal because it is of the body and not of the mind, lifeless because there is no life in it, vague because there is no understanding in it, and gloomy because there is no heavenly delight in it. On the other hand, worship that is not forced, when it is genuine, is spiritual, living, clear and joyful: spiritual because there is spirit from the Lord in it, living because there is life from the Lord in it, clear because there is wisdom from the Lord in it, and joyful because there is heaven from the Lord in it. "

--Emanuel Swedenborg, Divine Providence 137

This person can hike with me anytime.

God isn't dead, even if He's dead in the minds of many. Ego kills the love of God in the hearts, mind, and soul of Humankind. Most of us abhor ego in others. It's a good thing when we see and recon it dead in ourselves.

The wonders of Nature should draw us to its Creator. He, alone, can remove the haze of pride from our eyes and allow us to see his workmanship more clearly, but it our willingness to allow Him to do it which is lacking, because it costs us our ability to boast in our own intellect and works.

[Frosty]

Glad to see your on the road to recovery, Frosty. Nice to know that all my work didn't go to waste.

You misunderstand me. My opinion of you has not changed. You and a few others make this web site much less than it could be. It is really sad when you could make a group better if you would simply go away.

But I recognize your character likely has nothing to do with your being a New Yorker, and in truth, there are internet imbeciles a lot worse than you. I guess I can be thankful for that.

[KirkMcquest]

You misunderstand me. My opinion of you has not changed. You and a few others make this web site much less than it could be. It is really sad when you could make a group better if you would simply go away.

But I recognize your character likely has nothing to do with your being a New Yorker, and in truth, there are internet imbeciles a lot worse than you. I guess I can be thankful for that.

Aah, your not quite there yet. I'll be waiting for my apology, but only when your ready. Remember fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred.

[Singe03]

God wants people to know Him, unfortunately, He doesn't have many qualified spokespeople, they're too busy altering the message for their own profit.

The single best statement I've ever seen to reflect my opinion on the topic even though we probabily have very different views of the nature of God.

[icemanat95]

is of the same opinion, still."

The old adage applies equally to all walks of life.

I was fooled by a cult for a number of years into thinking that I was a good "Christian".

They used the Bible to do it.

I still felt that something was missing, so I kept searching, still using the Bible.

The most eye opening thing that I saw (was shown, actually), is that the New Testament is not at odds in any way to the Old, and that The Lord is most impressed with those who are humble, (will listen to others, even when they think they know the answer).

Christianity is an extension of Judaism. The promise given to Abraham, to inherit the "Promised Land" is the same promise to Christians.

According to the Bible, those who love God will be in the eternal perfect Kingdom of Messiah, not those who do all the right things for fear of ending up in the lake of fire - that's still selfish motivation.

If, for eternity, we'll be faced every day with our God, we'd better make sure we enjoy His company now, or we certainly won't be getting it on "the other side".

God wants people to know Him, unfortunately, He doesn't have many qualified spokespeople, they're too busy altering the message for their own profit.

Yup, pretty much my understanding as well. We spend way too much time trying to exclude those we don't agree with from the Kingdom of Heaven, and not looking at the character of their lives.

God doesn't give ball players goals or touchdowns or hits or homeruns or catches that save the game. Neither are players who truly understand something of the subject thank God for a single hit or touchdown. Instead they are acknowledging the gifts that God gave them that enabled them to hit, throw, catch, kick, run, etc.

So we thank God for our gifts, and then try to be worthy of them.

[D'Artagnan]

I appreciate and understand what they're doing and personally believe their motives are pure. I wish them only the best.

If you have time, you might check out Vapor's 2005 thru-hike on Trailjournals (dot) com. (He's part of their effort.)

[general]

Hell I probably know him, I may drink beer with him at Dot's. Them born agains are hypocrites.

\

they are from here in Cleveland GA. i saw a write up on them in the local news paper. i'm gonna look em up and introduce them to the kill me quick. then they'll see Jesus by god.

[weary]

....God isn't dead, even if He's dead in the minds of many. Ego kills the love of God in the hearts, mind, and soul of Humankind. Most of us abhor ego in others. It's a good thing when we see and recon it dead in ourselves.

