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I've made the decision to transition from my nickname - which I've had here for a very, very long time - to using my real name. In the transition I've kind of kept both. I've also uploaded an actual photo of myself rather than the cartoon version I've been using. Others who are more vulnerable for a wide variety of family or work related or other reasons may prefer to still use nicknames and other representations, and I completely honour that. When the issue has come up in the past, I've been quick to recognise that I'm in a privileged position in being able to say pretty much whatever I want to online without serious repurcusions. Others are not in that situation. For me, I think it will be a bit of a sobering influence: at least once I have been contacted by a real person about whom I had said something on this forum - and that was when I had a nickname. Now that it's all searchable with my own name, it'll lead to additional think-before-speaking, which isn't a bad thing.

Real picture and real name. Hi everybody! Great points made about putting additional thought into posting prior to posting. Looking forward to 'meeting' more folks here that I may have known by caricature or nickname for years.

My name and picture is me ... granddaughter doesn't mind my sharing her picture. A long time ago I made a decision not to hid behind an alias or fake picture. It helps me to be more aware of what I say on the world-wide web ... as for privacy on the computer, it is not difficult for anyone with some computer skills to identify us so why try to hid behind the computer screen.

Have you ever seen jets or commercial planes flap their wings like a bird? They work on another physical propelsion method for flying than how birds fly. I have studied this subject by looking at every bible verse on Angels. Not once was any mention of them using or having wings. But that may not rule out them having jet-packs for forward movement, perhaps. The exception is to be found in Cheribim. I do love this subject because it once again brings me to many memories of being protected from harm due to the intervention of angels in my life at various times.

This is an old thread, but this is nevertheless an interesting topic for Bible nerds! I agree with those here who say that angels having features such as wings or multiple heads, is meant to be interpreted in a symbolic way. In the Bible winged birds (eagles in particular) are generally understood as the fastest creatures in existence, and birds were admired for their freedom of movement. Even humans riding on horses couldn't match the speed of eagles. The same principle applies to the statements in Ellen White's writings about angels (and more importantly - humans) having wings. That we'll have wings is way of stating that we'll be able to move swiftly and freely in all 3 dimensions. It's nowhere stated that Jesus was given wings when he ascended to heaven in his glorified state, so there is no reason to assume that we'll need wings in order to travel to the ends of the universe. We'll be like him, and we'll be able to move by the speed of thought.

I've always used my real name. I thought I'd already posted a photo, but evidently not. That's fixed. I absolutely agree with you. If this is going to be an Adventist Christian forum, we shouldn't show up wearing a hood with eye-holes cut into it. Studies have shown that wearing a mask or some other cloak of invisibility encourages people to do things they would not ordinarily do. Some of these things are called sins. It's much easier to sin if nobody knows it's you. In the time of the end, we're going to have to have a lot of courage to stand for the right though the heavens fall. We won't get to hide behind an avatar and a nom de' plume then. Might as well get used to it now.

Linda University study finds correlation between vegan diets and lowered risk of prostate cancer Finding published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition LOMA LINDA, CA, January 12, 2016 – A recent study out of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that vegan diets may present a lower risk of prostate cancer. This lower estimated risk was seen in both white and possibly black vegan subjects. This study aimed to examine the association between dietary patterns (nonvegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, vegan, and semi-vegetarian) and prostate cancer incidence among 26,346 male participants of the Adventist Health Study-2. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer accounts for 27% of all incident cancer cases among men and is the second most common (noncutaneous) cancer among men. The relation between diet and prostate cancer is still unclear. Because people do not consume individual foods but rather foods in combination, the assessment of dietary patterns may offer valuable information when determining associations between diet and prostate cancer risk. According to the study director, Dr. Gary Fraser, “These analyses provided evidence that subjects adhering to a vegan diet experienced about 1/3 lower incidence of prostate cancer than those preferring a nonvegetarian diet. Vegan diets differ from other vegetarian and nonvegetarian diets by the absence of dairy and eggs, as well as greater intake of most fruit, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.” The study population consisted of male participants in the AHS-2. These subjects were aged ≥30y at enrollment and members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who lived in the United States or Canada. Enrollment commenced in February 2002, and at completion (December 2007), more than 96,000 participants had completed the lengthy lifestyle questionnaire. The full article, entitled “Are strict vegetarians protected against prostate cancer?” can be found in the 2016 vol. 103 no. 1 153-160 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, available at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org. ### About Loma Linda University Health Loma Linda University Health includes Loma Linda University's eight professional schools, Loma Linda University Medical Center's six hospitals and more than 900 faculty physicians located in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Established in 1905, Loma Linda University Health is a global leader in education, research and clinical care. It offers over 100 academic programs and provides quality health care to 40,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year. A Seventh-day Adventist organization, Loma Linda University Health is a faith-based health system with a mission "to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ."

