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I pray immediately for the prayer request. And, also keep a prayer book with notes and dates. For the most part I pray over the book as there are too many. However, there are those for whom I pray for as individuals ... it's a heart decision

Aren't both gnats and camels unclean? Cute; but the point Jesus was making goes along with what Tom is saying. Jesus wasn't talking about the size of the animal, he was pointing out that both are unclean; but according to the Pharisees, some things were more unclean than others. Some of us "strain" at eating Jello (gnats) because it is a meat by-product while we "gulp down" (the literal translation of the Greek word used in the Bible) fried Loma Linda and Worthington "health food". What is usually the biggest part of an SDA pot luck? The desert table! Sugar is SDA alcohol. Some of the most rotund people I know are vegans who claim to religiously follow the SDA health message.

Here's another one that's probably more to the point that Tom was making: Signs of Kosher Animals When God spoke about kosher animals in the Torah, why does it only list the animals known to the people at that time? It never mentions any animals in Africa like the hippo or giraffe. The Aish Rabbi Replies: What makes an animal kosher? The Torah says (Leviticus 11:2, 3, 7): "Speak to the children of Israel saying: Of all the animals in the world, these are the ones you may eat. Among mammals, you may eat (any one) that has true hoofs that are cloven, and that chews its cud... The pig shall be unclean to you although it has a cloven hoof, since it does not chew its cud." There must two signs: Every animal must have fully split hooves and it has to be cud-chewing. Is a horse kosher? No, because it doesn't have split hooves or chew its cud. What about a lion? It also lacks these signs. What about a cow? Yes, because it has both signs. The practical law is explained by Maimonides (Laws of Forbidden Foods 1:2-3): "The identifying signs of clean animals are specified in the Torah as two: the true cloven hoof and the chewing of the cud (rumination). Both must be present… Consequently, if a person finds an animal in the wilderness… whose muzzle has been mutilated, he should examine the hoofs. If they are cloven, the animal is clean – provided he can ascertain it is not a pig." This is amazing! Even though the Torah already gave us the two signs that make an animal kosher, it decides to add some extra information. The Torah lists only one animal – the pig – that has the kosher sign of split hooves, but not the other sign of chewing cud. Why does the Torah stick its neck on the line to tell us there is only one animal that has the kosher sign of split hooves, but not the other sign of chewing cud? All we have to do is find a second animal with that one kosher sign and we know the Torah is wrong! All we need is one more species, at any time in existence, that does not chew its cud yet has split hooves and we know the whole Torah is a farce. You can close up the religion. There goes Judaism. It's been a nice few thousand years. Why risk the whole religion and expose it to fraud, for no gain? Certainly, in Moses’ time the Jews were not able to identify every existing mammal in the world. Was Moses a hunter or a safari expert that he knew this information?! Obviously not. And yet, the Bible put very specific information in there without fear of being proven wrong. Zoologists today have identified over 5,000 different species of mammals. And still there is only one – the pig – that has the kosher sign of split hooves, but not the other sign of chewing cud. Why would the Torah write this, and more incredibly, how could it have gotten it right? The Talmud (Chulin 60b) concludes: This refutes those who question whether the Torah was given by God. Kosher Dentures ps:Even though this goes beyond just the pig, I thought that it was interesting how the pig is such a bigger deal than all the other unclean animals.

Here's an interesting comment about eating pork per a Rabbi, not just someone making up reasons why this or that!! Degrees of Non-Kosher Are there degrees of non-kosher food? Meaning, if I'm going to cook a vegi omelet in a non-kosher pan (let's say that was previously used for pork), does it make no difference if I just go ahead and cook a Western omlette – i.e. using actual ham? The Aish Rabbi Replies: Yes, it makes a big difference! The general rule is to always try to maximize your mitzvahs and reduce your transgressions. There is a wonderful story which illustrates this concept. The great rabbi the Chafetz Chaim was faced with a question from young Jewish men who had been drafted into the Russian army during the early 20th century. They asked: "If we are on the battlefront, and they serve us pork, what should we do?" The Chafetz Chaim replied: "If there is no other food available, then you may eat the pork, because preservation of life overrides the kosher prohibitions." "But," the Chafetz Chaim continued, "when you eat the pork, you may not lick the bones." In other words, if you're going to transgress, minimize it. As for your specific case, the pork which is real non-kosher food is actually worse than using the pan which has the taste of non-kosher food absorbed into it. But here’s a solution: just buy yourself a new frying pan!

