I read many different views on this topic, and i found myself sorta cheering on various posters sides, with many pros or cons ~ in the end i got quite confused and bit dizzy.

But im very new to Christs teachings and find them very simple and easy ... until i hear Christians talk in church ,, and i get confused again , just like from this thread.

my origional thinking on this subject is that Christ and his elect told us what to do ... and so thats the reason to do it .... perhaps Christ told us so we can have a beter life and not get aids like some people said , But perhaps he told us so we will have a harder life , and be ready and strong from within to face far greater challenges than simply dealing with strong lust.

I personaly dont know why Christ said to do many of the things he advised or demanded ... but I don't see many of them actually having much to do with a safer life so were protected.

he never said don;t climb mountians , be careful not to proclaim your faith to the romans or they might rape your wife and kids and murder you all ... he said proclaim it , and go climb the mountian ... even tho it might be a huge risk to your life and health.

anyway I don't like the huge amount of advice i have ever read, or heard spoken in a church ~ it seems like everyone knows yet has a hard time with it .... when in fact its very simple and easy ... Christ is the great boss and master of us... and we accept to submit to him and promise to obey and follow with no need of logic or understanding ,, simple faith and blind submission is more than enough ....... and his only job is to let his wishes be known and defend them ..... so we must trust that he has done that ,because he is God and never fails , and he has spoken whats been written , and if he said I make you hungry and starving , and send you out into the orchard with the sweetest fruit ,,, but do not eat any ... sit still until you die of starvation.

then thats a very simple thing to do , it might be painful but still requires no debate or theory or explination ... because God has said to do it ,, for good or for Bad we follow God ... and not one person of flesh can say where he will take us ,, But we do not care where we go its only a word or label, we care to obey.

maybe God will say to us because we are very petty and dificult ..... go into the garden and starve and i will raise you up to eternal life , where you shall never want for fruit or food again .... and then we weigh it and decide it sounds like a good deal, by a fair loving God, and by knowing that we will get raised up, we decide to suffer through hunger .... and i feel we are prostitutes for that ,, because to follow God is more than any reward of eternal life or bliss .... its simplistic and beautiful beyond words , alone without logic or ego or the need to weigh rewards.

I wonder what causes me to write this , its my first post ~ and i wonder what causes so many people to give their opinion on God and his reasons.... isnt it more than enough to know he is God and we have heard him ? shouldnt all confusion end there ,, and every question be answered with a warm gesture of directing a person to His word ?

What i read in the bible is not what the priests I have heard speak had read .... i read it differently ,, and we all read it the way God speaks it to us... we do not need confused people to tell us what God says ,and worse , we do not need people who know what God speaks to tell it to us,and worst of all , we do not need to ever debate the word of God ... his word is for YOU and not for us ... it is you who will serve him or not .... its not us

i think its good and right that a married couple discuss his word , and that after the discussion the woman submits all to the choice of her husband .... a couple is not two people , its one flesh with several brains .. one is the master , the other is a source for the masters reflection to assist in understanding, and to measure his own compassion and love against ... so that he might be clearly guided by Gods word.

but i feel that should be the only time debate on the topic of God is ever participated in.

You decide to obey and follow God ,, and God tells you to take a husband ,, then you take one ,, then God tells you to serve and obey your husband like he is the Lord ,, so you follow .... you do not question when your husband decided to murder a hundred other people .. and your husband does not question when God murders 100 000 by fire and brimstone or 100 000 000 by flood ,,, I believe if you are a christian then you follow the word of Christ ... you can not ever claim that you dont know or understand his word... because he has spoken it to you clearly and simply .. have faith & Obey.. and in many words ... love the neighbour like your yourself and so on.

i believe very few cristians have ever or would ever follow Christ, if christ stood over there and held up a blessing many will go over to recieve it ... and thats the limit ,, set by the acceptance of self understanding ,, of feeling whats right or wrong ,, and of weighing ..... if a person decides to follow Christ, then there is only one right and one wrong ... to to have faith & obey or not ~ and everything in between is not yours ,, that's Gods realm and responsibility .. just like judging is.... the reasons you do not obey is always the same , so no reason needs to be given .. every sin is to disobey and every sin a measure of faith lacking.

If i have a child , I will tell them one advice .. have faith and obey.. and i will put the word of God in their hand ... its the only thing i will ever do on that subject ... and everything else will be to serve my husband or God ,, and my child can see by my actions what my view is .... i will not confuse my child with my own words ,, i will answer every question about God with the same answer , i will put the word of God in their hand and say have faith and obey.

the rest is no less simple ~ suffering Gods word with a light heart and an ever growing joy.