Results 281 - 300 of 464
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Results from: Notes Author: Sir Pent Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
281 | why is baptism important | 2 Cor 5:17 | Sir Pent | 22507 | ||
Clarification ................................ Dear Tim S, I am glad that you are not a Mormon, and as I said in my post, I did not necessarily think that you were. I was just pointing out that religion's beliefs on the matter, which are somewhat close to yours. As for the placing of Apostle's hands, you said in one post, that, "miraculous gifts are given by the laying on of Apostle's hands." In that post you seemed to be saying that these "gifts" were signs of being saved, and that they normally occur only with Baptism (with the special case exceptions of Cornelius, etc.) This is slightly different than Mormon belief, but it was close enough that I wanted to point out the similarity. I did not intend to attack you personally. |
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282 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 22494 | ||
Personal Note ................................... Dear David, Thanks for responding to my question. I appreciate your reasons for leaving, and completely agree with you that the Forum should be a supplement, not a replacement, for individual Bible study. I also understand your frustration that some questions seem to never die (Baptism, Free Will, Cain's Wife, etc.). However, I have been encouraged that recently some new ground is being covered on the forum. Tim Moran is leading a study of the book of 1 Peter, Nolan Keck is planning on doing the same for 1 John, and I plan to begin a study on a book as well (when I finish my study on finding God in nature). |
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283 | why is baptism important | 2 Cor 5:17 | Sir Pent | 22492 | ||
Word of Warning .................................. I just want to throw in that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) teach that for a person to be saved, they HAVE to be Baptised by immersion and the laying on of "Apostle's hands". I am not necessarily saying that Tim Sheasby is a Mormon. I just want to point out to the forum that this is a very dangerous and unscriptural teaching. |
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284 | How to know God just from seeing nature? | Rom 1:20 | Sir Pent | 22486 | ||
Finding God in Nature, part 7 ................... We are now ready for the next critical jump in our reasoning. From nature we have learned that there is a Supernatural, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal Being, who values all life, but most of all cares about humanity. The question is, "Would such a Being desire a relationship with the supreme creation that had been made, and that was cared so deeply about?" I think that it is most logical to assume that this desire is true. I find it very improbable that any being would go to such lengths to create something (especially something with the capability for forming relationships) and then just leave it alone. All relationships are based on communication, so the question becomes, "how would this S,O,O,E,B who loves humanity communicate with us?" There are I think four main ways that would make sense. 1. First of all the S,O,O,E,B could have left signs in the nature around us. I think this is true, and is what got us to this point to begin with. 2. A second way would be to actually come visit humanity in person. The difficulty here would be that if the S,O,O,E,B came in his natural state it would be like one of us visiting an ant hill. We would be so much bigger, stronger, smarter, etc., that the ants would be completely unable to comprehend our purpose or even what we were. Of course, the S,O,O,E,B could take the form of a human, but that would mean other problems. For instance, he could only be at one place at a time, so it wouldn't be an efficient way to communicate with the entire world of people. 3. The S,O,O,E,B could just directly communicate with the minds of all the individual humans. However, if this was done to a slight enough degree that it didn't blow their brains, it could also be misunderstood. Also the S,O,O,E,B would have to repeat the process over and over to each person. This would get extremely redundant. 4. The fourth way, and in my opinion the most likely way, would be to send a more permanent message that could be shared with all the people in the world. This could also have the important benefit of being consistent throughout time so that all people would receive the same message. It could be accomplished by a letter or book. |
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285 | How to know God just from seeing nature? | Rom 1:20 | Sir Pent | 22388 | ||
Finding God in Nature, part 6 .................. So if this "Supernatural, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal Being" (S,O,O,E,B) values the life of a fish or even water scum on the bottom of a pond, what are Their thoughts about humanity? One of the first things that a person learns in science class at school or through pure observation is the food chain. The cow eats the grass, the human eats the cow. The fish eats the plankton, the duck eats the fish, the human eats the duck. There are of course many different food chains, however, it quickly becomes obvious that humans are at the top. This observation, even made by a completely uneducated tribesman on an island somewhere, points to the fact that the Earth is designed for supporting humanity. Of course the regretful thing about this is that often humanity has gotten a big head about the whole thing and concluded that they were the ultimate creature in the universe (humanism). However, this discovery does show us just how much the S,O,O,E,B cares about us. In fact, based on how much the S,O,O,E,B cares about pond scum, a good case can be made through extrapolation that it approaches "Love" by the level of humanity. Therefore, from just observing nature, one can discover that it is most logical to believe that there is a Being who is Supernatural, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal, and who values all life, but most of all cares about humanity. |
