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Results from: Notes Author: stjones Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | "Speaking in tongues"? | 1 Cor 14:15 | stjones | 145143 | ||
... all of the gifts were important and beneficial when properly used. True. When God gives a gift, He gives it for a purpose. Thanks for the reply. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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2 | Denounce militant Islam? | Matt 5:44 | stjones | 132481 | ||
Hi, Norrie; I've only read a review of this book, but I intend to buy it. The author appears to make a truthful assessment of Islam and its violent teachings. For example (according to the review I read), he makes the point that in its early years, Islam killed non-believers. In Christianity's early years, the non-believers killed the believers. Both Muslim killers and Christian martyrs were acting in accordance with their faith. Schmidt, Alvin J. The Great Divide, The Failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West (Boston: Regina Orthodox Press, 2004) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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3 | please explain | Rom 5:4 | stjones | 114418 | ||
Hi, leonore; Welcome to the Forum. When you visit here, keep a Bible next to your computer, or keep another browser window on www.biblegateway.com. Test what you read here against what you read in the Bible. You can find much wisdom here, but a fair amount of plausible-sounding nonsense gets posted here too. Be a good Berean: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11) No one here speaks with the authority of Paul, so our words should be tested all the more. And, if I may be permitted one more bit of unsolicited advice, read the passages suggested to you. Then read the surrounding verses, maybe the whole chapter. You can "prove" almost anything by ripping a verse out of its context and applying the appopropriate spin. Many Christians (new and otherwise) substitute commentaries, sermons, movies, and Internet discussions for the Bible. All of those things can be valuable - if measured against the standard of God's word. But don't be discouraged by what I've said. And don't let your feelings get hurt. Some of us get a little cranky sometimes; for most of us, it results from too many years of seeing God's word mishandled and abused to suit personal beliefs or desires. I have a mental list of folks whose posts I pay particular attention to because they exhibit uncommon knowledge and wisdom - and some of them even disagree with me! Over time, you'll develop your own list. So, again, welcome to the forum. And welcome to God's family as well. We didn't know it, but we were waiting for you. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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4 | What does baptism consist? | 1 John 5:6 | stjones | 113692 | ||
Hi, Rowdy; Just as a point of reference, the American Heritage dictionary online gives the following etymology of "baptize": "Middle English baptizen, from Old French baptiser, from Late Latin baptzre, from Greek baptizein, from baptein, to dip." My Webster's New International Dictionary (2nd Ed. 1934, paper) gives a lengthier but similar history. At any rate, I don't know if King James was tempted by the Devil or not (I suppose he was; we all are). But I doubt he ordered anybody to invent a new pidgin-Greek word since the English word (and its nearly identical French predecessor) already existed well before the issuance of the original King James in 1611. It appears the "historical documents" are wrong about this, so I wonder if they may not be wrong about other aspects of this story as well. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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5 | Is prophecy dead? | Matt 11:13 | stjones | 110787 | ||
Greetings, charis; Great to hear from you again. I kind of fade in and out myself, but I hope you'll stick around for a while. I've always appreciated your insights. Peace and Grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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6 | 'Reinvented' Gospel | 2 Tim 4:3 | stjones | 110176 | ||
Hi, prayon; Another reason is even more troubling. According to pollster George Barna, only half of Protestant pastors even have a Biblical worldview. Barna defined this worldview as "believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize)". In short, half the pastors re-invent the Gospel because they either don't know it or they don't believe it. I guess it's not too surprising that Barna found less than a tenth of "born again" believers have such a worldview. (www.barna.org, Barna Updates, 1/12/2004) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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7 | Worshiptainment | NT general Archive 1 | stjones | 110173 | ||
Hi, N.C.; They got the name wrong. It's the Lite Family Faith Center of the valley. "Church" turns people off. Gotta get those "seekers" in with smoke and mirrors. That said, it rubs me the wrong way when people like Dave Wilkerson utter blanket condemnations of "our churches ...". Maybe "their" churches have "lost the power"; ours hasn't. My congregation is part of a mainline denomination that is stumbling toward liberalism and confusion (pardon the redundancy!). Yet we are reminded weekly that we are there to worship God, not to be entertained or to feel better about our shortcomings. Our allotment of pew-warmers is filled; new members will have to get involved in our ministries. And we are growing while the denomination shrinks. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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8 | Why are there disagreements... | 2 Tim 2:15 | stjones | 109657 | ||
