What Mormons Believe--according to a Former BYU Professor

[Giuliano]

Somebody claiming to be a prophet / servant of God doesn't hold much weight for me. Rather, if God tells me someone is His servant, that matters.

My guess is that some of the people who believe Jacobs is a prophet would also think God told them she was.

I look at myself and know I have weaknesses. Thus I know someone could come along and appeal to my weaknesses with flattering words or with other words that I might want to be true in order to justify my own shortcomings. I can see how others have been duped and know I'm not special so I could be duped too. My heart might lead me in the wrong direction if I put too much trust in my own ability to get answers directly from God by posing questions. Thus I put great weight on what Moses said and dismiss any prophet who makes even one mistake when claiming to be speaking by divine inspiration. I don't mind people sharing opinions and I surely don't hold it against them if I think they're wrong or even if they are wrong. I can be wrong, so I need to forgive others when they look wrong to me. I draw the line though when someone says he's speaking on behalf of God and then what he predicted doesn't happen. I no longer entertain the thought that he might be a true prophet. Up to that point, I couldn't be sure.

 

[Giuliano]

Your point is valid. At least to an extent. A lot of it goes back to if you believe that the name of God the Father and God the Son has power. The names in the Bible and the sounds of those names. If God is going to say, I know what you mean....then all good....then it does not matter what name you use. If Paul was right and only one name can be called on for salvation....that is problem. He knew Christ's name was Yeshua, he too had never heard of someone called Jesus. It is a very serious deception and a very lame one at that. Still, to your point, I hope that you are right....a lot of souls are counting on the fact that it just does not matter what name you use.

Except for the letter J the name of persons, places, and things were translated correctly. This is a tradition even back then, the names of places were pronounced the same in all languages so that if you met someone at a crossroads and asked which way to Rome, it did not matter what language you spoke you would understand.

I think intention matters more than anything else. Besides what does "name" mean in the Bible? In England, police may knock on your door and say, "Open in the name of the King." Here in the USA, it would be "Open in the name of the law." There are passages in the Bible, I think "name" means "invoking the authority of."

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Let me think about that. Where to start? Where to start? Perhaps with his so often writing as if Gentiles were ever under the Law of Moses?

He seems to write a lot about the Law of Moses. Why? If he was sent to Gentiles as he said, why even bother talking about the Law of Moses?

Today Christians still seem perplexed about it. What do you think? Would that be a good place to start?

Hey, I already know what "Blueberry" thinks about this, but if you "two" decide to begin a discussion, please start another thread because this topic deserves its own. Thanks!

 

[Giuliano]

Maybe they had a different reason for calling them "Wise Men." Maybe the translators have it right!

The same word is used twice in Acts.

Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation ) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

 

[Giuliano]

Hey, I already know what "Blueberry" thinks about this, but if you "two" decide to begin a discussion, please start another thread because this topic deserves its own. Thanks!

Don't get your feathers ruffled. Blueberry suggested a thread. You don't need to manage us.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

How many times does he claim to write by divine inspiration? Indeed how many books in the New Testament claim to be authored by divine inspiration?

The highest form of inspiration is attributed to the Torah's five books. The second highest is called "the Prophet." Jesus recognized the difference. Most Christians do not. Then there was the third category of "writings." The Jews say the Torah has no mistakes, the prophets may have a few here and there; and the writings may have even more errors. I would say most of the New Testament falls into the third category. Revelation seems distinctly "prophetic" to me and thus of a higher degree of inspiration than most of the other books of the New Testament.

All scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit. As far as Paul claiming that he wrote by divine inspiration, he claimed to speak on behalf of the Lord, like in 1 Cor 7.

The highest form of inspiration is the Torah??? Says you, but you have some very strange ideas.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

You are now comparing the Bible to God. For shame! The Bible was written by men and men make mistakes. If God had to wait for perfect people to do His work, it wouldn't get done.

It amazes me that Christians took Jewish books which the Jews openly state have errors in them and will even tell you what they are and then proclaimed these books "inerrant."

You say the serpent is tempting us? Maybe the serpent is tempting you to worship a book. You seem to think the whole universe might collapse and God would fall off His Throne if there was even one tiny error in the Bible. Good grief!

