More than welcome He is an Awesome God!

I know that God created us, but why did he put us on earth?  And if he is all knowing, then why did he allow Adam and Eve to fall?  What is the purpose?

Scrpture says we were created for his good pleasure. That is why we were created. He allowed Adam and Eve to sin, because they were created in his image with a free will of their own. God never overrides our free will. Our purpose is to choose life.
Why do parents have children? Would they want those children to be children all their lives such as a retarded child would be, or do they want them to go out into the world prepared to face it?
God is the perfect parent. He wanted us and he made a way for us to come back to him through our Lord and Savior Jesus.

AMEN!!!!
Thanks I really appreciate you !  
Be blessed most abundantly !

And you Carnscandy. May the Lord keep you in the hollow of his hand..

I expected such answers to my post, see:

I know many will say things such as:
1. Perhaps they come here seeking God and truth
2. We want to welcome everybody
3. Wouldn't that be a bit fundamentalist and undemocratic?
4. etc...

But if you would please read and reflect over what I've written you couldn't honestly have written that reply. Although you are well-meaning, you won't get away from this fact:

The Atheists have plenty of christian forums to choose from, but the christians have not a single refuge, not a single sanctuary to get away from the mocking and seek advice and intelligent debate!

And you know that what I am saying is supported by the Bible, I could dig up the verses but you probably know them anyhow. Be honest, do i sound like I am against missionary, don't you think I want to spread the word as well? You know this isn't about "keeeping the word to ourselves", it is about christians coming together without the darkness of atheists ruining the good athmosphere, causing strife and unhappiness.

God wants christians joining together without the influence of the infidels, he also wants us to mingle and be in the World with the infidels, bringing them the good news. These are not contradictory, because one can seek sanctuary with christians one day and be out in the world preaching or whatever the next day, you get it?  

There is very few places for a christian to go to get away and rest. I am an active member of christian forums where I do missionary work there, but I come here for respite, and fellowship. What fellowship is there with belial.

Thank you all for the warm welcome.  I would have answered sooner but, I'm teaching a small group of teenagers the basics of Hermeneutics.  Sounds dry but they are loving it, so far.  It is BTW my major area in my M.A. level work in the 1970's at Azusa Pacific in So. California.  I think they are enjoying it as much as I am.  It is really great to see 15 to 17 year olds taking six weeks of
their summer to be in "school" and working around the church. Praise the L-rd!  They are also involved in street Evangelism in our local area.  Please hold them up in prayer.
Blessings,
David

David,
Welcome would love to see some of your post's on this subject if you get time. It is fascination of the first kind!

A good place for research in Doctrine and apologetics is at www.carm.org

The Nicene Creed takes the bible as a whole. It was a statement of belief of the early church Fathers at the council of Nicea. I always put it in my introductions because I am involved in witnessing to Islamic peoples who do not believe in the diety of Jesus and call us polytheistic.
But this is the Nicene Creed.
catholic in this creed means the universal church which as we know is the body of Jesus Christ the real church.

Nicene Creed
(fourth century)

     This creed was first formulated at the First Ecumenical Council, held at Nicea, located in what is now Turkey, in 325, as a response to the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. It was revised at the Second Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople in 381 as a response to the Macedonian or Pneumatomachian heresy, which denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

____________________________

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.  

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Welcome! Hi-yah, and all those good things!  I'm a "newbi" too. Awesome testimony of the Lord's great mercy and power !
Bythe way, what is a "trinitrian" ?
Praise Him.

Only that I believe in triunity of God according to the nicene creed. God the Father. God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 3 perons yet all one God.

I have posted this on a few forums: Lets go and make fun of the holy rollers" or How I came to know the Love of a Father


I have posted part of my testimony in the charismatic forums and testimony forums at Christian forums. How God healed me from Progressive MS after 2 heart attacks and being sent home to die. That is the latest miracle he has done for me except the everyday miracles, of living another day to praise him!

Although it was a great miracle, I don't think it was the greatest one, the greatest of all miracles took place 45 years ago this March.
I was born into a large family, my parents were divorced when I was 4 years old. We were children of abuse, in that my mother was attracted to and married men that were sociopathic.
My own father raised us three older girls most of the time, he was a good man, most of the time, but a weekend alcholic who hated me, as what he called "the blacksheep". I didn't know much about the love of a father growing up, beatings were a way of life.
My younger half brothers and sister suffered even more because they were beaten on a daily basis by our stepfather, when we lived with our mother we also suffered from these daily beatings. But we could always go back to daddy's they had no other place to go. That is until my Dad moved back to Kentucky by himself, when I was 13.
Life for us was not the carefree life that most children had growing up in the 50s.
Then in the winter of 1960 a pentecostal lady befriended my mother, and invited them to church. My mother and stepfather were delighted to accept her invitation and promptly took me to "make fun of the holy rollers". I will always be thankful for that.

