Anyone else surprised that the Republicans gained in both the House and the Senate?

[pandybat]

Originally Posted by tschmitt

wrong wrong WRONG WRONG WRONG!!! I can't believe how wrong you are...but it's typical thinking these days.

The path to economic prosperity begins with a strong belief in God - and acting on that belief is what we call morals. And lots of prayer.

Time after time, history has proven that people who TRULY follow God are blessed - countries that follow God even more so.

Something for you to do: go look up a video called Transformations - it's about a town in south america somewhere that had problems - lots of them. Multiple jails, multiple bars (small town) and poverty. Well, these people decided that enough was enough - they were tired of trying to do it themselves. So they turned to GOD, acknowledged that every good thing comes from Him, and began to live moral, pleasing lives.

And what happened? Well, I'd love to NOT tell you and make you watch the video, but to pique your interest:
All the jails are now closed
Most of the bars are closed
The land, which yielded little before, is yielding produce that is 4 to 5 times (and sometimes 10 times) what the normal size is.
Farmers buy BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ TRUCKS WITH CASH because they're making so much stinking money.

SO DON'T TELL ME THAT ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MORALS - YOU ARE WRONG WRONG WRONG!

Another good example is Israel. Yep, Israel. These people have thousands who worship everyday at the Weeping Wall, asking God to forgive their country their sins.
This is the country that is rivaling the U.S. in technological prowess...and need I remind anyone of the 1967 War?

WHEN A COUNTRY TURNS TO GOD, GOD BLESSES THAT COUNTRY.

...and you can take that statement to the bank!

This is one of the weirdest things I have ever heard of! IMAGINE! A bunch of people in South America decided to quit breaking the laws, quit drinking their lives away, get off their butts and start planting some decent crops and with those crops started making enough money to buy overly expensive pickup trucks! WOW! And they owe it all to God. I wonder if they tithe as much as they should. I doubt it.
Dang...I wish I could be just like them! Oh wait....I already am!
I don't drink, don't break the law and work hard at what I do and I drive a decent vehicle and I feel blessed for all that I have. I have the potential to do even more good things for myself if I so desire.
Hmm...you'd never know I was agnostic, huh? How did I get all this stuff without Gods help? It just doesn't make sense, tschmitt.

I'm not saying that the economic issues are more important than the moral issues. There are just more of them.

Tschmitt....you are really freaking me out here.

[pandybat]

Originally Posted by mayfly

I think its just so much easier to rely on a government to take care of the hurting people, because there is no real investment from us.

Do we really need to go into all the scenarios why it's not possible for everyone in this country to prosper at the same rate and at the same level as others? For whatever reasons and by no fault of their own, there are millions of people out there that need help and the government is the only place left to turn to for that help.
I agree, if we all gave a little more than we took, none of us would suffer for anything.

[tschmitt]

Originally Posted by pandybat

This is one of the weirdest things I have ever heard of! IMAGINE! A bunch of people in South America decided to quit breaking the laws, quit drinking their lives away, get off their butts and start planting some decent crops and with those crops started making enough money to buy overly expensive pickup trucks! WOW! And they owe it all to God. I wonder if they tithe as much as they should. I doubt it.
Dang...I wish I could be just like them! Oh wait....I already am!
I don't drink, don't break the law and work hard at what I do and I drive a decent vehicle and I feel blessed for all that I have. I have the potential to do even more good things for myself if I so desire.
Hmm...you'd never know I was agnostic, huh? How did I get all this stuff without Gods help? It just doesn't make sense, tschmitt.

I'm not saying that the economic issues are more important than the moral issues. There are just more of them.

Tschmitt....you are really freaking me out here.

pandy - interesting post...and full of "humanist" thinking..which, going back to your first post, is what I was trying to point out to you is wrong thinking.

From your post, it seems like they did smart things (stopped drinking, planted good crops, etc.) and they got the logical outcome (drunkeness and crime plunged, good crops grew, etc.) - unfortunately, since you didn't watch the video (as I did) WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW is that they had been trying to do those things all along. What, you think people are stupid enough to plant crops that aren't going to yield, or look at 2 fields and pick the one that is barren to plant in, versus the lush, fertile one? Or say, "Gee I have all these problems and I can either drink and waste all my money, or not drink and put it in the bank and buy some nice things" and get drunk all the time????

Please.

Watch the video, and you'll see that what happened (the transformation) was not because they stopped doing stupid stuff and started acting smart - it was the direct result of them praying, asking God to forgive them of their sins, and trying to actually live Christian lives (instead of just calling themselves Christians and living however they pleased.)

The fact that their crops grow and THEIR JAILS ARE CLOSED is not because of a "conscious choice" or decision that they made - it is the direct and irrefutable proof of prayer and God's blessing upon those people.

And I'd have to say (without trying to put a damper on your life) that what you wrote above is nice, but probably not the whole truth. So, take another look...and I never said that you can't get good stuff without God's help - read Psalms sometimes. It talks about Israel's enemies and how they are prospering and Israel is faltering (what they don't focus on alot of the time is that they continue to sin and break God's law) - as the Bible clearly states, here on earth the wicked will prosper and the righteous will be lacking - but in the end it's worth it because the wicked go to **** and the righteous go to heaven.

and I'm glad I'm scaring you with what I'm saying - If I WASN'T, it would mean that God had exhausted his efforts to try and reach you (yes, there is a limit, even for God - read Exodus and the story of Pharaoh for more info) - you still have a chance...don't throw it away.

Humanist thinking leads to one place...the place that no one in their right mind wants to go...re-think before it's too late, pandy.

and Twonky: living in Mexico for three months is opening my eyes to lots of things - sometimes, people in 3rd world countries have few choices on the type of vehicle they can buy. The people from that city aren't like stupid Americans who buy an SUV to drive to the grocery store and back (for 2 bags) - these people need the space. If you can get a copy of the video, you'll see that these trucks (absolutely massive - my uncle who owns a farm market has a similar one about the same size - it takes 3 people 3 hours to unload it - and no, it isn't a MB) are filled to the brim with produce being sent to market. It's not that they made stupid choices with their money - it's that they needed the space and that's the choice for trucks they had.

[mayor]

Originally Posted by luvmetender

Mayor, you missed my point. Giving always should begin at home. I'm tired of watching our country give money to the rest of the world.

With great power comes great responsibility. Loving our neighbor means watching out for our friends around the world too. But I am tired of giving to countries that then turn around and stab us in the back.

Mayor

[mayor]

Originally Posted by pandybat

I have the potential to do even more good things for myself if I so desire. Hmm...you'd never know I was agnostic, huh? How did I get all this stuff without Gods help? It just doesn't make sense, tschmitt. I'm not saying that the economic issues are more important than the moral issues. There are just more of them.

A point and a question...

Point) Just because you don't believe in God, doesn't mean He doesn't believe in you. He was working in my life LONG before I professed a belief. It is only in hindsight that I can see His thumbprints on many things that have happened in my life.

Question) I don't understand what you mean when you say there are more economic then moral issues.

Mayor

[chippers21]

Originally Posted by mayor

With great power comes great responsibility. Loving our neighbor means watching out for our friends around the world too. But I am tired of giving to countries that then turn around and stab us in the back.

Mayor

I am surprised to hear you say that Mayor. Jesus gave and gave and gave and they killed him. I do not think God wants us to give on the basis of how much it is or is not appreciated, but to give because we see a need we can fill.