Then you quote Romans 3? Well then, let Paul be a liar! He said it. You can't believe it! What a fine jest!

Wow, just wow! You mock me, and I'll get over it. But you're mocking God's Word--again! Not wise!

 

[Prayer Warrior]

The same word is used twice in Acts.

Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation ) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

And a word can have various meanings depending on context--how the word is being used. I know you know this.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Don't get your feathers ruffled. Blueberry suggested a thread. You don't need to manage us.

LOL!!! I couldn't possibly "manage" either of you! But God can! He certainly manages me when I get out of line. :)

 

[Grailhunter]

I agree with this. I learned a lot of historical and cultural info in those Bible classes that helped me understand the NT better.

Part 2 to that discussion on the J’s

As you have seen I use the term J Bibles, and that pretty much includes most Bibles, but that goes into the discussion of the J slam on the Bibles. You and I discussed the issue with God’s names. But that was only one of the casualties of the J slam. The overall rule for translating is word to word when possible, the word for house in Hebrew or Greek to the word for house in English. The general rule for persons, places, or things, is sound equivalence when possible. Bethlehem in Hebrew should sound close to the same in English.

The J slam in the Bible mostly targeted persons, places, and things that started with Y’s and replaced all or nearly all of them with J’s. For example: Jerusalem, Joseph, Job, Joshua, Jeshua, Jeremiah, John, James….All are pronounced with Y’s. Other words like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Bethlehem …etc were not affected. If you look up their Hebrew pronunciation, they come across in the English spelling relatively close. OT mostly Hebrew…NT mostly Greek…. Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Bethlehem Spelled and Pronounced the same in both.

This J slam also affected words outside the Bible…some of it was associated with what they call the consonant shift of the Middle Ages.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

@Giuliano and @Grailhunter

I'm glad to know that you're both online this morning because what I have to say is addressed to both of you. It seems that a you both have been on a very extensive and wide search for truth--big bubble, as GH has said. (I would call it the "wide road that leads to destruction.")

Years ago, I went on a quest for better health. I began to wonder what would happen to my physical health if I only ate food that is healthy. This meant no refined foods like white sugar and white flour, no trans-fat, no pesticide-laden foods…. You get the idea.

God began to show me something. This not only applies to our physical bodies, but it also applies to our minds. I realized that I was spending way more time watching worldly television than I was in His Word, so I was not filling my mind with truth. I wasn’t watching anything bad; it just wasn’t good.

I didn’t really take this very seriously until 2007, when I came close to death after being poisoned. Two trips to emergency rooms only made matters worse. I felt like the woman with the issue of blood who spent all that she had on doctors and was made worse by them. For me dying was not an option. My kids really needed me.

At this time, I resolved to fill my body with good food and my mind with truth. I ate organic food as much as possible, and I put scriptures having to do with faith and healing in my large country kitchen on all the upper cabinets. Many times a day, I would walk around reading each scripture aloud. That was 12 years ago, and I’m still here. :)

Have you ever heard of someone on a quest for physical health who put anything and everything into the body that can possibly be ingested? If we sample everything we can possibly ingest in our quest for health, we will end up ingesting poison, and this poison will not bring health, but will kill the body.

This even applies to food sources that have some healthy elements, but also contain poison, like poisonous mushrooms. Even though a poisonous mushroom may have elements for health, the healthy elements in them cannot be extracted and separated from the poison, so both are ingested. Instead of enhancing a person’s health, they ultimately cause death.

Many false religions and worldly philosophies have some elements of truth, but overall, they are poison to the mind. They may make sense to the human mind, but they do not lead us closer to the truth at all, but ultimately bring death. There really is no neutral. They either take us closer or farther from God.

Here are some scriptures that I think apply.

Col 2:8— See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Romans 8:5-6— For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 12:2— Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Philippians 2:5-- Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,…

What we fill our minds with is as important as what we fill our bodies with. Like Paul said, the mind set on the flesh is death. For people who let the flesh (sin nature) rule their minds, it brings death. We need to fill our minds with God's truth, not the philosophies of man and empty deceit. What we read in the Bible is God's truth.

In the OT, God forbade the men of Israel from marrying women from nations that did not worship the One True God, because He didn't want His people to adopt their ungodly ways and begin to believe in and serve their false gods. This is because the women would fill their minds with the empty deceit of their false religions and lead them away from the One True God.

