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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: rodent_tamer Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | DEPRESSION AND CHURCH ATTENDANCE | Bible general Archive 3 | rodent_tamer | 183237 | ||
When you said "it seems all the people in my group were not well", what do you mean? Are you still on meds and receiving treatment? I can understand what you feel regarding clinical depression and not wanting to be around people. Social withdrawal is one of the symptoms of clinical depression. I don't know what your experience has been, but I know, from my own experience, that unfortunately many christians are very ignorant regarding clinical depression and so often alienate those experiencing this terrible medical condition. I pray and hope that you find the support you need. I don't think it's a sin that you don't go to church, but I would also want to encourage you to find caring supportive christians who can help you with your condition because it is dangerous to disconnect yourself. The more disconnected or socially withdrawn you become, the worse your depressive condition will become. Have you considered perhaps finding group therapy? Perhaps you may want to find at least an online support group of other christians who struggle with clinical depression. I will pray for you and know God will open a way for you. Monica |
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2 | did only men have the right to divorce? | Bible general Archive 3 | rodent_tamer | 182281 | ||
oh ok, that makes sense. thanx |
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3 | did only men have the right to divorce? | Bible general Archive 3 | rodent_tamer | 182257 | ||
Doc, I don't understand. How did the bill of divorcement protect the woman? monica |
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4 | Requirements of a valid marriage? | Rom 13:1 | rodent_tamer | 182256 | ||
I agree. I think if the state views common law marriage (cohabitation) as covenant marriage, the governing authorities, in this instance, is not consistant with God's higher moral law and therefore no longer acting as God's agent. Although I'm confused since there are instances in the old testament when cohabitation and consummation constitutes marriage. Am I wrong in my understanding? Monica |
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5 | Was the creation account viewd literally | Gen 1:1 | rodent_tamer | 182255 | ||
thanx for the info. monica |
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6 | Roman documentation of Christs execution | NT general Archive 1 | rodent_tamer | 182254 | ||
Thanx. It's so creepy how he calls tortures "exquisite". Very telling of the Roman brutality for those who didn't tow the company line. I remember reading somewhere that if any Roman soldier abandoned or even fell asleep at their post this was punishable by death. As told in the gospels, for fear of the body being stolen, the pharisees requested that the Roman soldiers guard the tomb right? If so, do you know if there is anything about this? Or any record that the soldiers abandoned their post? monica |
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7 | Is marrying for citizenship real? | Matt 19:5 | rodent_tamer | 182253 | ||
What literally took place was this: He confessed he was not a believer, I determined I could not marry a nonbeliever, he agreed that we should not get married, I begged him to reconsider the truth of the gospel as truth and even offered a possibility of working towards restoration with the help of a christian counselor, but after one visit, his decision was basically: "religion was not for him", we went our separate ways and he immediately became involved with another woman as soon as he knew I was not going through with the "genuine" wedding plans. I remained single for years after the break up and after the legal divorce and about a year after our separation he filed for divorce because he received his citizenship (the citizenship process is a lengthy one). I believe the only justifiable reason for divorce, according to the bible, is adultery and desertion. It would follow that under those 2 reasons a divorced person would then be free to remarry. That is, without those 2 reasons, divorce would be a violation to God's law and remarriage considered adultery. Now with that in mind, if my "legal" marriage to this man was actually sanctioned by God, does that mean my "legal" divorce to this man justifiable or permissible by God, since he technically committed "adultery" unbeknownst to either one of us? Am I then to conclude that in God's eyes, he did commit adultery even though neither one of us understood it as such? In other words, even though I didn't feel betrayed, did he indeed betray me since our legal marriage was a binding one in God's sight? So is it safe to conclude that since our legal marriage was a biblically genuine one, would it follow that our legal divorce was a biblically justifiable one as well irregardless of our perceptions of both? What is my standing with God now? Am I free to remarry in good conscience? I hope I have made my spaghetti explanation solid and sound. I apologize to those who have been following my thread for my initial dishonesty by not stating that it was I who I was referring to. Please pray that God reveals His truth to me regarding this matter. My earnest desire is to live rightly before him. humbly yours, monica |
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8 | Is marrying for citizenship real? | Matt 19:5 | rodent_tamer | 182252 | ||
