Philologos

I agree with any disparaging comments made about KJV, lol. The most common form of the word, yes, but no grammatical rule to necessarily count this in the 59% of that. Also correct? Translating it that way leaves the door open for meaningless conjecture; making the translation process more important than what God was conveying in the text. (knowledge over spirit) The first chapter of Genesis was written before grammatical rules were developed. Word meanings aren’t even the same. The original text was very primitive, and was literally stick-figure drawing that was later developed into language. While I’ve translated many parts of scripture, I have translated the entire first chapter of Genesis with great obsession. I’ve found that the writing style is different- considerably from chapter two and on…) which means the era it was written & the individual who penned it, all preceded the subsequent chapters & eras in scripture. (There are characteristic ‘habits’ in writing that are carried down by scribes providing they copy correctly. The content & style of this one chapter places it as having been written during the first 235 years of Adam’s life. (Yes, I did the research- that’s what I do… used to do.)

Oh, no worries. You mentioned it, I thought you had insight based on the verb tense you used. I mistakenly thought you used that phrase to bring it to someone’s attention. It kinda made it sound like you were aware something had happened previously, rather than merely stating, “it was…” Just curious, that’s all.

I agree that scripture does reveal God in a multitude of personas; although, it also reveals all of them as One. Actually, it says that. My inquiry is, since scripture teaches they are “one,” why do you think some (maybe yourself) focus more on the trinity you see mentioned in scripture rather than the oneness that God urges us to comprehend? What if someone asked for you to explain the oneness of the 3, rather than the multiplicity of the 1?

As ‘three separate beings,’ how do you respond to those who say, or point out scripture, that “God is One,” and that if each is a separate being, and each is God, then you are essentially saying that you believe in three Gods, polytheism. How would you guide someone from that point of objection, to help them understand?

Well, He’s given us the ability to choose. And He’s given us two pursuits to choose: His Spirit or the Spirit of the World. His Spirit= Tree of Life, eternal communion w/God based on what God has given us in writing. World= Tree of Knowledge, gain knowledge possessed by God that He didn’t give us, yet. Adam/Eve put the cart before the horse and filled up on knowledge w/o first learning the ways of God and living by them. Had they not chosen that tree, they (and we) would have then had access to both trees and lived eternally without having any curiosity, shame, misuse of knowledge, etc. ”Seek first the Kingdom of God…”(spirit) ”Do not conform to this world…”(knowledge) [yes, I simplified that, but to make a point- we have a choice (& freedom) to pursue knowledge, but must understand that evil is a companion component of good. (Per Genesis) Putting Spirit first (the written teachings), we are able to better discern between the two. As it is, we often confuse the two and put knowledge (good or bad, we don’t really know) before learning how to use it.

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on “what happened to earth…?”

…it’s about the different perspectives of believers. My observation is this: Most people just ‘believe in the trinity,’ and others ‘are Trinitarians.’ I'm not questioning belief, I’m really asking for your personal thought process regarding how you “see” God in your mind and how that may differ in how you describe Him to others. [possible ways to make this into a tangible question…] Do you picture God as one, but 3 roles? Do you picture God as 3, but still call Him One Do you picture God as 3, but claim the Father & Son are One when others may mention polytheism? Do you feel that sharing Him as 3 individuals is more beneficial or less than presenting Him as One God, (or vise-versa)? How do you handle opposition? Im not seeking specific answers to these specific questions; these are examples intended only to inspire answers to those who would like to contribute to what is certain to be a variety of perspectives. I’ve had different thoughts and perspectives over the years. Thought it would be interesting to hear how others reconcile, or just deal with, this particular doctrine and others who may think differently. Please don’t post tons of scripture as your response, I’m looking for your personal words… you can certainly work scripture into your response; if fact, it’s best that you do, but it’s up to you.

