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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
401 | where did God come from? | Bible general Archive 3 | Hank | 176054 | ||
Tinaraine - It's tough to lose parents at any time, particularly when one is so very young. I know. My father died when I was a lad of 10. It's tougher to lose a child. I know that too. My son died when he was not quite 21. So, whom does one blame for the hard knocks of life? Do we let God take the rap for our sorrows while we take credit for our joys? Do we follow the advice of misguided people like Job's wife who, when Job was drowning in a sea of troubles, enjoined him to curse God and die? (Job 2:9) ...... Is God unfair? Is He silent, is He hidden, does He care? ..... It seems to me that your husband has, as we all at times have had, some profoundly important things on his mind -- questions that cry out for answers. And so may I please offer to you and to him a short list of books? They have helped me and numberless other human beings to soothe a faith that's almost been shattered by the slings and arrows of life and the stiff-necked stubbornness of the human will. The books are: 1. The Bible. 2. Disappointment with God, by Philip Yancey. 3. Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. 4. The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell. The latter two books were written by men who were professing atheists for a number of years before their encounter with Jesus Christ, who turned their lives around, as He always does. ..... I am personally acquainted with a man of an exceptionally keen intellect who is now a very effective evangelist. He was an atheist as a young man. But along came an old pastor of a country church who challenged this young man to read the Bible from cover to cover, with as much objectivity as he could muster, before giving up on God for the rest of his life. The young self-proclaimed atheist accepted the challenge and began to read at Genesis 1:1. I believe he made it as far as the Gospel of Luke before he became a born-again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ! He's living proof that "the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword" just as Hebrews 4:12 says it is. ..... You and your husband have my best wishes and my prayers. --Hank | ||||||
402 | Theology Popular -- not Proper | Ps 135:18 | Hank | 175996 | ||
Amen! "He (Aaron) took this (the gold) from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf, and they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt'" (Exodus 32:4). ..... One would think that this incident was too ridiculous to repeat, but old Jeroboam repeated these words in 1 Kings 12:28! And variations thereof have played on the stage of human history ever since. ..... We laugh at the ignorance of the ancient Israelites who had no better sense than to make themselves a god from their gold rings. We pride ourselves in being too smart to fall for such obvious foolishness as that, but think nothing of re-imaging God to suit our fancy. We are so stupid and callous that we dare put God in a box and have the audacity to attempt to force Him to do our bidding when we hold 'healing' circuses and when we chant the 'name it and claim it' mantra. The modern god is not the golden calf of ancient times but a celestial Santa Claus who exists for no other reason than to distribute robust health and lots of expensive toys to human beings who not only have an absolute right to these things but have to do nothing to get them but 'name it and claim it.' Thank God there are still a few preachers around of the caliber of Charles H. Spurgeon. --Hank | ||||||
403 | Why did God Provide us with Free Will | 1 John 4:16 | Hank | 175651 | ||
Dear Mr., Mrs., or Miss Grasshopper - You have given us a dictionary definition of free will. Can you now provide a biblical definition or example? --Hank | ||||||
404 | Does God endorse polygamy? | 1 Kin 11:3 | Hank | 175533 | ||
Hugh - It strikes me as a trifle odd that for your initial post to Study Bible Forum you would pick from the archives a question that was posed well over five years ago during the very early days of this Forum. Given the subject of the question and your stand on polygamy, it causes me to wonder exactly why you choose this Forum. If, as it now appears, it is to promote an agenda, the agenda being polygamy, you may as well fold now and quietly leave. If you come to this place to study God's word with the rest of us without riding a theological hobby horse that you happen to favor, fine, welcome. But you may as well know from the start that the eyes of many users are upon you and we fully expect you to comply with the stated guidelines for posting to this Forum. As a case in point: Your remarks about Joseph and Jesus in your second post are out of line. No one can possibly document this kind of argument from Scripture. It is pure speculation based on nothing but hot air and that sort of thing goes beyond acceptable limits of this Forum. Frankly, Hugh, you're off to a rather bad start. Please review the guideliness and pay particular attention to the feedback you're getting from long-time users who have responded to your posts. I wish you well. --Hank | ||||||
