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There are many godly priests just as there are many godly pastors. There are also priests who become priests because they are searching for God, and the same is true of pastors. All pastors and priests should be called by God into His service after they have found a relationship with Him. Marrying will not prevent pedophiles or rapes. Unfortunately, many are already married. For them it is more about power and abuse as much as self gratification, I am told. It may be born of hate. Where in Christian marriage sex is an expression of love and being one with our spouse. It is about giving pleasure as much as about getting pleasure. So the person who is abusive, who wants the power of manipulation and conquering another person, may be married. It is very sad sickening and twisted. That is why it is called perversion.

thanks Reinitin for the helpful post. prayer is still something that other people do. as i read more of the word ...

bravo! Jesus told - I AM WAY.. that means step.. step.. step... Jesus told - Father cleans every branch... that means - IN TIME Paul told - to GROW Holy temple for Gods Spirit - that means.. IN TIME Jesus did show me dream about this. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.I had dream once. I saw a classroom. Near desk did stand Jesus, He did write something on the desk and discuss that with students. When i looked around, i saw (i dont remember all, but i wrote up those, who amazed me most)a punk, that was all in skinned clothes, ironed and with haircut like they have usually, holding hes feet on the table.a drunk man, bad smelling and dirty clothesi did stand somewhere behind in the classroom, that i saw most people there.One young man did stand next to Jesus and they were arguing about what Jesus wrote on the desk.Jesus told him something, then all class, including that man and Jesus laugh.Suddenly door did open and there was a man - christian, who wanted to come into classroom.He looked inside and saw all those people. He was in the nice suit, clean and did hold Bible in the hand. Then he made a face, that means - what a disgusting people and closed door.Jesus turned to me and sayMatthew 9 - 13 ... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus had no problem eat with sinners, sit next to them, sleep in they houses..... And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9:11 but matthew 16:6 Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees pharisee - a member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity. Sadducee - a member of a Jewish sect or party of the time of Christ that denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits, and the obligation of oral tradition, emphasizing acceptance of the written Law alone. shortly - beware of people, who know well Bible, but deny Jesus and work of Holy Spirit. we cant see man's heart. how can we judge then? He see. if you are worried about someone in your family - pray for him. can alcoholic be christian? YES! can he stay alcoholic then? - NO, its.. not wise and not healthy. thats why i told "bravo" to Soren - you see, cleaning takes time. everything IN THIS WORLD TAKES TIME, even miracles... cause even blink of eye have ... time.. 0.0...1 second.

A thought-provoking news bite: http://www.truthrevolt.org/commentary/commentary-what-if-christian-terrorists-were-blowing-muslims

How I believe affects how I behave. Saving faith is exhibited by works. If I say I believe Jesus is Lord but do not behave accordingly then I do not believe in truth. This person is correct in worrying about their beloved family members faith. Suray2, trust in God and pray for your loved ones faith to be a true saving faith that produces works. Thank you for caring enough about them to love them until they can learn to love themselves. Alcoholism is a deadly poison for alcohol produces what is known as the Bacchus affect where it counterfeits the same feeling of the Spirit of God empowering man. It is an illusion and provides temporary relief from the burden of sin until the person can be brought to a place of true repentance. The alcoholic has ruined their bodies ability to process alcohol and has developed a condition of craving that cannot be satisfied. The only hope I have seen for them is a spiritual awakening unto God followed by the enlargement of their spiritual lives. There is a solution.

Once again, we are saved by what we believe, not how we behave.