Deut. 7:3-4—Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods.
.

 

[Grailhunter]

@Giuliano and @Grailhunter

I'm glad to know that you're both online this morning because what I have to say is addressed to both of you. It seems that a you both have been on a very wide search for truth--big bubble, as GH has said. (I would call it the "wide road that leads to destruction.")

Years ago, I was on a quest for health. I began to wonder what would happen to my physical health if I only ate food that is healthy. This meant no refined foods like white sugar and white flour, no trans-fat, no pesticide-laden foods…. You get the idea.

God began to show me something. This not only applies to our physical bodies, but it also applies to our minds. I realized that I was spending way more time watching worldly television than I was in His Word. I was not filling my mind with truth. I wasn’t watching anything bad; it just wasn’t good.

I didn’t really take this very seriously until 2007, when I came close to death after being poisoned. Two trips to emergency rooms only made matters worse. I felt like the woman with the issue of blood who spent all that she had on doctors and was made worse by them. For me dying was not an option. My kids really needed me.

At this time, I resolved to fill my body with good food and my mind with truth. I ate organic food as much as possible, and I put scriptures having to do with faith and healing in my large country kitchen on all the upper cabinets. Many times a day, I would walk around reading each scripture aloud. That was 12 years ago, and I’m still here. :)

Have you ever heard of someone on a quest for physical health who put anything and everything into the body that can possibly be ingested? If we sample everything we can possibly ingest in our quest for health, we will end up ingesting poison, and this poison will not bring health, but will kill the body.

This even applies to food sources that have some healthy elements, but also contain poison, like poisonous mushrooms. Even though a poisonous mushroom may have elements of health, the healthy elements in them cannot be extracted and separated from the poison, so both are ingested. Instead of enhancing a person’s health, they ultimately cause death.

Many false religions and worldly philosophies have some elements of truth, but overall, they are poison to the mind. They may make sense to the human mind, but they do not lead us closer to the truth at all, but ultimately bring death. There really is no neutral. They either take us closer or farther from God.

Here are some scriptures that I think apply.

Col 2:8— See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Romans 8:5-6— For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 12:2— Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Philippians 2:5-- Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,…

What we fill our minds with is as important as what we fill our bodies with. Like Paul said, the mind set on the flesh is death. For people who let the flesh (sin nature) rule their minds, it brings death. We need to fill our minds with God's truth, not the philosophies of man and empty deceit.

In the OT, God forbade the men of Israel from marrying women from nations that did not worship the One True God, because He didn't want His people to adopt their ungodly ways and begin to believe in and serve their false gods. This is because the women would fill their minds with the empty deceit of their false religions and lead them away from the One True God.

Deut. 7:3-4—Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods.
.

When I am talking to someone that is a fundamentalist I try to stay within those perimeters. The discussion of the correct translation of the scriptures is within those perimeters. The belief in God, the spiritual, the Word of God, the power thereof...our understanding of any and all of that is dependent on the accurate translation of the scriptures. Again you underestimate me. This is not the big bubble, this is getting your ducks in a row. As it stand right now, the Bible has corrupted the scriptures more than anyone outside of Fundamentalism. Which to some degree is my overall point, that before we start pointing fingers and saying they have violated the scriptures we might want to clean our own house up first.

 

[Giuliano]

Many false religions and worldly philosophies have some elements of truth, but overall, they are poison to the mind. They may make sense to the human mind, but they do not lead us closer to the truth at all, but ultimately bring death. There really is no neutral. They either take us closer or farther from God.

Here are some scriptures that I think apply.

Col 2:8— See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Why aren't you a Catholic?

 

[Grailhunter]

@Giuliano and @Grailhunter

I'm glad to know that you're both online this morning because what I have to say is addressed to both of you. It seems that a you both have been on a very wide search for truth--big bubble, as GH has said. (I would call it the "wide road that leads to destruction.")

Years ago, I was on a quest for health. I began to wonder what would happen to my physical health if I only ate food that is healthy. This meant no refined foods like white sugar and white flour, no trans-fat, no pesticide-laden foods…. You get the idea.

God began to show me something. This not only applies to our physical bodies, but it also applies to our minds. I realized that I was spending way more time watching worldly television than I was in His Word. I was not filling my mind with truth. I wasn’t watching anything bad; it just wasn’t good.

