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Garner: Tne business people making the complaints were minorities. The captain of the precinct is black. The sargent in charge of the squad was a black woman. This tragedy was caused by the state of new York placing a higher priority on collecting taxes than on a lot of criminal behavior. Garner's own wife says this had nothing to do with race. Mike Brown: This guy decided to rob a grocery store. He then decided to walk down the middle of the street. Then he decided to attack a police officer while the officer was in his vehicle when the officer talked to him. Had he not made any of those decisions he would still be alive. Are you saying that when a complaint is made that a black man is breaking the law that the cops should look for white, asians, American indians, etc... before they attempt to look for a black man?

While I did find this a bit funny... It is a serious issue in the church. The issue is radical-minded people that feel they need to force others to conform to what they believe to be right. There was one such member that attended a church when I was in college. He belonged to one of those independent ministries (which I am not aware of any here in deep south Texas). He felt it his mission to tell the Sabbath School class and prayer meeting about where the Pastor was teaching unbiblically. On one occasion I had invited a friend from college to a Bible study and he was argueing with our pastor (who was a bit liberal) about being able to live without sinning. The arguement got so heated that the man finally stood up and told the pastor that if he would step outside they could settle the issue like men. Well,,, my friend from college later commented, that was certainly showing that pastor that one could live without sinning. On another occasion one of the man's daughters told me he would wake them up in the middle of the night and make them repeat the Ten Commandments from memory before letting them go back to bed. I heard his wife finally divorced him and "oh the scandel" that an Adventist pastor actually encouraged her to do so. Well, a few months ago - out of the blue - he sent me a Facebook friend request. I accepted and this week I got this message from him. "Why are you dressed up in your Satan's suit? You really need to get it together Shane. Let me know when you and I will refriend you." Well, I am dressed up in my santa suit in the picture on Facebook. I had the suit made for me when my children were young to teach my children that santa isn't real - that I am their santa. I have never taught my children to believe in santa. Dad is santa. I have also used the suit to go into nursing homes and sing Christmas carols. The strking thing here is that this man, and others like him, cannot even be Facebook friends with someone they disagree with. That is a bit disturbing, especailly in the light that as Adventists we are suppose to be preaching (and demonstrating) religious liberty. A major part of religious liberty is allowing others to disagree with us. Now I did decide this year to stop celebrating Halloween and I removed my Halloween pictures from my Facebook. My, my, my... imagine if he had seen my Halloween pictures.

LOL "Satan suit"? Oh brother..... I'm not sure I'd want to be FB friends with someone who demands you conform to *his* ideas and opinions!

LHC, Not sure if you're aware of it, but that is precisely what the Roman Catholic Orthodox position is on the subject of Christ's human nature. It necessarily means for Christ o be born with a sinless human nature, Mary would have had to have been so born...and likewise all the way back to Eve. The logic of that position must ultimately exclude women from being sinful, because Eve wasn't could not have been included in the legacy of sin - unfortunately, this is also quite contrary to the pronouncements of God in Genesis 3 in her pain during childbirth and in predicting her desires to dominate her man, but ultimately being subject to him instead. Hebrews 2:14 states that Christ partook of the same flesh and blood as the children. Verse 17 continues to say He was made in all things like unto His brethren, so that He could be the merciful and faithful High Priest as well as to be the propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 4:15 says our High Priest (who was made in all things like His brethren) was tempted in all things like we are tempted, yet was without sin. Our strongest temptations do not come from outside ourselves, but from within. This is where Christ says the murders, fornications, adulteries, stealing, etc., all originate: Mark 7:20-23 - "And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." James 1:14-15 confirms this by describing the exact process of how we sin - "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." If Christ had not stepped in as mankind's Redeemer, that death would have been the irreversible second death - even as far back as Adam (making the human race null and void even before there was a human race). Christ had to be made fully human (as we are) to reconnect the human race back to the Source and Author of Life. It required Him to become as One with the sinful human race (Hebrews 2:11), as He was One with the sin-consuming Holy Father (John 17:22). I cannot see it happening any other way in order for Christ to be the satisfactory propitiation for our sin. Adam prior to his Fall had no need to be re-connected back to God - he had the original connection intact. Once trashed, that original connection Adam had could not be restored. Adam had to be re-connected through Christ, just as we. It literally boggles my mind what the Word says had to happen, for us to even have the offer of grace and eternal life given to us. Blessings,

I could think of some responses to make to the above, but I will refrain from doing so.