Why do people ask questions for which there are no answers?

[Starise]

30 minutes ago, debrakay said:

@Starise and @Justin Adams I really enjoy reading each of your thoughts about things.  Wise, mighty men of God are few and far between these days.  

IMHO there are many authors today who need to stick with fiction and stop trying to do prophsey and end times hysteria.  That and the billions of self-help books are some of my pet peeves.  I only have today and I am told not to worry about it.  If tomorrow comes I will have that day and will not worry about it.  We live in a world that wants instant gratification and instant answers.  The only problem is that many of the answers will not come while we breathe the air on this sphere.  

I was raised in the Methodist church and remember it being very boring.  At age 17 I converted to Catholiscism for a boy.  Married him. Divorced him after 10 years and 2 kids after much abuse. Joined a Foursquare spirit filled church and was born again.  The Foursquare church was governed by national and state administrative board directors.  At the time our little church had grown from 50 to 200 so they decided to move the pastor to a larger church in a city 100 miles away.  Our little church split when a new pastor came and taught a totally different message.  In 1984 there were about 10 families from many denominations who wanted to study the bible so we started a non-denominational church.  On average there are approximately 100 people in attendence to this day.  We have had 6 pastors in the past 37 years and the full congregation votes on the approval of a new pastor.  Two of the pastors retired and two of them stopped pastoring (extenuating circumstances), and one began another non-denominational church in another state.  Our newest pastor came to us last June in the middle of covid after the pastor retired.  We still study the bible and there is no administration or board of directors that governs our congregation.

I am sharing this, as who is pastoring and teaching plays a huge part in the beliefs and knowledge of the people and if that teaching is out of line with the word of God there is a problem.  A big problem.

Well @debrakay I don't see myself as a mighty man of God lol, but thanks for those comments.

Thanks for some insight into your past which looks to have been quite turbulent and varied at times. I agree the pastor is pivotal in the church. As time has went by I have really wrestled with the idea of having one man always in control. Maybe because I have seen the fallout from some of that. Since no man is above error I think there needs to be regular accountability. Yet in many assemblies, especially the smaller ones one man has a lot of power and control. I think this opens the door to the possibility teachings can be compromised. Not only that, character is important as well. I believe there should be some kind of periodic accountability. Maybe a head deacon who has these discussions with the pastor or maybe another pastor. 

 

[Justin Adams]

14 minutes ago, Starise said:

I agree the pastor is pivotal in the church.

I am unsure how we got this idea that a single man up front should rule the roost. That idea (as previously stated) has all kinds of connotations. Perhaps he should be considered the 'first among equals' and therefore a kind of moderator. I for sure do not want to be that guy - too scared of leading the sheep over the edge or some kind of aberration like that. As an engineer working for some pretty clever guys, I was never one to back down when I knew I was correct. I was considered the best troubleshooter they ever knew. I just did my job well and all my customers sang my praises. Only because I did it right - even after some very difficult trials. So I see the job of sheep leader in a different light somehow.

Interested to know other's ideas here.

[Starise]

15 hours ago, Josheb said:

I'm talking about the asking of question as an invitation to discourse when no interest in discussion, exploration, or critique exists. 

I see the same things frequently.

Our sister @debrakay is certainly not in that category. Often I think the question should be reworded as a statement concerning a few others-

I have an opinion on this I think everyone else should be aware of. I want you to know my opinion and how intelligent I was to arrive at it. I'm open to challenges on it. I'm even looking forward to the intense debate. Don't even think about me changing my mind on it.

This isn't to say we aren't all entitled to an opinion on a question before we ask it. If it truly is a question though, we asked the question because we are still chewing on an answer to hopefully either change our opinion or expand on it.

This is one reason I often don't prefer to jump into debate on those types of threads because they go to 15 pages with nothing but statements and re statements of the same things...round and round it goes. Where it stops no one knows. Person A receives a correct answer from no less than three different people, yet they continue to assert a stubborn attitude in face of the facts on it. Goes nowhere. Every time.

But then I don't like heated debate. I like calm respectful rational discourse.

17 hours ago, Justin Adams said:

So I see the job of sheep leader in a different light somehow.

Same here. To summarize my feelings on it I'll provide an example in the animal kingdom. I have some laying hens with one rooster in the group. Recently another rooster out on loan that I falsely assumed was dead was put into the same pen.

Maybe you know what happens when you have two roosters. I found one almost dead and had to split them apart. One would have literally killed the other one.

This is how some churches are run. We can have 3 or 4 worship leaders. We can  have multiple Sunday school teachers, but if there are multiple pastors look out.

I have seem men gifted to preach and speak run off by head pastors.

[Justin Adams]

I came across this today and was astounded: seems it is the pre-mil position.