405 | The Co-Union of Communion | 1 Cor 11:33 | Hank | 175502 | ||
Doc, you may ignore my former question, because in doing additional research, I seem to have solved the mystery. The Spurgeon lad who became friends and drank tea with Isaac Watts was James Archer Spurgeon, grandfather of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. There was another later generation James Archer Spurgeon also; he was younger brother to Charles Haddon Spurgeon. As there are schools of sturgeons so evidently there are schools of Spurgeons. And I've been told there are even schools for surgeons. --Hank | ||||||
406 | The Co-Union of Communion | 1 Cor 11:33 | Hank | 175501 | ||
Hi, Doc - I've a question. Charles Haddon Spurgeon the preacher was born in 1834 and died in 1892. Isaac Watts the hymn-writer was born in 1674 and died in 1748. They were not contemporaries. Isaac Watts died 86 years before Charles Spurgeon was born. So how therefore could they have been friends and have tea together? Are my dates wrong or was Spurgeon talking about some other Mr. Watts? ..... Something is out of kilter here and perhaps you can tell us "Watts" wrong with this picture. Anyway, I like Spurgeon's sermons and Watts' hymns --Hank | ||||||
407 | Alternative to the term "Jesus is LORD"? | Deut 11:19 | Hank | 175487 | ||
CDBJ - You already know something of the respect and high regard I have for you, the abiding brotherly love, and the laughter your wonderful sense of humor brings to me. Your post 175458 touched my heart in a special way and I just wanted to add a hearty amen to Fellow Pilgrim's amen. We all of us need a little encouragement now and then, so here's hoping that this brief message from my heart will be a small instrument to encourage you to keep fighting the good fight of faith, brother. --Hank | ||||||
408 | Alternative to the term "Jesus is LORD"? | Deut 11:19 | Hank | 175398 | ||
Fellow Pilgrim - It occurred to me, upon reading the post of yours, No. 175392 to which I'm responding, that obviously J. R. R. Tolkien must not have considered the word 'lord' especially freighted with insurmountable difficulties or he would not have chosen to call his famous trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." Unless I'm much mistaken, these books have been well received (and apparently understood) by the post-modern, anti-monarchic set who, you have reported, have trouble understanding the meaning of the word 'lord.' Somehow "Supreme Ruler of the Rings" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "Lord of the Rings" (pun intended). No, I'm still unconvinced that we have any need to dig through tomes of lexicons in a frantic search for a fitting substitute for the word 'lord' as in the declaration, "Jesus is Lord." I'm simple enough to believe that God got it right the first time. Sorry I can't be more accommodating to your idea. I still maintain that the resolution of your dilemma and the end of your interminable quest can both be found in the inclusion of a defining footnote for the benefit of those, if there indeed be those, who don't know the meaning of the common English noun, 'lord.' If they don't understand this simple word, it's highly doubtful that they are going to understand much else in English, so it's probably time to consider another medium of communication anyway. --Hank | ||||||
409 | Do christian's have rights? | Prov 20:1 | Hank | 175384 | ||
Dear Lionhart - Thank you, gentle sir, for your testimony and your kind words; they truly touched my heart. Your brother in Christ, --Hank | ||||||
410 | Who in the bible never died? | Genesis | Hank | 175374 | ||