I don't know if you followed the entire thread and I think I have failed to express myself correctly. I am not questioning whether justice of the peace marriage is binding to God. I believe it is. I'm not questioning the method, or the spiritual standing of either party. You don't have to be a christian to be married, nor do you have to marry a christian in order to make it binding. My central initial question was did this particular marriage become binding in God's sight even if the 2 people did not perceive themselves as making a consiencious, sincere vow? That legal vow, as far as they were concerned, was "fake" because they only did it so that one of the parties could get their citizenship. What I was questioning was does their perception make a difference to God or does God hold them accountable to that vow even though they didn't mean it? Some have made the argument that since the state is God's agent and the state constituted this vow as valid, then God did as well irregardless of the couple's perceptions and the state being deceived. These are the questions I presented to the forum. I have presented it in 3rd person here because I didn't want to get too personal. I apologize for my dishonesty. The truth is that I am the female that legally married the nonbeliever for the purpose of the attainment of his citizenship. I am a christian and dated this man who claimed to be a christian. Turned out he was pretending so that I would remain with him. He knew I wouldn't date a nonbeliever. About 6 months into the relationship, he was about to lose his job if he didn't produce proof of legal status and asked me to help him in this way, but it was perceived by the 2 of us that this was not a genuine vow on both our parts, it was a vow we were pretending to make so he could get his citizenship. My reasoning at the time was that it was a "technical marriage", but not a spiritual and therefore God recognized one. I thought then and do now that it doesn't matter who "joined us"; whether the state or a pastor, (that is not the significant issue for me). My thinking then was that since neither of us intentionally, conscientiously and sincerely believed ourselves to have actually joined before God, that God therefore didn't join us. As we continued dating after that legal contract was signed we never once believed ourselves to be married but lived as though we were not. Even more so than this, when he later proposed to me, as our relationship progressed, that is when I considered the notion of possibly marrying him. Does that make sense to you? When it came to light that he faked being a Christian, I cancelled the "genuine" wedding that was about to take place 4 yrs after the legal marriage took place. When I made that decision to not marry him genuinely the 2nd time, I felt then and find it difficult now to deny that God was prompting me to do so. I am having difficulty accepting that I imagined all that, but I want to be submissive to that possibility if it is true. Now here is my second question if the argument made is true. If it is true that "A state sanctioned marriage constitutes "What God has joined together" irregardless of what I believed to be doing, how then does God view the legal divorce? Understand that when we separated, we separated with the belief that our break up was not one from marriage, but one from dating. In other words, in our perception, we believed that a marriage never took place though one did according to the state of NJ. Now here is where it gets weird for me. Assuming it is true that our first legal marriage was binding and genuine in the sight of God, then did this man commit adultery in the sight of God when he entered a sexual relationship with this other woman immediately after our mutual break up and cancellation of the second so called "genuine" wedding? It was no secret to me that he became involved with this woman after our break up and I never thought of it as adultery since I never considered us truly married in the first place. As far as I was concerned he was free to date since we no longer were in a relationship or going ahead with our so called "genuine" wedding plans. What literally took place was this: (continued on the next post since there is not enough room here) |
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9 | Was human propogation incestuous? | Bible general Archive 3 | rodent_tamer | 182191 | ||
When webster's dictionary defines incest as "unlawful" is it referring to God's law or man's law? I'm assuming the latter. Your answer explains what the negative genetic outcome of incest is, but doesn't God condemn incest in his law? Is this condemnation only because of the genetic defects? If he condemns incest after the fall, why would he condone it prefall? |
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10 | Men had multiple wives in the old test. | Matt 19:5 | rodent_tamer | 182190 | ||
Personally, while the sanctioning of polygamy does not sit right with me in my gut, I don't see anything in the Old testament that condemns it. The worshipping of idols, breaking the sabbath, dishonoring parents, lying, stealing, coveting, adultery, rape, incest and murder are all clearly condemned in Old testament, but I see nothing that condemns polygamy. In fact, David who was considered a man of God had multiple wives. If polygamy was a sin how can David be seen by God as righteous? The account of Bathsheba is condemned as adultery, not because she was taken as his number whatever wife, but because she was another man's wife. Polygamy was a socially accepted norm in those days, did God just tolerate it and overlook it? It doesn't seem characteristic of God to over look a sin just because it is a cultural norm. I don't understand when and why this shift from polygamy (OT) to monogamy (NT) occured. I'm stumped. | ||||||