Sorry to have to ask you to speak for yourself, but I am living under a theocracy with the One Who spoke this, as my King. 15"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;…John 14 God is Love! Jesus saves!

There is none righteous? Many people read this in the Bible and say it’s a contradiction. Why do they say this? Because the Bible says there are those who are righteous. Genesis 6:9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. There is no contradiction in the Bible when we truly come to understand God. The Bible says that God looks at the heart while man looks at the outward. 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” The heart of a man can be righteous yet do good and evil. In the same way the heart of a man can be unrighteous and do good or evil. The difference is in how the heart is affected by the evil. The unrighteous will do unrighteous things and have no conviction. They will even approve of others who also do unrighteous things. Romans 1:32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. The righteous heart will do unrighteous things and be vexed by what he has done. His heart’s desire is to do right but in his flesh he is weak. God sees the desire in his heart to do right and is why God calls him a righteous man. Let’s take a look at Lot. I’m sure Lot has done some unrighteous things in his life but yet he was called a righteous man. Why? Because he called sin what it is, sin and it bothered him whether it was him doing it or everyone around him. 2 Peter 2:4-9 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. Remember, a righteous man (one who desires godly righteousness in his heart) can fall seven times but his righteous heart will make him get up again. The unrighteous heart will have no conviction or desire to get up again. Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. Let God change your heart to desire righteousness and He will call you righteous even if you fall into unrighteousness. Getting back up is the fruit of God's saving work in us.

I may have said it before, but I increasingly think the problem with 'organised religion' is the 'organised' part, not the 'religion' part. An organisation protects itself, and people within it do immoral things that they would not do as individuals in order to protect the organisation. It's not limited to religious organisations - corporations and clubs and other kinds of organisations have this effect too. Perhaps organisations can be saved, but only if the focus shifts from protecting the needs of the organisation to protecting the needs of the vulnerable.

I have never suggested that the NT teaches that Christians should massacre natives. That is not my point. Clearly Christians used the OT exploits of Israel and the call to spread the gospel as justification for their genocide. Some colonists laid claim to the experience of OT Israel even though they had no claim on it. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/mandestiny.htm But Manifest Destiny was not simply a cloak for American imperialism and a justification for America’s territorial ambitions. It also was firmly anchored in a long standing and deep sense of a special and unique American Destiny, the belief that in the words of historian Conrad Cherry, “America is a nation called to a special destiny by God.” The notion that there was some providential purpose to the European discovery and eventual conquest of the land masses “discovered” by Christopher Columbus was present from the beginning. Both the Spanish and the French monarchs authorized and financed exploration of the “New World” because, among other things, they considered it their divinely appointed mission to spread Christianity to the New World by converting the natives to Christianity. Coming later to the venture, the British and especially the New England Puritans carried with them a demanding sense of Providential purpose. John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony: "justifieinge the undertakeres of the intended Plantation in New England ... to carry the Gospell into those parts of the world, ... and to raise a Bulworke against the kingdome of the Ante-Christ." "The Spaniards found pleasure in inventing all kinds of odd cruelties ... They built a long gibbet, long enough for the toes to touch the ground to prevent strangling, and hanged thirteen [natives] at a time in honor of Christ Our Saviour and the twelve Apostles... then, straw was wrapped around their torn bodies and they were burned alive." Finally.....Where does the idea of a City on a Hill come from?

