TheBlaze Books Give You More!

CommentsDisplaying Alessandre's 10 most recent comments.

• Are Stories of Historical Christian Martyrdom ‘Exaggerated, Invented and Forged’? Professor Outlines Myth Theory

  May 13, 2013 at 5:05pm

  Yes, there were some over-zealous Christians who took part of the teaching of the apostles & early Church fathers too literally & asked to be martyred. They were the exception. And yes, the level of persecution wasn’t constant; the Holy Spirit ensured the Church could grow. But Christians were persecuted until Christianity became the official religion of Rome. Jews, but not Christians, were exempt from participation in the idolatry of the imperial cult. Christians were punished because they refused such participation. If Moss doesn’t call that persecution, her definition is wrong. Ditto confessing their faith in court since salvation depends on witnessing to the Truth. She ought to explain what she means by “stonewalling interrogations.”

  A state can persecute members of a group by requiring them to engage in actions their beliefs prohibit. Failure to recite the pledge of allegiance does not bring the death penalty. And Christians did prove themselves to be good citizens by caring for non-Christians in need, paying taxes, etc. Under certain emperors, there were intense periods of persecution. But even when particular emperors didn’t persecute Christians, local military leaders throughout the empire did.

  I’m Catholic. Moss does not speak for Catholics. This is her personal, academic pursuit. Persecution exists at varying levels in various places. Today, there is horrific persecution of modern Christians in Asia & the mid-East & milder in the West, it’s all persecut

• Christian Radio Host Who Eerily Predicted His Own Motorcycle Accident Dies — And Here Is His Last Email Exchange With TheBlaze

  December 18, 2012 at 8:47pm

  In reply to BellaMia7.

  living life = taking risks. two weeks ago, as everyone in Houston was coming home at the end of the day, a pedestrian was crushed against a light pole by a shuttle bus after the driver became ill suddenly. standing at the corner on the sidewalk ought to be safe but it wasn’t for her. God will care for Frank Pastore’s wife & children just as He has cared for me after my family was killed when I was a child; just as He cares for us all. the real question is, are we ready to meet God, right now, this moment? that’s all that matters though we empathize w/ his wife & children’s pain. there’s no such thing as a risk free life.

• Fox’s Gretchen Carlson Breaks Down Again After Asking Neurosurgeon If the Children Killed in CT Will Remember What Happened ‘in Heaven’

  December 18, 2012 at 5:50pm

  In reply to lefty5005.

  but Lefty, if you don’t forgive your enemies, & they are real enemies, how do you expect God to forgive you? Jesus made it very clear: we must forgive our enemies & do good to those who persecute us or we cannot be His followers. the debt they owe is owed to God; there’s no reason for you to withhold anything from your enemies & certainly not forgiveness & prayer. I plan to meet you in heaven but unless we both forgive our enemies, we’ll never make it. I’ll pray that you might be given the ability to forgive. (when there were enemies I couldn’t forgive, I asked God to work forgiveness w/i me because I just couldn’t do it myself. He made me able to forgive even though it’s still difficult.)

• Second Grade Teacher Sick and Tired of ‘One-Size-Fits-All Curriculum’ Fearlessly Quits Job on YouTube

  December 18, 2012 at 5:17pm

  In reply to Diane TX.

  @Braddock66: I meant, if the mortgage is too high, rent a room.

• Second Grade Teacher Sick and Tired of ‘One-Size-Fits-All Curriculum’ Fearlessly Quits Job on YouTube

  December 18, 2012 at 5:15pm

  In reply to Diane TX.

  @Braddock66, Homeschool! Children who are homeschooled do better than even children who attend private schools. I’d love it if single parents could send their kids to a friend’s house for homeschooling. Some sort of barter arrangement could be worked out so that the stay at home parent doesn’t have to become licensed as an educational facility. Married parents need to take the cut in pay, scale back & homeschool. If your house is too big, rent a room. Find the way. The souls, hearts & minds of children are being destroyed.

• Why Does God Allow Pain and Suffering?

  December 17, 2012 at 3:30pm

  In reply to hillbillyinny.

  @The Jerk: Christ never needed to pass the plate. The “women who served” traveled w/ Christ & made certain he & his disciples had what they needed; many of these women were the wives of rich men. And though Christ’s needs were simpler, his needs were attended to by people who gave money. (How could Judas keep the money for the group if there was no money?)

  I don’t know the particular church you are referring to or if you’re referring to all churches but tithing, giving 1/10th of one’s goods/income to support those who serve us spiritually & to care for the poor has been the standard since Moses. “The laborer is worthy of his hire” means, those who work to care for our souls ought to be paid for doing so particularly so they can be free to care for us. At one time, payment was mostly material goods & food & then money. Now, it is mostly money. But I know many priests & ministers who are grateful for a hot meal, a cake or other material gifts. If we want their care, we must care for them but the poor, obviously, have much less to give.