Tryaz - Thanks for participating in the Forum and welcome to it. In the interests of accuracy, completeness, and supplying Scripture documentation, I'm taking the liberty of expanding on your answer to the question, "Who in the Bible never died?" You gave Enock as your answer. .... It is Enoch, spelled with an h, and the Scripture reference is Genesis 5:24. And there is a second person who qualifies for inclusion in this category. His name is Elijah; see 2 Kings 2:11. ..... We all of us sometimes tend to hasten to post responses without doing the requisite research. This practice, we believe you will agree, is a mistake. We know that a great many people read these pages, and it is therefore important to be as thorough and as accurate as possible so as to minimize to the best of our ability the likelihood of misinforming and misleading any of our readers. This applies equally to us all. .... Again, thanks for your interest and participation in SBF. --Hank | ||||||
411 | Alternative to the term "Jesus is LORD"? | Deut 11:19 | Hank | 175334 | ||
Pilgrim, you say "To use the term God or LORD is not appropriate today." My dear fellow, what on earth are you suggesting? That we take it upon ourselves to rewrite the Scriptures, removing both words? Why should you or anyone else under the sun feel a need to take God out of the Bible? Do you not believe 2 Timothy 3:16, that all Scripture is God-breathed? Do you think you or anybody else can rewrite Scripture and do a better job than God did originally? I'm sorry that I have to be so candid with you, but your proposal falls flat with me, friend. --Hank | ||||||
412 | god orders hamstringing of horses | 2 Sam 8:4 | Hank | 175183 | ||
Hi, lenpaul, and thanks for your prompt response. Not knowing in what part of the country you live or what sorts of churches you've visited, or even what sorts of churches you're looking for, it is impossible for any of us on the Forum to offer you advice beyond the general advice that we give all seekers for a church home, which is to find a church that holds a high view of Scripture and consistently teaches sound doctrine. Of course, one has to search the Scriptures diligently in order to be able to distinguish between sound doctrine and false doctrine. ..... Some churches may have as their aim to "scare you into parting with your hard-earned dollar," as you phrased it, but by no means all do. You don't want to associate yourself with those kinds of churches you have described, so shake the dust off your feet, friend, and continue your search. If indeed you are a regenerate believer, take your burden to the Lord and petition Him to help you find a Christ-centered orthodox church. I read your long list of "problem" passages you brought before Doc. My simple solution to your complex problems is to put your trust in God, who alone is Sovereign, who alone is Holy, who alone is Omnipotent, who alone is Omniscient, who alone is Transcendent, who alone is Perfect. Let God be God. In your life, in your soul, in your whole being. Bow down to Him in humble submission. Trust in the Lord and lean not to your own understanding, dear soul. Let Him direct your paths. Presume not God to have your ways or to think your thoughts. That's hubris, and hubris is an evil thing that militates against having a right relationship with God. --Hank | ||||||
413 | god orders hamstringing of horses | 2 Sam 8:4 | Hank | 175180 | ||
lenpaul - It would easier for us to follow you if you (1) followed, to the best of your ability, standard conventions of English spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation and (2) if you attended to filling out your user profile with information about yourself and your religious orientation. Is English a second language for you? Please respond to this question. And, again, please tell us something about yourself via your user profile which you can access easily by clicking on your user name in any of your posts. Thank you. --Hank | ||||||
414 | One Pastor and one assembly? | Acts 2:42 | Hank | 175156 | ||
Dear Azure - The "strange language" you mentioned that has characterized a very small percentage of my posts is not my usual way of writing, as you can judge by the overwhelming majority of posts I've made to Study Bible Forum. I use this occasional departure from my usual writing style as a change of pace and, not infrequently, to make a point that I feel needs making but which in all probability would be considered harsh or vitriolic if it were not softened by the cominc relief of the "strange" language, as you call it. And, I may as well confess, the use of "hillbilly" dialect is at least in part the unabashed indulgence of an old man (I am 71 years old) in nostalgia ..... This "strange" language, by the way, is a more or less authentic reproduction of some of the regional dialects I heard spoken as I was growing up in the southern part of the United States in the 1940's and 1950's. It was a colorful variation of standard English, and even now out in some of the rural areas of the South, one who has a keen ear for language can detect still a certain amount of the old dialects mixed in with more