You believe that the redeemed will be on the earth during the 7 wrath plagues. I do not. I believe they will be on the earth during the warning trumpet plagues, which will occur during the 42 months (1260 days, time, times, and a part). But that's a separate topic. If Jesus will no longer forgive - anything less than perfect harmony with His Father's Law - even by a thought, after a point in time, that means each of these people must be PERFECT in character. And anything LESS THAN PERFECT (after that moment in time) will not be covered by the blood of Christ. It sounds as if you are saying that Jesus will remove the covering (of His blood) which He had over His people. They have to stand there on their own merits. That thought used to make me so afraid, I couldn't go to sleep at night. I KNOW I'm not perfect. Most every Christian knows that - in his heart. So how could I go from sinner to saint - in the time left before Jesus takes away His covering??? I couldn't !!!!!! But if THAT is what's necessary - then I am LOST for sure. The idea that the last "saints" will reach Christ like perfection before Jesus comes - says (to me) that our God must artificially manipulate the minds of these last people, to render them PERFECT, so that they can stand in the sight of God without His covering. When an Israelite brought a sin offering, his sin was forgiven. But the man himself was NOT rendered perfect in mind and heart. Not at that moment. That Israelite may have had a long way to go - to perfection. I believe that we human beings have been so thoroughly damaged by sin (sin within and sin around us) that it will take 1000 years in a healing environment before all the damage will be healed. I just don't believe the healing takes place in a moment, or even within the years of a single earthly lifetime. If God will manipulate - if that is something He does - if that is consistent with His character, then He should have manipulated Eve/Adam, so they would not eat the fruit, and we could have skipped this whole painful mess. The length of this horrible, painful experience down here, tells me that my God does NOT manipulate human minds. I believe that Passover is a TYPE, that tells us just how we are delivered from the last plagues. The Israelites gathered inside houses painted with the BLOOD of the Passover Lamb. Christ is our Passover. We gather UNDER His blood covering. That is HOW we are shielded from the final plagues. Anyone NOT under that blood covering - will suffer the last plagues. Far from removing His covering, the redeemed will be shielded by that covering.

Mark Aurelius wrote: "Maybe we are trained not to see certain things by our world-view, ideology: like a connection between Islam and violence, or a negative aspect to feminism. The left seems to want to see Islam as a morally neutral culture, in keeping with its generally laudable aims for multicultural societies. And the left seems to think feminism is almost synonymous with progress, and cannot be criticised." I think you're hearing things I'm not saying. There are very valid critiques of radical Islam: I am a million miles from condoning murder. Similarly for feminism, of course there are valid critiques of it. What I'm doing is pointing out invalid critiques. It is a failure of logic to leap from 'this critique is invalid' to 'there is no such thing as a valid critique'. It's like saying 'this dog is not a cat' means 'there is no such thing as a cat'.

There is in fact a very strong educational research literature about reasons for the underperformance of boys: they are definitely not 'left in the lurch', and nor is the intersection of their nature and abilities with the nature of schooling an ignored research problem. (To learn this, it is necessary to read the educational research, not commentators with an agenda commenting on their perceptions of the educational research.) Here's a review from this year of one scholarly book focused on this issue: http://csx.sagepub.com/content/44/1/98.full For someone eager to dig in to the relevant literature and inform him/herself, it's a good place to start.

Apologies. I will attempt to be more civil. You're attacking women and education, the two things I love most in the world. I believe that the attack on women, and the claim that feminism is the cause of mass shootings, is completely baseless, and demonstrates a misunderstanding of the nature of evidence. I laid out, clearly, the logical and evidentiary steps that would be necessary to support that claim, and I'm afraid long pages of copied and pasted text from the same sorts of sources does not meet that standard.

You seem to have projected something onto me that I never said, and then called me arrogant and gone off into a rant based on that. Of course I understand that regulation is not 100% good. It would be foolish to think otherwise. It's also not 100% bad: and it's foolish to think otherwise. It needs to be assessed on its merits on a case-by-case basis. That is the thoughtful approach, and it's the approach I take. (PS Sorry to hear about your health challenges, and hope you're feeling much better very soon.)