I would be very hesitant to provide a yes/no answer, but I will say no one is sinless, and alcoholism is not an unforgivable sin. To me, here is the main thing. God calls sinners t repentance right where they are. We do not wait to accomplish some level of righteous behavior first. We recognize our failures and come to Him, putting our effort into obeying Him, but recognizing that He performs the work or redeeming us, conforming us the the image of His Son So, it is my judgment, that a sinner can come to Christ, always comes to Christ, as a sinner. At the same time, the Christian is surrendering his/her will do God, and in doing so will find that sin has less and less of a grip on him/her. Typically, this will not result in overnight perfection, it probably never has. At the same time, if there is not improvement in lifestle. It is reasonable to doubt whether one has actually come to Christ. So, I would hate to say something, that would tempt a person to have unwarranted confidence, and I would hate to say something that would make a person feel hopeless. I will drop in a few scripture passages/verses, for you consider, how they might relate to the topic: 1 Cor 6 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 1 Cor 6 12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 John 5 18 We know that everyone having been born of God does not continue to sin, but the One having been begotten of God protects him,c and the evil one does not touch him. 1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. James 2 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 1 John 2 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. Try to understand things in a way, where all of those passages are true.

What he probably meant is that once an alcoholic turns to Christ, he also turns away from his addiction. However, some may not be able to clean up their act immediately, but if the alcoholic is making a serious effort, then that would indicate that he wants to do what is right. On the other hand, if a person persists in his addiction but claims to be a Christian, that could be questionable.

Right is right, and wrong is wrong. This issue is not about opinions but about sordid facts. The RCC has never dealt with this issue properly, even until very recently.

Yes,an alcoholic can be a Christian. God loves us all our sins included. But God sure wants the person who is an alcoholic to pray to him for healing.

I"m not a Catholic so it's their rules. I too think priests should be allowed to marry. I have never understood why they made up that rule. And maybe they are right if priests were allowed to marry we would not have this problem.

God can change any heart. When you give your life to Christ He will change the desires of your heart. Some need the help of rehab and thank God for that, but yes there are many what are refereed to as recovering alcoholics. I would pray that once you have given your heart to the Lord you would start to seek Him and your life will change forever. Don't put limits on God or His Grace.

How many 'biases' were there before there were any denominations ? i.e. Yahshua's declarations bout the scribes and pharisees// scholars of Scripture//. ((and lawyers/ teachers/ rich/ educated ones))

The Gog Magog war of the Ezk 38, 39 war is not the Gog - Magog war at the end the Mill. If one notices in the Gog -Magog war of Ezk 38,39 those of Israel are employed for 7 months to bury the dead and cleanse the land. They burn the weapons of war for 7 years. Now compare to the Gog - Magog war with Satan after the Mill. All are destroyed, in Ezk 38, 39 only 5/6 are killed. Also after the Mill the New Heaven and the New Earth occur so why bury the dead for 7 months or burn the weapons of war for 7 seven years. In Christ Montana Marv

Just wondered what ya'll thought. I attended a church a while back, which I actually was a member of. The preacher was a very good man....kind and compassionate. One day in the sermon he said that he really believed that if a person is an alcoholic they are not a Christian. This question has bothered me for a long time because I have someone in my family that is an alcoholic and I love very much. Couldn't that person, maybe have become a Christian earlier in life, then maybe turned from God. I know if we are saved and turn from God, he always brings us back. I see the person in my family who turned away from God from many years, starting to pray again and even ask for prayers.

{Video Removed - Videos Must Be Posted In The Video Section For Review By Staff - Thank You, Love, Joe} I just made that video today. I'm hoping in the future to have an educational YouTube channel to raise people's minds and hearts to the glory of God through historical figures. Andy J was a child of providence! He is like the American equivalent of King David in some of his accomplishments. :-) just wondering what your thoughts are if you have any.

(Worthy News) - The U.S. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an administration official with direct knowledge of the force's activities told CNN. The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It's the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones. Several Pentagon and military officials declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force with CNN. [ Source ] No related posts. View the full article

it's about time....

Some American commentators are so eager to see America in Bible prophecy that they extrapolate their own ideas on to Scripture.

