Deborah_

It is translated direct from the Hebrew and Greek texts, just as English language Bibles are. And modern translators use the latest version of the Greek text (the same one used by the NIV / NET and other modern versions).

That wasn't Jephthah's understanding. "When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said" (Numbers 30:2) No exceptions!

1) Not everything that Jesus said is recorded in the gospels. (see Acts 20:35 for an example) 2) The apostles, in dealing with issues that arose in the early church, had authority in the Holy Spirit to give additional instruction. (Matthew 18:18) Paul is saying that unbelief on its own is not grounds for divorce. There is always the option of separation if the relationship breaks down. (I Corinthians 7:10,11)

This is normal practice in the UK. The footage can be used as evidence. It also helps to protect police against false accusations - and probably acts as a deterrent against officers who are tempted to act unlawfully.

Above all, just keep reading Scripture, over and over again. And put what you learn into practice.

But how does one "learn" when a thief is going to come? To introduce the idea of getting a chance to learn in advance (which never happens in practice) destroys the whole sense of the passage.

For most women, to become pregnant as a result of rape is a continuation of the assault. Having dealt with many rape victims through my career, I can assure you that most of them fear pregnancy more than they fear catching sexually transmitted infections. This is why even strict anti-abortion laws usually make an exception for rape. Now I would agree that the baby in such a case is innocent and deserves a chance to live - but few women can cope psychologically with carrying such a pregnancy to term (even if the baby is then adopted). It's hard even for Christians, it's almost impossible for unbelievers. Thankfully the advent of emergency contraception has made pregnancy after rape much rarer.

Not so. The Greek verb for 'know' here is oido, which doesn't follow the normal tense pattern. What appears to be the perfect tense is actually the present tense, and the translation is absolutely correct. But Jesus' point was, it is impossible to know in advance when the thief is coming.

You have to go back to the original prophecy in Isaiah 7. There, Isaiah was talking about a child who would soon be born to a particular woman ("the" virgin - a virgin because she was not yet married at the time of the prophecy) and would actually be called 'Immanuel' as a statement of faith that God would protect His people. The prophecy found an extra fulfilment in the birth of Jesus, (1) because his mother actually was a virgin when He was conceived, and (2) because although she and Joseph were instructed to call Him Jesus as His name, 'Immanuel' describes in a nutshell who He is.

No. When Christians talk about "the blood of Jesus", we're referring to His death. Because His blood was shed during His death on the cross (from the nails in His hands and feet, and from the spear-wound in His side). Because under the sacrificial law in the Old Testament, the blood of a sacrificed animal was sprinkled on the Ark of the Covenant as a kind of 'proof' that the sacrifice had been made - and Jesus offered himself as a sin offering for our forgiveness. The Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit, who is given to all Christians when they put their trust in Jesus.

The Greek text underlying it is "katharizon panta ta bromata". This is a participle phrase that is common in Greek, but in English usually has to be converted into something more complex (sometimes a whole sentence). This particular phrase can be translated in various ways because of the range of meanings of the verb katharizo. It can mean "cleanse' or "purify" in a physical sense, or on a moral sense (as in the Levitical code). It can also mean "declare (something or someone) clean", as when the priest pronounced someone clean after they had completed a purification rite. We get the word "cathartic" from it, but that doesn't mean it should be translated as "purge" here in the sense of removing waste products from the body ("all foods" isn't a waste product!). "Declaring all foods clean" is a perfectly legitimate and literal translation; we have to add the extra words in English ("In saying this, Jesus") because English can't just stick a participle phrase in anywhere like Greek can.

It's not just about the fuel you're using; it's about the emissions you get from petrol and diesel engines. Electric cars are much better for the environment in that way. We bought ourselves an electric car a few months ago. It's a small car and it only has a range of about 100 miles (another issue with electric cars) - so it's for local journeys only (we still have a petrol car as well). Electricity prices are rocketing but it's still cheaper to run an electric car than a petrol one in the UK because petrol prices are also shooting up (it cost me £70 to fill the petrol tank last week).

Actually, I have offered - but as we only have one spare room and the vast majority of the refugees coming to the UK are family groups, the offer hasn't been taken up (and it doesn't seem likely to be).

