Leaderboard

In my opinion, it's only a gift if the potential receiver chooses to accept it. If one chooses NOT to accept the gift, it does them no good. I doubt that God will FORCE His gift of salvation upon us. God gave us a free will - personal choice WILL have something to do with it. But that's just my opinion. I like the manner in which we are discussing this, Martn!

Answer: Almost 14 years! Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic that remained in place from 1920 to 1933. Prohibition was mandated state after state, then finally nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, on December 5, 1933.

I picked zero and was: WRONG Answer: Vincent van Gogh sold exactly one painting during his lifetime. It was an oil landscape entitled "The Red Vineyard at Arles," and it was purchased by Van Gogh's friend and fellow painter Anna Boch. Boch, who was a Belgian artist and art collector, bought the painting in early 1890 for 400 Belgian francs. The painting now resides at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. The rest of Van Gogh's more than 900 paintings were not sold or made famous until after his death. Van Gogh committed suicide in 1890 at age 37, having suffered from bouts of mental illness and deep depression for many years.

A. Pina Colada If you like pina coladas, then you probably liked this question. "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" was all about that creamy libation. Source: various web sites.

hahahaha I can't believe I guessed this one right. I didn't recall hearing his name as a soccer player or formula 1 driver. I figured if he were a chef, it would've come up on a TV show. So I picked what was left!! Answer: Manolo Blahnik is a Spanish fashion designer and best known for his signature line of high-end women’s footwear. Becoming a household name through shows like Sex and the City and his never ending list of celebrity endorsements, Manolo Blahnik has become one of the most influential shoe designers of our time. Blahnik is renowned for handcrafting each shoe prototype himself. To this day, Blahnik still is the sole designer to every shoe that is created under the Manolo Blahnik label.

Green said below: This is an actual rule of grammar is some Asian languages.

Nice sound.

It is true that there are many aspects to our salvation. Regardless. as you have said below, there is only one thing that saves us. Knowledge can be corrupted as it is human and dependent, in part, upon our brains which are quite human. Even the Holy Spirit has to work within the boundaries of our humanity and our human brain. We are not anywhere near to be being God. Even in eternity we will not be God.

Perhaps you just need more knowledge. Above I answered from the Bible. Now, there's a statement that I have put into my sermons more than once from Mrs. White, encouraging people to study more for themselves. You should read this. Our salvation depends on a knowledge of the truth contained in the Scriptures. It is God's will that we should possess this. Search, O search the precious Bible with hungry hearts. Explore God's word as the miner explores the earth to find veins of gold. Never give up the search until you have ascertained your relation to God and His will in regard to you. Christ declared, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:13, 14. {COL 111.3} To apply the above to the topic of this thread, how many fetuses have a knowledge of the Scriptures? Naturally, the context may not apply to the unborn. On the other hand, "knowledge" is much more important than many realize. Here's another one for those who have erroneous opinions that cannot be supported by a plain "thus saith the LORD." The truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous opinions. Many claim that it matters not what one believes, if his life is only right. But the life is molded by the faith. If light and truth is within our reach, and we neglect to improve the privilege of hearing and seeing it, we virtually reject it; we are choosing darkness rather than light. {GC 597.2} "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25. Ignorance is no excuse for error or sin, when there is every opportunity to know the will of God. A man is traveling and comes to a place where there are several roads and a guideboard indicating where each one leads. If he disregards the guideboard, and takes whichever road seems to him to be right, he may be ever so sincere, but will in all probability find himself on the wrong road. {GC 597.3}

"Green, as I thought that you would say. As to self study: The Bible clearly tells us that there is benefit in worshiping together in a community/congregation. Granted, worship together may or may not involve community study. But, I will suggest that there is benefit in community study of the Bible. All of us are human. None of us have the benefit of perfect knowledge and complete knowledge. We can benefit from considering the results of the study of others. Green, as often as you and I disagree, and we do, I have gained from considering what you post, at times. Not always. But sometimes.

gender is not orientation. i listened to the story of the woman who lost her female gender.... and after many years it returned. it would not have been any help for people to heap condemnation on her as a great sinner because she experienced gender confusion and lived it out. It would not have helped her to fire her, or deny her a supportive community during the years of her displacement of her gender identity. there was deep cause for these changes and societies denial of her process would have been only harmful. i knew a very effeminate man who had very hetero orientation. One change does not necessarily follow the other. no one is purely feminine or purely masculine... we are all somewhere on the continuum. some men prefer very androgynous women some extremely prissy women... and it goes the other way for women... This is not sinful but yes it is something impacted by the sin condition in nature throughout the world. The scripture says we are not wise to compare ourselves to one another... We are to be ourselves in humility, and allow others the same. No one is righteous no not one, but only Jesus. God profoundly understands and perfectly loves everyone of us regardless of how the sin condition is impacting us in any and every way.

You ask not to be judged for your belief. I ask the same.