I liked your video. My mom had a pig when she was growing up, the mother sow had crushed its back legs and she managed to not only save it, but got it to where it could walk by hopping. Mom said she was smarter than a dog. Sadly when mom went away to school, her parents ate it. When questioned about it, they said it was a working ranch, not a save-all-the-little-animals ranch. While I love my family, I'd be very peeved if they ate one of my pets. I don't care what the reason.

I have a theory that attempts to resolve the apparent inconsistencies and lack of clear explanation in Scripture of the reasons that some animals are clean and others unclean. The later developed rationale of a health basis remains inconsistent when comparing the lists. Beef is far worse from a health standpoint than the lean meat of rabbit or kangaroo. Many of the unclean are predators or scavengers eating other animals and/or almost anything. But so are many clean fish. And chickens really are prone to eat everything. And it has been documented that recognized herbivores like deer, will rob bird nests of eggs and baby birds within their reach. The theory is partly derived from an understanding of the Hebrew word translated as "clean". It is sometimes translated as "pure" which may be more consistent with the original Hebrew. Think in terms of purebred, as in clear and unmixed lines from ancestors. We worship the Creator. It seems logical that the uncorrupted hereditary lines of animals that remain "purebred" from the one original created by God would be acceptable as an offering to the Creator. And that any species corrupted or fundamentally altered by sin or mixed breeding by sinful mankind would not be acceptable to the Creator. It is logical that predators or scavengers were not God's original design. But after sin and death entered the picture, they served a useful purpose. And some beasts of burden are adapted (changed) to serve the needs of weakened mankind in a sinful world.

