<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Michael,<DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Sep 27, 2007, at 11:01 PM, Michael Fierro wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">On Thu, Sep 27, 2007 at 09:46:27PM -0600, Kevin Cullis wrote:</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">are not irrelevant because all of the book of Revelation is based on <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Prophecy and End Times issues and if most people would read it they'd <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">probably "shit a brick" with the facts and figures in there. But most <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">are in denial.</DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">To paraphrase Marvin the Paranoid Android: "I've read it; it's rubbish." I am</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">not a big believer in the Bible, and that is doubly-so for the wilder books.</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">The book of Revelations reads like a pretty cool psychedelic novel. It's a</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">fairly entertaining bit of fantasy. But I would no more "shit a brick" about</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">it than I would about "Lord of the Rings."</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>The real question is: if you were to read Revelation in the Bible and let's just suppose that it were 100% true and accurate and going to happen, what would you do with these facts? How would it affect you and your life?</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>What's the reason for not believing in the Bible? If you consider it's only fantasy, then I would agree with you, but history has shown that it is the most accurate regarding history compared with other books that are religious (My bachelors is in History). You also might want to visit Lee Strobel's web site ( <A href="http://www.leestrobel.com/index.html">http://www.leestrobel.com</A> ). He's a former atheist turned Christian after he spent a number of years investigating the Christian faith to debunk it. He failed!!</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I point this out not to brow beat you or anyone else in believing what I believe, but to point out that we all will die one day. As I said before, we will pay for our beliefs whether we're right or wrong, I just to make sure I'm right, and so are you.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">I'm not threatening them, but pointing out facts. It's no different <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">That depends on your definition of "facts." You believe that the Bible contains</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">facts. And that is cool; you have every right to believe what you want, and I</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">respect that. But you can't expect people with different beliefs to accept</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">the Bible as factual.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>What I am expecting is people to examine the Bible for it's Truthfulness and compare their beliefs with what the Bible states, or at least hope that people do. But again, people will die for their beliefs, the real question is: what if those that are not Christians are wrong? Put my shoes on for a minute Michael, what would you do in my case? Are you saying that you have no compassion for your fellow man and would let them die if their beliefs were wrong? Would you do the same for someone with the potential of getting AIDS, just let them die? Or would you try and help educate others? Too often those that use the argument of "leave them/me alone" is a cop out for not getting involved or caring.</DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">comes, he is still coming and the things that are happening are too <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">close to ignore, which should spur Christians to be ever more <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">diligent to let people know that things are going to heat up.</DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">My question is: Why should Christians try to force their beliefs on others?</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Why not respect the fact that other people will have separate beliefs, and</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">leave it at that.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV><DIV>While a very few may want to force you to become a Christian for their ego, most and I do not. I will not hold a gun to your head like extremist Muslims to force you to convert or be killed because you don't or subjugate you to second class citizenship while in most cases Americans have equal citizenship, while economic situations are different. I will leave you as you wish just as most other religions do. God does not force you and neither will I. I only discuss, like here, to point out the errors in belief systems and the lies that are perpetrated. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>My hope is to provoke thinking, just as I do all of the time, like my wife states I do. I recently saw a bumper sticker that stated "Keep prayer out of schools and I won't think in your church!" In a few of the churches I would agree with this statement that there is no thinking, but not with me. It's not the belief system, but the object of the belief system that makes the difference. Budda, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, and others claim to know the way to heaven or only hint that they're right, but only Jesus Christ is the correct answer because all of the others can't back up their claims with the Truth. Even some Christians will not go to heaven even though they use the right words and are nice and "Jesusy" toward others.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Kevin</DIV></BODY></HTML>