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I like Hebrews 11:1 better in the Darby translation better than I do the KJV. Don't get me wrong. I really like the KJV, but the wording in Darby really makes things clearer for me. Darby: The dictionary definition of substantiation is: the act of validating. So faith is where we find the validation of what we hope for. The 1913 Webster's dictionary has this to say about conviction: So faith provides both the validation and what our minds find necessary to believe in God and salvation. It's no wonder Christians are viewed as irrational by non-Christians who are faithless.

In heaven I believe we will have be able to associate amicably with everyone there; but we will likely tend to associate more frequently with those who "click" with us. I don't no the English equivalent, but in Spanish, the word is "simpatico". We will tend to associate more frequently with people with whom we are "simpatico".

Thank you for another good idea. The rocket stove sounds interesting, too, as a way to get more btu's from wood. I've got a house to remodel/rebuild and appreciate ideas for wood and solar heating, gardening, construction, etc.

Gerry asked an interesting question in post #5 when he asked if all of us will be one color in Heaven. I suppose this question should be in a new topic, but here goes. I have had that same question, and have come up with what I believe is a correct answer. Because the Creator has created flowers of all colors why would He want people of only one color?

I think I first heard the name of Herb Douglass when he was the author of the Sabbath School lessons for the second quarter, 1977, "Jesus, the Model Man." I was 15, and a sophomore in high school (I had to look up the date <g>). In the next couple of years I got into all the theological disputes of the period. I read "Perfection: The Impossible Possibility" (1975), and "The Shaking of Adventism," and though initially attracted by the Wieland/Douglass position, found myself sliding over into the Ford/Brinsmead camp. And that eventually led me out of the Adventist church. Fast forward a couple of decades, and restudying these issues from some life experience led me to some different conclusions. That brought me back to the Adventist church (2007). That fall I attended the conference at Andrews that the seminary hosted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the book, "Questions on Doctrine." That's where I met Herb (and the Standish brothers, and so many others who had been involved in the controversies that I had started studying when I was barely into my teens. Herb was a wonderfully nice man. We had several long talks and some delightful meals together during the few days we were together. We continued our friendship through e-mails, and through interplay between columns we both wrote for an online publication. We were both New England Yankees and alumni of Atlantic Union College (though several decades apart); he served as president of our alma mater from 1967-1970. His brother, Melvin, is a friend here in Houston. All who knew him praise him as a model of civility and Christian kindness, even in the midst of the theological disputes that bring out the sinful nature of most of us. He will be missed. The Review just posted this profile of him: http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/herbert-e.-douglass,-leading-theologian-and-author,-dead-at-87

>>>>Do you think santa claus is the first false supernatural being to bring such "magic of the mind", "wonderment, excitement, good feelings, etc." ? Why do you think all the other false gods were so popular? Are we so arrogant as to think that the "ignorant" people of the past all really believed in their pagan gods that they fashioned for themselves, while we are superior because we don't "really believe" in the santa we have invented for our entertainment out of fragments of history and fantasy? There's a good chance that some of the pagans were like us -- just pretending and playing with the possibilities that could happen if there could be such a wondrous being like the one they collectively imagined, while enjoying themselves at the festivities with the others who knew better than to believe in such nonsense. Surely the pagan priests who ate the food left by the worshipers for the idols in the temples knew that the "gods" didn't actually eat all that food. Yet they worked to maintain the wonderment, excitement and good feelings for the common people (and for their own profit).<<<<<< Who said Santa was a God? Those are your words!! I have never heard anyone call him a God, except for those who are against the idea of Christmas and Santa. Sounds like they may be the ones with the "God" problem, not the rest of the world!!

How does it make me feel? Puzzled. A bit perplexed. Awkward. Uncertain how to answer. Curious to know the motive behind the question before I answer.

i like being aware. Aware of danger, aware of what's going on in the world. I like being aware of spiritual stuff. Often times I am groggy because of insomnia. I've been dealing with insomia since i was 12. I inherited the problem. I could tell some horror stories of what my Mom had to deal with. My biological dad was an alcoholic. So I stay away from alcohol, from 'smoke' as well. I hate being pimped by convenience stores. I hate the smell of tobacco. Don't have to worry about me stealing cigarillos. They're a waste of time, health and money. Also, I have this defiant, independent streak going. I like keeping the sabbath, when the world goes the other way. I also like not drinking when 'they' say I should. So, I don't drink.