Maybe this is a clue. All done in the name of Islam For anyone wondering about the history of deadly Islamic terror on American soil in the last 45 years, here’s what we could find: Date Country City/State Killed Injured Description 4/14/1972 USA New York, NY 1 3 Ten members of a local mosque phone in a false alarm and then ambush responding officers, killing one. 1/19/1973 USA Brooklyn, NY 1 1 Muslim extremists rob a sporting goods store for weapons, gunning down a police officer who responds to the alarm. 7/1/1973 USA Bethesda, MD 1 0 An Israeli diplomat is gunned down in his driveway by Palestinian terrorists. 7/18/1973 USA Washington, DC 8 2 Nation of Islam members shoot seven members of a family to death in cold blood, including four children. A defendant in the case is later murdered in prison on orders from Elijah Muhammad. 10/19/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 1 Nation of Islam terrorists kidnap a couple and nearly decapitate the man, while raping and leaving the woman for dead. 10/29/1973 USA Berkeley, CA 1 0 A woman is shot repeatedly in the face by Nation of Islam terrorists. 11/25/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A grocer is killed in his store by Nation of Islam terrorists. 12/11/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A man is killed by Nation of Islam terrorists while using a phone booth. 12/13/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A woman is shot to death on the sidewalk by Nation of Islam terrorists. 12/20/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 Nation of Islam terrorists gun down an 81-year-old janitor. 12/22/1973 USA Oakland, CA 2 0 Nation of Islam terrorist kills two people in separate attacks on the same day. 12/24/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A man is kidnapped, tortured and decapitated by Nation of Islam terrorists. 1/24/1974 USA Oakland, CA 4 1 Five vicious shooting attacks by Nation of Islam terrorists leave three people dead and one paralyzed for life. Three of the victims were women. 4/1/1974 USA Oakland, CA 1 1 A Nation of Islam terrorist shoots at two Salvation Army members, killing a man and injuring a woman. 4/16/1974 USA Ingleside, CA 1 0 A man is killed while helping a friend move by Nation of Islam terrorists. 3/9/1977 USA Washington, DC 1 1 Hanifi Muslims storm three buildings including a B'nai B'rith to hold 134 people hostage. At least two innocents were shot and one died. 7/22/1980 USA Bethesda, MD 1 0 A political dissident is shot and killed in front of his home by an Iranian agent who was an American convert to Islam. 8/31/1980 USA Savou, IL 2 0 An Iranian student guns down his next-door neighbors, a husband and wife. 11/6/1989 USA St. Louis, MO 1 0 A 17-year-old girl is stabbed to death by her parents for bringing 'dishonor' to their family by dating an 'infidel' African-American. 1/31/1990 USA Tuscon, AZ 1 0 A Sunni cleric is assassinated in front of a Tuscon mosque after declaring that two verses of the Qur'an were invalid. 11/5/1990 USA New York City, NY 1 0 An Israeli rabbi is shot to death by a Muslim attacker at a hotel. 1/25/1993 USA Langley, VA 2 3 A Pakistani with Mujahideen ties guns down two CIA agents outside of the headquarters. 2/26/1993 USA New York, NY 6 1040 Islamic terrorists detonate a massive truck bomb under the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring over 1,000 in an effort to collapse the towers. 3/1/1994 USA Brooklyn, NY 1 0 A Muslim gunman targets a van packed with Jewish boys, killing a 16-year-old. 3/23/1997 USA New York, NY 1 6 A Palestinian leaves an anti-Jewish suicide note behind and travels to the top of the Empire State building where he shoot seven people in a Fedayeen attack. 4/3/1997 USA Lompoc, CA 1 0 A prison guard is stabbed to death by a radical Muslim. 3/17/2000 USA Atlanta, GA 1 1 A local imam and Muslim spiritual leader guns down a deputy sheriff and injures his partner. 9/11/2001 USA Shanksville, PA 40 0 Forty passengers are killed after Islamic radicals hijack the plane in an attempt to steer it into the U.S. Capitol building. 9/11/2001 USA Washington, DC 184 53 Nearly 200 people are killed when Islamic hijackers steer a plane full of people into the Pentagon. 9/11/2001 USA New York, NY 2752 251 Islamic hijackers steer two planes packed with fuel and passengers into the World Trade Center, killing hundreds on impact and eventually killing thousands when the towers collapsed. At least 200 are seriously injured. 3/19/2002 USA Tuscon, AZ 1 0 A 60-year-old man is gunned down by Muslim snipers on a golf course. 5/27/2002 USA Denton, TX 1 0 Muslim snipers kill a man as he works in his yard. 7/4/2002 USA Los Angeles, CA 2 0 Muslim man pulls out a gun at the counter of an Israeli airline and kills two people. 9/5/2002 USA Clinton, MD 1 0 A 55-year-old pizzaria owner is shot six times in the back by Muslims at close range. 