Leaderboard

Just a heads-up that the plan is that I'll be publishing a piece every couple of months on Adventist Today. Some of my friends who've known me for many years here, as well as some new friends, might enjoy reading them. Here's the first: https://atoday.org/faith-and-motorcycle-tyres/ The next one will likely be in April and is about facts, theories and laws in science, and then the following one (probably June) will be about miracles and methodological naturalism. ? I hope they're interesting and useful to people. If you have comments on the articles, probably best to click the link at the bottom of them, which leads to a dedicated discussion thread on Adventist Today's Facebook page. More likes and comments will be a signal to AToday that they should keep publishing my stuff. Comments strongly (but civilly) disagreeing with my approach or conclusions are very welcome!

I come before you today realizing that the time has come for me to make a definitive announcement of my plans as to whether or not I will enter the race for President of the United States. I acknowledge that this forum, Adventistan is the ideal venue in which to state my plans. With some 9,000 plus members it has clearly demonstrated that it has the ability to grow in size. Further, as I analyze its population, I sense that its members include both those followers of the current President, whom I will not name as well as those who are looking for someone new, which I am. As I consider my decision, I believe that I have the following qualification that would suggest that I run for President: · * The President needs to be decisive person who can make decision. I fit that mold. Less than 30 minutes has occurred between the time that I first considered it and the time at which I made my decision. · * My years of service in the military, to include service as an enlisted person who reached the rank of Specialist 4 and as a Commissioned Officer who achieved the rank of Major, and served in combat, demonstrates that I have better qualifications to deploy our military internationally than have other Presidents. · * My 20 years of employment with the VA gives me the background needed to understand how the government operates, how it should be reformed and to reform it. · * My formal training in Mediation qualified me to preside over a fractious government system. · * My years of service in representing employees of the Federal government in negotiations with management demonstrates that I can understand and provide for the needs of the common working person. · * Due to issues that I have with sleep, I consider that my ability to sleep during boring meetings as well as to rise early and get to work specially qualifies me for the positon over and above some who have served before me. · * I do not micromanage. I chose competent people and allow them to do their job. · * I will select persons to fill government positons from both Republications and Democrats that are representative of the U.S. population While the above are only a few of my qualification to run for President, I must say that I am lacking in some respects: · * With my advanced age, I am not longer head and shoulders above all of the others who have announced that they are running for President. I have shrunk in height from what I once was. · * I do not have the financial resources needed to purchase the office as some have had. · * I do not own a jet aircraft capable of flying me around the country in luxury. · * While I have represented people before a Federal Administrative Law Judge I have never been to law school. · * I do not want to spend the next two years traveling the country. I have visited all 50 of the States in the past and I do not need to repeat that. Well here you have it--my qualifications for and my lack of qualifications. The time has come to make a decision. I have made a decision and chosen to announce in on this preeminent forum: I will not run for President of the United States during the next election. This decision of firm. NOTE: I have announced my decisions based upon my belief that the multitude of Democrats who are expected to run for President (Presently 14, with more expected to join the race.) requires that I make a statement.

Rats! And I just sent a $100,000 check to seed your campaign! Can you just tear it up when you get it? I hope I sent it to the right address in Boulder.

Wanderer: If you don't mind me saying that everything that is giving as prophecy is literal. We need to understand that every number is given for us to understand that specific Appointed Times. All of our lives depend on us to know and understand the truth. If Miller, Bates, J Whites Hiram Edison, Rachel Oakes Preston, EGW, and many others did not check out literally what the 2300 day prophecy meant we would not be here believing on the Investigated Judgment. Everything in the Bible was given for us to understand and the Bible clearly states that many times. Why would YAHSHUA give something to John for us not to literally understand it? The angel came to help Daniel and us to understand his visions. Sadly, we have done what was told us not to do, interpret the Bible! It is no private interpretation! Many do not like what it revealed and tries to change it, making excuses, or using the most favorite words: all we need to do is to love each other and "Jesus! Why wast our time in believing in the Bible if it is not to be completely and literally understood? I heard many complain even about the Word being legalistic! It should be legalistic we have laws ourselves that we want everyone to observe. Yet, we make it so horrible for the Bible!! I say humbly, let's stop wasting our time either the Bible all of it needs to be understood and obeyed or none of it! Either all of it is our road map to Heaven or it is just a mythical book. Lastly, we have so many denominations because the Bible is broken down to believe only what they want and to toss aside what they refuse to accept. I feel it is high time for those to stand and believe that the Bible all of it is to lead us to salvation and to take it literally! Blessings!