standard English than was the case when I was a boy. If you care to broaden your knowledge of this "strange" language, I suggest you read some of our stellar writers from the South and the Mississippi River Valley -- Mark Twain, Joel Chandler Harris, Harper Lee, Marjorie Kennan Rawlings, William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and many others. ..... By the way, Azure, I congratulate you on your ability to handle yourself well in the English language. You do it far better than some people whose native tongue is English! What is your native language, if you'd care to tell us? We appreciate your presence on SBF and encourage you to continue to break the bread of life with us as we attempt to dig deeper into the riches of God's eternal word. And a parting word aimed at being an encouraging one: Don't despair that you have difficulty with some of the posts, not only my few dialectic ones, but others as well. While most of the users of this Forum express themselves clearly, a few do not, and it is therefore very hard for all the rest of us to understand what those few are trying to communicate. So, Azure, as you did with me, it is perfectly all right to ask for a clarification from those who have not made themselves clear. Agape. --Hank | ||||||
415 | Do we have to have only one pastor, one | Acts 2:42 | Hank | 175129 | ||
Hi, Raymond - Good to have you on SBF. And perhaps only I, with my affinity for language and its vast possiblilites, would notice that a Caribbean-iam has responded to a Berean-iam. ..... Meanwhile, back to the topic: all churches, great and small, good and bad. I don't know how it is in your insular paradise, but here in the continental USA, a large number of church members seem to think that they should be entertained when they attend what is supposed to be an assembly for the purpose of worshiping God. When we are on vacation or visiting out-of-town relatives, my wife and I usually attend worship services, which frequently are of a communion different from our own (Southern Baptist). We've had a variety of experience, that's for sure. Last year we attended a service at one of San Antonio's mega-churches. The first thing I noticed was that the chancel area looked like a sound-stage, with speakers the size of train engines. And when the service got under way, the sound of the "rock band" -- that's what it was, a band with a quartet of vocalists; there was no choir -- could be heard, I'm convinced, from the Alamo to somewhere west of the Pecos River. My ears have not yet fully recovered from the sound blast. The short sermon was wedged in between all this noise, and though quieter than the rock concert, and therefore a welcome respite, was mostly feel-goody fluff and a big disappointment to me who was accustomed to hearing expositiory preaching from the word of God. My wife and I left the premises that Sunday with an empty feeling and a distinct sense that we hadn't attended a worship service at all. ...... The problem of being able to find a local church that adheres to sound biblical doctrine is apparently more widespread than some of us realize. Just this week on the Forum we've had two registrants who've expressed deep concerns about finding a "church home." And it's a legitimate concern. When I was a youngster (that was eons ago!), I used to hear people say, "It doesn't matter which church you go to, just as long as you go to church." That was never very good advice, even back then. And it certainly isn't good advice in our time. Yet I fear that some people spend more time examining a menu at a restaurant than they do examining what is on the spiritual menu of a local church they may be considering casting their nets with. ..... As you, Doc, and Searcher have all pointed out, there is no perfect church. But -- to paraphrase a line from George Orwell's "Animal Farm" -- "some are more perfect than others." --Hank | ||||||
416 | One Pastor and one assembly? | Acts 2:42 | Hank | 175127 | ||
