Results 141 - 160 of 197
|
||||||
Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Sir Pent Ordered by Date |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
141 | what is "blaspheme"? | Matt 12:31 | Sir Pent | 21448 | ||
Support and Addition .......................... Dear Mattiep, I would like to begin answering your question by using the dictionary. Blasphemy - Irreverence towards God (Holy Spirit) Irreverence - Showing a lack of reverence Reverence - The state of being revered Revere - Regard as worthy of great honor From the basic definitions, it becomes clear that "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" is the act of denying that the Holy Spirit (HS) is worthy of honor. Of course, for a person to truly believe that the HS did not deserve honor would require that that person denied that the HS was God. If a person was in the state of denying the deity of the HS it would of course be impossible for the HS to come into that person's life. And without the baptism of the HS (not to be confused with the act of being "slain in the spirit") there could be no salvation. This is why blasphemy is the unforgivable sin, because there's only one road to forgiveness and that puts up a roadblock. I would like to point out though that the roadblock is not permanent. All people have at one time in their life been in rebellion against God, and have lived lives which were irreverent toward the HS. It is of note that Luke 12:10 says, "he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven", and not he who has blasphemed against the HS will not be forgiven. In other words, the action being talked about is continuing in the present, not just something from the past. Therefore, I believe that even if a person had said the words, "I blaspheme the Holy Spirit", that God would forgive them if they truly repented. I believe that even if a person had denied the deity of the HS in their hearts (which would also be blasphemy), that if their hearts were changed, would be forgiven by God. Of course, if they do not change, but remain steadfast in their refusal to honor God and the HS, then they will not be forgiven and will die in a state of sin. P.S. Just to nip in the bud ... I am fully aware that this doesn't completely jive with all the possible interpretaions of these passages. However, I believe it makes the most sense, when taken in the context of the entire Bible. |
||||||
142 | Muselim Religious | Eph 2:8 | Sir Pent | 21165 | ||
Question Answered .................. I am not sure that Islam is the fastest growing religion worldwide, but I'll give my idea as to what Islam has to offer that Christianity doesn't. C.S. Lewis once wrote about how the problem with Christianity was that it was too easy. The whole salvation being a free gift from God doesn't make much sense to us humans. We have an innate desire to try to earn everything that we receive. This is one thing that Islam is able to provide. A Muslim's salvation is completely dependant on themselves and their good works. They have to pray a certain number of times each day, in a certain way. They have to attempt a pilgramage to Mecca at some point in their life. They have to fast during the day at a certain time of the year, etc. If they do all these things then they earn their salvation. This system of "rubbing the magic lamp in just the right way" so to speak, is very attractive to human pride. And that is why I think that so many people are drawn to that religion over Christianity. |
||||||
143 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21159 | ||
Dear Forumites, I have one idea that I think might help keep things fresh for long term members of our forum, while at the same time add significant value to this forum's usefulness. My idea is that individual members of the Forum could each volunteer to be responsible for one book of the Bible. Then over the next few months, they could each go through that book thouroughly adding comments and questions as they arise. This would help fill the void of so many verses that just haven't come up on their own. It would make a much more complete study aid for people looking for answers. And it would probably bring up a myriad of new thoughts and discussion topics that haven't been covered. I just think that we've been too REACTIVE on the forum so far, mainly responding to others questions and comments. Perhaps we should be more PROACTIVE by doing more complete and thorough Bible commentating. What does everybody think about this idea? Would anyone be willing to volunteer to take a book? |
||||||
144 | The Genealogy of Jesus? | Matt 1:1 | Sir Pent | 21020 | ||
Question answered ............................ Dear All4Jesus, Both the gospels of Matthew and Luke contain geneologies of Jesus, however they are distinct from each other. It is generally accepted that one is Jesus biological lineage through His mother Mary, and the other is his legal lineage through His father Joeseph. Both can be traced back to King David. If you do a search (upper right part of the screen), you'll find more information on this. |
||||||
145 | Is there an 'online' study guide | Ephesians | Sir Pent | 20909 | ||
Welcome to the Forum ............................. Dear Ontario, I searched around on the web for a Free Methodist study guide for Ephesians, to no avail. However, if you have any specific questions, I would be glad to try to help you. I have been a member of the Free Methodist Church for many years, and am relatively well-versed in their history and perspectives. Once again, I'm glad that you have come to our forum, and I look forward to interacting with you in the future. |
||||||