I didn’t really take this very seriously until 2007, when I came close to death after being poisoned. Two trips to emergency rooms only made matters worse. I felt like the woman with the issue of blood who spent all that she had on doctors and was made worse by them. For me dying was not an option. My kids really needed me.

At this time, I resolved to fill my body with good food and my mind with truth. I ate organic food as much as possible, and I put scriptures having to do with faith and healing in my large country kitchen on all the upper cabinets. Many times a day, I would walk around reading each scripture aloud. That was 12 years ago, and I’m still here. :)

Have you ever heard of someone on a quest for physical health who put anything and everything into the body that can possibly be ingested? If we sample everything we can possibly ingest in our quest for health, we will end up ingesting poison, and this poison will not bring health, but will kill the body.

This even applies to food sources that have some healthy elements, but also contain poison, like poisonous mushrooms. Even though a poisonous mushroom may have elements of health, the healthy elements in them cannot be extracted and separated from the poison, so both are ingested. Instead of enhancing a person’s health, they ultimately cause death.

Many false religions and worldly philosophies have some elements of truth, but overall, they are poison to the mind. They may make sense to the human mind, but they do not lead us closer to the truth at all, but ultimately bring death. There really is no neutral. They either take us closer or farther from God.

Here are some scriptures that I think apply.

Col 2:8— See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Romans 8:5-6— For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 12:2— Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Philippians 2:5-- Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,…

What we fill our minds with is as important as what we fill our bodies with. Like Paul said, the mind set on the flesh is death. For people who let the flesh (sin nature) rule their minds, it brings death. We need to fill our minds with God's truth, not the philosophies of man and empty deceit. What we read in the Bible is God's truth.

In the OT, God forbade the men of Israel from marrying women from nations that did not worship the One True God, because He didn't want His people to adopt their ungodly ways and begin to believe in and serve their false gods. This is because the women would fill their minds with the empty deceit of their false religions and lead them away from the One True God.

Deut. 7:3-4—Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods.
.

Humor, Grailhunter’s early lesson in theology….thought I would give you something to laugh at.

I grew up with the Jews in University City and Clayton. As a young person I enjoyed comparing notes with them, but was startled to find out that they knew things about Christianity that most Christians did not know. I say Jerusalem and they chuckle and find humor in that I do not know the name of that city. They would say, that is pronounced Yerushalayim. Soon after that I realized they had no J’s in their language….At that point, I was about 10 years old. So when I looked at my Bible I was wondering how all the J’s got there. lol

They find humor and confidence in their own religion because of our lack of knowledge about our own religion. The fact that we do not know the names of God the Father and God the Son is just weird to them. How can Christianity be around so long and not catch on. That is something the Jews do not understand, even to this day I get that.

My great-grandmother was no help, she thought Jews were Satanists….Which made things worse because they had told me that Satan was not a demon in their religion.

Of course at the time I was being raised Catholic and went to Catholic school, so I asked a nun about Christ’s name. She told me that the Catholic Bible was the only correct Bible and that God had decreed it inerrant through the authority of the Church, and that I should not ask questions like that. Well that did not work for me.

Well, my dad was Southern Baptist and his Bible of course was the KJV and he explained that King James had ordered a new translation of the Bible to be done to correct the Catholic Bible…..and I should not question it. So I asked them, should I pick a Bible and not ask questions?

Of course that did not work….When I read the Bible I stuck with the Catholic Bible because the Milton / Shakespeare language was just too distracting for a young person. I got through the Gospels but then I happened acrossed a few scriptures that really did not make sense to me. A kid opens the Bible and what does he come to…..

1st Corinthians 7:1-2
Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.

1st Timothy 2:15
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

1st Timothy 5:10
having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.

How a kid’s mind works! I walk out of my bedroom with a Bible in hand and a list of questions, I sit down next to my mom and ask, “Does dad touch you?” She gives me this strange look. I said, “It says here that he is not suppose to touch you and you are suppose to be washing people’s feet, And what does a saint look like? They have halos in Church. When are they going to get here? And why am I vacuuming the house if you are supposed to be doing the work?" Of course the answers she gave me were more confusing than what I read in the Bible. So I took it to my dad…Oh my…the things people use to say to their kids back then. I get, “Why are you questioning the Bible, you are too young to be thinking about me touching your mom. Do you want a spanking?” Something about children should be seen and not heard and spare the rod and spoil the child.

