Tanner Brody

Yes, our church does allow children over 12 inside the sancuary. All kids under 21 have to wait outside in the snow. The ones that survive get a free bible sticker. Actually we have daycare for the little ones, and they expect a good tip if that little bugger has been crying the whole time.

I can tell. You look really pale in your profile pic.

When I married my wife she did not eat Pork as she was raised a Buddist in Taiwan. I myself, although not a heathen I am a hedonist so I'm gonna eat whatever I want... shellfish and all. Dietrary retrictions are OT stuff and I haven't given up booze or weed anyway (which were both in the Bible) so I'm taken the pork with me. (double chili-cheese hotdogs at the Padre game!)

I took a trip to San Diego to visit the Creation Museum. They had a display showing Adam & Eve riding dinosaurs, among other bizarre articles claiming Neanderthals were just like us humans but little shorter. They explained that baby dinosaurs and their eggs could have fit on board. I showed this to my college professor who said the answer is simple. Dinosaurs (except for a few of their bird descendants), died out around 65 millions yrs ago, whereas the oldest human fossil ever discovered was “Lucy” in Ethiopia in 1974. They carbon-dated her skeleton to be about 175-200k yrs old. So dinosaurs could not have lived at the same time as people. I’m not one of those Christians that believe the Earth is 6000 yrs old nor do I follow the ‘gap theory’. I asked my pastor and he said that dinosaurs did exist but human remains from that time period were washed away with the great flood making it hard to match the two. My neighbor lady (a retired nun) said she doesn’t even believe in dinosaurs since they’re not in the bible anywhere and believes it’s all a government conspiracy. Dinosaurs on the arc? Science tells me no. The bible tells me yes?

Actually, my pastor says it is the opposite. Because the books are NOT in perfect harmony, we know they were not all written by the same author, hence we know they are real. Look at the NT. The book of Matthew and Luke vary considerably. One of the most famous lines "God why have you forsaken me?" is recorded in Mark 15:34 and in none of the other books. This is what makes the scripture so special, it has different viewpoints.

Thank you. I've compared the NKJV to the NIV, NCV, and a few others and I believe NKJV translation to be the most authentic. Also, I don't believe that the bible should not be changed as other have stated, it is the word of God. I was exploring my thoughts as they pertained to my dream and I feel asking questions about scripture can help heal your faith.

The Book of Enoch was accepted as canon until around 400 AD. I also believe that Mormons consider the first edition of Enoch as part of the Book of Moses and legitimate. (although I could be wrong) If the Bible said that black people were to be stoned on the spot, would you still folow the bible unconditionally or would you consider this a mistake made by those who authored the testement? The reason I bring this up is because I work with a Mormon who admits African-Americans were not allowed to hold priesthood positions (and were generally excluded altogether from recruitment) until 1978. When I asked him about this, he was able to explain how this is not racism, it's preserving sacred rights as non-Jews were traditionally excluded from entering the Temple in Palestine during Jesus's time. His knowledge of the scriptures is so much greater than mine that Mormons could be executing children right now and he'd be able to point to something in the bible that condones it. A much easier example is this: I was raised Catholic. My mother prayes to Mary, believeing she is Holy. In fact growing up, if I lost something, I was told to pray to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost articles. When I joined my protestant church as a new Christian last year, I am now told no one should ever pray to anythone but the Trinity - God the Father, Jesus the Son, or the Holy Spirit. Praying to anybody else is blasphemy. I agree, but once agin my point is that if the bible was crystal clear about some of these issues, I wouldn't have a JW neighbor whose Watchtower group belives only 144,000 people are getting into heaven. When I confronted him on this, he handed me a tract and assured me every one of his beliefs can be validated in the scripture, (along with letting me know all other forms of Christianity were "demonic by nature".

I had a dream last night in which an angel appeared and told me "They are confused. Use your prose to unite them." When I awoke I thought deeply about this and realized what he's saying. There exists so much confusion today on the meaning of the bible (Catholic, Mormon, Jehavohs Witness, Seven Day Adventists, etc.. all interpret the scriptures differently). I would probably make changes to a few verses so it would be more clear, my first choice... The Lord is speaking to Abraham in this story where God commands him to sacrifice his son: ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ (Genesis 22:2) This reminds me of the final scene in the Omen (1976) where the father stabs his son on the alter. Even if God intervens at the last minute, don't you think that child is going to be scarred emotionally for the rest of his life? I know if my dad tried to kill me and then stopped at the last minute tellng me God changed his mind I'd run far away in case it ever happens again. Second choice... In this verse, Samuel, one of the early leaders of Israel, orders genocide against a neighbouring people: “This is what the Lord Almighty says... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:3) This goes back to my early questions about why women and children had to die in Daniel 16:24. Why kill all the innocents too? I would make it clear in the rewriting that slavery is wrong, killing gay people is wrong, and adjust other things so that they can't be taken out of context. Any book that has been transcribed over and over through 2000 years something may get lost (even the meanings of word has changed since then) so I believe the angel had a good point. If you could pick just one or two scriptures (old or new testement) in the bible and change it, which would you choose?

I believe that each person has to make up this deicision for themselves. I met my wife online back in the days when online relationships were considered 'weird'. Two dates later, I moved in with her, and we stayed together for 3 yrs than got married. Did we engage in intimacy during that time? Yes, but we were both in our 30s and I know I had found the one. I was homeless living in a van in san diego so what was she going to do just come over to visit me down by the beach and let me sleep tehrre. By Gods grace she invited me into her heart and home and weve been together now for 7 years.

What are you saying gdemoss? Be careful not to ask questions that you may not like the answers too? If you've prayed about this verse Daniel 16:24, do tell what God has told you? Did he say I disagree with the King? Growing in my faith means asking these questions.

So then how are we supposed to know which ones God condones and which ones are just there for recording history? I seen people make the same argument at church for Leviticus 20:13 " If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." Is God saying this is okay to kill gay people (even in old testment times ) or is this historical record like killing children in the lions den?

So then how are we supposed to know which ones God condones and which ones are just there for recording history? I seen people make the same argument at church for Leviticus 20:13 " If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." Is God saying this is okay to kill gay people (even in old testment times ) or is this historical record like killing children in the lions den?

"The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones." Sorry if this is a silly question (I'm a new Christian), but why slaughter the women and children? Are there elements of the bible that is not nessesarly condoned by God but just a recording of history?

I would contact the moderator and let them know your issue.

I saw a guy on the Oprah show "John from Brazil" who claimed to have the power to heal people on the spot for free. Of course he accepted donations and there was a convenietly placed gift shop selling t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc on the way out. The Brazilan ACLU did a nice little audit and discovered this poor immagrant farmer who was choosen by God to heal the sick and blind had a cozy 3 million dollar mansion near the beach. Be careful what you wish for. I do believe in miracle healing but than again I was raised Catholic and my family believes The Exorcist was based on a true story so there you go. btw, If I found out I was going to die I would be slightly tempted to undergo MDMA therapy. Yes it is controversal in Christian circles but its starting to gain mainstream recongniton in religous communities.