Hi, Emmaus; I don't intend to start a denominational debate (which our hosts wouldn't appreciate anyway). The problem is that Councils and Magesterial authorities are still men (at least to the Reformed mind). Such institutions simply move the disagreement behind closed doors. My (Reformed) denomination agrees with the value of collective wisdom in discerning the Holy Spirit's counsel. But, as you would expect, we consider the results less authoritative than Scripture because there is no Biblical basis for claiming that the results are inspired. Individual conscience - guided by the Holy Spirit - can't be ignored because we are each individually accountable to what God has revealed through his Word (not his servants). You probably disagree with me and I respect that. I just figured I'd defend the Reformation's teaching of Sola Scriptura. The answer to kalos' question, of course, ist that my crowd listened to the Holy Spirit and got it right and the rest of you just weren't paying attention! ;-) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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9 | How to harmonize this passage | 1 Cor 14:34 | stjones | 109176 | ||
Hi, Rowdy; I think we're both trying to make our points - more accurately, I think we're both trying to explain the points we see made in Scripture. No malice assumed or intended. You said: "the scriptures I've seen so far haven't given any support to the idea that women are allowed equal standing in the church with men." To which I reply: "all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galations 3:27-28) You said: "Still anxiously waiting for anyone else to respond." To which I reply: "Amen, brother!" Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones who, sadly, now has to go to work.... |
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10 | How to harmonize this passage | 1 Cor 14:34 | stjones | 109160 | ||
Hi, Rowdy; I hate to quote myself, but I can't make my dilemma any clearer than this: If God's word teaches that we are one in Christ, that in Christ there is no male nor female, that we live under grace and not under the Law, then I want to be very careful about telling my sister in Christ that that those things don't apply to her as they do me because there's a fragment of the Law still in force that says I can talk and she can't. I'm not convinced it is obedient to the whole of God's word to silence a person because of gender when God's word clearly states that "in Christ", there is no gender (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11 expresses a similar idea). We're not talking about marriage which is a relationship between two based on gender. We're talking about the relationship of one member of the body to another and to the body as a whole. Neither male nor female is the head because Christ is the head (Colossians 1:18). To be completely honest, these words sound like Saul the Pharisee: "They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says" (1 Corinthians 14:34). If there is another passage where Paul says that a believer under grace is still bound by the Law, I'd like someone to show it to me. My original question was how to harmonize this Saul-like passage with the rest of Paul's letters. Your response has been to "just do it". Sorry, but no. You can accuse me "outright disobedience" if you like. Perhaps it is "outright disobedience" to pick an isolated passage that replaces grace with the Law and use it to silence one's equals. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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11 | How to harmonize this passage | 1 Cor 14:34 | stjones | 109152 | ||
Thanks, Ray; You've given me a promising new direction to think about. I'm going to have to chew on this for a while.... -Indy |
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12 | Living Prophets? | Bible general Archive 2 | stjones | 109151 | ||
Hi, Hank; I agree (although I think I missed "Context"). I'd thought to just ignore him/them, but mommapbs pointed out the danger of a seeker or naive Christian seeing that nonsense go unchallenged. I'll give the Devil his due though; I know more about the Book of Mormon than I did before. Could be useful knowledge in the future. OTOH, such posts appeal to my grumpy side which doesn't always produce the most sanctified behavior. :-) There are lots of people out there who hate the Bible and hate the real Jesus. I suppose an open forum like this is bound to attract a few such idiots now and then. Give the Devil his due again.... -Indy |
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13 | Living Prophets? | Bible general Archive 2 | stjones | 109137 | ||
"Paraclete"; It doesn't matter whether you call yourself a Mormon or not. This is still a Bible study forum, not a forum for promoting self-styled mystics who claim that their books are superior to the Bible. Nothing Joseph Smith ever said or wrote has any relevance to the discussions on this forum - except possibly to demonstrate how irrelevant his words are. If you know anything about what the Bible says, explain from Scripture why you believe it says what you think it says. If you don't know what the Bible teaches, feel free to ask. If you have no Biblical knowledge to impart and no desire to gain any, you have no part in this forum. -Indy |
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14 | Help | Luke 3:21 | stjones | 109086 | ||
Hi, Rowdy; You are right on the money, my friend. If God is one person, that was a mighty elaborate deception. -Indy |
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15 | How to harmonize this passage | 1 Cor 14:34 | stjones | 109085 | ||
Hi, Rowdy; Thanks for the invite. I approach this question from the perspective of trying to study and understand God's will as revealed in the Bible. That's not to say that there wouldn't be value in seeing your particular application of God's word, just that my focus (for now, at least) is on what the Bible teaches. As a believer, I've often been challenged with "contradictions" in the Bible. Every one that's been presented to me has been nonsense - passages taken out of context or misinterpreted, assuming that every act described in the Bible reflects God's will - that sort of foolishness. But this to me looks like a real contradiction - one passage that seems to conflict with many other passages. I realize that God is not double-minded about anything; I just can't figure out how to resolve it. And of course, this isn't just an intellectual exercise. My church reflects the unity/equality/freedom end of the scale by ordaining women as deacons, elders, and pastors. But maybe it is in error and should reflect the 1 Corinthians 14 end by not ordaining women to those offices. For now, I believe that my church is obedient to the principles taught in the New Testament. But I asked because it's still a question in my mind. Anyway, thanks for the dialog. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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16 | How to harmonize this passage | 1 Cor 14:34 | stjones | 109077 | ||