So at an early age I realized I was going to have to figure this out on my own. Sometimes I wonder if that is where I get my sense of humor.

 

[Grailhunter]

@Giuliano and @Grailhunter

I'm glad to know that you're both online this morning because what I have to say is addressed to both of you. It seems that a you both have been on a very wide search for truth--big bubble, as GH has said. (I would call it the "wide road that leads to destruction.")

Years ago, I was on a quest for health. I began to wonder what would happen to my physical health if I only ate food that is healthy. This meant no refined foods like white sugar and white flour, no trans-fat, no pesticide-laden foods…. You get the idea.

God began to show me something. This not only applies to our physical bodies, but it also applies to our minds. I realized that I was spending way more time watching worldly television than I was in His Word. I was not filling my mind with truth. I wasn’t watching anything bad; it just wasn’t good.

I didn’t really take this very seriously until 2007, when I came close to death after being poisoned. Two trips to emergency rooms only made matters worse. I felt like the woman with the issue of blood who spent all that she had on doctors and was made worse by them. For me dying was not an option. My kids really needed me.

At this time, I resolved to fill my body with good food and my mind with truth. I ate organic food as much as possible, and I put scriptures having to do with faith and healing in my large country kitchen on all the upper cabinets. Many times a day, I would walk around reading each scripture aloud. That was 12 years ago, and I’m still here. :)

Have you ever heard of someone on a quest for physical health who put anything and everything into the body that can possibly be ingested? If we sample everything we can possibly ingest in our quest for health, we will end up ingesting poison, and this poison will not bring health, but will kill the body.

This even applies to food sources that have some healthy elements, but also contain poison, like poisonous mushrooms. Even though a poisonous mushroom may have elements of health, the healthy elements in them cannot be extracted and separated from the poison, so both are ingested. Instead of enhancing a person’s health, they ultimately cause death.

Many false religions and worldly philosophies have some elements of truth, but overall, they are poison to the mind. They may make sense to the human mind, but they do not lead us closer to the truth at all, but ultimately bring death. There really is no neutral. They either take us closer or farther from God.

Here are some scriptures that I think apply.

Col 2:8— See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Romans 8:5-6— For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 12:2— Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Philippians 2:5-- Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,…

What we fill our minds with is as important as what we fill our bodies with. Like Paul said, the mind set on the flesh is death. For people who let the flesh (sin nature) rule their minds, it brings death. We need to fill our minds with God's truth, not the philosophies of man and empty deceit. What we read in the Bible is God's truth.

In the OT, God forbade the men of Israel from marrying women from nations that did not worship the One True God, because He didn't want His people to adopt their ungodly ways and begin to believe in and serve their false gods. This is because the women would fill their minds with the empty deceit of their false religions and lead them away from the One True God.

Deut. 7:3-4—Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods.
.

Now the concept of women being saved through child birthing was something the Jews could understand because in their religion, since women could not be circumcised, their connection to the Jewish covenant was through having children.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Humor, Grailhunter’s early lesson in theology….thought I would give you something to laugh at.

I grew up with the Jews in University City and Clayton. As a young person I enjoyed comparing notes with them, but was startled to find out that they knew things about Christianity that most Christians did not know. I say Jerusalem and they chuckle and find humor in that I do not know the name of that city. They would say, that is pronounced Yerushalayim. Soon after that I realized they had no J’s in their language….At that point, I was about 10 years old. So when I looked at my Bible I was wondering how all the J’s got there. lol

They find humor and confidence in their own religion because of our lack of knowledge about our own religion. The fact that we do not know the names of God the Father and God the Son is just weird to them. How can Christianity be around so long and not catch on. That is something the Jews do not understand, even to this day I get that.

My great-grandmother was no help, she thought Jews were Satanists….Which made things worse because they had told me that Satan was not a demon in their religion.

Of course at the time I was being raised Catholic and went to Catholic school, so I asked a nun about Christ’s name. She told me that the Catholic Bible was the only correct Bible and that God had decreed it inerrant through the authority of the Church, and that I should not ask questions like that. Well that did not work for me.

