Ehm, didn't understand what u just wrote there. And I hope that the 2nd sentence is pointed at Bigerf or i just don't know what to tell your imbecile ass.

There ARE no small coeeenceedences and big coeeenceedences. Just coeeeenceedences!

The definition of coincidence is a sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged. The problem that I have with this is that whoever did the defining uses “although accidental” to cut off any other explanations. If a sequence of events play out in such a way that they “seem to have been planned or arranged” then why couldn’t they have been? Who says it was an accident? And what credentials does the definer have that allows them to tell me that what I experience in my own life is nothing but a bunch of accidents that seem to have been planned or arranged? And is the reason that you view them in this way because the definition tells you that they’re accidents?

It’s all about stepping outside of the secular box. Isn’t the goal here to search and find the truth? Well does the truth stop at the dictionaries definitions?

I don’t believe that God makes it easy to be wrong when following your own innate sense. And if it’s so, if I am at the risk of being damned because I followed the wrong “instincts”, then set me up with the biggest ****ing line on the tightest hookers ass because I will see you in hell.

No, I don't remember ever NOT following a sign.

And I'm not sure that I could ignore one if I wanted to because they're like an addiction that you give in to. It's a cosmic force that basically dictates your action and this is why I believe that we do not possess free will unconditionally.

I see no distinction between God and life.

John 1:3

God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

Well, I play on fulltilt where the options are limited. I get that, for example, you might slightly tilt someone who thinks you're an ******* for having a picture of manson as your avatar. But make no mistake: pretending to glorify manson is no different from actually glorifying him, given that your intent is for others to think you glorify him. I'm surprised that a devout christian would think that's ok.

Did Erf say why he picked Manson?

Christians frequently aren't aware of the self image they are showing the world and that God is concerned about our image because we are God's people.

Christians oftentimes have a problem with separating themselves from the world and that's also one of the most difficult problem new Christians have because learning the degree of separation is tricky. You really have to be focused on God to get it and accept it.

I assumed Erf never admired Manson. But let him explain it. He should speak for himself.

Erf did you select him for poker reasons? Did you select him before you read the bible?

Oh and interesting thread title Erf....I've recently started to think "There are no coincidences." When did "coincidence" become institutionalized as an unchallengeable idea. If all our times are in God's hands how can anything be a "coincidence"?

Actually, in my last post, the devout christian I was surprised would think that was ok was you, not Erf. You seem to be saying that if its for poker reasons, any avatar would be ok.

There are no coincidences. Keep your mind open to Him.

Arouet, pretending to like a girl's hair is the same as actually liking it?

So if this was a sign from God, how do you interpret the sign? Do you believe God is telling you that you must change your avatar to Manson, and that you'd be disobeying God if you didn't make him your avatar? Or is God merely making a suggestion?

BigErf, you're an imbecile for not correctly dividing God's word. God clearly and explicitly has shown to you that he wants you to go round up a group of young hippie drifters and get them to kill celebrities for you. That's why he keeps pointing you to Charles Manson's picture, via a poker avatar.

gogogogogogogogo!

FMP, though the moment has probably passed. I was toying with wording it like "52:30 is in the 53rd minute for the same reason that 2010 is in the 21st century". But yeah, if I have to be nitty, it'd probably be a good idea to make sense myself.

Obviously the second sentence was pointed at Big Erf.

Well I've always had an extremely strong sense of right and wrong long before I ever paid attention to the bible.

But I'm not suppose to impose my ideas on anyone else. I think you read the bible to let God lead you. He will gradually impress upon you the right way in life.

I could make an error or overweight something based on my own experience. I'm not Big Erf and I've never walked a mile in Big Erf's shoes. God likes to work with us and lead us individually.

You can go too far authoritarian and too far liberal as a Christian. That's why you read the bible. We are works in progress.

You have to balance "My people perish from lack of knowledge" with this verse:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...:8&version=NIV

You're surprised that your taste in images matches your taste in lyrics?

