Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
> So the devil is more powerful than God?

no. But his influence persists, given his free will.

> >> A religion where no baby of religious parents is born with birth defects.
> > see original sin.
>
> OK, we've established that baptism and acceptance of Jesus compensates
> for original sin. Which means this is a bogus answer.

religious parents are not without sin just because they accepted Christ, were
counsciously baptized or whatever.  They are just as much sinners as the pagans
or satanists.  The difference is that they'll seek forgiveness and compassion
from God.  Still, the Lord is the final judge for men's acts.  He's the only
one to truly know what is there in men's hearts, so judging why shit happens is
not our task, just deal with it.

> They asked Jesus "Hey,
> how can *I* do miracles?"  Jesus answered untruthfully that all you had
> to do was believe in him and you could move mountains.

don't play dumb.  It doesn't fit a skeptic like you.

> Secondly, let's say that Jesus was trying to impart subtle wisdom rather
> than answering the question. What wisdom exactly do you think Jesus was
> trying to impart?  You say it wasn't "you can move mountains with
> belief." Also clearly, it wasn't simply "You can't do miracles, period."
> So what in between do you think he meant, precisely?

He meant what he meant:  that you can move mountains of problems by faith.  When
you're into deep trouble, getting out of it as if by magic is a lot more
impressive than seeing mountains floating abound...

Do you also believe in the exact wording of the famous quote:  "It's easier for
a camel to go through a needle hole than a rich man to enter Heaven?"

The eye of a needle was how a narrow passageway was known at those times.  The
camel had to be unloaded of his goods and knee in order to pass.  A rich man
unloading of his goods and kneeling is a very unlikely thought.

Christ used parables and other figures of speech to get his point across.

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