Hi, Rowdy; Thanks for the reply. As I said, that's the usual response. But no, I wouldn't suggest that we not follow God's word. I would suggest we make every effort to understand what God's word - ALL of God's word - is telling us to do. If God's word teaches that we are one in Christ, that in Christ there is no male nor female, that we live under grace and not under the Law, then I want to be very careful about telling my sister in Christ that that those things don't apply to her as they do me because there's a fragment of the Law still in force that says I can talk and she can't: "They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says." (1 Corinthians 14:34) A statement and its negation can't both be true. Yet those who would silence women seem to have no trouble with the idea that with respect to believers, God ordains unity, equality, and freedom and God ordains division, inequality, and Law. I can't wrap my brain around that idea. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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17 | Midianites reappear? | Num 31:1 | stjones | 109048 | ||
Hi, Terry; At some point, everyone has to decide if the Bible is truthful or not. If I decide that it is not truthful, then apparent inconsistencies and contradictions can easily be found and my choice appears to be upheld. If I decide that it is truthful, then I try to resolve these apparent inconsistencies and contradictions. Having decided that it is truthful, I offer the following observations: God told Moses to "take vengeance" on the Midianites (v.2); "vengeance" does not necessarily imply complete destruction. The account makes it plain that of the Midianites attacked, all the men and boys were killed. It is not known if all Midianites everywhere were attacked. (The campaign SEEMS to have been fairly short with no real travel, pursuit, or "search and destroy" missions involved, but that's just my opinion.) Further, this vengeance was presumably in the context of worshipping the Baal of Peor (v.16, Numbers 25:16-18). It seems reasonable that the population of Midianites responsible would be the subject of this vengeance. But, again, this does not exclude the survival of nomadic Midianites who were not in the immediate area and not party to Israel's sin. Hope this helps. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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18 | Was Adam and Eve's fall a good thing? | Bible general Archive 2 | stjones | 109045 | ||
Paraclete; This is really preposterous. There is falsehood here, but it's not in Eve's words to the serpent. You claim to know God's exact words to Eve. You don't. The Bible only records Eve's account of God's words. So if Eve did indeed "embellish the true words of God", you couldn't possibly know it. You also put the words "in that day" into Eve's mouth. Not even the Bible published on the LDS web site has Eve saying those words. Readers of the Bible will readily understand that Eve's initial sin was her disobedience to God, not some imagined "lie" that you have constructed for her. But perhaps I'm being too harsh. Maybe it was Joseph Smith who embellished the true words of God and you're simply repeating what you've been taught. I join with mommaphs in her prayer that your eyes may be opened to God's truth. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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19 | 2Tim 2:15 Study dispensationally? | 2 Timothy | stjones | 109031 | ||
Hi, Ken; I wasn't even sure that by studying "dispensationally", you were referring to dispensaionalism. And I haven't studied Scofield's ideas or the modern variants, so I really don't know much about it. I'm not a Greek scholar, nor do I play one on TV, so I seldom venture into any language other than Endglish. But I did use Strong's numbers to help understand the passages you cited. I don't really see anything in them beyond the plain meaning of the words: - 2 Timothy 2:15: "rightly divide" is translated in most of the versions I looked at as "handle rightly", or "correctly", etc. My Thayers defines "orthotomeo" as 1) to cut straight, to cut straight ways 1a) to proceed on straight paths, hold a straight course, equiv. to doing right 2) to make straight and smooth, to handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly. I take the passage to mean that the workman approaches God's word in the right way - accepting its divine inspiration, earnestly seeking its meaning (not imposing his own), and relying on the counsel of the Holy Spirit. - Ephesians 3:2: "dispensation" is also rendered as "stewardship" and "administration" in various translations. At any rate, Paul seems to be simply saying that he is the steward of the knowledge graciously given to him by Jesus. I suppose a parallel could be drawn to a pharmacist dispensing drugs. There's more to it than just getting the right pills into the right bottle. There's a responsibility to both the patient and the doctor to ensure that the patient recieves the full benefit from the doctor's best effort and intentions. Colossians 1:26: Paul seems to use the word "ages" to refer to a period of time longer than generations. The KJV says the mystery has been hidden "from" ages and generations; other translations say the mystery was hidden "for" ages and generations. The Greek word "aion" seems to mean nothing more than a long period of time, so I don't see this as referring to separate, distinct periods of time, just a long time. I don't see that the passages tie together in any particular except that they were inspired by the same God. I don't see enough to hang a theology or a method of study on. But that's just my two-hundredths of a U.S. dollar. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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20 | Living Prophets? | Bible general Archive 2 | stjones | 108984 | ||
Indeed; you are correct. Thanks. -Indy |
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