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286 | How to know God just from seeing nature? | Rom 1:20 | Sir Pent | 22371 | ||
Finding God in Nature, part 5 .................. Summarizing the last four posts, nature has shown that there is an "Supernatural, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal Being" (S,O,O,E,B). The fourth thing that I observe about nature is that the universe has been created in a way that values life. In fact, it appears that the S,O,O,E,B has done so much to sustain life, that it is most reasonable to believe that this being cares extremely about that life. There are many examples, but let me share just a couple. On a large scale, if our planet were just slightly (on a interplanetary scale) closer to or farther from the sun, there would be no life on Earth. On a smaller scale, let's think about density. Almost all materials on earth become more dense as they get colder. However, there is one notable exception in nature to this rule of science, and it is water. This is due to complicated issues dealing with molecular bonds, and energy levels of electrons in molecules, but that isn't the point. The question is not how does this happen, but why does this happen. Why would the S,O,O,E,B create practically everything else one way, and then make water differently? The only reasonable answer that I can come up with is that is saves life. Think about a pond or even lake that is filled with fish. If water was like everyhing else, and became more dense, then there would be serious problems in the winter. The top layer of water would freeze and sink to the bottom, then the next layer would freeze and sink to the bottom. This would keep happening until the entire pond or lake was frozen, and all the life in it was dead. But this is not what happens. As you know from seeing ice cubes float in your drink, the frozen water becomes less dense, and floats on the top of the pond or lake. This creates a shield from the cold, and keeps the rest of the pond or lake from freezing. Thus all the fish and plants are able to survive. Therefore, nature shows that there is an S,O,O,E,B, who cares extremely about all life. |
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287 | How to know God just from seeing nature? | Rom 1:20 | Sir Pent | 22368 | ||
Personal Note ................................... Dear Kalos, Apology gladly accepted. I am glad that you and Nolan both value my experiences of discovering clues in nature that point to God. I also appreciate all feedback from everyone regarding my observations. In addition, I would add that as a general comment, your warning is appropriate. We should all be careful to always worship the Creator and not the creation. I think that we all agree that it is wrong to worship nature in and of itself. |
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288 | How to know God just from seeing nature? | Rom 1:20 | Sir Pent | 22327 | ||
Finding God in Nature, part 4 The third thing that I notice about nature is how complicated it is. From my studies in biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and physics, I have seen how we humans have only begun to understand the complexities of the world around us. Yet it is not even neccessary to have this level of education. Just from experience of watching seasons change, flowers bloom, and children grow, one can clearly see the how much more intellegent the "Omnipotent, Eternal Power" must be than we humans. In fact, the more one learns about how the entire world is connected and interacts, the more impressed one becomes. Then, by extrapolating that to the entire universe, it becomes clear that the "Omnioptent, Eternal Power" must also be of practically infinite intellegence. Therefore, nature shows us that there is an "Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal Power". This brings us to an important point. Now that we have discovered these things from nature, we can now begin to call this "Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal Power", a being. The fact that there is that level of intellegence forces us to accept that this Power is a living persona. And being so much smarter, more powerful than humans, as well as breaking the laws of nature (by always existing) would cause us to classify this being as "supernatural". |
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289 | How to know God just from seeing nature? | Rom 1:20 | Sir Pent | 22209 | ||
Finding God in Nature, part 3 .................. The second thing that I notice about the universe is that there is an enormous amount of energy and matter in it. The laws of entropy state that systems always go from a state of order and high energy to a state of disorder and low energy. A good example of this is a child's bedroom, but we can see this in nature constantly. The lesson that we learn from this is that it is not possible to for a creative force to make something with more energy than it had to begin with. Therefore, the "Eternal Power" that made the universe must have more power than all the energy in the universe combined. In fact, that "Eternal Power" must be practically infinitely powerful. Thus one can learn that there is an "Omnipotent, Eternal Power". |
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290 | An Animal Spoke to Eve | Gen 3:1 | Sir Pent | 22203 | ||
Personal Note .................................... Dear Lionstrong, Eve wasn't surprised that the snake talked to her because she knew that animals were rational and it was therefore perfectly normal to carry on a conversation with them :) Just giving you a hard time my friend :) |