• ‘Quit Being Ashamed That We Believe in God’: Fox’s Gretchen Carlson Moved to Tears During Huckabee Interview About Shooting

  December 17, 2012 at 3:13pm

  In reply to fox6366.

  @StephenCJ – the Bible including, Jesus’ parable of Lazarus & the rich man (Lk 16:22-31), Jesus’ response to the repentant thief: “This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43); Paul’s desire to be absent from the body that he might be present to the Lord (2 Corinthians 5), John’s vision: Rev. 20:4-6; “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Rev 6:9-11) as well as other passages are the sources from which Christians understand that our souls are w/ God or in Hell once we die &, at the second (final) judgement, our bodies are raised.

• Report: Atheists, Religious Skeptics Face Persecution & Execution Across the Globe

  December 10, 2012 at 3:26pm

  In reply to Oneirishman.

  @ChrisDiamond: “I haven’t insulted you or anyone else, but Christians quickly release some pretty nasty vitriol against people who disagree with them.” That’s an insult against Christians like me who’ve never unleashed nasty vitriol against those w/ whom we disagree: And though some, “[f]olks like BodyBag even advocate [your] execution,” in my experience, such attitudes are rare among Christians. If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide it. Certainly, we all fail at times to be good examples of Christ but many, many Christians do try; we’re not the vicious people you seem to think we are.

  You ask why Jesus would die for us if we’re worthless. Do you think you must have value for God to love & die for you? If you already had value, why would you need His sacrifice? As humans, each of us is immeasurably valuable because we’re made in God’s image. But because of sin, next to God, we’re not much & not at all good. But God is love & gives what those He loves need. We needed God to become man & die to free us from our sins so that we could become like Him. So, in that sense, we’re all worthless until we accept God’s gift. Whether Christ died for you is your decision. He didn’t die for everyone, only those who accept Him. If I give 10 people $10 each & 3 refuse, my gift isn’t for them. Those who reject Christ will know one day they were stupid to do so & again, neither Christians nor God will decide, they who reject will.

• CNN’s Piers Morgan Confronts Rick Warren Over Whether People Are Born Gay or ‘Become Gay’: ‘I Think the Jury’s Still Out on That’

  November 28, 2012 at 8:23pm

  In reply to gsplgtr.

  @DeniseR55′ there are certain sins that cry out to the Lord for vengeance & homosexual activity is one. “Then the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me.’” (Gn 18:20-21) So saying, “it’s about spiritual health, not human sin” is scandalous because it leads people astray. Four sins really are worse than others: willful murder (“the blood of Abel” Gn 4); the sin of Sodom/homosexual activity, (Gn 18 & 19); oppression of the poor, widows & orphans (see Ex 22, Isaiah & other prophets); & withholding the pay of a laborer (Dt 24 & Jas 5). Yes, we will sin & need forgiveness many times. But, not every sin will totally separate us from God unless we repent. Homosexual activity will.

  Rick Warren’s teaching omits the sins that cry out to God. From what I know of him, he wants to be nice. Nice is foolish. (That’s what the word nice means, ne = not + scire = to know: not to know; ignorant; foolish.) His teaching is foolish because by it, he’s leading people to hell. A gay gene may or may not be found. It makes no difference. As a pastor, his job is to teach the truth as revealed by God & that includes those parts of Scripture that tell us homosexual activity is a deadly sin (see Exodus, Romans, etc.). Jesus spoke about those who scandalize others; the results weren’t pleasant for them either.

• ‘Two and a Half Men’ Star Says Show Is ‘Filth,’ Urges People Not to Watch in YouTube Vid About His Faith

  November 27, 2012 at 8:28pm

  In reply to marshan3q.

  @STA – I loved Dr. Who until the last season-ish w/ David Tennant when atheist themes became apparent. Since then, not so much, though the few newer ones I’ve seen are still outstanding work. I watched old, original episodes on Netflix & realized they contain an atheist worldview as well so I gave up Dr. Who.

  When I moved from NYC to TX, I left my TV behind w/ my roommates & now only watch films I choose through Netflix, on Youtube & a few other sites & have begun to buy films I really enjoy (One Night w/ the King, The Bible Series, Serenity). Youtube still has some great films & I may begin downloading them so I’ll have access even if the internet becomes limited. I find the more I watch films that feed my faith, the stronger it becomes & the stronger I become. This weekend I discovered a cartoon version of the Gospel, “He Lived Among Us,” that is really good (http://youtu.be/a1Kh38bwEuU).

  I think we need to clear our hearts & minds of all the vague messages TV has implanted. When we watch the same program week after week, the characters become part of our lives. We care about them, admire them & model our lives on theirs I finally understand why women & girls suddenly began wearing bras under camisoles in the mid- 1990s & letting their bra straps show. It’s a small example but they were copying Buffy (a program I love?) & other TV characters. What important things have we been copying? Deadly things, that make us morally weak & sap our virtue?