Joy in the Journey

<{POST_SNAPBACK}> My bad- I didn't catch that...I was getting confused with something Foglight stated and I lumped you two's responses together in my mind. My apologies I believe things were quite different before the fall- because after God created each day He said "it was very good". I guess we see things from different perspectives. You say the design is poor- I say the design was originally good and things are not poorly designed- they are tainted with sin. The Bible says that ALL creation has suffered due to man's sin and that death did not enter the world until sin. Be blessed, Tim P.S. I can't find that other thread you said you started. Did it disappear or am I blind

Nope- you get 6 days and you provide ( create ) the building materials as well. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hmm, do we get infinite power and wisdom as well? If so, I could of course do it in under six days. Ian <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm not sure I want to continue this- Lucifer did the same thing ( wanted to be like God ). At first you said you could do better...and only now you start adding restrictions and wanting attributes of God- originally you simply said you could do better...now you admit you need God's qualities to do the job

Nope- you get 6 days and you provide ( create ) the building materials as well.

I guess there's no point in arguing here...a basic truth to Christianity is believing that God's Word is true and complete. If you deny that, your faith has nothing solid to stand on. Be blessed, Tim

Don't you think that God's sovereignty extends into the fact that He set up the rules that govern nature at the time of creation, therefore He is still ultimately in control whilst still allowing His [ created ] laws to run their course ? And the verses I provided to you ? You say that " Just because something is written in the bible back then doesn't mean it's true today " The Bible says God never changes. He's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He had control of the winds and the waves then, as He does today and as He will tomorrow. God bless, Tim

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder then isn't it ? I see an awesome creation around me, and while it's no longer perfect ( due to our shortcomings ), it still holds the original majesty of her Creator. Be blessed, Tim

Examples please God bless, Tim <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Certainly. Us for a start- Our eye, for one - they are really quite poor. Our nerves extend from the retina towards the front of the eye, a ridiculous idea as it blocks light and means we have to have a blind spot. Our retinas are back to front, our photoreceptors (rods and cones) point away from the light. Squids have it the right way round though. Our backs, definitely not designed for walking upright. We have examples of decent load bearing hinges, they are called knees. Ask anyone that has a back problem (note: I am one). Our lungs. When we breathe in, we mix all that nice fresh air with the de-oxygenated stuff currently in our lungs. Not a good idea. Birds, on the other hand, dont have this problem and as a result their lungs are something like 10 times more efficient. Our vitamin C gene. Its broken, and we can get scurvy because of this. Our heads. These are big, really big, and cause a lot of problems when we are born, they are the cause for many deaths of children and of mothers (nowadays, we have much better healthcare). Our laryngeal nerve. This nerve is used for speech (goes to the larynx, thus the name). It comes from the brain and branches off at the neck, as you would expect. Then it goes down towards the chest and loops round by your heart, and back up to the kneck again. Very odd, and this is also seen in the giraffe (well, any mammal), where it requires an extra ~15 feet of nerves. http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/Gro...cn/cn1/cn10.htm Our appendix. Perfectly designed to trap bacteria, get infected and explode. Serves no useful purpose other than to kill people. Haemoglobin likes carbon monoxide more than it does oxygen. This is not a good idea, as it means carbon monoxide can kill us. I think thats enough for now, and this only covers us, though some are generic in mammals or apes. One more, why does God hate the female spotted hyena? I will quote directly from this site: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/Zoo...pottedhyena.cfm (emphasis mine) Hmm, lets read on. Ow. Hope this helps. Ian <{POST_SNAPBACK}> First a practical response, then a spiritual one... Could you do better ? I'd like to see you design something as complex as the human body ( or anything in creation for that matter ) - and mind you, you have no material to build with...you have to provide not only the design but the materials to build as well. And now a spiritual response, the Bible says - Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. God created us wonderful, we screwed it up...and due to sin - Romans 8:22 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Romans 5:12-14 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned

What in the world are you talking about ?

Or.....you could simply be a good steward with what God has given you, use His gifts judiciously and be blessed for your obedience to His Word. Just another option to isolation Be blessed my friend, Tim

Examples please God bless, Tim

Yes, but it ( atheism ) requires faith in the nonexistence of some kind of deity does it not ? Although, some* atheists I have dealt with in the past consider "no deity" to be the baseline ( of truth ) and anything above that [ baseline ] ( 'religion' ) would require faith- but not in the 'no belief' itself ( of a deity ). * Please note I said "some" to avoid the incessant cry that [ we're ] making "straw man" arguments Be blessed, Tim

According to this link, atheism is also a religion in it's own rite Doesn't a "religion" by definition involve some degree of faith ? Makes me wonder what the resident atheists think about that ( Okay- bring it on! I'm ready to come under fire for that one Just don't use the term "straw man" please- I'm tired of it too ) Be blessed, Tim

Hey Ted, Don't forget what Peter said about the end times - 2 Peter 3:3-5 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. Just thought it was pertinent to those who deny we are in the "end times" Be blessed my brother, Tim

