Even when man becomes in perfect accord with God the man does not become God. In Christianity there will always be a dichotomy between God and man, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:25-28 ESV) We will be cleansed and made as like sons of the Living God but He will be our God, and we will be His people.
I think the last thing I need to say about incarnation- God is God, who says He cannot take on flesh? He didn't have to; but chose to. I do not know why, only the symbolism presented in it.
Panentheism is not quite right in all of its meanings. I think this another place where our two faiths bear a similarity. :)
Your long paragraph seems mostly right. But people do not know to turn to God. In the OT we are told of many peoples worshiping God, from Adam to Abraham, to the Israelites, to foreign rulers, but that forgiveness comes with the belief in God's ultimate reconciliation with mankind, this transfers in the NT to the source of the reconciliation who is revealed to be Christ. And so it is that one may only be forgiven of their sin by faith in Christ.
Sacrifice is related to sin in that it is the symbol of repentance, the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice calfs, lambs, and so on to represent their internal repentance and turning toward God, and likewise, Christ is said to have offered Himself like a lamb to symbolize God's offer of redemption. The death itself accomplished more than that, but the above is roughly the meaning behind the sacrifice metaphor. It is taught that it was the ultimate sacrifice though and is effective for all those who allow it to be so.
The Father begets the Son, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and was sent by the Son. Our Father in Heaven expresses Himself in the material world through the Son and Spirit, if the Son reveals the essance of God externally to mankind, then the Holy Spirit operates within mankind, calling upon all of is to worship and give respect unto the Living God (excuse me if that title is foreign to you, it is a fairly regular designation for the God of Abraham in the Christian Scriptures) and He lives in all true Christians, He is the seal that says we belong to God. When He dwells within you certain "fruit" reveal Him, love, joy, peace, so on. The Holy Spirit may also fill you which is a pleasurable feeling accompanied by the lesser gift of tongues. The Spirit is also the means by which all Godly prophecy and healings occur.
The good news isn't a command, like follow this way or those teachings. No one wants to hear something like that. It is LITERALLY good news! God is with us, He has not abandoned His people, He has saved us from sin and death, His reign will begin soon! In the mean time He will heal us physically and spiritually if we have faith in Him. It is makes my heart light just typing those words! :D it reminds me of when among David retrieved the Ark of the Covenant and was so overcome with joy that he danced!
---Friend, I literally had to take a break from typing to exalt God for this good news. May God bless you as I await your response.
Though, question for you, why are prophets different in Islam from other men? Yes, they are used as tools by God but are not all that obey Him His tool?
I think the last thing I need to say about incarnation- God is God, who says He cannot take on flesh? He didn't have to; but chose to. I do not know why, only the symbolism presented in it.
Panentheism is not quite right in all of its meanings. I think this another place where our two faiths bear a similarity. :)
Your long paragraph seems mostly right. But people do not know to turn to God. In the OT we are told of many peoples worshiping God, from Adam to Abraham, to the Israelites, to foreign rulers, but that forgiveness comes with the belief in God's ultimate reconciliation with mankind, this transfers in the NT to the source of the reconciliation who is revealed to be Christ. And so it is that one may only be forgiven of their sin by faith in Christ.
Sacrifice is related to sin in that it is the symbol of repentance, the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice calfs, lambs, and so on to represent their internal repentance and turning toward God, and likewise, Christ is said to have offered Himself like a lamb to symbolize God's offer of redemption. The death itself accomplished more than that, but the above is roughly the meaning behind the sacrifice metaphor. It is taught that it was the ultimate sacrifice though and is effective for all those who allow it to be so.
The Father begets the Son, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and was sent by the Son. Our Father in Heaven expresses Himself in the material world through the Son and Spirit, if the Son reveals the essance of God externally to mankind, then the Holy Spirit operates within mankind, calling upon all of is to worship and give respect unto the Living God (excuse me if that title is foreign to you, it is a fairly regular designation for the God of Abraham in the Christian Scriptures) and He lives in all true Christians, He is the seal that says we belong to God. When He dwells within you certain "fruit" reveal Him, love, joy, peace, so on. The Holy Spirit may also fill you which is a pleasurable feeling accompanied by the lesser gift of tongues. The Spirit is also the means by which all Godly prophecy and healings occur.
The good news isn't a command, like follow this way or those teachings. No one wants to hear something like that. It is LITERALLY good news! God is with us, He has not abandoned His people, He has saved us from sin and death, His reign will begin soon! In the mean time He will heal us physically and spiritually if we have faith in Him. It is makes my heart light just typing those words! :D it reminds me of when among David retrieved the Ark of the Covenant and was so overcome with joy that he danced!
---Friend, I literally had to take a break from typing to exalt God for this good news. May God bless you as I await your response.
Though, question for you, why are prophets different in Islam from other men? Yes, they are used as tools by God but are not all that obey Him His tool?
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