11 | Roman documentation of Christs execution | Not Specified | rodent_tamer | 182185 | ||
Do Roman police reports or documentation exists of the crucifixion of Christ and absence of his body after burial? | ||||||
12 | Roman documentation of Christs execution | NT general Archive 1 | rodent_tamer | 182201 | ||
Do Roman police reports or documentation exists of the crucifixion of Christ and absence of his body after burial? | ||||||
13 | Was the creation account viewd literally | Not Specified | rodent_tamer | 182180 | ||
Historically speaking, was the creation account in Genesis viewed by Jewish theologians/scholars as literal or illustrative? | ||||||
14 | Was the creation account viewd literally | Gen 1:1 | rodent_tamer | 182195 | ||
Historically speaking, was the creation account in Genesis viewed by Jewish theologians/scholars as literal or illustrative? | ||||||
15 | Requirements of a valid marriage? | Not Specified | rodent_tamer | 182179 | ||
What constitutes marriage? What does scripture constitute as marriage? I've been studying this topic and this is where I've gotten so far. I'd appreciate corrections, comments and input if you so incline. Here are a few examples found in scripture where marriage was deemed valid. The first marriage took place between Adam and Eve. Eve was given to Adam as his wife by God. The 2 became one flesh. No civil law existed at that time; no piece of paper was signed. God married them. The 2 were joined directly by God. Was there a ceremony? Witnesses? Legal papers drawn up? No. I’m not making an argument in favor of marriages without witnesses, or legal paper work, but I’m presenting the examples of marriages found in scripture. For me, my question is who has the authority to sanction a marriage and what does God require to take place for a marriage union to be valid? We know that in some states the law recognizes “common law” marriage as a legal marriage through cohabitation of a said amount of time. It could be argued that marriage thru cohabitation and consummation is consistent with scripture (at least in Old testament) so if the law deems common law marriage as legal marriage does God view it as binding as well? I don’t know. Thus far I have not found examples in scripture that describes what a God sanctioned marriage looked like in terms of a ceremony, legal recognition and as to who should perform or have the authority to perform the ceremony. We do know there were wedding celebrations and I imagine in Jewish tradition there would have been some sort of ceremony involving a rabbi, witnesses or parental authorization required. Marriages, for the most part were arranged by the husband to be and the father of the female. I wonder if she had a choice in that tradition when she became of age. In my recent exploration of this topic I have found in scripture a few examples where marriages came into existence through cohabitation and consummation. In these examples I don’t see a ceremony, festivities, witnesses, a rabbi’s authority presiding, public vows being exchanged or the government’s legal recognition. Here are 3 examples of marriage through cohabitation and consummation found in scripture cited here on the forum. (I forgot who referenced it, but the scripture references are correct) 1. Deut 21:10 A soldier’s procedure to follow in order to marry a captive woman of the conquered enemy. (This passage sort of troubles me because it seems like forced consummation is sanctioned, but I am hoping I am misunderstanding it.) 2. Gen 16:2 indicates how Abram (who was already married to Sarai) took her maid, Haga, to wife. 3. Gen 29:20 is the clearest evidence of them all and is the story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. Jacob worked 7 years for the hand of Rachel, the younger sister. After the wedding celebration, the father sent the older sister Leah to the marriage bed instead because it was their custom to give the older daughter in marriage before the younger. Jacob woke up the next morning to find that he had actually consummated a marriage with Leah, the older sister. After confronting the father, Rachel was sent to him one week later to wife. In this story, there was only one wedding feast which obviously involved Rachel. Therefore the marriage to Leah was due solely to cohabitation and consummation. Under the old covenant, multiple marriages for men were allowed and adultery, from what I gather, seems to be defined as marrying or lying with another man’s wife. (Example: David and Bathsheba) Fornication outside of marriage for both males and females was punishable by death. (Unless the woman was raped against her will) In the New Testament, Paul instructs that a marriage is to be between one man and one woman. Monogamy not polygamy. Thus far all I can find in the New Testament regarding marriage is how believers are to behave to their spouse once married, but I don’t see anything as to what constitutes marriage or rather how God recognizes marriage. We are told not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, but that passage does not convince me that it is specifically referring to marriage, though it is safe to draw the conclusion it would logically apply to marriage. What are your thoughts? If anyone could point me to any biblically sound online sources on this topic, I'd surely appreciate it. |
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16 | Requirements of a valid marriage? | Rom 13:1 | rodent_tamer | 182182 | ||