Im not denying that, but it has nothing to do with the church teachings on abstinence. Im not saying that abstinence is a Biblical value-but its not the cause of the priests partaking in pedophilia. This is proven, by the fact, that "thousands" of children arnt abused by prists, in fact, its few and far between-very small percentage. When it does happen, it just gets blown out of proportion, because it IS the biggest church in the world-and on center stage, so if something goes wrong, bad things happen, the media feeds off it because its big news. Which, gives them reason to try to cover it up-it makes them look bad. Is it right? absolutly not. But it doesnt mean that "abstinance" leads to "child abuse" Also proven by the fact there are just as many if not more pedophiles who are not only married, but regularly have intimate relations with their wives...so you can't argue that...and even with this post you again go after the catholics-so is this about abstinence from marriage, or is this about the catholic church? because it seems like its more about the catholic church, and not the topic at hand.

Non-Catholics are become more and more "politically correct" about the church of Rome, and many evangelicals are now joining hands with Rome. So instead of calling a spade a spade, they would like you to consider the evils of all the other non-Catholic clergy (which diverts attention from something that is a very serious sin against innocents).

This is the face of Islam.

Well, you have yet, to show me otherwise. If your post had been abstenence from marriage isn't biblical, and here are a couple places that teach it, thalen ID believe you-but your entire post is about Catholic Church, and how they are teaching this and how its responsible for "thousands" of kids being abused.

your entire thread, was geared toward bashing the catholic church-the "thousands of kids abused" those were your words. That number, unless your comparing the last century or two, was likely completly fabricated. Your entire post, implied that thousands of children are abused by the leadership because the leaders arnt allowed to get married and have sex. Which, is pretty much, completly, untrue. There are many religions that teach abstinance-and dont abuse kids. There are probably 10 non catholics who are child abusers (many even married) for every single catholic that is. Your entire post, was geared, unfairly, towards attacking the catholic church.

So, what is next? If a president is 1 1/2 years from the end of their term there is no hearings? Where does it end? If the President submits a name they should get the same fair treatment as if it were 2 years ago. Anything other than that is ignoring the constitution

My basic understanding, right or wrong, is that yes, in reality this thread would not have been started. To me, it is a place for those who are not (yet at least) beleivers to come, and feel free to ask questions, and the the topic here is supposed to be about directing people to the truth and meaning of the gospel. When the post was first made, I hesitated to allow it to remain. The thing is, I do not want to be an extreme legalist (about forum rules) and see those rules primarily, as a way to maintain some order and civility. I guess you would say, that sometimes I (and likely other administrators) exercise some discretion in their stringent application. In the most basic sense, this area of the forum is an outreach, a hope of helping others understands the faith, once for all delivered to the saints, in the hope that they also, will one day be recognized as part of God's family. Sometimes starts with just opening a dialogue in a non-threatening, non-adversarial manner. In that light, when Catsmeow started the thread, I saw a person with a heart for the lost reaching out, making an ovation, an invitation to the un-reached to come and 'rap'. Her first post, lays out a future, one with grave potential consequences, her second post, offers to talk about it. That seems to me to be in the spirit or goal of this forum area, so, while not really in keeping with how it was intended to be used, I let it slide. However, it began to morph into an in-house discussion of topics that really belong in other parts of the forum, so I tightened the reigns a little, that is all. Certainly verses can be read, discussed, explained, etc, but there are specific places exactly for that already. Often when discussions develop out of place, they just get relocated to the proper area. It was my thinking, that going from an evangelistic outreach to word studies in original languages, on other topics, was just losing focus, and the people who should have been respondint to Cat's posts, are unbelievers. This area of the forums, is really about them!

Please do oo. We all can use a little reminder once in awhile But it is hypocritical judgment and pointing fingers that we really need to look at. Not all judgment is Biblically wrong.

I think we have more problems on Worthy when we point fingers. I think some of the most abused threads are towards the RCC. All of us have our own opinions.

very true. And im not saying the priests are right or wrong to abstain-either way. Im just saying lets not group them all into a bad group because a few bad apples. To my knowledge, the apostle Paul never married either.

and all denominations have had preachers and priests who have fallen in the same way. There just happen to be a lot more Catholics in the world than other denominations.