9/21/2002 USA Montgomery, AL 1 1 Muslim snipers shoot two women, killing one. 9/23/2002 USA Baton Rouge, LA 1 0 A Korean mother is shot in the back by Muslim snipers. 10/2/2002 USA Wheaton, MD 1 0 Muslim snipers gun down a program analyst in a store parking lot. 10/3/2002 USA Montgomery County, MD 5 0 Muslim snipers kill three men and two women in separate attacks over a 15-hour period. 10/9/2002 USA Manassas, VA 1 1 A man is killed by Muslim snipers while pumping gas two days after a 13-year-old is wounded by the same team. 10/11/2002 USA Fredericksburg, VA 1 0 Another man is killed by Muslim snipers while pumping gas. 10/14/2002 USA Arlington, VA 1 0 A woman is killed by Muslim snipers in a Home Depot parking lot. 10/22/2002 USA Aspen Hill, MD 1 0 A bus driver is killed by Muslim snipers. 8/6/2003 USA Houston, TX 1 0 After undergoing a 'religious revival', a Saudi college student slashes the throat of a Jewish student with a 4" butterfly knife, nearly decapitating the young man. 12/2/2003 USA Chicago, IL 1 0 A Muslim doctor deliberately allows a Jewish patient to die from an easily treatable condition. 4/13/2004 USA Raleigh, NC 1 4 An angry Muslim runs down five strangers with a car. 4/15/2004 USA Scottsville, NY 1 2 In an honor killing, a Muslim father kills his wife and attacks his two daughters with a knife and hammer because he feared that they had been sexually molested. 6/16/2006 USA Baltimore, MD 1 0 A 62-year-old Jewish moviegoer is shot to death by a Muslim medical student in an unprovoked terror attack. 6/25/2006 USA Denver, CO 1 5 Saying that it was 'Allah's choice', a Muslim shoots four of his co-workers and a police officer. 7/28/2006 USA Seattle, WA 1 5 An 'angry' Muslim-American uses a young girl as hostage to enter a local Jewish center, where he shoots six women, one of whom dies. 1/1/2008 USA Irving, TX 2 0 A Muslim immigrant shoots his two daughters to death on concerns about their 'Western' lifestyle. 7/6/2008 USA Jonesboro, GA 1 0 A devout Muslim strangles his 25-year-old daughter in an honor killing. 2/12/2009 USA Buffalo, NY 1 0 The founder of a Muslim TV station beheads his wife in the hallway for seeking a divorce. 4/12/2009 USA Phoenix, AZ 2 0 A man shoots his brother-in-law and another man to death after finding out that they visited a strip club, in contradiction to Islamic values. 6/1/2009 USA Little Rock, AR 1 1 A Muslim shoots a local soldier to death inside a recruiting center explicitly in the name of Allah. 11/2/2009 USA Glendale, AZ 1 1 A woman dies from injuries suffered when her father runs her down with a car for being too 'Westernized.' (10-20-09) 11/5/2009 USA Ft. Hood, TX 13 31 A Muslim psychiatrist guns down thirteen unarmed soldiers while yelling praises to Allah. 12/4/2009 USA Binghamton, NY 1 0 A non-Muslim Islamic studies professor is stabbed to death by a Muslim grad student in revenge for 'persecuted' Muslims. 4/14/2010 USA Marquette Park, IL 5 2 After quarrelling with his wife over Islamic dress, a Muslim convert shoots his family members to 'take them back to Allah' and out of the 'world of sinners'. 4/30/2011 USA Warren, MI 1 0 A 20-year-old woman is shot in the head by her stepfather for not adhering to Islamic practices. 9/11/2011 USA Waltham, MA 3 0 Three Jewish men have their throats slashed by Muslim terrorists. 1/15/2012 USA Houston, TX 1 0 A 30-year-old Christian convert is shot to death by a devout Muslim for helping to convert his daughter. 11/12/2012 USA Houston, TX 1 0 A 28-year-old American man is shot to death by a conservative Muslim over an alleged role in converting a woman to Christianity. 2/7/2013 USA Buena Vista, NJ 2 0 A Muslim targets and beheads two Christian Coptic immigrants. 3/24/2013 USA Ashtabula, OH 1 0 A Muslim convert walks into a church service with a Quran and guns down his Christian father while praising Allah. 4/15/2013 USA Boston, MA 3 264 Foreign-born Muslims describing themselves as 'very religious' detonate two bombs packed with ball bearings at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and causing several more to lose limbs. 4/19/2013 USA Boston, MA 1 1 Jihadists gun down a university police officer sitting in his car. 8/4/2013 USA Richmond, CA 1 0 A convert "on a mission from Allah" stabs a store clerk to death. 3/6/2014 USA Port Bolivar, TX 2 0 A Muslim man shoots his lesbian daughter and her lover to death and leaves a copy of the Quran open to a page condemning homosexuality. 4/27/2014 USA Skyway, WA 1 0 A 30-year-old man is murdered by a Muslim fanatic. 6/1/2014 USA Seattle, WA 2 0 Two homosexuals are murdered by an Islamic extremist. 6/25/2014 USA West Orange, NJ 1 0 A 19-year-old college student is shot to death 'in revenge' for Muslim deaths overseas. 9/25/2014 USA Moore, OK 1 1 A Sharia advocate beheads a woman after calling for Islamic terror and posting an Islamist beheading photo. 7/16/2015 USA Chattanooga 5 2 A 'devout Muslim' stages a suicide attack on a recruiting center at a strip mall and a naval center which leaves five dead.