Yes, God created the universe, but the Genesis account is not about the creation of the universe, it’s about the beginning of life on earth… just earth, and specifically, the focus was on a limited region. We don’t have to reconcile the age difference, because scripture isn’t telling that story. We don’t know, per scripture, what happened- if anything, before the 6 days. So what if God waited billions of years before creating life… or, so what if God did it all at once 6000 years ago and people want to argue about it?! The point is, it really doesn’t matter when, or how everything was done. God doesn’t owe us that explanation. He wrote down what He wanted us to know, the starting point of life on earth.

‘A balanced life…’ What are we balancing? If it’s God “and-” …whatever follows “and” is what makes one’s life out-of-balance.

As a former jw, I can say that the division in families is not caused by choosing between Christ and family, but between The Watchtower Publishing Company and your family members who reject their doctrine & rules. There is no similarity between jw’s and scripture. I intentionally instilled in my kids to ‘love Jesus more than you love me, because He’ll make you able to love me more.’ By comparison, I’d rather my kids ‘hate’ (love less) me and focus their whole being on loving Him. If there comes a day they ever have to make a choice, they’ll know to choose God without hesitation.

Wait till you have professional preachers tell you that you’re deluded by satan himself, or being told to prepare for the lake of fire. Please understand that those who say these things are not of God. Based on current theological pigeonholing, I don’t exist… I discuss spiritual warfare strategies with Him, have Him show me what He wants me to know, explain things to me… and He does. In order for me to be accepted in churches, I cannot testify about my personal relationship with Christ… so, I keep Him to myself and only share with unbelievers, who happen to be more receptive to God when you remove the weight of expectation one generally experiences in a church setting. It is unsettling to sit with Christians and feel like you have to quench the spirit until you feel like exploding- If all you have is God, you have more than the others!

I always picture the Spirit hovering in darkness and God saying let there be light… His spirit, as we read throughout scripture, is light! A rainbow, (sign of promise), is made from light- into 7 individual colors. God is light, and scripture speaks of His 7 spirits, or ‘7 eyes’… The Spirit, Himself, is a promise. No doctrinal fodder or speculation here, but a cool observation, nonetheless.

I agree. Too many believers don’t know what to do when they hear something amiss… which begs the question, “once I hear error at the pulpit, what do I do?” Do I choose to become like-minded and accept this from my shepherd to avoid conflict? Do I ignore it and hope everyone else was asleep when it was said? Do I leave the church & take my family with me? Do I confront the pulpiteer? Do I stand up from the back row (as a visitor) and correct the speaker in front of his flock? I’ve done all of this, and not for any small thing… Needless to say, I don’t go to church anymore and I have no Christian friends, and- my son and I may never be close again, but only because I didn’t discern the spirits correctly.

All I’m saying is that verse is not associated with the end times. If time is as irrelevant as seen in the cited examples, why do we still change what the narrative of scripture in order for it to support something else we believe? Let’s say the scripture directly tells us that whenever we read “1000 yrs,” it really does means 1 day, and vice-versa… And it also says you have to be sure to tell people about the 1000 yrs. But you know that 1000 yrs means 1 day, so, to aid others in understanding, you tell them about the “1 day.” Have you taught scripture as God intended for us to see it and learn it? Whether your interpretation is right or wrong, did you teach God’s Word or your interpretation? If scripture says 1000 years, on what are we basing the interpretation of merely a ‘day?’ I actually used to believe that regardless of when we died, we’d all arrive simultaneously… I realized that was a “loose end” that tied up because I had other incorrect interpretations. I don’t deny that may be the way it happens, but it’s not a ‘doctrine’ in my quiver anymore.