The Catholics are trapped here by their theology - theology that is based partly on over-veneration of Mary (the doctrine of her immaculate conception) and partly on the limited biological knowledge of the early Christian theologians. Their problem is that, according to this understanding, any child born of Mary (not only Jesus!) would have been without sin. Therefore, they argued, Mary could not possibly have been "allowed" to have other children. I learned this from a Catholic

The unclean animals were only 'unclean' when dead. So donkeys, horses and camels, though 'unclean', could be ridden on. The main restriction was on eating them. A lot of people will say that it was for health reasons, but as a medical person I think that's overstated. You can get tapeworm from eating pork (which is unclean), but also from beef (which is clean). Shellfish (which are unclean) are a notorious source of food poisoning - but so is chicken (which is clean). A lot of us restrict our food choices for one reason or another. We care enormously about our food: what goes into it, how it was grown, how animals are slaughtered (or whether we should eat animals at all). How many of us use moral criteria when compiling our shopping lists? We look for the labels that identify ‘free range’, ‘organic’, or ‘fair trade’ products… and we also have to bear in mind the many individuals with food allergies, and the vegetarians. But these are personal choices, freely made - and not binding on anyone else.

The "negative" fruit is from the flesh/sinful nature, NOT from the Spirit. The Holy Spirit only produces good fruit.

The food laws were important for giving the Jews a very distinctive lifestyle, reminding them and witnessing to outsiders the fact that they were "different". But in the age of the Gospel, our distinctiveness is expressed differently. Diet has quite simply ceased to be an issue.

I'm sorry if this doesn't sound very "spiritual", but perhaps you should see a doctor or pharmacist about your heartburn. Then you might sleep better. If you've done something to offend God it will be something really obvious, and you shouldn't need a special revelation to know what it is - your own conscience will tell you.

An idol is anything that dominates your life. The rightness or wrongness of something is irrelevant, because even good things can become idols to us. I suspect that gaming has become an idol for you, because it's starting to cut you off from God. The only thing to do with idols is give them up. Totally. It will be hard. But it will clear your mind.

The Bible doesn't give us enough data to calculate the age of the earth. You can add up the ages of the people in the genealogies - but you can't assume that there are no gaps. (Look at Matthew's genealogy Jesus in Matthew 1 - there are three generations missing in the middle section!) In fact, seeing that there are a suspiciously tidy and symmetrical number of names in the first two genealogies in Genesis (10 in each), I would say it's almost a certainty that there are (lots of) gaps. Because of its enormous mass, plus it's insulated by the solid crust. The Sun is even older, but shows no sign yet of cooling down.

I presume you're living in the USA so I don't know the legal details over there. But It's probably similar to the UK. First of all, make a will (that's something every one of us should do)! In the will you can stipulate how you want your body to be disposed of (burial, cremation, or whatever) and you will nominate someone (the "executor") to carry out your wishes. The executor doesn't have to be someone in your family; it could be a friend or (as a last resort) a solicitor. In the UK it's possible to make your own will without having to pay a solicitor for it. But it's wise to get some advice (maybe online) as to how to word it and what to put in it. If you die without having made a will there are "intestacy rules" that will dictate what happens to your possessions.

What "till death us do part" actually means is that after the death of one partner, the other is released from their marriage vows and can legitimately re-marry. There won't be "marriage" in the next life because there will be no reproduction, so no family life as we know it. But I see no reason why we shouldn't be able to recognise one another.

We are back at church and our church is serving communion. A lot of our members have had Covid, but so far nobody has caught the virus at one of our services. People take sensible precautions, like staying at home if they feel unwell. Have you been vaccinated? It gives you a lot of protection. The virus will never go away, and at some point we do have to get back to normal life and trust our immune systems.

"How far" depends on the geographical situation and the means of transport available. But I wouldn't want to go as far as a different town, however good the church there was. My reasoning is that there are (in the UK) Christians in every town, and I ought to get to know them and fellowship with them. The local churches may not be perfect, but there must be at least one where God can use me.

Have you not come across the expression "knee-jerk reaction"? An instant, instinctive, non-thinking (and usually inappropriate) response to a situation or provocation.