SimWitness:
“All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 NWT)
“ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and that anointing is real, not counterfeit--- just as it has taught you, remain in him” (1 John 2:26-27 NIV)
Respectfully dungbeetle:
Knowing of good people that have samegender relationships is not an authority on whether it is biblically right or wrong. I too know many Homosexuals and in general they are all nice, kind, good hearted, decent people. If one doesn't care what the Bible says on the subject then there is no point in discussing what it says. If one does care about what the Bible says on the subject then it is worthwile.
As to the Bible in english, if you are intelligent & interested enough to pursue the original language texts then you should also be intelligent and interested enough to realize/or find out for yourself the english translations that are accurate. The majority are very accurate to the original languages and I too know a bit about them. By no means fluent but somewhat knowledgable and own many original language Bibles and know people fluent in the biblical languages. Don't assume that to read english means someone is ignorant or being misled And technically, yes, Jesu does speaka da englis. He is all knowing according to the Bible. He did not speak english while on earth because that was not the language of the people.
JA
While I do not usually agree with you you make a good point. You do need to either take the Bible for what it says the way it was written or reject it. I do not recomend rejecting it but we cannot change what it says and teaches to suit our prefferences. Incidentally while I consider myself a strongminded and independant woman I also recognize the authority of the Bible in matters of authority. It doesn't mean women are less important or intelligent or competant it simply means that women are not allowed to be head pastors. While I don't believe there should be division in the church over this minor issue I do believe it is wrong and unscriptural for women to hold that authority. The Bible praises women and also goes to the extent to name the other church offices where women do/did/can serve which include deaconess. The head pastor is always refered to as a man. So if the Bible saw fit to mention women in other leadership positions but did not for head pastor I think this is also support for women not having that authority over a man.Me 2 cent
Hi again evangelist:
M'r:16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.I think if you read the words it explains it. A bit of background helps: In NT times baptism was immediate-- they didn't wait or go through a membership class or anything to be baptised. They were saved and they were baptised immediately. In recent times in the churches desire to be sure people know what they are putting their faith in they often times have a baptism class first. In some churches they hold these infrequently so people end up waiting for the next one. This is a smart practise to want to teach the new in faith but maybe not the biblical formula. What I am saying is in the NT times there was probably not this question of being saved--"believing" but not getting a chance to be baptised. Take into account the account of Philip and the Ethiopian. Philip speaks to the Ethiopian about Christ, The Ethiopian understands and believes, and says "look, there is water, why should I not be baptised" and they go down on the spot and do it. It's a symbol of faith but not our faith
Look at the verse again "M'r:16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
It doesn't include the baptised portion when it mentions who is damned. Maybe it has to do with the grammer of the KJV but I think this shows that its 'Believething' (is that a word?) that is saving. I understand where the question comes from but I think the text explains what it means and when taken into account with the cultural context shows salvation by faith/believing.