First off, there have been many posts concerning the catholic church, but let me point something out, some of your generalizations, are not true. Yes, there are many cases of priests sexually abusing kids and commiting other sexual crimes, but, not ALL priests do, a great many of them do not. There are many many, pure priests who do hold themselves abstinant. There are just as many protestent preachers-who commmit sexual sin, as there are catholic priets. my grandparents church, had a pastor with them for many man years-who was by all accounts happily married with kids-the wife even thought they were happy, no problems to speak of-until one day the preacher, with no warning whatsoever, up and left her, the kids, and the church, and ran off with the church secretary, without even so much as saying goodbye. So before we get into a "catholic bashing fest" because the catholic church has some priests who have fallen into sin, remember, we have ALL fallen into sin at some point or another.

God is the Almighty Physician, and absolutely heals, but sometimes that healing comes in the form of doctors, counselors, and medication. HIS grace can provide us with a life-changing counseling session or the right medication to regulate brain chemistry, or both. There's no shame in seeking help. It doesn't make us any less of a Christian believer, nor does it diminish our value in the eyes of God. There are many people here that can help you, as well. You are a part of our family and always remember... You are not alone. You are in my heart and prayers...God Bless.

Am I right in thinking then that If that is the case, then this thread should not have started as it is not a question. But if someone does post a scripture, is not right to discuss the meaning of it for others to read? Or should it be removed?

