Adaeze

I guess that you were right in that I was very quick to condemn. I shouldn't have put her up on a pedestal, either. Now that she's had a chance to tell her immediate family, her future mother-in-law, and most of her close friends she is going to have to make decisions about stepping down from her leadership roles at her church. I just hope that she doesn't face a lot of condemnation from that arena. She is a dear-hearted lady who teaches sunday school at her church and I'm afraid that if the parents of her students find out that she might be judged pretty harshly by them. Now I need to start planning the baby shower and enlist the help of other friends of mine. The ladies of her future husband's church seem like they'd be willing to help as well and I might be able to enlist her husband's godmother. It's just her church that I have to worry about. I think that there is a big chance she might change churches though, in order to be able to worship with her hubby. This pregnancy did not come at an opportune time for either of them. They are both poor students and she is lucky to have health insurance. It's also rather difficult for them because her family is several states away and his family is in another country.

Thanks. They are currently living apart and have repented over what happened. Apparently, it was a one-time thing but once was enough for her to get pregnant. They also plan to be married in three weeks. I'm trying to get over my own disappointment. I don't plan to stop attending the bible study because, in my eyes, they have repented. I'm just trying to get over the fact that I held this lady up as a mentor and now I feel disappointed. I guess disappointment is a natural feeling in this situation, right?

I recently had a very beloved friend of mine tell me that she was pregnant. She is not yet married but she and her fiancee are planning to be married in a few weeks. I loved this friend and looked up to her as an example of a good, Christian woman but she has sinned and I feel very disappointed by this turn of events. She and her fiancee led a bible study and they were wondering if they should step down because they knew that their transgression was a bad one. She asked my opinion on the subject after telling me about the pregnancy. I told her that if they had earnestly repented and stopped sinning that there was no reason for them to step down. I also told her that if they needed to step down to take care of the baby then I would be in total agreement. I love her as a friend but am still disappointed. I guess I need time to process it. Any advice on how to deal with this issue?

Are they to be considered heretics? I know that their beliefs on the holy spirit are rather controversial, as is their views on blood transfusions.

Sevenly is an organization started by christ-followers. They sell jewelry and clothing for different causes. Their main thing is t-shirts. Seven dollars out of every tshirt sale goes directly to the charity of the week. The designs are limited editions; once the week is finished they are gone forever. I think the concept is cool and I love the video they put out on the subject of giving.

Let me explain: Allah hu Akhbar doesn't mean "God is the greatest." It means "Allah is greater." Secondly, the reason he was shot is that in all terrorist attacks the last thing a terrorist does before setting off a bomb or starts on a shooting rampage is he yells, "Allah hu Akbhar." So the Jewish soldier was right in shooting the man. He really had no choice given that terrorists use that phrase a second or two before settting off their bombs. Actually, it can be simply translated to mean 'God is great/greatest'. In the arabic language, 'allah' simply means 'God'. It does not always imply that the person using the term is muslim, jewish, druze, christian, etc... I've actually seen quite a few video interviews with middle eastern Christians referring to God as 'allah'. It's like when we say the word 'God', people would not automatically know which religion we are referring too. It's that simple. I find it hilarious that we westerners have this pre-programmed idea that the word allah is only used by muslims when, in fact, that is extremely far from the truth. When you hear someone say the word allah, please do not be ignorant and automatically assume that they are muslim. It could just be a language thing indeed.

*sighs* Just shows how skeptical we as a society have become of anything supernatural. I, however, am not skeptical. I've seen too much. I know that the 'other side' is very real and very evil, and that we ought to cast out demons and stand against them. I also applaud the pope for doing so.

So, this is apparently old news, but I follow several blogs related to a mission opportunity called The World Race. The following content may not be appropriate for all: http://gracehartmann.theworldrace.org/?filename=content-may-not-be-suitable-for-all-ages I thought this was heart wrenching.

Well, I meant to say because of the corruption in the church of england as well as the ideals of freedom of religion.

Yup. Because of the Church of England.

I went to an interesting lecture presented by Professor John A. Ragosta. Ragosta argued that, surprisingly enough, many baptists and members of 'dissenting' denominations originally opposed the state's involvement in religion after the revolution. I found this to be interesting. The basic premise was that they were concerned that the government would choose one denomination over another or that they would corrupt the church. Government corruption was one of the main reasons why baptists and methodists left anglican church in the first place.

[media=] This really stretched me and challenged me.

*Sigh* And here in America our church pews sit empty due to people's apathy.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2012/06/01/church-bans-gluten-free-host.html This is old news, but it is why I am glad of my mother's decision to leave the catholic church. Ugh. This screams of legalism and intolerance.

Who here has been in the military? Does anyone have loved ones who have served? I personally have a brother who is in the army reserves. Please do not post specific information about deployments or troop movements, as it can pose a security risk for our military members. Please refer to guidelines for OPSEC.

Beautiful video and that must be wonderful work that you do! I too work for a nonprofit, but we are a rather unique nonprofit. We are a living history museum dedicated to education and historical preservation. EDIT: This is a video about my workplace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj91VBNbdsg

Finally figured out how to post a video!

This song struck me and has a lot of meaning to me due to my battles with anxiety. [media=]

Who here likes Christian metal? I've recently been listening to some good music by a christian metal band called Bloodgood. This song is called "Out of the Darkness" by Bloodgood. I am the witness of disaster It seemed the only way was down I saw the wicked in his scheming I heard his victims crying out Why do the evil prosper, his victims crushed I see the shadows growing, I've had enough Out of darkness into the light I heard ten thousand cry Out of darkness into the light Turn or you will die My God how long will you forget me O Lord I need to see your face The enemy has come against me He laughs at me, prepared to slay Yet I will trust in You, Lord, my heart will sing I'll wait to hear your voice God, you'll hear me scream Out of darkness into the light See the demons flee Out of darkness into the light Jesus, set me free You are the helper of the helpless The adversary has no might I hear your voice of thunder, the lightning strikes The night will flee before you, you'll win the fight [media=]

Trying to post a video and it won't let me copy/paste.

I really like this new pope. He included women in the foot washing ceremony. He also washed the feet of muslims. That's something I think Jesus would have done.

I am struck by the beauty of some of the music that our ancestors wrote. This piece was performed by a band called Medieval Baebes. While not necessarily a Christian name, they have sang some beautiful pieces. I shall post the olde english version for you as well as the modern english translation: Love Me Broughte Love me broughte and love me wroughte, man, to be thy fere love me fedde and love me ledde and love me lette here. Love me slou and love me drou And love me layde on bere. Love is my pes, for love I ches, Man to buyen dere. Ne dred thee nought, I have thee sought bothen day and night, to haven thee; well is me, I have thee wonnen in fight. Modern English Version: Love delivered me and love created me to be your companion, mankind Love sustained me and love guided me and love abandoned me here Love killed me and love dragged me and love laid me on the bier Love is my peace, and for love I chose, to redeem mankind at great cost. So you should fear nothing, for I have looked for you both day and night, in order to be your haven; I have done well, for I have won you in battle. I haven't been able to find a suitable link yet but when I do it'll be in this thread. The 'I have won you' line stuck out at me. Jesus won us, and sometimes I find that simple fact to be purely, completely, and simply amazing.