The wonders of Nature should draw us to its Creator. He, alone, can remove the haze of pride from our eyes and allow us to see his workmanship more clearly, but it our willingness to allow Him to do it which is lacking, because it costs us our ability to boast in our own intellect and works.

If anyone sees any meaning in these words, please translate. They have no intrinsic meaning that I can detect. Think babble.

Weary

[Skidsteer]

Originally Posted by Tinker
....God isn't dead, even if He's dead in the minds of many. Ego kills the love of God in the hearts, mind, and soul of Humankind. Most of us abhor ego in others. It's a good thing when we see and recon it dead in ourselves.

The wonders of Nature should draw us to its Creator. He, alone, can remove the haze of pride from our eyes and allow us to see his workmanship more clearly, but it our willingness to allow Him to do it which is lacking, because it costs us our ability to boast in our own intellect and works.

If anyone sees any meaning in these words, please translate. They have no intrinsic meaning that I can detect. Think babble.
Weary

The words have meaning, Weary. But the understanding of the words has as a prerequisite that which you are not willing to perform, according to some of your past posts. The prerequisite is a step of faith.

"You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it" G.K. Chesterton

[weary]

Originally Posted by Tinker
....God isn't dead, even if He's dead in the minds of many. Ego kills the love of God in the hearts, mind, and soul of Humankind. Most of us abhor ego in others. It's a good thing when we see and recon it dead in ourselves.

The wonders of Nature should draw us to its Creator. He, alone, can remove the haze of pride from our eyes and allow us to see his workmanship more clearly, but it our willingness to allow Him to do it which is lacking, because it costs us our ability to boast in our own intellect and works.

The words have meaning, Weary. But the understanding of the words has as a prerequisite that which you are not willing to perform, according to some of your past posts. The prerequisite is a step of faith.

"You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it" G.K. Chesterton

Which, of course, poses a problem for us souls who God apparently endowed with logic, but not faith.

[Skidsteer]

Which, of course, poses a problem for us souls who God apparently endowed with logic, but not faith.

A state of being that I am sympathetic with, since I possess that bent myself.

[Dances with Mice]

I believe I ran into these folks (...original post...) last year at Tesnatee Gap after completing a Trail maintenace project. I had one of their drinks but declined their literature. They didn't press further, no hard sell.

I also arrived there about 10 minutes after Bramble, so it would have been hard to get an edge in wordwise anyway.

[Papa Razzi]

Like several others on this thread, I also met Craig and Suzy last year in Georgia. They were wonderful people, and I can't speak highly enough of them. They definitely weren't pushy evangelists. I talked to Craig a little bit about their ministry, and if I recall correctly, he said something along the lines that they'd help to take care of hiker's physical needs first, and those that had spirtual needs would in turn come to them.

[dje97001]

Ahh... but as all critical rationalists (or logical Positivists) know, a belief in the ultimate power (or truth) of logic is in itself not something that can be empirically tested and therefore must be taken on the basis of faith.

[dje97001]

see anything by Karl Popper.

Sorry for the interjection...

[Blissful]

I talked to Craig a little bit about their ministry, and if I recall correctly, he said something along the lines that they'd help to take care of hiker's physical needs first, and those that had spirtual needs would in turn come to them.

You got that right. Can't force the idea of needing God down anyone's throat. No way, no how. I got tired of my sisters shoving the idea that "I needed God" down my throat. One of my sisters even gave me a letter telling me what I needed to supposedly "do" to be happy and get right. Yeah, sure. I said - What makes you think you know everthing and that you know everything about me? I told them to buzz off and get on with their little born-again spiritual groupie thing. I was not interested in being a conquest.

Until I was so dead drunk one night, lonely, depressed, not wanting to live, and then I sought God out. Picked up the Bible and started reading. Even asked my (gulp) sisters to pray for me. It was like waking up to a brand new world after that....everything looked different. And all that stuff I thought I couldn't live without - I could live without. I had something better. But ultimately I had to find it out for myself.

[DMA, 2000]

I don't watch football - do players point to the heavens or say a prayer after every touchdown or sack

Used to be like that. Now it happens after a 7 yard gain...or after tackling a receiver who just caught a pass.

[MedicineMan]

1. no religeon
2. no politics