Robert said below: In an earlier post, Green had quoted from Strong's (Read that post if you wish to read the entire citation.). Robert takes issue with a part of what Green had quoted from Strong's, which he is entitled to do. add, some would argue that Robert is correct in suggesting that a specific part of Strong's is wrong. But, in the quotation below, Robert states that the idea that Green is presenting is pagan. That implies that Green agrees with that specific part of Strong's and therefore Green is supporting a pagan idea. That is a false leap of logic. Green clearly intended to support an aspect of his position with the citation from Strong's. In an effort to be intellectually honest, he included more of what Strong said than a smaller amount which supported his position. He should be commended for this. In short, there is no warrant to imply that Green is supporting a pagan idea. NOTE: Carried out to a logical conclusion, one might argue, as Robert has done, that Strong was presenting a pagan idea. That may have been a personal belief of strong. But, that is not the only logical conclusion that one might make as to what Strong said. It is also possible that regardless of any personal belief that Strong may have hade, he was simply presenting a Hebrew/Biblical version that did NOT include the pagan aspects of this belief. In short, Green was much more correct and Biblical than Robert has been.

"A body hast thou prepared me." The Greek word for "body" (Gr. 4983) is the same Greek word used to distinguish between "body" and "soul" (Gr. 5590) in Matthew 10:28 where Jesus taught us not to fear those who kill the body but who cannot kill the soul. Obviously, then, this "body" is separate from the concept of "soul," and one might even call it a "soulless body." Before birth, this is the Bible's depiction of the fetus--a "body." When it is born, and takes its first breath, it becomes "a living soul." "Murder" entails the killing of a soul (Heb. nephesh) (see Numbers 35:11, 30).

All of the Scriptures work together in a beautiful whole. This verse is very relevant to this discussion, so thank you for bringing it in. Let's take a closer look at that. Luke 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: . . . Luke 1:44 For, see, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. No mention is made in that passage of Jesus. Elizabeth says "as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears…" She does not say "when the Messiah entered the room." In fact, the Messiah was not there. The Bible and Ellen White are clear that Jesus did not come to earth until He was born in Bethlehem. Hebrews 10:5 says "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me." God and Christ knew from the beginning of the apostasy of Satan and of the fall of Adam through the deceptive power of the apostate. The plan of salvation was designed to redeem the fallen race, to give them another trial. Christ was appointed to the office of Mediator from the creation of God, set up from everlasting to be our substitute and surety. Before the world was made, it was arranged that the divinity of Christ should be enshrouded in humanity. "A body," said Christ, "hast thou prepared me." But He did not come in human form until the fullness of time had expired. Then He came to our world, a babe in Bethlehem (Review and Herald, Apr. 5, 1906). {LHU 74.6} These things are a mystery to us. We cannot, perhaps, properly comprehend them. Thankfully, it is not necessary to understand all of the details. We have no need to get caught up in questions regarding how many chromosomes Christ had. It suffices me to know that He came, lived a perfect life as my example, and took my death penalty upon Himself so that I may choose His gift of salvation in place of death.

That, I think, is the biggest question here. There is an obvious difference between receiving capital punishment and being fined. If the fine were applied to the loss of the fetus, it shows clearly a distinction between a fetus and a post-birth infant. The death penalty was administered only for serious crimes like murder, rape, and rebellion. Killing did not incur such punishment, and the distinction between killing and murder is fairly clear in the Bible. The KJV, unfortunately, mistranslated the sixth commandment. It should have read "Thou shalt not murder." The Hebrew word was translated as some form of murder, slay, or manslaughter in virtually every other instance, with the commandments being the exceptions in the rendering of "kill." Other Hebrew words meaning "kill" are used to command such actions. Obviously, God would not both command killing and condemn it as sin. The Hebrew must be carefully studied, therefore, and understood on this point. There are at least six words for killing in the Old Testament, each with its own meaning. "Ratsach" is the one used for "murder." God never commanded nor permitted this.

My $.02 Exodus 21:22 "If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman's husband and confirmed by judges. (Exo 21:22 CJB) No death penalty here. Exodus 21:22 "If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely1 but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. (NIV) The Talmud tells us that the "fine" was levied only if it could be determined that the fetus was male. This passage DOES NOT EQUATE the life of the fetus, with the life of the mother. It looks like - if there was no one to levy a "fine", then that's the end of it. If the mother was actually harmed - then it became a different story. Exodus 21:23 "But if any harm follows, then you are to give life for life" (CJB). People who blow up abortion clinics are the ones potentially committing "murder". I am NOT in favor of unrestricted abortion. I would actually be in favor of a shot, administered to 10 year old girls, which prevents conception until such time as an antidote shot is administered. Those desiring parenthood would have to prove they were ready to love AND support a child.

Yes, move on. But with a gentle caveat. You should not presume that you have the right to respond in kind to what might be an inappropriate comment. You do so at the risk of escalating a bad thing to the point that two or more people get sideways with the expected decorum. Administrative tip of the day - assume the best of fellow participants. Mistaken assumptions about motive, attitude, or intent about another reflects back on you. Err on the side of kindness and grace.