What constitutes marriage? What does scripture constitute as marriage? I've been studying this topic and this is where I've gotten so far. I'd appreciate corrections, comments and input if you so incline. Here are a few examples found in scripture where marriage was deemed valid. The first marriage took place between Adam and Eve. Eve was given to Adam as his wife by God. The 2 became one flesh. No civil law existed at that time; no piece of paper was signed. God married them. The 2 were joined directly by God. Was there a ceremony? Witnesses? Legal papers drawn up? No. I’m not making an argument in favor of marriages without witnesses, or legal paper work, but I’m presenting the examples of marriages found in scripture. For me, my question is who has the authority to sanction a marriage and what does God require to take place for a marriage union to be valid? We know that in some states the law recognizes “common law” marriage as a legal marriage through cohabitation of a said amount of time. It could be argued that marriage thru cohabitation and consummation is consistent with scripture (at least in Old testament) so if the law deems common law marriage as legal marriage does God view it as binding as well? I don’t know. Thus far I have not found examples in scripture that describes what a God sanctioned marriage looked like in terms of a ceremony, legal recognition and as to who should perform or have the authority to perform the ceremony. We do know there were wedding celebrations and I imagine in Jewish tradition there would have been some sort of ceremony involving a rabbi, witnesses or parental authorization required. Marriages, for the most part were arranged by the husband to be and the father of the female. I wonder if she had a choice in that tradition when she became of age. In my recent exploration of this topic I have found in scripture a few examples where marriages came into existence through cohabitation and consummation. In these examples I don’t see a ceremony, festivities, witnesses, a rabbi’s authority presiding, public vows being exchanged or the government’s legal recognition. Here are 3 examples of marriage through cohabitation and consummation found in scripture cited here on the forum. (I forgot who referenced it, but the scripture references are correct) 1. Deut 21:10 A soldier’s procedure to follow in order to marry a captive woman of the conquered enemy. (This passage sort of troubles me because it seems like forced consummation is sanctioned, but I am hoping I am misunderstanding it.) 2. Gen 16:2 indicates how Abram (who was already married to Sarai) took her maid, Haga, to wife. 3. Gen 29:20 is the clearest evidence of them all and is the story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. Jacob worked 7 years for the hand of Rachel, the younger sister. After the wedding celebration, the father sent the older sister Leah to the marriage bed instead because it was their custom to give the older daughter in marriage before the younger. Jacob woke up the next morning to find that he had actually consummated a marriage with Leah, the older sister. After confronting the father, Rachel was sent to him one week later to wife. In this story, there was only one wedding feast which obviously involved Rachel. Therefore the marriage to Leah was due solely to cohabitation and consummation. Under the old covenant, multiple marriages for men were allowed and adultery, from what I gather, seems to be defined as marrying or lying with another man’s wife. (Example: David and Bathsheba) Fornication outside of marriage for both males and females was punishable by death. (Unless the woman was raped against her will) In the New Testament, Paul instructs that a marriage is to be between one man and one woman. Monogamy not polygamy. Thus far all I can find in the New Testament regarding marriage is how believers are to behave to their spouse once married, but I don’t see anything as to what constitutes marriage or rather how God recognizes marriage. We are told not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, but that passage does not convince me that it is specifically referring to marriage, though it is safe to draw the conclusion it would logically apply to marriage. What are your thoughts? If anyone could point me to any biblically sound online sources on this topic, I'd surely appreciate it. |
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17 | Was human propogation incestuous? | Not Specified | rodent_tamer | 182178 | ||
If Adam and Eve were the first and only humans, did the propogation of the human species occur incestually? | ||||||
18 | Was human propogation incestuous? | Bible general Archive 3 | rodent_tamer | 182186 | ||
If Adam and Eve were the first and only humans, did the propogation of the human species occur incestually? | ||||||
19 | Is marrying for citizenship real? | Matt 19:5 | rodent_tamer | 182145 | ||