Well, my dad was Southern Baptist and his Bible of course was the KJV and he explained that King James had ordered a new translation of the Bible to be done to correct the Catholic Bible…..and I should not question it. So I asked them, should I pick a Bible and not ask questions?

Of course that did not work….When I read the Bible I stuck with the Catholic Bible because the Milton / Shakespeare language was just too distracting for a young person. I got through the Gospels but then I happened acrossed a few scriptures that really did not make sense to me. A kid opens the Bible and what does he come to…..

1st Corinthians 7:1-2
Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.

1st Timothy 2:15
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

1st Timothy 5:10
having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.

How a kid’s mind works! I walk out of my bedroom with a Bible in hand and a list of questions, I sit down next to my mom and ask, “Does dad touch you?” She gives me this strange look. I said, “It says here that he is not suppose to touch you and you are suppose to be washing people’s feet, And what does a saint look like? They have halos in Church. When are they going to get here? And why am I vacuuming the house if you are supposed to be doing the work?" Of course the answers she gave me were more confusing than what I read in the Bible. So I took it to my dad…Oh my…the things people use to say to their kids back then. I get, “Why are you questioning the Bible, you are too young to be thinking about me touching your mom. Do you want a spanking?” Something about children should be seen and not heard and spare the rod and spoil the child.

So at an early age I realized I was going to have to figure this out on my own. Sometimes I wonder if that is where I get my sense of humor.

Thanks for the history. It explains your confusion about the Bible.

The thing is we can’t figure things out for ourselves. We really do need the Holy Spirit to lead us into ALL TRUTH. If we go looking for truth on our own, looking for truth in all the wrong places (lol), we will not find His truth. If we don’t find His truth, we don’t find Him. Jesus IS THE TRUTH.

I guess you and Giuliano (should I call y’all Grailiano, lol) will say that the Bible can’t be the truth if Jesus is the truth. As I’ve explained before, His words emanate from who He is, from Himself. So, He and His words are the truth.

 

[Grailhunter]

Thanks for the history. It explains your confusion about the Bible.

The thing is we can’t figure things out for ourselves. We really do need the Holy Spirit to lead us into ALL TRUTH. If we go looking for truth on our own, looking for truth in all the wrong places (lol), we will not find His truth. If we don’t find His truth, we don’t find Him. Jesus IS THE TRUTH.

I guess you and Giuliano (should I call y’all Grailiano, lol) will say that the Bible can’t be the truth if Jesus is the truth. As I’ve explained before, His words emanate from who He is, from Himself. So, He and His words are the truth.

lol Thought I would give you some ammo to throw at me...mission accomplished. Thanks.

 

[Grailhunter]

Thanks for the history. It explains your confusion about the Bible.

The thing is we can’t figure things out for ourselves. We really do need the Holy Spirit to lead us into ALL TRUTH. If we go looking for truth on our own, looking for truth in all the wrong places (lol), we will not find His truth. If we don’t find His truth, we don’t find Him. Jesus IS THE TRUTH.

I guess you and Giuliano (should I call y’all Grailiano, lol) will say that the Bible can’t be the truth if Jesus is the truth. As I’ve explained before, His words emanate from who He is, from Himself. So, He and His words are the truth.

We really do need the Holy Spirit to lead us into ALL TRUTH.....You do realize that every religion of the 30,000 denominations say that and come up with different interpretations of the scriptures. Does the Holy Spirit have a sense of humor?

 

[Prayer Warrior]

lol Thought I would give you some ammo to throw at me...mission accomplished. Thanks.

Yeah, it was a bit too tempting.

But I meant to say that I appreciate the civility in your post. Perhaps I could have been a tad more civil.

I do appreciate being able to understand where you’re coming from. I majored in psychology in order to be able to understand people better. I must say, though, that God has given me a lot more understanding than man’s theories offer.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

We really do need the Holy Spirit to lead us into ALL TRUTH.....You do realize that every religion of the 30,000 denominations say that and come up with different interpretations of the scriptures. Does the Holy Spirit have a sense of humor?

This is a result of prideful men trying to figure things out using human intellect.... If Chrisitans were to humble ourselves and seek God's wisdom and listen to the Holy Spirit, there would not be 30 million denominations, lol.