"David's son, the Lord Jesus Christ, must return to the earth, bodily and literally, in order to reign over David's covenanted kingdom. The allegation that Christ is seated on the Father's throne reigning over a spiritual kingdom, the church, simply does not fulfill the promises of the covenant ... A literal earthly kingdom must be constituted over which the returned Messiah reigns" - Pentecost, Things to Come, pp. 114,115 (via Miller, p. 98).

"Had the people received Him, He would have fulfilled the kingly prophecies in their day in addition to the ones regarding the suffering Messiah. But when the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Christ, the fulfillment of His kingship was postponed until the final culmination of world history" - Lindsey, There's a New World Coming, p. 30 (via McGuiggan & Jordan, slide #188).

"...even though Christ has the right to rule the earth, He isn't exercising this authority over kings and kingdoms at this time" - Hal Lindsey, There's a New World Coming, p. 206 (via McGuiggan and Jordan, slide #206).

[Marathoner]

On 4/30/2021 at 1:32 PM, Justin Adams said:

I am unsure how we got this idea that a single man up front should rule the roost. That idea (as previously stated) has all kinds of connotations. Perhaps he should be considered the 'first among equals' and therefore a kind of moderator. I for sure do not want to be that guy - too scared of leading the sheep over the edge or some kind of aberration like that. As an engineer working for some pretty clever guys, I was never one to back down when I knew I was correct. I was considered the best troubleshooter they ever knew. I just did my job well and all my customers sang my praises. Only because I did it right - even after some very difficult trials. So I see the job of sheep leader in a different light somehow.

Interested to know other's ideas here.

The model is the Divine Council, brother. The Lord presides over the assembly of His holy ones; we read passages of scripture wherein the Lord calls upon those assembled to step forward and answer Him. Such was the case in the book of Job when the Lord, presiding over the sons of God who presented themselves before Him, inquired of Satan who entered His presence:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” (Job 1:6-7 NASB)

Therefore we see that the Lord is the head of His Divine Council, which is also true of His many-membered Body on this earth. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything" (Colossians 1:17-18 NASB). 

The Lord has first place in everything, to include the assembly of His holy ones (the saints) upon this earth. In this way we are indeed the reflection of His Divine Council seated in the heavenly places, for we are seated with Him even now. The graciousness of the Lord is reflected in how even our accuser was given leave to come forth and answer God in His presence; how much more is this true of His saints, the holy ones of Christ? 

The notion that a man (or woman) should be "in charge" of the assembly is foreign to His Spirit; wasn't this the aspiration of the wicked one who fell like lightning from heaven? A pastor is accordingly foreign to my sensibilities at any rate. There are shepherds, servitors of the sheep, whom the Lord is pleased to charge with the task of looking after our welfare. A shepherd ensures our needs are met; a shepherd ensures that we're taught soundly and understand what is given by the gifts of the Spirit through the brethren in the assembly. A shepherd serves His sheep. 

I've only encountered one shepherd in the Lord who was also called to be a teacher, but I'm certain there are others to be found in the Body. In the case of our brother who was assigned to be my shepherd by God, he introduced me to the milk of the word so I might firmly grasp this salvation in Jesus Christ. He was (and still is) a humble brother who never once considered himself to be a shepherd of the Lord's flock, but the truth was evident in his carrying out the duties of a shepherd. 

No man or woman is equipped to be sufficient in all things (like the pastor who preaches sermons and is placed in a position of authority by men) hence we are a many-membered Body. Each of us has something to offer the Lord and each other and in my case all those years ago, I witness the works of His Spirit and declare them so my brothers and sisters might be edified and share in the blessing. 

The Lord blesses us and we are not to keep the blessing to ourselves. We are called upon to pour ourselves out just as Christ pours Himself and His Spirit upon us. 

Our brother could not argue when I gently informed him that he was indeed a shepherd in addition to being a teacher approved by the Lord. Babes are prone to blurting out the truth on occasion. I know, because the Lord sent me to him from far away. 

There is a place for the shepherd, the elder in faith, the young with their strong backs and eager spirit, the teacher, the evangelist, the witness, and the simple in faith among the assembly of the Lord. Like His Divine Council in the heavenly places so is His Body upon this earth.  

[JohnD]

So long as we know God is the answer...

[JohnD]

The topic is not exactly along these lines...

I used to be in apologetic ministry contending

for the  faith with cultists. My tactic was to

give them questions they couldn't answer

and answers they couldn't question.

[Justin Adams]

18 hours ago, Marathoner said:

Like His Divine Council

Agreed.

[Leonardo Von]

Quote

Why do people ask questions for which there are no answers?

They ask because they crave for getting deep in the Holy Scripture and think that the Creator revealed something to someone.