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Dear Thomas: Where do you draw the "salvation/damnation" line???? If something has no consequences, does it really count as a sin???? If something goes against a commandment, but that action is not a sin, is the commandment wrong????. Blessings.

Dear His Son: There's no controversy about what the Bible says. There's controversy about the way some people interpret the meaning of being born again. The Bible says: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (Jn 3, 5) Jesus is explaining exactly how the Sacrament works: God gives a specific grace at the same time the Minister gives the material sign of it (the water). In other words: we can make a distinction on the theoretical level between the two, the water and the grace, but because they come together we can't make a practical distinction. Despite what the Bible clearly syas, there are people who believe the "born again" process is different than that of Baptism. They claim that if you were baptized while being a child, you -as an adult- have to undergo a certain process so you can be "truly born again". That would mean God's grace is subjective and not objective, and that's where we do not agree. Blessings.

Hi all! With time I came to realize that what went on in my life was not the devil's work but God's!. The Bible tells us this: "Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Heb 12, 10-11) It turns out the Lord disciplined me and it was for the better; at the time I couldn't understand exactly what was going on, but everything I had to "suffer" taught me a lesson of a lifetime. For all of you who wonder what causes lots of bad things in your life, think about the consequences that situation brings to your life: if the "fruit" is good then it comes from God even if it seems rather difficult to understand. Blessings.

Actually, there is a reason............... The reason is that too many ppl have been deceived by this false doctrine. Too many ppl believe in some "label" of "being born again" and think that no matter what they do, they'll be saved because of the "born again ritual". I think that's a pretty good reason. Blessings.

Dear Steve Hut: So the person doesn't have to have faith or repent to be baptized? That would be news to me. Otherwise, yes, I agree with your point. Since Jesus says you have to be born again to be saved, and Christians claim to be saved, then how can you be saved without being born again? A very inconsistent position, indeed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I do not claim to be "saved". You have to persevere till the very end to be saved, that's what Scripture says, so you have to keep being faithful from Baptism to death (till God grants you life here on Earth, that is). This is why I say the "born again" doctrine makes no sense whatsoever; it's a doctrine that has no practical consequences because no matter how you put it, you have to persevere till the end. Why to believe in a doctrine that is good for nothing? This is my point. Blessings.

Hi Ernie: The thief was indeed baptized. There are 3 types of Baptism: 1) Baptism of water 2) Baptism of fire 3) Baptism of desire The thief received the Baptism of desire. The grace is the very same in the 3 of them. Then again, this puts you at odds with Scripture since the Bible talks so much about those Sacraments...........!. This sounds like "optional" and I don't think the truth is optional............... if you know something to be true, then you have to live according to that truth and not saying "it's all optional". I think this idea of "optional" is yet another consequence of the "fear of commitment" thing of modern culture. Ppl don't seem to want to be christians unless the only thing they have to do is to declare one time & one time only Jesus as their Lord & Savior. I believe the exact opposite is true: to be a christian is to have a commitment that lasts a lifetime. Blessings.

Hi! & thanx. So basically you believe that the Sacrament of Baptism carries no particular grace with it?. If that's so, then why you think Jesus emphasizes Baptism and gives to it the same importance as to preaching the Gospel (Mt. 28, 19)?.

Hi all!. As you may know, the majority of protestants keep at least one Sacrament: Baptism. Sacraments (Baptism included) provide an objective grace that does not depend on the individual (if it would, it'd be subjective) so Baptism is indeed being "born again". But in protestantism, this "born again" thing teaches that you can divide among baptized ppl, those who are "born again" and those who are not; it depends on who you ask what is being "born again" but most seem to think that it's an intellectual level of realization of one's religion (that implies to talk more about your faith and so on). This kind of thought is inconsistent with the reality of Baptism itself, because if you believe in the objectivity of grace, then you can't at the same time believe in a doctrine that preaches subjectivity of grace (hence, separating Baptism from "born againess"). So, what you believe is being "born again"??? If a person is baptized and then doing the "born again" thing......... has that person being born again 3 times??? or just 2????? (meaning the first time you were born with the original sin, then being born again through the grace of Baptism and then through the experience mentioned above). Is the content of the born again doctrine biblical, or it's just a biblical name with an unbiblical content?. If you have been baptized but not have the "born again" social distinction...... does it really matter?. And last but not least, what's the value of this born again "emotional Baptism" when compared to the true Baptism?. See you later!.

Dear Gianour: I believe Sabbath in the OT is Saturday as well.................. but that changes nothing. Our Lord resurrected on Sunday and He presided over the very first Eucharist after His Resurrection (and after it was instituted) on Sunday (Lk 24, 13; 30) and that's why we christians worship on Sunday. Besides, Adventism makes no sense because it relies on the mosaic Law but doesn't accept it as the whole 613 commandments; they only accept the "10 commandments" so they say they live by the Law but that's not true because they just ignore the truth on purpose.

It's worth the time but I'm really tired right now so lemme sum it up: 1) I do not believe in Mary having other children because the Scripture only mentions one "Son of Mary" and that's Jesus. The other ones (Jesus' cousins) are sons of another Mary, not the same person. I will never believe in Jesus' "half-brothers" until someone shows me a biblical verse where it says: "Lisa, the daughter of Mary the Mother of Jesus" or "Bart, the son of Mary the Mother of Jesus". I'm sure that's not too much to ask because that's how the Holy Scriptures identify someone's son or daughter. 2) There have been 4 Immaculate Persons in history: Adam, Eve, Jesus and Mary. 3) There are 4 Persons currently alive in body and soul: Enoch, Elijah, Mary and Jesus and the 4 of them appear in Revelations precisely because of that same characteristic of having a body (Enoch & Elijah are the two witnesses).

The whole truth about homosexuality: http://www.narth.com

But we can. Just look at how God declares He'll create Mary sinless in Gen 3, 15. If that doesn't do the trick, I dunno what will. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." How is Genesis 3:15 declaring God will create Mary sinless? Luke 1:46-47 "I will put enmity between you and the woman" God happens to mention that because with original sin there's really no more enmity between Satan and humans, He has to artificially put it there (the enmity) for Mary, that is to create Her immaculate like Adam and Eve were. Protestants tend to ignore the special intervention God talks about in Gen 3, 15 and for them, in reality that intervention equals to nothing at all (something that is absurd obviously, because you just cannot disregard God's Word). A very frequent question. It doesn't matter if you are an Immaculate human being like Adam and Eve were, you *still need* the Savior because He is the one to restore the relationship between mankind and The Lord, and only the Savior was the one that could open Heaven again for mankind (remember that before Jesus, all the good ppl including Abraham were stuck at the place called "Sheol", and they could only inherit the Kingdom after Jesus).