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Here's another difference between unity and uniformity - London is the capital of England. Denver is in Colorado. These are facts. We are united in this thought - no "opinion" is needed. What about peanuts? Are they good for you? 98% of the population of the world would probably agree with that statement. What about the 2% that are severely allergic to peanuts? Would they agree that peanuts are good for you when they need an Epi-Pen injection for just walking by an open jar of peanut butter? Heck no! We do not all have a uniform opinion on peanut butter opinion on peanuts. But we are sufficiently united to respect those who disagree with us to the point of respecting those with peanut allergies out of respect for their physical health. Shouldn't we respect the opinions of others regarding WO for their spiritual health? In the Catholic Church, it has been an offense punishable by excommunication to practice any form of birth control except abstinence. How effectively can the Catholic Church effectively enforce this without losing a large percentage of their membership? They can't; so they don't. If the SDA Church makes it an offense to have women pastors punishable by functional disfellowship from the GC, how can they enforce this without the risk of losing a large percentage of the membership (not to mention the financial base)? I predict they will not be able to; so they won't. In the end, financial concerns will override policy. After all, the corporate church (no denomination intended) is a business as well as (maybe even before) a spiritual organization.

Here's what I see as the difference between unity and uniformity. Since the church is supposed to be a family, I will use my blood family as an example. We are a family of 5 siblings and our respective partners and children. We have VERY diverse spiritual and political views; some of which are not discussed because the level of disagreement causes fights. Our thoughts and opinions are not even close to being uniform. But let someone come in and try to disrupt or divide our family - all that difference of opinion goes out the window and we band together to help the family member(s) in distress or fight against the forces that would divide us. My dad, who was the patriarch of the family, encouraged us to have our own opinions rather than insist that we all agree with him and/or my mom on all aspects of life; and to respect each others' opinions even if we didn't agree. THAT'S unity. Over our 35 years together, my wife and I have discovered several things we don't (and never will) agree upon. We are not uniform in our thoughts. Nonetheless, we have no doubt that we love each other deeply and will stay together until death do us part. That's unity. As a church family, we all have diverse opinions of certain subjects. If you are against WO, are you still an adopted child of God? Do you love and believe in salvation from Jesus? Me too! We're siblings. We're united in our love of Christ. If you are for WO, are you still an adopted child of God? Do you love and believe in salvation from Jesus? Me too! We're siblings. We're united in our love of Christ.

Blessings to you as well, my sister! ?

Sorry Joe I misunderstood and thank you very much for the compliment. Humbly my knowledge is from THE HOLY SPIRIT and that makes me feel great to have your approval!? Blessings!

I know that Marri. I was talking about the quote from the magazine. I've read enough of your posts to know you would never say that. I respect your research and knowledge.

Wisdom and instruction ?

5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About King Tut On November 26, 1922, archaeologists, led by Howard Carter, entered the tomb of King Tutankhamun, which was full of treasures and artifacts from 3,300 years ago. Here are 5 things you didn’t know about King Tutankhamun, the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV. King Tut Was Only Pharaoh for About 10 Years King Tutankhamun was referred to as the boy king because he became Pharaoh at about nine years of age and died around ten years later. He was married to his half-sister, Ankhesenamun, which was a common practice among Egyptian royals. Although they had two children together, neither child lived, and they were both interred in the same tomb with their father. The Tomb Was Supposed to Be Cursed After opening the tomb, George Herbert, AKA Lord Carnarvon, who helped supply the funds to conduct the search for ancient tombs in Egypt, died after he was bitten by a mosquito on the cheek. The idea of the curse was amplified later by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame, but then again, Doyle also thought fairies existed. Howard Carter, who opened and explored the tomb, lived for about 16 years without any ill effects, so the curse was probably nothing more than a fanciful idea. Burial Sites Commonly Carried Curses Howard Carter was apparently the man who started the idea of the curse while at the excavation site, and it was done to scare away any potential looters. However, Carter wasn’t the first man to come up with the idea because legends of curses had been used as far back as 1616 when William Shakespeare used a curse, “Blessed be the man that spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones" as his epitaph. Tutankhamun Was Buried in The World’s Most Expensive Coffin Two of Tutankhamun’s three coffins were made of wood, covered with gold sheet. But, to Howard Carter’s great surprise, the innermost coffin was made from thick sheets of beaten gold. This coffin measures 1.88m in length, and weighs 110.4kg. If it were to be scrapped today it would be worth approximately $1.7 million. But as Tutankhamun’s final resting place it is, of course, priceless. King Tut’s Death Was Probably Accidental For years, it was speculated that King Tut’s death at age 19 came courtesy of a blow to the head, inflicted, perhaps, by a murderous rival. More recently, however, experts have determined that the damage to his mummy’s skull occurred after death, either during the embalming process or at the hands of Carter’s crew. So how did the boy king die? In 2005 a study revealed that he broke his leg and developed an infection in the wound shortly before death. According to one theory, the pharaoh sustained the injury by falling from his chariot during a hunt. Meanwhile, DNA testing in 2010 suggested that Tutankhamen had malaria. Alternate theories about King Tut’s demise still abound, however, including the hypothesis that he succumbed to the lethal bite of an enraged hippopotamus.

Yes, Genesis clearly indicates that when God began Creation week, He began with something that already existed. Those who use the genealogical tables of Genesis to calculate a date for creation use them in a manner that those ancient Hebrews would not have used them.

In the beginning, God created a vast family in the universe. That family existed in the context of perfect love, freedom and peace. There was peace because all the members of God’s vast family trusted each other, and all of them trusted their heavenly Father. The Father in turn could safely trust in them. In […] The post Conversations About God: Summary of Chapter One, “The Conflict in God’s Family” appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article

That is fine my friend, take your time. I am always here!? Happy Sabbath!

Life: I would be interested in your documentation as to the fire and the Golden Rule congregation.

This type of thinking is actually one of my pet peeves — the idea that homes or churches or businesses would be "saved" from a catastrophic occurrence (such as a wildfire) simply because the people who owned said property were Christians (or, better yet, members of the top-of-the-totem-pole denomination of Seventh-Day Adventist) . Yeah, while the hand of God *can* protect via heavenly angels, that is SOLELY at the discretion of God. If He is handing out "pre-heaven" rewards, then that smacks of favoritism and the thumbing of the heavenly nose at non-Christians who may actually be more giving, more nonjudgemental, more self-sacrificing than most Christians. And I don't think that's how God goes about His business.