Here are the details of the case: These 2 people dated before and after the sham state marriage. When they legally married they were dating for about 6 months. The christian girl never would have even considered dating him if she thought he wasn't a christian. Before they dated, they were friends and he knew what her beliefs were. She shared the gospel with him and he claimed to have accepted the message of christ. It turned out that his conversion on his part was false. He knew she wouldn't date a nonbeliever and in order to not lose her, he claimed to have accepted Christ. Throughout the relationship they remained sexually pure. In the beginning of the relationship he went to church with her, prayed with her and was even baptised. I want to make clear that even though they cared for each other and were dating when they both married legally, neither of them believed they were truly married. She only knew him for 6 months and would still need the test of time to know him and know God's will regarding marriage. After 2 years dating him, he proposed and she reluctantly said yes, but something in her heart told her to delay the marriage. At that point, she started to suspect something was wrong because she didn't see the fruits of spiritual growth in him even if his moral outward life wasn't blatantly rebellious. She shrugged off that feeling by telling herself he just needed time to mature as a christian. As a result of her being with this man, the girl's relationship to God began to slowly suffer. She stopped going to church, barely prayed, hardly read the word etc.... She became attached to this man and felt stuck. Towards the end of the relationship, the girl's mother began to pressure them to start the wedding plans since their engagment was so long. The wedding plans were taking place and finally after seeking God's will through prayer, she confronted this man and he admitted to her that he didn't truly believe in God. She realized then that she couldn't marry him, but she still was struggling with fear, attachment and insecurity. One day, she went to church, heard a powerful message about maturity and contentment in God and the holy spirit empowered her to have the courage to do what she felt God was asking her to do. She believed God was telling her, "do not be yoked to an unbeliever......choose me and my will above what you will". The girl broke off the relationship and cancelled the wedding. She reconciled to God and remained single for 4 years until now. The nonbeliever who she broke up with immediately entered into another relationship with another girl who he lives with to this day. At the moment, this christian girl is dating a christian man who clearly shows the fruit of his spiritual closeness to God. In other words, there is no doubt in her mind that he is a christian. As her relationship deepens with this man both spiritually and emotionally, they are both thinking about marriage and that is how this whole issue came up. She asked me to post this question on the forum out of curiousity. She is studying about what makes a marriage valid and things of that nature. When the possibility presented itself that she may have inadvertantly married this man in God's eyes all those years ago, it really did a number on her. She and I are not seeking counsel on this forum , we are trying to understand what scripture teaches regarding what makes a marriage valid in the eyes of God. We are hoping to find some answers that could clarify or put to rest any doubt. The girl has presented this situation to her pastor and is currently awaiting a response. Please keep her in your prayers. Thank you |
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20 | Good point | Matt 19:5 | rodent_tamer | 182143 | ||
Ebrain, You make a very intersting point. You are right to conclude that one of the parties is not a christian. The girl is a christian and the man is not. I guess the critical question I am asking is did God join them together or did the state join them together? Or more importantly, Does God recognize this joining as binding because the state recognized it as binding? What makes this case different is that both parties were breaking the law by pretending they were really believing and intending to uphold the vow they were taking. They both were not only unwilling in their consciounce to "join" together, but they didn't believe they were joining together. It was an intentionally deceptive vow to the state in order to avoid deportation. If one christian makes a vow to marry a nonbeliever in good conscience (ie willingly and honestly), though it would be in clear violation to God's instructions, I think God would still hold them bound to that "joining" even if God didn't will it. The believer's disobedient act would have tragic consequences----a miserable marriage, an unequal union. Are you saying that all those believers out there who have disobediently married unbelievers aren't really married in the sight of God? In these recent posts, from my understanding, the argument has been made that since God instructs us to obey the governing authorities (Romans 13), the couple was indeed married in God's eyes even though the governing authority was deceived and their own law broken. That is, since man's law recognizes it as a true marriage(a piece of paper was signed), then so does God. My critical question is since man's law was clearly broken, does God still consider that illegal broken law as lawful and therefore binding? The state never found out that the law was broken, but if they did, the sham marriage would never have been recongnized as lawfully binding. So if the sham marriage would have been dissolved would God then be bound to dissolve it as well? I am arguing that since God knew it was a sham, He never joined them to begin with even though the state did so through deception. In other words, God is not subject to man's law, but rather man's law is subject to God's higher law. I do not believe God sanctioned this union since He knew it was not genuine. Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. I should also mention there were additional critical details about this coulple that could help you understand the circumstances better.I will share them on a separate post because there is not enough room here. |
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