Wow that are a lot of questions. Well first of all you should ask yourself why you are asking a christian such questions. I'm just saying, because most Atheists already answered them believeng their answer is the only existing possibility. So they ask those questions without a serious intention. If you're searching for truth and if you are open to admit that even an Atheist may be wrong about God, I'll be happy to answer your questions as good as I can. Do you think evolution is true? If not why not? Well that's a big topic. First, christians or other religious guys are not the only ones doubting the evolution theory. While it is common to be taught in schools, there is a inconsistency in the universaties. Arguments from Richard Dawkins like "all smart people who are working in the scientific community agree about the evolution theory" resulted in some uprising professors of biology, geology, physiks and other fields connected to the evolution theory, who do not support it and it is not because of their faith. I just want to make the point that the whole debate about the evolution theory is not a debate between Christians and Professors, but a debate within the scientific community. I'll still give you my personal doubts about the evolution theory.If you are talking about the evolution theory I guess you mean the complete history from the Big Bang til today. So let's start at the beginning. I just realized that people who are trying to explain the Beginning of the universe and it's further development can't explain the key turning points of their own theory. Let's start with the Bib Bang itself. 14 billion years ago the whole universe was condensed in a sphere a thousand times smaller than a pinhead, which was spinning and became hotter until it exploded. And that's how the universe came into existence. That's how a professor of physics explained it to me. When we are talking about the universe, we are talking about time space and matter. And when we are trying to explain how time space and matter came into existence there is a major error in the previous explanation. A sphere a thousand times smaller than a pinhead (space), including the whole universe (matter) which is spinning (time) and heating up, already exists in the rules of time space and matter. Therefore is hasn't explained anything. Another key element of the evolution theory is that at one point in time dead matter became somehow alive. "Somehow" is the only explanation I've got so far and it's not a really satisfying one. There is also a major debate going on about how morality came into existence. You may want to check out a few Debates with William Lane Craig. He also wrote a book called "Reasonable Faith". There's a website with the same name as well. He is debating a lot about the existence of God and other topics that may interest you. Last comes the theory about macro evolution. It's one kind of animal evolving to a different kind of animal. While micro evolution is proven to exist, macro evolution isn't. Also micro evolution is not proving macro evolution. At this point scientists are relying on the fossil record and with it the C14 method. The C14 method is doubted and rarely proven to work. And why on earth would a serious scientist trust in a method that doesn't seem to work as it should. Here's an article on the C14 method. http://www.icr.org/article/doesnt-carbon-dating-prove-earth-old/ Without C14 we still have the stone layers, where the fossils are found, right? Well, the age of these layers were randomly defined and I give you another hint here. There are petrified trees found going vertical through various layers. You don't want to tell me that the bottom of the tree is 200 Million years older than the top of the tree, do you? Well I can be sceptic aboud God and there are reasons for that. But I can be sceptic about the evolution theory as well (not because I'm a christian). Before I'll answer your following questions I'll give you a brief overview about what christians actually believe. Every human being is a sinner. I'm sinful and do bad things that I should not do, and so are you. Well, God created me with a free will, so that I can choose to believe in him or not. I can choose to kill the most righteous human alive or I can choose not to hurt myself and others. Unfortunately everybody is tempted to choose what he thinks is best for him, even if that means damaging someone else. It doesn't matter if you're a killer or a just a liar, you need forgiveness. And that is exactly what God is offering you. Now it's your turn to say: "yes I'll take the forgiveness and be without sin and at the same time turn away from sin" or I can say: "no, I don't want God's forgiveness" Well, it's that easy to go to heaven. Should a killer who truthfully repents be allowed into heaven? Should a kindhearted atheist or person of another faith be allowed into heaven? Guess what. Everybody is allowed into heaven, because God is offering everybody the same: FORGIVENESS ... The question is: Do you accept it? There is a theological debate going on wether you can accept God's forgiveness after you died, or not. Well and one of the points in that debate is: "What about those people who never heard about God?"... The bible is not exactly clear about that but it doesn't have to be clear because God says he's just and fair and offering everyone forgiveness. How that exactly works is indeed debatable. If a person you care about is ill (and I hope that never happens) would you just pray for them or would you take them to a doctor? If you say you'd do both, then which do you think would have more effect? When I pray, I pray that God's will be done and not mine. My heart and my desires can be wicked, but If there is a God who knows everything, he probably also knows what's best for me and others. I'd take a sick person to the doctor, but if God decides that this person shall die I don't think there's anything the doctor could do about it. Would you be happy in heaven, if somebody you loved was in hell? Would I personaly cry or feel happy when I'm in heaven and someone I loved was in hell? I honestly don't know, because I haven't been in that situation yet. God himself is crying about everyone who's turning away from him. Salvation is so simple as I've already mentioned, but still not everybody realises that. God is accepting your desicion. He is not forcing you to accept forgiveness. Who's prayers does god answer? And if it's ultimately his will what happens anyway, then why bother praying? Well, I certanly want to know what God's will is. He has a plan for my life. The alternative is following what I think is best for me. I tried that figuring out that it hurts me and others more than just trusting in God. He's been guiding me miraculously and sor far I've only benefited. So yes, praying is less about my will but God's will. It is not ultimately what happens in my life. God knows what happens in my life. But I still decide if I want to follow God or not. If god spoke to you and told you to kill somebody, would you do it? Well if God spoke to me about killing someone I would immediately know that it's not God speaking to me. There's also a difference between the old and the new testament. In the old testament God did give such commands. You have to read the context carefully. God loves his people and he is even calling Israel his Bride in the old testament. Now here a picture for you. If a really bad guy would hold a gun to the head of a person you really love, and you have a gun in your hand pointing at the bad guy, would you kill the bad guy in order to save the person you love. Well God did pull the trigger in the old testament a few times to save his "Bride". Now in the new testament he promised to never give such commands again. Is god always watching you? How about when you're on the toilet? Well I don't think God is sexually attracted by watching me sitting on the toilett. But yeah, He is! If Christianity was proven wrong, what would you're reaction be? It has to be proven wrong before I can answer this question. Why has so much of the bible been proven wrong, like the flat Earth theory? Even if the church at some point believed that the earth is flat, this nowhere to be found in the bible. You got to come up with something else. Also please check where this theory came from. You'll be suprised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth Is the bible literally true, or just morally. Both! One does not exclude the other. I can teach you morality by giving you a parable and I can teach you about morality with a true story. Now your question probably contains the miracles written in the bible, like God parting the red Sea or Jesus turing water into wine etc. If God is almighty and not restricted to time space and matter why should he not be able to do such things. Who decides what is to be taken literally? Well, the bible does! The bible makes it quite clear about that. It is not at all my intention to offend anyone, and I apologise if I did. I simply wondered what your answers would be. Thanks again and have a nice day No offence taken. Again if you are really interested in the topic you should look up William Lane Craig, visit his homepage http://www.reasonablefaith.org/ and maybe get hands on his book "Reasonable Faith". English is not my native Language, so I'm sorry for spelling mistakes or bad grammar. If you want more material, feel free to contact me. I'm not the smartest kid on the planet but I may be able to give you a couple more links to check out. Have a nice day!