Save the souls

5 Things You Didn't Know About Alexander Graham Bell On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a U.S. patent for his invention of the telephone. To celebrate that landmark development in telecommunications history, here are five things you probably didn't know about Alexander Graham Bell... Bell Originally Used "Harmonic Telegraph" to Describe the Idea That Later Became the Telephone Bell wanted to combine the communicative abilities of the telegraph with the sound capabilities of the record players available in the day. As a result of the combination of technologies, he at first called the telephone the "harmonic telegraph," meaning that it was a telegraph-like instrument that could emit sound in the form of language instead of just clicks. He later applied the word "telephone," but that was not a new word — it had been around since about the 17th century as a description for the old cans-and-string toy used by children. He Filed for a Patent Two Hours Before His Rival — and Faced Hundreds of Lawsuits Afterward Bell was lucky when he filed for a patent for his telephone; a major rival, Elisha Gray, got to the patent office just a couple of hours later to file a caveat, or a notice of an upcoming patent. Unfortunately, so many inventors were working on their versions of telephones that Bell found himself facing hundreds of lawsuits over the next several years. Of particular importance was a lawsuit that Gray filed, claiming that Bell's telephone used concepts that Gray had invented. Bell had to show that he had both the idea for the telephone and for the major concepts before Gray thought of them. Bell Created a Wireless Phone No, really, Bell created a version of a wireless phone that used light instead of wires. It was called the photophone and was patented in 1880. He believed it could be used by sailors at sea to communicate with harbors on land, but there wasn't enough associated technology to put the photophone to widespread use. The photophone itself actually worked — that means a wireless phone existed long before any of the cell phones that seemed so advanced in the 20th century. Some of the Events Surrounding the First Telephone Message May Have Been Exaggerated Stories about the first message, in which Bell tells Watson to come over to where he (Bell) is, range from the bland (Bell said something; Watson heard) to the lurid (acid spills). However, the duller stories may be the ones that are closer to the truth. Watson's great-granddaughter has said that Watson himself made up the acid story simply because the real story was not very interesting. He Created a Prototype Iron Lung Bell's sons died in infancy, and one of them died of a respiratory condition. In response, Bell worked on something he called a metal vacuum jacket, which was supposed to help people breathe. This jacket was a prototype iron lung, though its plans showed it was not as big and was supposed to wrap around a person or animal's midsection and chest, instead of enclosing the whole body. Bell tested it on animals, but the invention itself went nowhere. The modern iron lung was invented in the 1920s.

The Sabbath School Quarterly week 10 was heavily edited (except the Friday lesson). In many cases, the edits improved the text why retaining my intention in the pre-edited version. I would point to the most significant changes that was made in rewriting the first paragraph in the Wednesday lesson and the removal of the sentence […] The post Ranko Stefanovic on Editorial Changes to His Lesson Manuscript on Rev 14 appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article

In the first place, I actually HAVE read Andreasen. Second, if I said "the prominent Mormon theologian _______________ says thus." what presuppositions would you have regarding agenda, bias, and preconceived ideas about their theology? And if I said "the prominent Watchtower theologian _______________ says thus." what presuppositions would you have regarding agenda, bias, and preconceived ideas about their theology? Or if I said "the prominent Catholic theologian _______________ says thus." what presuppositions would you have regarding agenda, bias, and preconceived ideas about their theology? Why is the same not true regarding a prominent Adventist theologian?

Kewl! I will start looking for a handmaiden for my wife. She may share her with me.

I tend to believe that they had an even greater knowledge of everything "Christian" than we do today. As I recall, Enoch reported knowledge of heavenly things, the people of that time still had angels to talk with in person, and they still had a mental capability that dwarfs anything we are today. We have been in decline for thousands of years and very soon all traces of the image of God will be removed from the people of this earth except those who follow God completely. Ignoring God and/or claiming faith will save us when we do not the will of God is the same as being wicked.

I think sometimes we spend a little too much time on our "unique" message and not enough on other very needed topics. I have heard some say over and over again, "you gotta be ready, because Jesus is coming." But they never tell you how that is done! How do you get ready? (This is rhetorical and answer not needed!)