When we got there I found that these people weren't people to ridicule, but simple people who loved God with all of thier hearts. They had something that I knew I didn't have and wanted with all of my heart. I had never known love except from my maternal grandmother in all of my life she was my only comfort.
My parents never went back, but I went back and after 3 weeks, I and my younger sister went forward to the altar to ask forgiveness for our sins. In July of that year we were baptized in Belleville lake during a horrendous thunder storm, I have never been afraid of storms since then.
I wish I could say that the beatings stopped immediately they didn't, and even got worse. We were put to work in order to get to go to church, we were beaten and made fun of as "hypocrits" by my stepfather. When I was 16 I and my sister went to live with my Grandmother, because my stepfather attempted rape. They were asked to leave the county to avoid prosecution.  

When I was first saved, I felt Jesus was my friend, but I had no love for the Father who I envisioned as wrathful, and ready to kill me the first time I did anything wrong. He out of his love and mercy gently guided me into a knowledge of how much he loved me. I would read Jesus words, what man among you being evil if his son asked for bread would give him a stone? I couldn't relate to that at all the men who I knew as Fathers would give the stone.
Through the years. I have seen my brothers turn to drugs, two of them died in their 30s, my sisters drop out of school and get married as teenagers. Except for the grace of God that would have been my fate.

Because of Gods mercy and grace I was the only one who never used illegal drugs, who got a degree, and waited until I was 21 before I married. We celebrated our 36th anniversary this year.
We never had children, but God allowed us to adopt a son, it was during this time I found out more about the love of my Father Romans 8 became an important chapter of my life. The unnatural fear I had of him as wrathful began to melt away. I began to realize when a baby stumbled and fell it was not natural for the parent to kill it for stumbling, instead the natural thing would be to comfort the child, stand him back up on his feet and encourage him to try again. That is how I began seeing myself and my Father, I picture myself as that infant and my loving Father reaching down, with a helping loving hand and standing me back on my feet.

God gave me the privelege of being instrumental and seeing both of my parents come to him before they died. My father at 70 years old, asked me how I knew I was saved. My father as a teenager had once studied for the ministry, he knew the bible and could quote word for word from 4 translations, but he had never experienced "knowing" God.
I told him of my chapter of Romans 8 how the Spirit cometh in crying abba Father, and my spirit identifying with that Spirit. A few years later when he died he was ready to go on to be with his loving Father. Before my mother died of lung cancer in 1996 she prayed the sinners pray and was saved.
My heavenly Father is so good to me. I am always amazed how he has turned the bitter things in my life to such sweetness. Here lately I have been overwhelmed of his love and grace. Why me? I didn't deserve him. Why me? He first loved me, why not my brothers, my sisters, or someone who was more talented, more worthy? Why me?  I can only say because His mercies are beyond finding out. I have been overwhelmed with the fact that if it had not been for my mother and stepfather taking me to "make fun of the holy rollers" I may have never known that Grace he is truly Jehovah-Rapha, the God who makes even bitter experiences sweet.
A sinner saved by His loving Grace

I will post the testimony of my physical  healing at another time. He is Jehovah-Rapha

Noah safely went through the flood.

Actually...Noah was lifted up and out of danger.
Not one human who went through the flood survived.

You are right Noah safely went through the flood, however, he was able to hear all that was going on around him. Why do you think God had to seal the door? Noah was a human who had feelings, for women, children,and babes.
In Noah's days scripture says violence (hamas) filled the earth. We are seeing the same things in these last days, and God can protect us through, but I don't think that he is going to "lift us out"

Thank you so much. It is good to come into a forum for respite. I hope to learn much here, and be able to relate it to my life and ministry.
Thanks again for the welcome, I have my testimony posted on some of the other forums, and will post it here. God has done great wonderful things. His mercy endures forever..

I am new to the forum, I am a website developer and webdesigner, webmaster. I just finished a newsportal assignment for a company that has the potential of another netscape, or aol. It was also in my job title to write content, and design.
I have been a Christian for 44 years. I am fundamentalist in practice, and evangelical. The denomination I was saved in was pentecostal.
I have been in the process of witnessing to muslims on another forum.
I was miraculously healed of Primary Progressive MS and the two heart attacks that it caused 2 years ago. The Lord has been good to me.
I hold dear the nicene creed, and am a trinitarian.
Well a little about me and my beliefs.
Crystalpc

And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

in this part of the creed what is meant by " And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. "
is it in god all inclusive, and teaching church?

It is The body of Christ, catholic is only the word used for universal. We know that the body is of many members...
from  many church's who have been born-again. And follow Jesus rather than man's doctrine.

I was taught from a child pretrib rapture, then I began to study the scripture itself. The scripture that convinced me that it would not happen was
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

I don't want this to be so, because I do believe that day is upon us.  O how I wish that I believed what I was taught from a child. Especially when Revelations tell us that satan will work to kill so many of us, and it appears by beheading!
I am not young anymore, and would welcome a pre-trib rapture, but now I  pray for strength and endurance, and how to hold my faith in patience..
Yet even so Lord Jesus come.  

Amen