Thank you for the welcome petula.

Dear Malcolm, In your research you've probably realized that you're not the only one who's wondering if God actually answers our prayers. Often this question comes up with the question: "Why is there evil, suffering or pain? Why do I have to suffer? Why does this person suffer? God gave me a free will, so I'm able to choose to live as far away from God as I want. To give you an extreme example: I could choose to kill the most godly human alive. My sin does not hurt me alone, but it can also hurt others or even God. Therefore nobody is protected from pain or suffering by living a godly life. Satan is specifically interested to tempt those who are close to God. His aim is always to convince you that God is unjust and that God has no power over this world. Also those, who stand somewhere in between trusting in God and doubting him, are an easy target for Satan. Therefore the bible actually says to not trust your heart, but trust God. This maybe tuff in your situation. In James 1 Verses 2-3 we read: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces standfastness. Doubting the existence of God is a trial every Christian faces, often in the combination with unanswered prayers. Look forward that this trial may result in true faith and trust in God. There is no faith without doubt. What I mean is that your doubt is part of a process, part of you growing as a Christian and trusting God. Back to prayers. While praying you should pay attention on who's will you are asking to happen. Is is your own heart's desires that you seek, which can be cruel, coruppted and evil. I already mentioned that you should never trust your heart. That's the first step to sin. A prayers first purpose should be regognizing God's will. Because His will alone is good and just. We as Christians should more concentrade on praying that God's will may be done. I personally often wondered if there is a plan and purpose for me, for my life. I often doubted God's guidence and I often felt abandoned. I was praying to God that he may give my life a purpose while the purpose already existed. I was blind and not trusting God. If you give your life in God's hands and just stop following your own plans, you give Him the chance of interacting with your life. God first directed me to a wonderful woman who convinced me to search for a ministry in northern Italy. I never thought about moving to Italy before. I contacted one Church in Italy just to see what's gonna happen and they immediately replied that they're looking for someone who could help with their christian radio channel. (I didn't even know that they're running a radio channel when I contacted them) Sound engineering has been part of me for a long time and I never thought I could serve God with this talent. God did things that I haven't even prayed for, just by me trusting him. I've been struggeling five years with my life until everything rapidly changed. My prayers are about thanking God for what He's done in my life and searching for His will. That does not mean that we should not ask God for help, healing, etc. But I should always keep in mind that I should search for his will and not mine. Now to your Cousin Rachel: Revelations 21, 4: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Is that not what you'd wish to every person that is close to you. Malcolm, you can use this situation to grow closer to God. He has a purpose for your life. Pray that his will only be done and trust in God alone. He will guide you and you will experience His influence in your life. Something that helped me a lot is reading reports from missionaries and other people who really decided to follow God and search for His will in their life. God is not answering all prayers, but those who trust in Him and surrender their life to Him will be blessed. Also read the Bible, because you'll find a lot of stunning promises that God has for us (like the one I just quoted from revelations). Search for God's blessings and you'll find them. Best regards, your brother in Christ

Just take a look at the Hebrew text. Hebrew: עָ רוּם רָ אָ ה רָ עָ ה וְ יִ סָּ תֵ ר וְ נִ סְ תָּ ר וּפְ תָ יִ ים עָ בְ רו וְ נֶעֱנָשׁו ( orum rae roe u·isthr u·nsthr u·phthiim obru u·nonshu ) source is the WLC. It is talking about a smart Man who recognizes evil but conceals it. (He does not warn others from what he knows). And others are falling in their misfortune. (or the Hebrew actually says: "Others are passing the evil and are fined.") So others pay because you did not warn them about the evil that you've recognized.