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291 | Witnessing: What is your style? | John 1:7 | Sir Pent | 21783 | ||
Personal Note .................................. Dear Nolan, Yes, I remember very well your visits to Kentucky, when we caught up with each other, and saw the paths that God had taken our lives on. I look forward to being able to get together again sometime in the future. I'm glad that our time witnessing to strangers on the streets and your experience at Wal-Mart were both so impacting on yourself and those around you. I recently had another experience with this "direct" approach. Each year there is a Jessamine Jamboree Festival near my town. It is a medium size fair with craft booths, food booths, and a carnaval. This year my wife and I set up a booth and had free helium balloons for kids, free bottled water for adults, and free storytelling for everyone. The story was the "Wordless Book", which a gospel presentation developed by Child Evangelism Fellowhip. Over the course of the weekend, we gave away about 500 baloons or water bottles (telling people that they were free gifts to show God's love for them). Of those people, about 250 people stayed to hear the gospel story. And of those 35 people prayed for forgivness of sin, and to recieve Jesus Christ into their lives. It was a tremendous experience. |
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292 | Is there middle ground? | Romans | Sir Pent | 21645 | ||
Clarification ................................... Dear EdB, Just to make sure that I am interpreting your last post correctly, are you being sarcastic? Or have you actually decided that you agree with the Arminian interpretation of scripture? |
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293 | Only seal and horse in same verse Rev6:5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21542 | ||
Personal Note ................................. Dear Serenetime, Thank you for your most recent post. It explains very well how much of this confusion has come about. I also appreciate your willingness to recognize that although others have made mistakes, many of them also come from your husband (Praisemaster) and Casiv. Secondly, I would agree with you that (of the three of you) your posts have more of a "serene spirit" to them and are more easily understood. I hope that you will talk with your husband (Praisemaster) and Casiv, and help them to post with a similar amount of clarity. It is nice to know what your screen name comes from as well. Thirdly, I would highly recommend that in the future, more care be taken for each of you to log in under your respective user names. It really gets confusing otherwise :) Finally, as for my forgiveness, you have it. If Jesus Christ was willing to die on the cross for your sins (and mine), then the least I can do is be willing to give you a fresh start on a forum. |
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294 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21526 | ||
Clarification .................................. Dear EdB, I guess, I just don't see why this would have to be so complicated. It seems to me that the present forum format is fine for doing a study of a book. A person would just write a primary note attached to each verse of interest, and people could respond to it. I don't know why there would need to be a seperate section devoted to this type of thing with sublinks and all that. Also I don't know that there needs to be any control over it. Everything that is posted would appear on the general forum, so that anything controversial would be responded to from both sides. I think it's really simpler than it may at first appear. |
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295 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21522 | ||
Clarification .................................. Dear Charis, It appears that I have not been clear in my intentions about this book study thing. I see this in virtually the same way that Tim Moran does. It is completely voluntary. No "leaders" are appointed per se. I am just encouraging members who are respected here already (including yourself) to consider providing a commentary on a Biblical book. I am not proposing rules about this that must be followed. All of these ideas (ie. making a first response to the primary notes so that they don't build up), are merely suggestions that seem to make sense to me. People may or may not follow them with no punishments attached. In fact, no one has to do anything, if they don't want to. It just seems that this would help to give our forum some new direction, and continue to develop it as a resource for Biblical study. I also really don't think that having discussion on a book or several books of the Bible, in addition to our typical questions, will take all the fun out of the forum. |
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296 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21517 | ||
Clarification of Purpose ........................ Dear Forumites, This last post of Lionstrong's (seconded by Charis) seems to be somewhat directed towards myself. When I first discovered this forum many months ago, I was impressed with the extent of solid Biblical training and knowledge exhibited by many of the members here. I also quickly realized how valuable of a resource this forum had the potential to be for people all over the world seeking truth in general and answers to specific questions. Since joining that time, I have tried to do my part to contribute and to make it an even better place. I have suggested several improvements that could either be accomplished by Lockman or on a voluntary basis by ourselves. I have also tried at times to mend rifts between members and point out times where individuals have not been excellent examples of Christ. This last thing seems to be the main complaint of Lionstrong and Charis in this last post. My question for you all is whether you agree with them. I believe that, as a fellowship of believers, we are called to accountability. I believe that we should hold each other to the standard set by Christ. Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit, but we can at least point out where to look for it. However, perhaps this is not what everyone else thinks. I would appreciate all input as to whether it has been and is wrong for me to attempt correction in love of my brothers and sisters. Or have I done it in an unloving manner? |