A man named Anthony who volunteers to entertain patients in nursing homes and hospitals went to one local hospital in Brooklyn that services Jewish patients and took his portable keyboard along. Anthony found an old Jew named Saul who looked like he could use some cheering up and he went by his bedside, told some jokes and sang some funny songs. When he finished Anthony said, in farewell, "I hope you get better." Saul replied, "I hope you get better, too."

Jesus in Every Book of the Bible (original author unknown) In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the woman. Exodus, he is our Passover lamb. Leviticus, our high priest. Numbers, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. In Deuteronomy, the prophet greater than Moses. In Joshua, Jesus is the captain of our salvation. Judges, he is our judge and lawgiver. Ruth, he is our redeemer. I & II Samuel, he is our trusted prophet. Kings and Chronicles, he is our reigning King. Ezra, he is the rebuilder of our broken down walls of our lives. In Nehemiah, Jesus is our restorer. Esther, he’s our Advocate. In Job, Jesus is our ever-living redeemer. Psalms, he’s our shepherd. Proverbs & Ecclesiastes, he’s our Wisdom. Song of Solomon, he’s the lover of our souls. In Isaiah, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Jeremiah, the righteous branch. Lamentations, the weeping prophet. Ezekiel, the glory of God. Daniel, the everlasting God. In Hosea, Jesus is the forgiving husband. Joel, the giver of the Holy Spirit. Amos, the builder of the city of God. Obadiah, our savior. Jonah, the firstborn of the dead. Micah, the ruler of all ages Nahum, the avenger. Habakkuk, the God or our salvation Zephaniah, our savior. Haggai the restorer of the kingdom. Zechariah, the Priest on the throne. Malachi, the son of righteousness, with healing in his wings. In Matthew Jesus is the king of the Jews. Mark, the servant. Luke, the son of man. John, the son of God. Acts, the giver of the Holy Spirit. In Romans Jesus is the righteousness of God. I Corinthians, the giver of gifts II Corinthians, the triumphant one, giving victory. Galatians, the liberator of our souls.. Ephesians, the head of the church. In Philippians, Jesus is our joy. Colossians, the head of all things. I & II Thessalonians, our hope. I Timothy, our faith. II Timothy, our stability. In Titus, Jesus is truth. Philemon, our covenant friend. Hebrews, the messenger of the new covenant. James, the Great Physician. I Peter, the cornerstone. II Peter, our purity. In I, 2, and 3 John, Jesus is love, light and truth. Jude, the one who is able to keep us. Revelation, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is the first and the last, beginning and the end; He is the keeper of creation and the creator of all. He is the architect of the universe and the manager of all time He always was, he always is, he always will be, unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.

HEY ALL JESUS is coming soon so the devil has a short time dgrimm60

@dgrimm60 if you like the post, please press the like button.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/TxNrizGdhtY?vq=hd720&rel=0&showinfo=0&start=0&end=

So, why do you spend your time listening to such idle talk. If you were not listening and/or partaking in it you would not know that it is idle talk. You say that you simply "overhear" the idle talk. Sorry. You do much more than overhear it. You remember it. You remember it long enough to report it to us in this forum. The fact that you remember the idle talk demonstrates that on one level you participate in it. You tell us that you "usually overhear." O.K. You are telling us that it is a common experience for you to overhear. It is not inadvertent. Again, this tells us that you participate. Your participation seems to be voluntary. You probably enjoy it. What I wonder about is the source of your enjoyment. Do you enjoy learning new idle information which others might call gossip? Or, do you enjoy that fact that you can come to this forum and tell us about it? Well, I will leave these questions to you to discover in therapy, if you see a need to consider what you have posted here in this forum. I guess the bottom line is that you have come here and told us that your common Sabbath experience is to overhear idle talk! Outstanding participating in the Sabbath blessing that is available to us!

they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony... testimonies are stories, without the story ...the history, the present and the future of the blood of the lamb it would mean very little. E white recommends an experiential relationship with God. really experiencing God, answering prayers, forgiving, empowering, and giving wisdom, and hope... even love, inspiration, and deeper revelations of His love ... scarey stuff if you depend on your good behavior for acceptance before God.

