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I guess I'm amazed that on a Christian web site Christians, who, if anyone in the world should understand the concept, are thinking that human laws will control sinful behavior. I find this to be a form of insanity when I consider the saying, insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. The very first human being born with a fallen nature murdered his own brother, long before guns were invented. We've been killing each other ever since then, and the only proven solution is a heart surrendered to God and given over to His control. This is a world dedicated to breaking God's law and always has been since Adam and Eve sinned. Thus to ignore God's solutions and keep on presenting human solutions that do nothing be keep the people who do live within the bounds of human laws their right to defend themselves from those who would attack them is just plain old insanity. All it does is place more power in the hands of criminals and government. And neither have ever proven themselves to have the best interests of the common law abiding man at the forefront of their agenda. The facts that France, Belgium, and Germany have enacted laws that keep the law abiding man from defending himself and they still have had hundreds of people slaughtered there this year in just a few incidents proves that you cannot stop the bad guys by restricting the good guys. All you do is make helpless victims out of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sslCRVx7nPQ&sns=em

Only 5 police shot and killed in UK during the last 11 years. 1 stabbed. Surprisingly low numbers I thought. Factoring in the differences in population. Why such a vast difference between the experience of UK and American police?

hch, Do you have an idea of how many people follow your logic and embrace your eschatology? Maybe I'm just dense; but I don't understand it at all. Also, I see many people on here who embrace the 3 angels message as pertinent in these, the last days. They just don't see it the same way that you or traditional SDA's understand it. Just curious - not trying to start anything.

In the Bible there were prophetic guilds. There would be a prophet seen as "The Messenger of the Lord" who was the one from earth who would be allowed to enter into the heavenly council and to bring back information of the council. There were prophets with a universal ministry, who tended to be connected to the kings and rulers as a part of the division of the role of Judge in the Samuel Compromise (Deuteronomy 10-18 I believe we find it.) They did many things and wrote many things, but only a few of their writings and a part of their ministry was writing the Bible. But there were also local prophets who's job was to take the universal message of the Bible writers and apply them to the local community. They were equally inspired but had very different jobs. Mrs. White fits the role of a local prophet, but also the messenger of the Lord. She lived under the 6th head, the deadly wound so there was no need of a world prophet, and a local prophet was able to fulfill that role as well.

Mrs. White, an inspired writer, leaves us in no doubt on this error either, correcting it plainly. . . . The thief on the cross offered his prayer to Christ. "Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," he said. (Luke 23:42.) And at once the response came, Verily I say unto thee today (as I hang on the cross in humiliation and suffering), thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. . . . {COL 263.4}

I must clarify an inaccurate statement made by myself in a previous post. I mentioned in passing the possible inaccuracy of the famous comma of Luke 23. The comma in question would not be the error if the inspired Biblical writer but of the translator.

Rossw: Thank you for clarifying your main points. I will quote below what I thought were your major points and I will label them with a # 1 and a # 2; Of course I do not think that Stephan King was inspired by God. As to comparing EGW only to Christian writers as to the amount of written material, as you did not specify, I did not know. I posted what I did because I thought it interesting. I am O. K. with others not thinking it interesting.

Greg, my comment was not meant to be tangential. I was not comparing her volume of books to all other popular writers. I was comparing her to other possibly inspired writers. As far as I know Steven King was not directly inspired by God. Do you think he was? Comparing EGW to other secular writers is a waste of time in a discussion of the comparison of inspired contemporary writers to the Biblical writers.

I don't think that I have become "fervent against her" - though I was once fervent FOR her. I have just found that her writings do NOT help me to convince non-SDAs of truths such as the first type of death as an unconscious sleep, OR the fallacy of a "secret rapture", etc. etc. Only Scripture convinces non-SDAs. That is why SDA evangelism begins with Bible and only much later introduces the "gift" of EGW. When a non-SDA reads the Conflict Series, she does not know that SDAs believe those books were "inspired". She just reads them as she would any other Bible commentary. The passages in the books which use BIBLE to support the conclusion reached, convince because of the Scripture sited - not because it was EGW who wrote the commentary. I will give one example where I think that SDAs took Mrs White's words too literally, and went off in a wrong direction. I remember she wrote (concerning Daniel 8:11) that she "saw that the word sacrifice had been added to the text". Well of course the word "sacrifice" was "added". That was for the benefit of non-Hebrews, who would not automatically know that the "continual" (or daily) WAS the continual burnt offering, on the alter in the courtyard of the Temple. Because Mrs White "saw" that the word "sacrifice" had been added, some concluded she MEANT "tamiyd" did NOT refer to any type of sacrifice. They went off looking for some other meaning for the word "tamiyd". They concluded the Temple of Yahweh would never be rebuilt on the Mount, and sacrifices would never be offered once again. I personally believe they missed the meaning of the text. I believe a Temple of Yahweh WILL be restored on that Mount prior to the return of Jesus in glory. I believe the Abomination of Desolation will sit in THAT Temple, "showing himself, that he is God".

This statement is true. However, while some believe every word she ever wrote was "prophetic", I believe that much of her work(i.e., "Testimonies") was meant as counsel to individuals; not words of wisdom to the whole church. My experience with many of the compilations is that her statements were taken out of context or otherwise twisted to "prove" one or another "truth" espoused by the denomination.

Does that put her writing on par with the Bible? No, I think she served a different function than the Biblical writers.

I don't see the volume of inspired work coming out of anyone like it did for EGW. This essentially singles her out from the rest in our modern era. EGW would have to then be able to endure the same scrutiny as any other Biblical author. In my opinion, of course.

Kevin, I don't think we are as far apart in our understandings of the Scripture as we might think. Even if we don't agree very much. Of course EGW is a fallen human like everyone else. However, she was obviously a highly skilled person in her ability to communicate God's message. Is her message clear enough for clear understanding? I still think so. Would I say probably most Biblical writers were similarly capable? I also think so. Are there mistake in Scripture? I'd acknowledge yes. A famous comma comes to mind but even with that in mind there is still plenty of Biblical context to overlook the mistakes.

The gun laws turn law abiding citizens into criminals but does nothing to those who were already criminals. Pretty soon we will just have laws that implicate everyone so the police can "legally" pick up anyone they want. Note: This is intended to reference the whole world and not just the US in order to stay relevant to this section.