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297 | Only seal and horse in same verse Rev6:5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21512 | ||
Personal Note .................................... Dear Praisemaster, I tried to follow your last post, and I think the overall idea was that was out of line to interupt your conversation with EdB, and that your answer was not inappropriate. It seemed that you felt your answer was justified because many people had attacked Casiv in the past and so you were defensive. First of all, I believe that it was my business to respond to your post even though it was in answer to EdB. This is a public forum, and therefore, anyone has the right to respond to any post, if they have a thought to share. Second of all, I agree that Casiv has been attacked in the past. However, that doesn't make it right to attack back (Romans 12:17-18). As a Christian, it is my reponsibility to hold my fellow believers accountable by at least making them aware of actions that appear to be contrary to the will of God. In the end though, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts. If you search your heart with an openness to His leading, I imagine that He will have something to say to you. However, if the Holy Spirit does not lead you to see that you have responded in an un-Christ-like manner, then there's nothing that I personally can do about it. |
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298 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21461 | ||
Personal Note .................................. Dear EdB, I am not sure which of these options is better, since I have not read the material. If you think that the information would be helpful to the Forum as a whole (and you have permission to share it), then I would suggest posting it. If on the other hand, you feel that it is not truly important information to anyone but myself (or if you feel that privacy is important), then feel free to e-mail it to me. As for my e-mail address, I have up to this point remained rather anonymous on this forum, partly for privacy and safety, while I tested out what the forum was like. I haven't really revealed a whole lot in my user profile. This was also intentional, so that people could get to know me without preconceived ideas based on my religious background (ie. Arminianism). However, I have been here now for many months, and have developed an appreciation for this forum and so many of my colleagues here. I also feel that I have established a personality here with even some amount of respect (amazing considering the initial response to my user name). Therefore, I believe that it is time to share significantly more about myself with you all. In the very near future, therefore, I will be updating my user profile, and look forward to continuing to develop the new friendships that I have found here. |
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299 | Only seal and horse in same verse Rev6:5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21456 | ||
Personal Note ................................... Dear Casiv, Let me begin by reminding you that I have never to my knowledge attacked you personally on this forum. In fact, I have recently tried to heal some of the rift between yourself and several other members here. I have tried to encourage everyone to be respectful in their posts to you, whether they agree with you or not. This being said, I was dissapointed by your last post. You began by saying, "I am not trying to be mean", implying that you suspected that your comments were mean-spirited. I would confirm that your suspicion was correct. EdB simply asked for clarification as to whether you believed the "mark of the beast" to be of a physical nature (on the hand or forehead), or only an ideology. A sufficient answer that gets the same point as your last post would have been, "I (Casiv) believe that the mark of the beast is purely ideological, because there is not enough room on a person's forehead to physically write it in all the languages of the world". However, this is not how you answered. Instead, you post came across as condescending, inflamatory, and went into subjects that aren't even being discussed (such as the USA's monetary system). I hope that you will reconsider your method of communication and will see that it encourages others to reply to you unfavorably. I do not excuse others for responding in an un-Christ-like manner. But at the same time, if you are a Christian, then it is wrong of you to "provoke" them. It appeared recently that your posts were becoming more thought through, but this last post was IMHO uncalled for. |
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300 | Why do people lose interest and leave? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 21449 | ||
Contrary View ................................... Dear EdB, I understand your hesitency, for this is a large undertaking. However, I also find it hard to believe that there could be anything but good things to come out of a thorough commentary of several books of the Bible. Therefore, I would say let's go ahead and do several at once. We typically have questions that come from all over anyway, so this won't be any more confusing. I understand that you aren't completely "sold" on the idea yet, but perhaps some other forum leaders are ready to jump in already. |
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