Thank you for reminding of our sensibilities. A word well spoken. Thanks.

Greetings "Sister", Have you compared the four kingdoms of Daniel 7 represented by four beasts with the four kingdoms of Daniel 2 represented by the four successive metals of the image? Daniel 2:37-40 (KJV): 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. Kind regards Trevor

I remember a story by Corrie tenBoom. She and most of her family were sent to Auschwich prison camp in Germany because they and helped to send Jews to safety, hiding them in their house. They were older ladies in their 40s, and were made to do hard labor, were stripped and humiliated, and she wathced her sister being beaten by a guard. They were covered with lice, had rats around them and people were very sick. Sometimes they only had potato broth to eat. But Jesus was with them through it all. Near the time of liberation by allied forces, her sister was sent to the gas champer but she was recleased by a typographical error!. Her sister was so perfect and full of love, so Corried asked why her many times. Perhaps her sister was more ready to be with Jesus; I don't know. But Corrie was sent all over the world all alone to speak to people imprisoned in pits and horrible conditions. They listened because of what she had gone thru. And many received Christ because of her testimony. They were the most violent of criminals, but they received God's love and forgiveness. Maybe God has a great work for you to do as well. Perhaps your cousin had fulfilled the plan God had for her. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, CREATED in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKs WHICH GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM. Eph 2:8-10 God will use everything for good in our lives if we let Him and trust Him. Trials in life either make us better or bitter. It is your choice. Just remember that right now your anger and depression are normal. Your are not going insane. Just don't blame God for the diseases and death that entered the world through the sin of Adam and Eve. God loves you so much He sent Jesus to die in your place, so that you and your cousin can be with Him in heaven. When you and she receive Christ into your lives you have the hope of seeing her again someday in a place where there are no more tears or pain, or sorrow.

Just a gentle reminder before you all go off on word study tangents etc. This part of the forums has a specific purpose: "The purpose of the Seeker's Forum is strictly for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal here is that guests can come to Worthy, read the forums, and ask questions about the Lord in Seeker's . . ." It is not intended for regular chatters to just come along and start/pursue topics about 'whatever'. There are plenty of other areas for that. -Thanks

This is common sense really. Don't walk across a train track when the red light is signalling. Don't jump in water if you don't know how deep it is (or can't swim). Don't drive a car you know is faulty. Don't drink and drive, and so on. If you feel it's a message for you , just keep yourself focused and watch out for anything that gives a sence that you should not do it.

I have to answer in here as still a noob to the site myself Do you think evolution is true? If not why not? It is a theory, it is not proven. Before I was a Christian I could not understand how evolution could really be true. Too many chances and odds and doesnt explain love, art, morality, purpsoe, family, destiny etc etc. Should a killer who truthfully repents be allowed into heaven? A more interesting question would be if a killer murders someone, and by their actions sends that person to hell, and then that same killer repents and goes to heaven, is that justice? Should a kindhearted atheist or person of another faith be allowed into heaven? I believe God will draw all men to him in his timing. If a person you care about is ill (and I hope that never happens) would you just pray for them or would you take them to a doctor? If you say you'd do both, then which do you think would have more effect? Faith in healing isn't something that can just be given. The person who needs the healing is the one who seeks it. It's also for the individual to decide such things but you should go to the doctor's in the first instance to get a diagnosis. Would you be happy in heaven, if somebody you loved was in hell? No. Nobody would. Which is one reason I do not believe in eternal hell. Who's prayers does god answer? And if it's ultimately his will what happens anyway, then why bother praying? All prays but they may not be answered the way we always want. His ultimate plan yes, but that doesn mean we cannot influence what happends in the here and now. If god spoke to you and told you to kill somebody, would you do it? God would not ask you to do that. Is god always watching you? How about when you're on the toilet? Yes, so make sure you wipe your bum properly, don't block to the toilet with lots of paper and clean your hands afterwards If Christianity was proven wrong, what would you're reaction be? It won't, so I won't worry about that Why has so much of the bible been proven wrong, like the flat Earth theory? Where does it say the earth is flat in the bible? It doesn't, its one of those things atheists like to say that is simply false. Is the bible literally true, or just morally The bible is made up to true events, poems, parables, dreams and prohesy. Not all of it is literal then.