Have you noticed that sometimes that people will get upset about others' responses to their posts here on C/A (or on Facebook, or other social media)? Maybe it's happened to you. I know it's happened to me. So, what's the reason behind the feeling of "ruffled feathers"? What inside "button" is getting pushed that's eliciting your irritation, or starts the wheel of self-recrimination, or makes you lash out? Sometimes, it can be fear that the comment might be right. Sometimes, the person writing the response is just a jackass. Ignore the jackasses, and learn from those whose comments have merit...

More to the point, I think, is that in a public forum, when you debate with someone, it's more for the benefit of the audience than for any expectation that either of the two people arguing will change their minds. Discussions that are otherwise interesting can be drowned out by two people getting into a personal confrontation for 11 pages.

I would expect Robert to respond that the being saved here is speaking of a subjective experience of the believer, which is based on an objective truth, which I agree with. I disagree regarding what the objective truth is. To Robert the objective truth is that Christ in His corporate humanity has solved a legal problem, which is how God can legally justify (a question of legal status) people who have violatged God's law, and still maintain the integrity of His law. This is hardly something easy to get excited about, and it is absent from Jesus' teachings. What I believe the object truth is that Jesus Christ what sort of being God is, answering the false claims of the enemy, which caused the whole mess to start with, among both men and angels. Our reconciliation takes place when we believe, as the texts you cited bring out.

I put a few comments in RED above. I believe the "innate knowledge of right and wrong", is simply the influence of the spirit of God on their minds. There are many stories in the Bible, which included the deaths of children. The flood of Noah comes to mind. The destruction of Jericho and other cities in Canaan, when the LORD commanded them to "kill everything that breathes". When Dathan and Abiram went down "into the pit", their children went with them. None of these stories precludes the resurrection of these children at the 8th millennium. You say that I am manufacturing scenarios "in areas where God has not chosen to reveal His ways". I believe the LORD has given us a revelation of His plan. It was there all along, in the symbolism of "the 8th day" in the Sanctuary. It is described in many prophecies - prophecies which traditional Adventist teaching cannot explain. Isaiah 61:4-9 “And they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations. And they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers [non-Israelites] shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner [non-Israelite] shall be your plowmen and your vine dressers. But you shall be named the Priests of the LORD. Men shall call you the Servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double [the inheritance of the firstborn].” “Everlasting joy shall be theirs. For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.” Who are these "strangers" and "son of the foreigner" who will plow fields and feed flocks? These "Priests of the LORD" are obviously not Levite. Levites had no inheritance in the land, and these priests receive a "double portion". This is just one example of such prophecies.

Exactly. the Spaghetti Monster evolved (or devolved) from garbage; whereas most chile infused foods fell from the sky like manna! The gas produced is not only a form of renewable energy; but an endless source of entertainment for everyone from children to seniors. If anyone has othe inclinations, feel free to contact me about my new food franchise Filet O' Dillio. I was thinking is using "Eat More Dillio" as a slogan, but it sounds too much like the slogan of a certain fowl fast food franchise.

Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. he lived in sydney for 2 years. a talent to be greatly missed.

Appreciate his courage inclosing with the Lord's Prayer.

Let's use some common sense and not let the opium of religion smoke our brains. If McDonald and Campbell have forever been enemies and one day McDonald goes up to Campbell and extends his right hand, and Campbell slaps it away telling McDonald to go take a long leap off a short pier - my question to you is "Are they reconciled?"

Thanks Bravus.

My real name is Mark Orman.

Dear Bravus, I have long appreciated your wisdom in your comments here. I admire this latest decision of yours, although I can't think of anything you've said in the past which would be offensive to anyone had it been signed by your true name. You are one of the best reasons to read Club Adventist. May your tribe increase!

The name is mine, and the photo is my inner-self.

confession time: my avatar covers well how I am in my spiritual being; the 'aka' represents the multiple affectionate nicknames given to me by mother, and also my work collegues naming me what they saw in my personality, as well as various pseudo-names used in this and other online forums.

Me, too

Confession Time: The photo is me and the name is mine.