Dear Bereaniam (Margaret) - Me a professional writer? Oh, seeing as how I'm one of a handful of settlers here in the Ozarks what can write, I've writ a bit for the Muscadine Holler Weekly Gazette and Funny Paper. Once when the paper was really booming, we had a circulation of 23, but we lost a few subscribers along the way. Two families moved up to the big-city life of Bentonville and got jobs with Wal-Mart, and old Uncle Caleb, he quit taking the Gazette on account of his eyes went bad on him, and his wife Maud she cain't reed, so it warn't no use for them to keep prescribing to the paper I reckon. I've writ lots of artickles for our church paper for many years. And I up and wrote a novel once which my friends sorta liked, but the publisher he wanted me to change a few things and I told him no. Then I've writ a few posts for this here Study Bible Farm and shore do like sharing the good news of our blessed Savior with precious souls like you. Somebody just the other day said to me, he said, "Hank, why don't you write professionally?" I told him I couldn't commence to do something like till I looked up what 'professionally' meant, and it may be a while before I can do that. You see, we ain't got but one dictionary in the Holler and Cousin Lemuel he axidentally dropped it in Muddy Creek the other day and ain't been able to fish it out yet. Cousin Lemuel ain't the brightest star in the Galaxy. Nobody with any smarts would take a dictionary with him when he goes fishing in Muddy Creek. --Hank | ||||||
417 | One Pastor and one assembly? | Acts 2:42 | Hank | 175122 | ||
Thanks, Bereaniam, for gracing the Forum with your user profile. Unless I'm mistaken, that makes you eligible for a pay raise, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get one. Just between us, I've been "eligible" for a pay raise for five years. Haven't seen the first nickel yet. --Hank | ||||||
418 | Inspired contradictions? | Romans | Hank | 175115 | ||
Deer lenpaul - Us folks on this hear Forrum is have a mighty hard time a follerin' you, sun, partikularly them like me what comes from way back in them hills we calls the Arkansaw Ozarks. Mebbe you is one o' them what uses english as a 2nd langwedge or somethin' like that. Anyhow, it'd shore help us fellers if you'd be kind enuff to fill out yore user profile and tell us a littel about yore self. And I shore tank you in advanse. --Hank | ||||||
419 | One Pastor and one assembly? | Acts 2:42 | Hank | 175082 | ||
Bereaniam - Thanks for the kind word; I'm pleased that you enjoyed my verbal calisthentics which were aimed at injecting a little humor into an otherwise drab post. ....... To date you have entered more than three score and ten posts but we have no user profile on you. And since I don't know enough about you to write one myself, I beg you to take over the chore and favor us with a bit of information. Chances are you have read the user profiles of some of the old hands here and fairly well know what kind of stuff to include. But if not, take a look at some of the bios and then enter yours. We're waiting, and Ihop, er...that is, I hope you will not keep us suspended in suspense for long... --Hank | ||||||
420 | One Pastor and one assembly? | Acts 2:42 | Hank | 175081 | ||
Bereaniam - It seems fitting enough to draw a distinction between the professional church hopper who, like a rabbit, has no intention of ceasing to hop; and the temporarily displaced soul who, like a weary fly, is buzzing around earnestly looking for some place to land. The trick is not to become so enamored by hopping that one turns into a rabbit! The unsettling scourge of our time is that there are too many splinter groups, too many unorthodox groups who call themselves churches. Time was when you could buy a Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge car and pretty well know what you were getting. And time was when you could join a Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian church and pretty well know what you were joining. But today, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, its like eating a box of assorted chocolates, and you never know just which ones have all the nuts in them until you've "inquired within." ..... It takes a certain amount of effort and a great deal of soul searching and prayer, but finding a church that adheres to sound doctrine is not an insurmountable task. Having a church on every corner in your community should, all things considered, make the job easier. ..... And, no, Berean, I do not believe that the practice of "flitting" in today's vernacular is in any way comparable to the Christians who, in the dawn of church history, went from house to house. In all probability it was for two reasons: (1) a way to elude detection and escape consequent persecution, or simply (2) a custom of rotating meeting places whereby various families would take turns being hosts. In any event, I don't believe the analogy of the practices of the ancients to modern "flitting" or "church hopping" holds up. I do pray that you will find a church home, and of course by church -- this was one of your questions -- I don't mean a building. The church never has been and never will be a buiding, no matter how many structures, whether renovated cow sheds or ornate cathedrals, are called churches. --Hank | ||||||
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