Many theologians, preachers, & teachers have taught that; but, they derived that idea from the scripture where it says, ‘1 day to God is like a 1000 years,” and labeled it as the “Hebrew mindset.” Years later, we accept this as our proof in using it as an end times cipher, only because we’re told that from some theologian who made a huge assumption. Basically, that phrase is used to explain that while we might consider 1000 years to be a long time, God does not consider the passing of 1000 years to be any different than we would a day. It doesn’t mean we define 1000 years as a ‘day,’ or a day to mean 1000 years. It’s an encouragement to not become discouraged waiting for God, as Israel had. Was the thief on the cross in Paradise that DAY, or did Jesus really mean, “Ya actually gotta wait like a thousand years.”

This is a cult movement that is being imbedded in churches, theology & literature. Some of the leaders of this movement operate places of “teaching doctrine,” whereas they refer to themselves as “Chancellor.” As self-proclaimed language experts, these men know full well that their title means “Lord.” Regardless of the word used, that is who they think they are to us. Local radio ministry here, (in a predominately Baptist influenced city of a million people), suddenly changed their verbiage, and literally chanted one of those phrases on the air. Doctrine-based churches are most susceptible to this.

It’s really all about the conscience of the person- the presence of a statue in a public place doesn’t mean the food was dedicated to the statute… all food is good if eaten with a clear conscience… Christians have no right to demand anything from anyone in this world! Once, I paid for a cheeseburger & the gal scooped melted cheese onto it with her painted fingernail- I happily received it and then dropped it in the garbage on my way out. I had every right to ask that the situation be corrected as a citizen on this earth; but, as a citizen of heaven, I shouldn’t look for reasons to enter someone else’s property and complain about my experience while I’m wandering around, outside of the will of God. I personally boycott churches that display symbols/icons of war & death, and that celebrate pagan holidays while ignoring biblical celebrations.

Regarding the ‘wide path vs narrow gate…’ Churches offer the wide path by allowing those walking the wide path to feel welcome. We invite people “as is,” into our midst and then we wonder why we don’t ‘hear from the Holy Spirit.’ However, if they tithe, they potentially contribute up to 50% of the pastor’s sal- I mean, the church’s budget. So, it is often accepted as a necessary evil to allow unsaved people to settle in and, in some cases, run the church, in order for the church to function as a physical entity rather than a spiritual body.

Most deception is self-inflicted. We want so much to believe things in a certain way, we’ll devote ourselves to a guy who seems sincere or can sound like he really knows what he’s talking about. if the ‘elect’ are deceived, it’s most likely to come from the pulpit- if the people we devote ourselves to are deceived by the chaotic amount of conflicting truths, doctrines, and theological philosophies, they will lead us into that same deception. Pastors don’t know how to test the spirits, so they can’t teach us, so we’re helpless against deception unless we are actively engaged with the Spirit of God & depend on Him to help us see.

Yes- people prevent themselves from seeing the unity from which the practice of unity can result.

Micah’s prophecy does not indicate what law the nations will be under, but it is not the same law as was given to Moses, as Micah wrote regarding the last days: “All nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the Name of YHWH.” The Prophets do mention a requirement for each nation to annually send a delegate to honor Him in order to ‘get rain.’

I think the unique aspect of the scripture’s instruction is that it is designed to create unity, not just to provide education. The gifts we are given are to be used when we meet for mutual benefit- can’t have mutual benefit without instructing people on how to be ‘in the Spirit,’ (in Unity)

Former military, UDF(only) trained, but am strongly against all the gun nonsense here. They just passed a law (in my state) for any nutcase to carry w/o a permit. I rather respect the ‘premeditated’ perspective on gun-users in Australian law. That is truly remarkable wisdom! The obvious should be stated for Christians, though… “You can’t have a good grip on the Sword of the Spirit if you’re also holding a gun.” -bb

When believers meet with God in the Spirit, there is no distinction in the translation of written words. No one is judged by how they speak, as long as they are understood by all others.

True, but if the needless different doctrine were removed, imagine what we can do, unified. I used to be asked by fellow believers if I was saved… now, I’m just quizzed on my doctrinal positions & bible translation… lol, I’m always ignored once I answer those dividing questions.