AlexanderJ

Amen! But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

I think a good question to ask yourself is "Would Jesus do this?" or "If Jesus were in this room watching would I be doing what I am doing?". The very fact that you are asking questions shows that you have doubts about whether or not they please God. Don't fool yourself into thinking that music doesn't influence you. There a very few things (if any) that do not influence Humans. Remember: For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 1 Peter 2:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 1 John 3:21 James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Nothing beats God's word for enlightenment on a subject!

Do you think your boss will go for that (assuming it's not the end of the world, of course)?

The green one on earth day is kind of obvious, and they said the black one was for mourning..... I can't find what the silver one was supposed to mean. I just found it odd that they would use the silver again. Maybe silver represents Divinity.

I think you're right in saying that we should care much more about God's words and man's words. However, I think the issue is how to determine which are God's words and which are man's. Of course, the Bible is the largest collection of God's words, but there are some who claim to receive revelations from God nowadays. In my opinion, the best way to do this is to cross-check modern prophecies and revelations with the Bible to see if they fall within the parameters found therein. If they do, then there's a good possibility that the prophecies are true, and if not, we know where they come from--Satan, the Father of Lies.

That is not true in all cases. Any examples? But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Matthew 5:32 Jesus sanctioned divorce when one of the spouses was committing fornication. Fornication not only destroys marriage but also endangers all the members of the family by potentially exposing them to STDs. There is another legitimate cause for divorce although it is not explicitly stated in the Bible. It is justified, I believe, by the Law of Love (which is the greatest of all laws). If a spouse is physically abusive to his spouse or children, I believe that it divorce is not only legitimate, but the obligation of the believing spouse to remove her/his family away from the danger.

That is not true in all cases.

Actually the opposite is true. The growth of government is because of a decline in morality. Crime is up, terror is up, create a new department, fill it with posts, fund it, the list is endless. Porn, abortion, tax evasion, forced labor, all a decline in morality, all needing bigger and better departments to "control" them. Umm, the bible is not cyclical. It has a start time and an end time, and if only it was our only blueprint, the decline in morality would not be an issue. God's government is all we need. But we are blind.

How resourceful.

It is reminiscent of his recieving the Nobel peace prize just for being himself.

Amen! But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

It is a good story!

1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. If the unbelieving spouse chooses to leave the believing spouse, he is free to do so and the believing spouse is not in bondage to the unbelieving spouse any more.

I believe that this idea is in grave error. The decline of morality is a product, not of the growth of the government, but of the decline and fall of individuals from God's standards. What is the government but a group of individuals? If this individuals follow God's Laws, then there will be Morality in the nation, if not, then the opposite is true. The government cannot legislate morality; it cannot force people to do what is right (where law abounds, sin abounds more). Individuals, however, can choose to do what is right; they can "legislate morality" in their own lives.

Another important thing to remember, I think, is that no one is going to be cast into Hell because of what another person (perhaps a Christian) did or did not do. I am convinced that no person in Hell will be able to accuse the believers saying: "I am in Hell because you did not preach the Gospel to me!" On the contrary, I believe that, in the end, the choice and the responsibility will rest completely on the shoulders of each individual. Many have died without hearing the Message, and I do not believe that God will automatically send them to Hell for this (remember God is...not willing that any should perish). Indeed, how could God be "not willing that any should perish" and damn a person who could have been saved had it not been for the irresponsibility and apathy of the fallible community of Believers?

Taking this into account; I am saved by the blood of Christ, made knew and washed in His blood. He is my savior and my king, without Him I would not be here to day both in a sense of creation and medically., I have known Him since a young age but just of this summer God has become so real to me. There are many who have came to God at an even younger age then me. . . that being said, it does not set the standards, but what standards? Where are these "standards" of the age and how do we even know if there actually an age, then at what age does it begin and at what age does it end? Again thank you for your response God bless you I don't think that it would be possible to pin down a certain set age as being the "age of accountability". I think that it varies depending on the individual because everyone is different in regard to intellectual ability and Spiritual understanding. Some reach intellectual maturity much faster than others, and some (for example, those with severe brain damage) may never reach it at all.

The Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 Whatever the case may be, we can rest assured that God will not send one soul to Hell who did not get the chance to believe on Him.

Jesus said: Matthew 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am (note the present tense) the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. This can only mean that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive at the time that Jesus said this. This, (as far as I can see) irrevocably establishes the belief that the Spirit remains alive and is with God, even before the ressurection of the body.

The Spirit is immortal (it cannot die) and goes straight to God after the physical body dies: Ecclesiastes 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. The body, however, is dead and the Spirit awaits (I don't know if you can really call it "waiting" in the sense that we mortals commonly use the word as "the experience of duration", because it is commonly held that Paradise is a timeless place, and those who abide there do not experience duration as we do - I use "awaits" for lack of a better term) the bodies' ressurection in Paradise. 1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. So, to summarize the matter, the bodies of the dead are what will be ressurected, not their Spirits. Those who die (whether they be believers or not) only die physically. The Spirit, very much alive, returns to the God that made it and is placed in Sheol.

Amen. In my opinion, any Jew who believes is doubly blessed, and any Jew who disbelieves doubly cursed. A Non-Jew who believes receives the spiritual blessings and spiritual covenant, but a Jew who believes receives the earthly blessings and covenant as well as the spiritual blessings and covenant. And conversely, a non-Jew who disbelieves loses the spiritual blessings and spiritual covenant but a Jew who disbelieves loses the earthly blessings and covenant as well as a spiritual blessings and covenant.

It would seem that the eye is an example of an irreducibly complex biochemical system.

To answer your question, I would propose that it all depends on which Scientists you trust and heed. The average layman (I include myself here) can't really follow the mind-boggling complexity of advanced Science. To prove anything to yourself (or to others) empirically you would have to be an expert in many fields of Science, which is, for most people, quite impossible. I trust God and his Word, and will consider any theory that appears to conform to it.