Deborah_

Mormonism is radically different from true Christianity. Don't go that way. But otherwise this issue is similar to any other kind of guidance. Often we're faced with two or more good options. There may be many churches in your area offering solid Bible teaching and good fellowship (both of which you need, especially early in your Christian walk). So which do you choose? God may not mind which you go to. So if you don't sense any specific guidance, start by committing yourself to the one that's easiest to get to, and give it at least 6 months trial.

Many Christians have no choice but to live with unbelievers, if they're members of the family. I don't think that's what Paul is thinking of in 2 Corinthians 6. What he's warning against is "partnerships" - marriages, business ventures, and so on. It's the same with employment - most of us have to work for and/or with unbelievers. A purely Christian workplace is a luxury. I would say that's a "no" to owning a second home. Fortunately we've never been rich enough to be tempted in that direction!

I would say, first of all check with Scripture. If any of the options go against God's will as revealed there, then they're off limits. It can be harder when all your choices are equally "Christian" - like where to live. Prayer is vital. Sometimes God has a clear plan for you to follow, in which case He will make to known to you. But sometimes He seems not to mind. The counsel of other Christians can be helpful - but they may have their own agenda. 7 years ago, after I retired, we decided to move from England to Wales, but had no particular place in mind. We sold our house in just 2 days, which was encouraging, but finding a house in Wales turned out to be much harder. God gave us no direction. So we just put in an offer for a house we liked, and if we didn't get it we kept on looking. On the third attempt we succeeded. So I assume that this is where God wants us to be - and certainly a lot of things have "worked out" neatly since we moved here.

In terms of bare salvation, the answer to the question is "No". But there's a lot more to Christianity than just getting saved. According to Jesus, the hallmark of being a Christian is love for other Christians (John 13:34,35). How are you going to love them if you never meet them or get to know them? And how can they love you? It's also hard to serve God effectively on your own. God gives us all gifts - but they are meant to be used in harmony with the gifts of other people. We're part of a Family, a Body, and a Temple. The community is as important as the individual. I know that there are many people who for one reason or another are unable to join a church. But all too often this question is used as an excuse for surrendering to the spirit of the age - individualism.

Not really. We already know what amino acids each group of three nucleotides codes for. We already know the amino acid sequences for thousands of proteins. So it's not difficult to recognise chimp haemoglobin or earthworm digestive enzymes or whatever.

But then 144,000 is a symbolic number - it means all of us, the exact total is immaterial.

The Chinese scholar analogy is inappropriate. The genome isn't random letters, and many genes are fully sequenced and well studied. Take haemoglobin, for example - a fundamental protein found in all vertebrates with only minor differences between one species and another. Multiply that several thousand times for all the other proteins that govern basic life processes common to all species, (such as digestion, regulation of blood sugar level, oxygen transport, kidney function, etc, etc) It's not surprising that we have a lot of DNA in common with other apes - in fact, it's to be expected, given that our physical bodies work in pretty much the same way. But it's wrong to say that we're "98% chimp" - more accurate to say that both humans and chimps are 100% mammals, but we didn't need genetics to tell us that! NB A difference doesn't have to be large in order to be significant.

Context helps. In the previous verses (verse 11,12), Jesus tells Nicodemus that we can only testify to something of which we have first-hand experience. Most of us can only speak with authority of earthly things, but Jesus can also speak with authority of heavenly things. Elijah (and Enoch also) were taken into heaven at the end of their lives, but Jesus is in a totally different category because He came from heaven.

No, and it may be that because Israel has returned without repenting, the times of thee Gentiles are being extended. God is very patient...

That's what it says

The passage in Jeremiah that I quoted (Jeremiah 18:1-10)

In my experience, most modern translations put John 5:4 in a footnote.

Jacob, David etc are not included in that group because they were saved by faith.

Even though God tells Jeremiah that in certain circumstances it may not in fact happen after all?

1) God "permitted" a lot of things (e.g. divorce) because of "the hardness of our hearts" 2) All our revered Biblical characters were sinners, and sometimes their sins are spelled out in great detail without comment. We're called to copy their faith, but not necessarily their behaviour. When Jesus was asked a question on the general area of marriage, He answered by pointing to the relationship between Adam and Eve. This was God's original plan: one man plus one woman. This is what Christians aim for (whatever the rest of the world may be doing).