146 | What can you get your prayer life back? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 20715 | ||
Support, Experience ............................. Dear Yogi, Tim and Hank have both answered you well. It is true that the key to praying is to just pray. It is also true that prayer in Christianity is much more free than in many other religions. The exact words that are used are not as important as the attitude of your heart towards God. This all being said, I would like to share a couple of ideas that have helped me in the past in my own prayer life. 1. Focus on several parts of prayer individually. A common way to do this is to use the acronym ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). First focus on praising God for who He is (for example: creator, all-loving, a good listener, etc). Second focus on repentance of the sins in your life (for example: not spending enough time with God lately). Thirdly, focus on letting God know how much you appreciate the blessings He has given you (for example: the ability to think, food to eat, the colorful trees to look at, etc.) Fourthly, focus on asking God for the desires of your heart (for example: your relative to get well, your spouse to get that job, yourself to find a good church, etc.) 2. A second idea that helped me in the past was to pretend that God was sitting next to me at the lunch table, or in the passenger seat of the car. Then I would just talk to Him as I would talk to a very close friend, who was right there with me. A good example of this kind of prayer is found in the movie "Fiddler on the Roof". The main character, named Tev'ya, talks to God often in this conversational manner. 3. A third idea that helped me in the past was to keep a prayer journal of sorts. I would write down things that I prayed for, and then later go back and mark the ones that had been answered. That was a good way for me to clearly see how God had listened to my prayers and worked in my life and the lives of those around me. I would also write down any thoughts that God brought to my mind during my prayer time so that I could remember them as well. I hope that you may find one or more of these ideas to be helpful in your own prayer life, as I did in mine. Remember though that they are only suggestions, and it is important that you don't get caught up in just praying one way all the time or it can become merely routine, and lose it's meaning. |
||||||
147 | The GAP theory could be true. | Gen 1:2 | Sir Pent | 20162 | ||
Where are you CDBJ ............................ Dear CDBJ, I understand that you are frustrated with this thread, however, I would really appreciate your response to my posts on 10-24-01 and 10-25-01. I believe they are still on the topic of the original question that you asked, and would like to know what you think about them. |
||||||
148 | Does God uses people to prophecy anymore | 1 Cor 12:10 | Sir Pent | 20335 | ||
Quoting previous answer ....................... Dear Towanda, Steve gave a good answer to this, I'll just quote him. "Acts 13:1 says there were prophets: "In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul." Also 1 Corinthians 12:28 - "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues" Since there is a gift of prohecy (1 Corrintians 12:10), I assume that gift is still given. Of course, a prophet is simply one who speaks a message from God; not all prophecy foretells the future. I hope this is helpful. Peace and grace, Steve" |
||||||
149 | Son of mean, what does it mean | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 20333 | ||
Please do a search ...................... Dear Towanda, A very good answer to this question has already been given. Please use the search box (top right corner) and type in "Son of Man Moran". This will bring up several posts, and the answer is dated: Thu 08/16/01. |
||||||
150 | What does Son of Man mean? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 20330 | ||
Please do a search ................... Dear vkey, A very good answer to this question has already been given. Please use the search box (top right corner) and type in "Son of Man Moran". This will bring up several posts, and the answer is dated: Thu 08/16/01. |
||||||
151 | What is a good bible version for study? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 20243 | ||
Please do a search ............................. Dear Myra, I am excited for you that you are beginning to study the Bible and fellowship with other Christians again. God has so many important things that He is looking forward to sharing with you if you let Him. The short answer to your question is that the NIV (New International Version) is a good Bible to start out with if you're looking for one that is accurate and easy to read. If on the other hand you are looking for a Bible for deeper study, I would recommend the NAS (New American Standard). It is also not difficult to understand. Also, this question has been asked before many times. Therefore, if you would like a much longer and in depth answer, just do a search (in the top right corner) for "best translation". |
||||||
152 | Sir Pent, are you C or A? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 20228 | ||
Question Answered .............................. Dear Bill Mc, You caught me :) I actually left off my particular leaning on purpose to see whether my responses indicated one way or the other to people. This was another way to tell if it really made any difference to the Christian life. However, since you asked me specifically, I'm glad to let you know. I consider myself to be a Wesleyan, Arminian, Holiness Christian. I would point out that that description is in the order importance that I would rank those from least to most. |