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. The North American Division mourns the passing of Elder Robert Stanley Folkenberg, former president of the General Conference. He served in several capacities as pastor, conference secretary, conference president, before becoming president of the Carolina Conference in the NAD in 1985, where he was serving when elected president of the General Conference at the 1990 GC Session. His great passion was sharing the gospel through evangelism and mission. Upon retirement in 1999 he founded and developed the ShareHim ministry for which the goal is to empower and mobilize lay persons to be active in a lifestyle of evangelism. He died at 1:35 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, surrounded by his family at his home in Winter Haven, Fla. A memorial service will be held Jan. 10 in Avon Park, Fla. In lieu of flowers, the Folkenberg family welcomes donations to ShareHim. MORE Oakwood University was recently named a "Best Value University" in the state of Alabama by Best Value Schools and was rated in the top 30 of the Historically Black Colleges in the U.S. for 2016. Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas, was ranked No. 3 in a list of 63 safest colleges in Texas, according to a report by Cleburne Times Review. Adventist Community Services Disaster Relief (ACS DR) is responding following strong storms in northern Texas on Sabbath, Dec. 26, in which three Adventist families, among others, lost their homes (learn more). The ACS DR response is being led by the Dallas Area ACS DR Coordinator Monique Monroe. MORE South Central Conference ACS DR team, led by Central Ala. ACS DR Coordinator Veronica Edwards-Johnson, is on the ground working the aftermath of the tornado that hit the southwest area of Birmingham, Ala. on Dec. 25. MORE Cleanup kits are needed. ACS is asking that monetary donations be made in order to save money since they can get better prices on items in bulk than individual groups can, especially when the heavy kits have to be shipped to the location. Financial donations to help in the response can be sent directly to Texas ACS at P.O. Box 25, Keene, Texas 76959, for the Texas relief effort, or you can donate online for both Texas and Ala. MORE If churches or organizations would like to create Cleanup Kits to have on hand locally for emergency use in case of a disaster in your area, use the Cleanup Kit list of supplies. A new Compassion Movement website has been created by the NAD Ministerial Department to help facilitate the new NAD initiative for 2016, "Compassion and Hope." Throughout 2016, the second weekend of every month will be designated as a Compassion Weekend, and members will be encouraged to reach out with acts of compassion, especially on these weekends, but also throughout the entire month. Check out the new website at http://compassionmovement.org/. Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those killed in the automobile accident in Escondido, Calif. Dec. 20. The dead include four Seventh-day Adventists, three of them from one family, who were members of the Loma Linda Indonesian Seventh-day Adventist Church. Three other family members were hospitalized due to injuries. They were originally from North Sumatra. MORE Premature babies, mothers at Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville inspire girl to give Homeless community pays respects Community warming center to open Jan. 4 in Lakeport Gifts help soften hospital stays for patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center Gordon Hospital Employees Donate their Christmas Gifts LOMA LINDA: Four Inland residents killed in Escondido crash Acts of kindness are common, welcome at this time of year The first Compassion Weekend of 2016 is here. Join hundreds of thousands of Adventists of all ages, in 6,000 churches across division in showing the love of God and the compassion of Jesus in practical ways, during our first "official" Compassion Weekend in North America. Even if your church has not planned a "Day of Compassion" for this weekend, make sure to reach out to someone personally or with your family. Every second weekend of every month is Compassion Weekend. Begin to plan for February and the rest of the year. Find a list of compassionate ideas on the new Compassion Movement website. Online registration for the Emotional Wellness Summit in Orlando, Fla. ends tonight at 11:59 pm, EST. The summit, Jan. 13-17, is designed for health professionals and leaders, pastors, and anyone who wants to know more about prevention, treatment and recovery strategies for better mental health. Information will be evidence-based and wholistic, highlighting the role of faith communities in the community. If you want your congregation or clinical practice to be relevant and able to address current mental and behavioral health issues, you will want to attend. MORE January 17-23 will be Religious Liberty Week and the NAD Religious Liberty offering will be collected on Jan. 24. Resource materials are being mailed to each church in NAD this month. The offering will sponsor Liberty magazine subscriptions to high-level government officials, federal, state, and provincial judges, and prominent social and religious leaders throughout the division. It will also be used to support the NAD litigation fund used for defending and preserving your religious liberty rights in court when necessary. A portion is returned to local unions to aid in religious liberty promotion and education. The 2016 SONscreen Film Festival will be held in Chantilly, Va., Mar. 31 - Apr. 2. Registration is now open! If you are a student filmmaker, SONscreen 2016 is also now accepting submissions. A limited number of professional entries will also be accepted for exhibition. Register here. Submit your film here. Like SONscreen on Facebook. MORE Loma Linda University Health’s national TV show, “Life on the Line,” will air nationwide every Tuesday in Jan. on WORLD Channel at 7:00 p.m. EST. The shows provide an inspiring look into Loma Linda's mission to further the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Find out if you have WORLD Channel by entering your ZIP code here. MORE LIVE IT: The new online health show from Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) was just launched on January 1. The first episode was on “Nuts” (which is also available on YouTube where you can subscribe to the LLUH YouTube Channel). The next episode will be posted on Friday, Jan. 8 and it will be about Reusable Grocery Bags. Watch the show to learn how they can affect your health. Schedule of episodes. Follow LLUH on Facebook and share their updates and videos. You can tell your friends it's from the place where people live the longest in the nation. Read the study about Walnuts and Healthy Aging. Learn about the Five Resolutions You Forgot to Make - provided by Adventist Risk Management. MORE Keeping our children in the church is one of the best secrets of building a strong and continually growing church. An Adventist education is integral to this endeavor. Many small churches are unable to have a church school for lack of enough children and members. Have you considered a Summer Day Camp? Families with younger children are always looking for good ways to take care of their kids when school lets out. If you would like to consider this idea, the Youth Ministries Department has a Day Camp Handbook to help you get started. Available at AdventSource. There has to be a different approach... "You've been there; we don't get much sleep. And we certainly don't have time to study the lesson every day... And it's not being a parent; we just don't find the discussion relevant to our lives. There has to be a different approach." - Julio Munoz in his article, "Finding Community, Diversity, and Acceptance - Reimagining Sabbath school for the twenty-first century," in the May 2016 issue of NAD Adventist World. What do you think? How can we help young parents who are struggling to get something out of Sabbath school and church after sleepless nights and squirmy Sabbaths with young children? Does your church or Sabbath school use an idea that works? Email your Views to NewsPoints@nad.adventist.org. (Please tell us your age group and number of children when you write.) [Photo: iStock/Todor Tsvetkov] For Sharing! Did you know God designed families? Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship. For the Christian a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into only between partners who share a common faith. Mutual love, honor, respect, and responsibility are the fabric of this relationship, which is to reflect the love, sanctity, closeness, and permanence of the relationship between Christ and His church.... MORE Watch the 90: second video on Vimeo. People want to know what Seventh-day Adventists believe. Each topic on the My Way to Jesus website links to a video, an invitation to study the Bible, the Find-a-Church Directory, a link for kids to My Place with Jesus, a place to send prayer requests, and more. You can easily post the videos and information on your church website and/or share the updates from the My Way to Jesus Facebook page. Learn how. January 7, 2016 NAD Initiative for 2016: Compassion and Hope Part of the Transformational Evangelism Building Block Apr. 16, 17, Day of Hope and Compassion The 2nd weekend of every month will automatically be a Compassion Weekend. Plan for it every month throughout the year to do acts of compassion, especially on these weekends, but better yet, every day. Days of Compassion: January 9/10 February 13/14 March 12/13 April 9/10 May 14/15 June 11/12 July 9/10 August 13/14 September 10/11 October 8/9 November 12/13 December 10/11 Learn about funding for a Compassion Model Church in each conference. Special Days January Focus: Friendship Evangelism Jan. 17-23, Religious Liberty Week February Focus: Family Life Feb. 6-27, Black History Month Feb. 13, Christian Marriage Sabbath Feb. 13, Health Ministries Sabbath Feb. 13-20, Christian Home and Marriage Week Feb. 20, Christian Parenting Sabbath Offerings January Offerings Jan. 23, Religious Liberty February Offerings Feb. 13, Adventist Television Ministries Helpful Special Day Websites and Resources Sample Offertory Readings (in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French) Jan. 13-17, Emotional Wellness Summit Feb. 12, Marriage Vows: Living the Commitment Feb. 17-20, Just Claim It Youth Prayer Conference Feb. 19-20, Making Love Last - Married Couples' Retreat Feb. 24-28, GAiN - Global Adventist Internet Network Conference Mar. 26, Safety Sabbath Apr. 2-4, SONscreen Film Festival Apr. 2-9, La Voz de la Esperanza NET via Esperanza TV (in Spanish) Apr. 3-8, Tour de Youth, "The Big Easy" Apr. 16, 17, Day of Hope and Compassion Apr. 18-21, Nonprofit Leadership Convention, Session 1 Apr. 24-27, HR Conference & Secretariat Council, Minneapolis, Minn. Apr. 27-30, Your Best Pathway to Health/Los Angeles Apr. 29 - May 1, Oregon Men's Summit May13-16, World Congress for Deaf & Deaf-Blind July 21-23, Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice Aug. 3-6, ASI 2016 Convention Sept. 7-10, Adventist Community Services Convention, Gladstone, Ore. Sept. 28-Oct., Health Summit Canada Oct. 10-13, Nonprofit Leadership Convention, Session 2 Oct. 13-15, Society of Adventist Communicators Convention Nov. 18-19, HE SAID GO Missions Conference 2017: Jan. 8-11, 2017 - Adventist Ministries Convention, Tucson, AZ Adventist World/ NAD Edition January, 2016 NAD Feature: From Karachi to California, by Jane Allen Quevedo, p. 36 NAD News: Adventist Conducts Community Benefit Concert, Community Joins to Support Syrian Refugees, Craving God on Campus, p. 10 NAD Update: Called to Collaborate - Catching the vision of cooperative action, p. 14 NAD Perspective: The Path Ahead, by Daniel R. Jackson p.17 Daily Prayer Guide Month of January, 2016: Pray for the Atlantic Union, in which there are 579 churches and 116,252 members. Jan. 10-16 – This coming week, please pray for the Northeastern Conference with 179 churches and 55,554 members. Download the 2016 NAD Prayer Calendar Guide Share This Newsletter Bible plus Spirit of Prophecy Reading Plan 1st Quarter, 2016South American Division Watch DVDYouth & Adult Mission QuarterlyChildren's Magazine Hope Channel DIRECTV ch. 368 Glorystar ch. 104 Hope Church Channel Esperanza TV follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend © 2016 North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904

