Yman48

Jane67: This is a Christian forum and thus you are going to read many posts from people who believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Your comments are bait for a trap that no one here will fall for. As for me: I believe in God, His son Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus and his imminent return. My faith in God affects all my decision because I want nothing else than to live in fellowship with God.

One of my favorite books is "When Your Rope Breaks" by Stephen Brown. One thing I've learned in my 56 years as a Christian is that often times God does not reveal the "why" but He does reveal the "who". I highly suggest the book previously mentioned if you are struggling with loss, grief or discouragement: the broken rope times of your life. Good reading.

I won't answer for others; but as for me: I find true happiness in knowing that no matter the troubles I have in this life, God is in control; that no matter how hard it rains, the sun if shining above the clouds; that the persecution and arguments of men with itchy ears will never prevail against the Word of God; that my poor afflicted body will be instantly changed into its eternal purpose with God. My happiness comes from within me through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Good morning. In reply to the decision on line from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals: In the last 11 years the Supreme Court has reviewed 208 cases from the that Circuit. The Supreme Court has reversed 80% of them; over 70 of those reversals were unanimous.Supreme Court Reversals

Sure MornibngGlory: here is the link: My link The school is Nampa ID Classical Academy. Our federal courts have ruled numerous times that schools may use the bible as a backdrop for regular subjects as long as no proselitizing takes place. It seems the Idaho constitution disallows that. Under our laws the federal ruling would override the state law. It will be interestiong to see how this plays out.

Matthew 24:4-12: Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. Is not this true today? Men like Rev Moon and David Kadesh have claimed to be the Messiah. Jim Jones deceived hundreds of people, causing them to commit suicide. We have false prophets today who claim to speaking for God yet deny His Word and His precious gift of salvation. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There seems to a new war every day. Nations have been fighting each other for millenia; but most historian will tell you that wars are increasing in number and intensity. The part "kingdom against kingdom" speaks to civil war within a country. Just this year se have seen civil war in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Oman, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia. Our own country, the U.S., is split politically and violent protests are becoming the norm. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. In the last two years the world has experienced 20+ 7.0 or greater quakes; some in unusual places. The spring saw the largest outbreak of tornadoes recorded in US history. Hurricanes are getting fiercer. Winters are colder, summers hotter and the list of calamaties goes on and on. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. Across the globe Christianity is under attack. For a Christian to state his or her belief is considered intolerance against those who act contrary to God's word. A school was forced to close recently because a teacher used the bible to teach history and archaeology. The day is fast approaching when Christians will be prosecuted simply because they are Christian. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. We have experienced a tremendous falling away of believers. Yes, some churches are growing, but in most churches there is a significant reduction in attendance. Groups like the Jesus Seminar profess to teach and preach the Word of God but then claim that the written word can't be trusted; that the Apostle Paul kidnapped the gospel, and other heresies. Yet this is not the end. Good news! Turn to the back of the Bible and read the Revelation of Jesus Christ! You'll find that He wins!

The person who started this topic, Dr. Thomas Ice, is Executive Director of The Pre-Trib Research Center and on faculty at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded The Center in 1994 with Dr. Tim LaHaye to research, teach, and defend the pretribulational rapture and related Bible prophecy doctrines. The Center is currently located on the campus of Liberty University. Dr. Ice has co-authored about 30 books, written hundreds of articles, and is a frequent conference speaker. He has served as a pastor for 15 years. Dr. Ice has a B.A. from Howard Payne University, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. from Tyndale Theological Seminary, and is a Doctoral Candidate at The University of Wales in Church History. I post this information only to allow those who respond to understand that he began this discussion with a slanted and prejudicial view point. That is not bad, but I believe when someone with his credentials makes a post that could lead to a heated discussion, he/she should pur their prejudices up front and public.

Since sin is any disobedience to the known law and will of God the answer to your question is that there is no difference between the sin of adultery and any other sin; the sin of lying and any other sin. Sin is sin and the penalty for sin applies for any and all sin. It is only man, who in an effort to be self-righteous, compares the severity of sin. That is my opinion based upon my study and reading of God's Word.

Apostasy Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia), a defection or revolt, from ἀπό, apo, "away, apart", στάσις, stasis, "stand", "standing") is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. The Apostle Paul was referring to those whose love for Christ had grown coild and allowed their "itching ears" to lead them in rejecting Christ for a lie. Pre-tribulationists like to support their dogma by using this verse, however it is not good hermaneutics. The only certain fact of the Rapture is that it will take place. We can deduce certain elements of the Rapture yet not know because the Word does not give us specifics on this. Some believe in a pretribulation rapture; some believe in a post-tribulation rapture and some believe in a mid-tribulation rapture. There are verses that, taken out of context, can be used to prove any of three theories. I personally believe in a mid-tribulation rapture and believe that Daniel and Revelation supports that stance. The above definiton of apostasy comes from Kenneth S Wuest "Word Studeis in the New Testament". Dr. Wuest led the committee that wrote the transaltion New American Standard Bible. He was a long time Professor of Religion at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.