||||||
153 | is naked picture of your spouse wrong | Phil 4:8 | Sir Pent | 20103 | ||
Yes, it is wrong ................. Dear Raychel, Welcome, I don't think I have spoken with you before. I do think that it is wrong to send a naked picture of yourself to someone for 3 reasons. 1. When you take a picture of yourself, it must be developed before you can send it to someone. Therefore, your husband would not be the only person seeing the picture, but also people involved in the development process. 2. Also, by having a permanent record of yourself naked, there is always the chance (and it is probably a significant chance) that it will at some point get into the wrong hands, and could cause someone else to sin. 3. Finally, I think it is a bad idea, because it focuses too much on the physical aspect of love. If a man is to be apart from his wife for a long period of time, I think that the wisest way for him to remember her is for their commitment and close friendship that they have together. These things can be maintained across distance. However, the physical side cannot be maintained when apart. Therefore, I think that it would only be frustrating to concentrate on that part of the relationship. Over time this could also possibly lead to temptation to sin. Therefore, for all three of these reasons, I think that the wisest course of action would be to not take such a picture. |
||||||
154 | How can we tell figurative from literal? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 19552 | ||
Summary of Previous Posts....................... From a search of previous threads, I have found only limited answers. The most common are: 1. The Holy Spirit will tell you. 2. Church leaders will tell you. Neither of these are very objective 3. Decide based on the type of literature. 4. Figures of Speech are obviously figurative. These can lead to problems. For example, the Creation story is written in the form of ancient poetry, and figures of speech vary between cultures. 5. Descriptions use "Phenomenal" language. (ie. the sun rises) 6. Parables, symbols, and "picture stories" are figurative. The problem here is, who decides whether something is one of these things. |
||||||
155 | How can we tell figurative from literal? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 19551 | ||
Duplicate post please disregard | ||||||
156 | Possible Lockman Forum Improvements #2 | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 19222 | ||
Summary so far.................................... This is an update on the votes regarding three possible improvement ideas which we forum members could institue ourselves. I want to thank the people who have responded so far, and would encourage all of you who have not voted thus far to please share your ideas. I look forward to your help in continuing to make this forum as helpful as possible to all those who come here. Name,3 initial responses,Stay on topic,End with consensus Bill Mc,Yes,Yes,Yes Charis,Yes,Yes,Yes EdB,Yes,Yes,Yes Jensen,No,Yes, Reformer Joe, , ,No Sir Pent,Yes,Yes,Yes There,No,No,No Tim Moran,No,No,Yes Total Yes,4,5,5 Total No,3,2,2 |
||||||
157 | Did earth shake when satan was cast down | Is 24:20 | Sir Pent | 18826 | ||
This is kind of close................... Dear Darmstrn, the best thing that I could find was in Isaiah 24:1, 19-21. These verses definately are talking about God's wrath and judgement on the earth. They also describe the earth staggering. The only problem is that they don't specifically mention Satan being cast down. However, they do talk about God punishing the heavenly beings (of which Satan was one), and the method of this punishement (being cast down into hell) is talked about in other scripture passages. |
||||||
158 | Any changes? | 1 Corinthians | Sir Pent | 18822 | ||
Dear JMR, I also do not think that the answers should be any different. One of the great things about salvation is that we are forgiven from our past. Therefore, in God's eyes, whether you were virgins or not in the past is irrelevant. What is important is that in the present you live your lives according to His will, and that is to not have sex outside of marriage. My one question is, "Why are you waiting 3 years to get married?" I would imagine that after a year of be so initmately involved with each other, and having both come to the truth of Christianity together, that two people would be ready to commit to spend their lives together. Of course there could be extenuating circumstances, but I'm just curious. |
||||||
159 | Is killing during war a sin? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 18820 | ||
Search Recommendation ............................ Welcome to the forum Los. You have asked a question which is both complicated, and yet very relevant to the current condition of our country and world. There have been at least a couple of threads in the past that have focused on this issue. I would recommend that you begin by reading through those, and then let us know if you have any further questions. Try doing a search in the top right corner of the screen for "called to never kill" to find a post of mine in one thread. Also search for "old new fundamental" to find a post of mine in a second thread. I hope that these will be helpful for you. |
||||||
160 | Sinless perfection possible? | Deut 32:22 | Sir Pent | 18259 | ||
There is already a thread from a long time ago on this subject (Entire Sanctification), and it does not appear to be directly relevant to the original question of this thread. Would Reformer Joe and Lanny mind continuing this discussion on this other thread intstead? | ||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ] Next > Last [10] >> |