Samuel Rodriguez

Samuel Rodriguez

president, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

The "On Faith" panelist is a well-known evangelist, author and founding pastor of Third Day Worship Centers. He was born in Newark, N.J., and grew up in Bethlehem, Pa. He attended Penn State University and graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in education. He earned a Master's degree in educational leadership from Lehigh University. He's also a graduate of Bethany Bible Institute. Ordained by the Assemblies of God at the age of 23, he was elected to oversee the Assemblies of God Hispanic Youth Ministries for the 17 states in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic Region. In 1997, Rodriguez assisted in a church planting initiative where he founded and provided pastoral oversight to churches in Pennsylvania and New York City. In August 2000, the Assemblies of God invited Samuel to speak at the World Pentecostal Congress, Celebration 2000, in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. In the spring of 2001, he helped start the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals. He is a regular speaker for Promise Keepers, the Assemblies of God, other organizations and a regular contributor to Ministry Today, Outreach, Connexion, and Enrichment Journal. He lives in Sacramento, California with this three children and his wife of 18 years, Eva. Eva is the Senior Pastor of an Assemblies of God Church, Christian Worship Center Close.

Samuel Rodriguez

president, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. more »

Main Page | Samuel Rodriguez Archives | On Faith Archives


Heaven is Hope's Address

Hell is a refuge for darkness and the absence of light, music and love.

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Anonymous:

There is no god.Your pastors and priests want you to believe in a god,so they can get rich
from all the lemmings who are scared to death of life and death,and seem unable to get by without a god,and an assurance that death will not happen to them.
It is the oldest scam of them all,because all you're buying is a dream.
Anyone still remember Jonestown? Whwn about 900
lemmings believed every word their pastor told them,
and even poisoned themselves for him and,of course for the fantasy god in a fantasy heaven.
Now they're all gone.All dead.

eric s:

Yes, unbelief has spiritual consequences. The person who denies God also denies her own soul. Obviously there is no soul that survives bodily death without also a God who created it. Why would God ultimately honor the soul of someone who practiced a willful denial of its very existence? Why would God honor the soul of someone who willfully denied the existence of her own Creator? Such a person does not want to live eternally with God in His heaven anyway.

Jihadist:

BGone my friend:)

You stated : "Looks like the whole country is headed in that direction, hell. Arguments to the contrary?"

No, USA, your country, is not going to hell. In the sixties, during the times of civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the Vietnam war and the divisiveness it caused, some people had thought the whole country is going to hell too. What with students protests and interesting drug abuses from LLD to marijuana, the Weathermen, Black Panthers.

As for the so-called religious right and upswing, well, Susan Jacoby in her latest piece, did point to an increase in Americans declaring their unbelief. And religious conservatism comes in cycles. Remember the Prohibition and the repeal against it?

Have more faith like believers that human excess will be checked by human decency:)

Best regards
J

Pam:

Fear is not religion, what I have I do not call it religion. What I have is a persoanl relationship with a God who came to earth as a man and died for me while I was yet a sinner. I did nothing. Scripture tells us that "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind" so if you fear religion then I guess your correct because that religion doesn't have God in it. Another scripture is "perfect love cast out fear" Not my perfect love but God's perfect love, when I know His love for me I'm no longer afraid. Some fear is good because when you become afraid you find your savior and to know Him is not fear.

Emerson:

Some time in the future: G. Bush and Osama are personnaly escorted around hell by the devil. When they come to the room where they both are assigned, they notice that all there are standing in excrement up to their waist drinking coffee. Well, said Bush to Osama, with all that we have done it could have been a whole lot worse. With that the Devil announced, "coffe break over, everyone on your heads".

DW:

The bible mainly speaks of 'hell' (translated from Greek or Hebrew) as a grave, big cave down in the earth, etc. There is, though, reference to a consuming fire (greek 'gahenna') what will consume (that is, the lake of fire...after the final great white throne judgement - following millenial reign of Christ on earth)..not with red horned beings with pitchforks or turning people on a spit forever and ever. All myth with no biblical basis whatsoever. Just as going to heaven is a widespread deception. Scripture speaks of those who sleep in the grave until the resurrections. Yes, two resurrections. Very clear scripture states no man has ascended to heaven. Gods kingdom will be set up on this earth, with a new heaven and earth following the millenial reign of Christ and the great white throne judgement. The adversary certainly has had his part in deceiving most of mankind thru the ages, as Rev 12:9 informs us.

Anonymous:

Bertrand Russell."Why I Am Not A Christian".
Fear,the Foundation of Religion
Religion is based,I think,primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes.
Fear is the basis of the whole thing-fear of the mysterious,fear of defeat,fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty,
and therefore it is no wonder if religion and cruelty have gone hand in hand.It is because fear is at the basis of those two things. In this world we can now begin a little to understand things,and a little to master them by help of science,
which has forced its way step by step against the Christian religion,against the churches,and against the opposition of all the old precepts. Science can help us to get over this craven fear in which mankind has lived for so many generations. Science can teach us,and I think our own hearts can teach us,no longer to look around for imaginary supports,no longer to invent allies in the sky,but rather to look to our own efforts here below to make this world a fit place to live in,instead of the sort of place that the churches in all these centuries have made it.
Bertrand Russell
Why I Am Not A Christian
pp22

BGone:

Very good TJ. By their own reasoning they are all going to hell, be with the being Moses made the deal with to become somebody. http://www.hoax-buster.org/sellyoursoul and remember Jesus was fathered by the being in the ball of fire.

Worshiping the demon in the fire is a violation of the first commandment, another "fail safe" for God, by their own reasoning. Giving particulars to God, saying "God looks like" or "God said" violates the first commandment. All who do are going to hell.

Looks like the whole country is headed in that direction, hell. Arguments to the contrary?

Jihadist:

Like TJ and Viejata, I'm not too sure about unbelief belonging in the same category as bigotry, arrogance etc.

Unbelief in what? Even if you believe, other believers and believers within your same faith can still say you will go to hell, or is going to hell.

Oh wait, unbelief in what they believe in and is trying to impose on us. That unbelief then.

Mr. Mark:

The deep thoughts of Sunday School, firmly on display in a supposedly adult forum.

Amazing.

CWS:

Not to beat a dead horse after the first two posts but the inclusion of "Unbelief" on the list deserves a reply.

Unbelief is awfully vague under any definition to be the basis for determining the fate of one's soul. I mean belief in WHAT exactly?

There are many "Christian" branches, sects, sets and sub-sets and systems of beliefs:

The Catholics?

Southern Baptist?

United Methodist?

Greek Orthodox?

Snake Handlers?

The list could go on and on for paragraphs. Surley some must be wrong? How are we to know? It is church after all.

Sammy, c'mon you are not making any sense.

Viejita del oeste:

Yeah, I'm not sure -- no, make that I'm sure not -- that unbelief belongs in the same category as bigotry, arrogance, etc.

TJ:

Our panelist wrote: "Hell is the gathering place for wickedness, racism, bigotry, arrogance, greed, selfishness, perversion, and unbelief."

Unbelief eh? So if I don't believe like you do then I end up in this horrible hell you've dreamed up.

The bigoted nature of the thing you believe, and the arrogance of your faith, guarantees you a spot by your own definition. I guess I'll see you there.

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