I always find it surprising that so many christians seem to be so cool about the idea of hell, and talk about it fairly nonchalantly, even proposing wild hypothesis about people being stuck in the centre of an earth because of gravity. I am a Christian but have quite a few issues with eternal hell as commonly thought of. Let me ask a question. Do children go to hell? If not, why not and at what age would someone be 'accountable'?

a real trip is the word love..... do some root word studies and original Hebrew/Greek words and it will change the way you see things.

I like to do word study's. The first word i ever studied was Hell. My reason for doing it was King James was the only bible I had read and someones bible said Sheol where mine said Hell. So I studied everywhere "Hell" was in the bible. The root "words" (several completely different words with completely different meaning were all translated to "hell"). I also studied every context around every "hell" mentioned. What I found was different then what I had been taught all my life. In that study i came across another word that when I studied the root words and the context surrounding it everywhere it was mentioned, my understanding changed more. That word study was the word "forever". There are words translated "forever" that are actually a measurement of time with a beginning and end.

Not all their teachings are damnable heresy. They teach at least two doctrines which you and others have missed. They don't all believe the false doctrines in their society either. Many just take for granted what they are learning, and never really think about what comes to them, or check it with the Bible. People of other denominations do the same. So we should have one ear open to criticism of our doctrines.

Do you think evolution is true? If not why not? It's a fairy tale. Should a killer who truthfully repents be allowed into heaven? I don't think so, but I'm not God. Should a kindhearted atheist or person of another faith be allowed into heaven? Yes. If a person you care about is ill (and I hope that never happens) would you just pray for them or would you take them to a doctor? If you say you'd do both, then which do you think would have more effect? Both. The doctor has God given knowledge. Would you be happy in heaven, if somebody you loved was in hell? No, I'd rather die. Who's prayers does God answer? And if it's ultimately his will what happens anyway, then why bother praying? Because if you don't pray, you won't get anything. If God spoke to you and told you to kill somebody, would you do it? I'd tell Him to do it Himself. Is God always watching you? How about when you're on the toilet? If I don't feel comfortable about Him watching me He won't. He respects my feelings and personal space. If Christianity was proven wrong, what would you're reaction be? Apologize for being an idiot, and then kill them, because love doesn't exist. Why has so much of the bible been proven wrong, like the flat Earth theory? Because people are mental and can't read. Is the bible literally true, or just morally? The Bible is a library or 66 books covering all aspects of language and learning. It is not at all my intention to offend anyone, and I apologise if I did. I simply wondered what your answers would be. Thanks again and have a nice day. You're welcome.

can you prove your accusation, ? or is this your opinion again, prove this , anyone can say anything about anything, so show me that this link is what you say it is, can you do that ?

Note the context....... Matthew 11:16-19 V.16 ¶ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, V.17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. V.18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. V.19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Jesus was pointing out the hypocrisy of the pharisees(who are just like a lot of people today), who didn’t seem to be satisfied with any kind of “solid Bible preaching”, but only want some smooth sounding teacher, that always makes them feel good.(2Tim.4:2-4) Comparing his own style of preaching to that of John the Baptists. You could say that John preached in a mournful style, while Jesus preached in a more loving way, but both preached repentance. But the religious hypocrites of that day, were critical of both of them! Not being truly interested in the truth and drawing closer to the Lord!