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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Does "abstain" include more than eating? | Acts 15:29 | JCrichton | 123851 | ||
Hi, knucklehead! Your argument is a good one! But I suggest this: Did Jesus command that the believers did not seek the assistance of doctors since He would heal everybody? Did the Apostles ever preached that doctors were to be shun because our Faith would be belied if we sought their medical knowledge? Was the medical science as advanced then as today? And if that were the case, could it also not be the same for the use of medical drugs and hormones, synthetic blood, artificial limbs and parts, human and non-human organs, reconstructive surgery, chemical and physical therapy, and dental implants... true these may all be done without the use of blood transfusions but they alter the human body, distorting it to a point of unnatural existence! We must not seek to limit God and God's Word! As was told to Peter: Next day, while they were still on their journey and had only; a short distance to go before reaching the town, Peter went to the housetop at about the sixth hour to say his prayers. He felt hungry and was looking forward to his meal, but before it was ready he fell into a trance and saw heaven thrown open and something like a big sheet being let down to earth by its four corners; it contained every kind of animal, reptile and bird. A voice then said to him, 'Now, Peter, kill and eat!' But Peter answered, 'Certainly not, Lord; I have never yet eaten anything profane or unclean.' Again, a second time, the voice spoke to him, 'What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane.' (Acts 10:9-15) 'WHAT GOD HAS MADE CLEAN, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL PROFANE.' Did you noticed that Peter was not told that there were unclean animals that he should not eat? Would God make clean the animals that we are to eat and yet forbid us to use human blood to save the life of other humans? I liken this to Jesus admonitions to the Jews: "Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, 'If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.' Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? (Matthew 23:16-17) How could God proclaim clean the animals, which are used for our physical nourishment, and condemn blood transfusions which provide life to God's Temple? (1 Corinthians 3:16) God Bless! Angel |
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2 | Does "abstain" include more than eating? | Acts 15:29 | knucklehead | 123854 | ||
Angel: Your question is a fair one: "How could God proclaim clean the animals, which are used for our physical nourishment, and condemn blood transfusions which provide life to God's Temple? (1 Corinthians 3:16)" The answer lies in God's view of blood and his right to restrict the use of anything he creates. God had forbidden the eating of certain animals by the Jews, his covenant people, and scientists marvel at the wisdom in these and other laws that preceded medical knowledge that would not come to light for hundreds if not thousands of years! To Peter, God now instructed him to go to people as reviled by Jews as unclean animals - uncircumcised gentiles. Paul clarified the end of the law for Christians as you are well aware. But for reasons incumbent on us, we must comprehend why he has not lifted the prohibition against blood. As Jesus' shed blood cleanses us from sin, thus providing the prospect of life eternal, can you see why God could rightfully, perhaps especially, require Christians to continue 'abstaining' from blood? James made it clear that the Holy Spirit and the older men presiding over the Christian congregation "did not to want to burden you with anything beyond these requirements." So we need not fear the use of any and all medical treatments, only those that would violate clear Bible principles. Luke was a physician and the writer of Acts so no one can say Christians are to shun doctors, only that which violates what is holy. We have to be careful not to rationalize away God's requirements that often serve as a physical as well as a spiritual protection in order to benefit, as the Israelites did, from God's laws. Thanks for your insigtful remarks. |
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3 | Does "abstain" include more than eating? | Acts 15:29 | JCrichton | 123878 | ||
Hi, knucklehead! You totally missed my point! I respect your opinion... my point is that God has determined that the animals are eatable (and yes, that was meant as a metaphor for people which the Jews concidered uncleaned--not uncleaned animals!)... it is not the blood that makes an animal pure or impure; it is God's command (read Genesis--Garden of Eden) that sets limits or raises them! Jesus tells us that there is great joy in Heaven for just a single sinner that repents and turns back to God... this suggest that God is constantly appraising our corporal existence. So it falls to reason that God cares for our well-being even in the flesh! A transfusion of blood (or a human organ transplant) is as close as we can come to offering our own life for our brethren, which is following Jesus example! I can only pray that the Holy Spirit enlighten you so that you can come to the full understanding of the Word! God Bless! Angel |
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