If God ever really wants to test BigErf's obedience, he will get a sign to change his avatar to Kenny G.

One of the problems with this is that the way of looking at the world that derives from the argument you're making is one that is fundamentaly unable to differentiate between things that were done by God, things that were done by Satan and things that are infact not direct actions from either god or other factors.
Another is that it then makes impossible to think of it as an accident. Everything that happens then automatically HAS to have some direct meaning. You wont be able to neglect ANYTHING as accidental.
Furthermore, you effectively deny the existence of reliable laws of nature. Which is fine, but seems to me a rather problematic view.

I cant really say anything about this, if this is what it takes to 'step outside the secular box', I simply cannot do that. Your brain might accept this type of (in my opinion very much flawed) reasoning, mine cannot.

This is one of those things where you cant be unclear. Either you think that something feeling right is an indication of it being right in the eyes of God (God has made you inherently likely to do good) or not. Both have their own implications, which are far reaching. Any inbetween road leaves open many interpreations of things and is worse than both other options.

Do you 'catch' all of God's signs?

I figured this as I was writing it down the other night.

When I was staring at the empty circle that was originally my default PokerStars image, Charlie “popped” into my mind. To me Manson has always been like “The” bad guy of bad guys and when I positioned him into the circle it was an instant hit. He puts me where I need to be when I sit down to play and those eyes have a way of hypnotizing my approach.

I’ve always believed that God introduced me to poker for some cosmic reason and I believe that he wants me to have the attitude that I do about it. And Charlie is my connection to that mind frame that I need to be in. The fascination with true crime books started in grade school and I see now that this liking was given to me so that I would accept the image of Manson when the time came to be presented with him.

fyp

It's actually kind of disgusting that you've chosen to make him your avatar. He ordered the murders of numerous innocent people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.

And to justify it be claiming that this is what god wants you to do...that's even more despicable, imo.

So Splendour? Looks like idolizing to me. Erf, wtf man? You've read the book, you can't plead ignorance, you know what a monster he is. You know that he's shown no remorse. Seriously, dude, choose some better role models!

My creative imagination has gotten me into trouble in the past and sometimes I need to check myself. Up until a few weeks ago I would spend large amounts of time playing poker and this meant staring at Charlie in the process. I would get in deep with my thoughts about the game and I have taken it brutally serious at times and even personal. After going through some very rough swings I decided that maybe an image change would do me some good. So I switched. But almost immediately I knew I made a mistake by doing so.

PokerStars has a limit to the amount of times you can change an image and I thought Charlie was lost forever. I had been contemplating trying to get him back and was thinking of emailing Stars to see if they would grant my request.. but I felt kind of dumb seeing how I just changed my image within the last week or so.

So now we pick up where I left off with Leper Messiah. I looked up the old image I had used of Manson and as I was thinking about whether or not I should request another change I hear, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, LIE!!!!!! To me this was the sign of God saying, “Go ahead Erfy, get him back.”

So did pokerstars grant the image change, or have you changed it too many times already?

I'm curious about this comment from your OP. Are you saying looking at the image affects you psychologically, but there's nothing supernatural going on? Or that Charles Manson's spirit or whatever is somehow channeled through the image, and he (Charles Manson himself, not just the image) is messing with your mind telepathically?

BigErf if someone killed your family and someone else used their picture as an avatar would you be ok with it?

You've got a point.

I must have skimmed the OP too fast. I thought Erf was saying God was changing his image.

I've read "Helter Skelter" and I couldn't sport Manson on my avatar even though I do see it as having some poker tactical advantages.

ahh yes... from the girls perspective if you pretend to like her hair it is the same as if you actually like it.

from the perspective of the players viewing the manson avatar as "villains" avatar he is actually glorifying manson even if the OP is just "pretending" to glorify manson.

I was sitting in peak-hour traffic today when my ipod played Hexdrix's Crosstown Traffic. Coincidence?