Unity, One more thing- If your "name" denotes your character, let's try to focun on things that indeed unify us rather than divide us. Unity is not the same thing as uniformity. We can all be united in our love of Jesus, and our desire to spread His good news; But that doesn't mean we all have to do it the same way. For example, the way most African SDA's worship (drums and clapping for musical accompaniment) might not be attractive to us North American white folks. Similarly, the worship music that is a blessing to younger people may not fit the sense of propriety of some of us older folks. Some people are more comfortable hanging on to the rules of a specific denomination, where others look for a unity of brotherhood among all Christians - regardless of denomination or worship style. As long as we both believe the good news of Christ's redemption of those who believe that He did a good enough job on the cross to save us, many of the things that divide us are just a personal preference (i.e., non-salvational). As an SDA, I am conviced that the Sabbath is deeply intertwined with my salvation; however, I cannot in good conscience imply to others that they are lost unless they keep "my" Sabbath. If they are truly born again believers, the Holy Spirit can bring them to that conclusion if necessary. My impression of TOP is that their priority is bringing people to Jesus. If bringing them to Jesus includes bringing them into Adventism, so much the better.

Unity, Speaking for myself, I wouldn't call you a Pharisee. Jesus' rant on the Pharisees wasn't because they were strict adherents to the Law, it was because of their hypocrisy. You don't strike me as a hypocrite; it's more like an idealist. I may be wrong, but my guess is that you are young. If you are convicted by your theology, by all means stay with it. But keep an open mind. Not everyone believes like you and reddogs. If you are offended by movements like TOP, by all means stay away. I would never "judge" or "condemn" you for your religious fervor; I was os the same persuasion as you for decades. It rarely made me feel closer to Jesus or "saved". I was always worried that I wasn't doing enough to please God. When I gave up on trying to be "perfect", and turned my life over to Jesus, trusting Him to save me (I wasn't doing a good job of "adding merit"). When I focused on what Jesus has done for me rather than what I should be doing for Jesus, my life indeed started to change for the better and continues to do so. I still have issues; but Jesus and I are working on them together rather than me doing it myself. I happen to believe that Jesus wants us as we are; not how we ought to be. Indeed, there are churches and movements out there that are "pushing the envelope" as far as traditional theology. They are questioning all the traditional answers. They are truly exploring faith. It can get messy; and people will make mistakes. I know I have. But I pray that Jesus keeps me on the narrow path to the Kingdom; which includes respect for other people's walks. Merry Christmas!

I agree. The "wings" of angels wouldn't help them fly the vast, unimaginable distances they must travel between heaven and earth. But for the people of ancient times who knew nothing about those distances, the wings were an appropriate symbol of travel. After all they saw how birds flew with flapping wings. They could not have understood any other form of travel through space. However, we know that God and the angels are in a different dimension, and that there are other possible ways of travel through space besides bird-like wings. How useful would flapping wings be for traveling faster than the speed of light? Obviously none at all. If anything, they would be a hinderance.