Wow! That was fast Thank you much for that! God bless, Tim

Hey, Sorry to post this request here, but I can't seem to get the "Search" function to work properly today...don't know what's wrong Anyway, about a week ago, a several of you ( I know Sister Zayit and Brother Yod were two of them ) posted a link to that book called "Eye to Eye" that lists "coincidences" between America's actions towards Israel and natural disasters. I'd like to find that link again if possible so I can do some deeper study. Anyone happen to have it handy ? Cheers! Tim

No, actually it was kind of an afterthought- something for you to look over and think about whilst I work on my answers/questions regarding your last post; which I'm still looking over and thinking about. I'm in no hurry ( unless you are ? ) I'll be getting back with you soon I hope- I should have stated that and put "in the mean time- have a go at this" in my last post...sorry mate Be blessed, Tim

You wouldn't be dealing with "Calvinists" by chance would you ? Sorry Used to be one- lots of flaws in it [ Calvinism ] - sounds like something I once dealt with God bless you, Tim <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You must be talking about a very warped version of Calvinism then.I have several friends who believe Calvinistic doctrine, as do I, and we would never use such a weak excuse as that. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank you, Smiles. GMAB. The OP is talking about people who want to make excuse for their sin and ignore personal responsibility. To turn that into a Calvinist bash, complete with the usual misrepresentation of Calvinism is.............................whatever. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I am SO sorry! I have MANY Calvinist friends- truely I do. I'm just not what you'd call a "hard-core" believer in what John Calvin tought- but some of what he tought I do believe. I NEVER meant to offend nor bash- I promise. I just have a hard time with the "Limited Atonement" and the "Unconditional Election" aspects of Calvinism....but the concept of Calvinism itself is pretty much what I believe still- I just believe that God gives us a free will to choose whether to accept Him or not to- just like He did to Adam. Once again, I never meant to offend....please forgive me ? Love in Him, Tim

Thanks for the links everyone Not sure why my link was removed, but I'll respect the decision that was made. I hardly think that all the executive orders ( in the link I posted ) granting FEMA all the power they have are hyperbole or manufactured by conspiracy theorists- but.... Anyway, thanks for the input so far and my God bless you richly Tim

I promise I'm not trying to be smart here but let's say instead of Katrina after the Gaza pullout, there was a large F5 tornado that tore up let's say an uninhabited ( or lightly inhabited ) portion of Kansas. Would everyone be drawing the same conclusion as the are right now ? I'm not arguing, only wondering God bless, Tim

Greetings, Does anyone know anything about FEMA ? I've been reading/studying a few things about them and some of it is a bit disconcerting to say the least. I know in the public's eyes they are simply as their name states - the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of coordinating disaster readiness and such - but I've also read a few things that simply can not be overlooked. They have powers in excess of Congress and the President. Why ? What do they need all that broad power for. This is far form a "conspiracy theory", rather these are facts about this agency. I'm not really interested in discussing whether they are part of some new world order that some say ( I'll keep that to myself ), but perhaps a discussion on what we do know about them. Any thought about this ? God bless, Tim

I asked this question in a different thread, but I'll ask it here too - how large does a "catastrophe" have to be before it's considered "the wrath of God" ? 10 people ? 100 people ? A small city ? A large city ? How about deaths ? 1 ? 10 ? 100 ? 1000 ? 10,000 ? Would a windstorm that blows a tree over onto a family of 6 whilst driving down the motorway be a "freak of nature" or God's wrath on that family ( and an example the the rest of the nation they live in ) ? Honestly- where does one draw the line ? When does a natural disaster become "the wrath of God" ? If a bolt of lightning strikes a single house- is that an act of God's wrath or just nature being nature ? Just something I've been wondering for all those who say Katrina was God punishing America. "Disaster" is relative to those it affects...in my opinion at least. To that family in the house that got hit by lightning, it's a disaster- but to someone in a different country ( or even city ), would they even care unless they had interest in that home/family ? Probably not. So, when does a "disaster" change from being a simple act of nature to the "wrath of God" ? God bless, Tim

I serve a risen Saviour, he's in the world today; I know that he is living whatever men may say; I see his hand of mercy; I hear his voice of cheer, And just the time I need him, he's always near. He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me Along life's narrow way. He lives, he lives, salvation to impart! You ask my how I know he lives? He lives within my heart. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, Lift up your voice and sing. Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the king! The hope of all who seek him, The help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind. A favourite of mine...and fitting in answer to your question God bless, Tim

Hey Nebula! I just caught this post. Say, I'm the same as you are- I'll literally sit and stare at the tele for an hour scared half to death about picking it up and dialing...I keep coming up with excuses as to not have to place the call. It's not as bad if someone rings me, but if I have to ring someone- it freaks me out...bad! If I do finally make the call, it's a milestone for me and I feel proud of myself for doing it ( what everyone else does without thinking is a big accomplishment for me! ) Anyway, you're not alone here my friend And I looked it up ? It's called "Telephonophobia" - clever name huh ? Who'da thunk God bless you, Tim