Pastor Dave

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Everything posted by Pastor Dave

  1. I think the concept of Hell, as commonly understood, has more to do with Dante's Inferno than it does with Biblical interpretation. As has been pointed out, the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades were both translated as Hell. Both refer to the place where the dead go. Although both seem to have different areas, some seem worse than others, from my reading neither is necessarily a place of eternal torment. In the New Testament though, two other Greek words were also translated as Hell. First there is Gehenna. Gehenna is a valley outside of Jerusalem where, in ancient times, apostate Israelites, followers of Moloch and possibly other gods, sacrificed children by fire. It is also said to have been a city dump where the people burned trash and in Roman times condemned criminals bodies were also burned. While the fiery history of Gehenna may match many peoples mental picture of Hell this can not be the Hell which most people imagine. That leaves one word, tartaroo, that was also translated as Hell. Tartaroo means to cast down to Tartarus, which is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. This hell is found only one place in the New Testament; 2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; . While this is the only instance where tartaroo is used Matthew 25:41 is almost certainly referring to Tartarus also. Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: . This makes it quite clear that this pit of eternal damnation and torment was not made for human souls. It was made specifically for the fallen angels. While some truly evil people may end up in this pit it certainly was not made for human souls and, as is clearly shown in 2 Peter 3:9 it is not where God wants anyone to go; 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
  2. What rules are you calling arbitrary? ar·bi·trar·y ˈärbəˌtrerē/ adjective adjective: arbitrary based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system. Certainly Christian rules are not arbitrary. They have reason and are based on a clearly defined system. It seems to me that, those who decide for themselves what rules they will make up and follow are the ones following arbitrary rules. Just saying. BTW this post is just to keep me from being deleted for inactivity. I should be good for another quarter now. Thanks
  3. I'm glad someone else got a chuckle out of it. It was something that came across my facebook page and I thought some of our members might see the humor in it. Jonathan, you're right. Nobody owns a cat ...
  4. Luke 22:35-36 King James Version (KJV) 35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
  5. Yep, that should have given you the right version of the app.
  6. Just a question here. Are you trying to install the correct version? Your tablet runs on the Android OS so a Windows or Apple app will not run properly.
  7. It is with great sorrow and joy that I inform you all of the passing of my father-in-law J.C. this afternoon. I am sorrowful that this wonderful man has left us. He has been an important part of my life for over thirty years now. Since my own Father left us over twenty five years ago J.C. has filled the role of a father figure for me. From the first time I ever met him he has always treated me with respect even though I'm sure there was some trepidation at first as I was a very different person back then. However, the sorrow is tempered somewhat by the joy of knowing that he is no longer in pain. His last few years have been difficult for him. Alzheimer's set in a few years back and when it did the rest of his health declined rapidly. In some of his moments of clarity he made it known the he was unhappy with his state of being unable to care for himself. He will be missed greatly. He is survived by three daughters, four sons-in-law, nine grandchildren, twenty one great grandchildren, one great great grandchild, and his second wife. We ask for prayers of comfort and strength, well wishes, positive energy, or whatever your customs may be for all family members. Thanks, Pastor Dave
  8. I suppose there are other methods than those I follow. If someone finds what works for them why should I judge. My instruction book for life tells me; " For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.". I do remember watching a talk show with Dr Caroline Leaf and she was talking about how the act of forgiveness released chemicals in your brain that allow new neural networks to form.
  9. From a Christian point of view the two are immutably intertwined. Luke 11:4(CJB) Forgive us our sins, for we too forgive everyone who has wronged us. And do not lead us to hard testing.’” Matthew 18:35 (CEB) “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you if you don’t forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 6:14 Amp For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 9:13 Amp Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].” For me, the two are so intertwined that with one, comes the other. IMHO We are more capable of forgiving others when we feel forgiven. Forgiveness, it seems to me, must be a two way street. If we receive forgiveness it allows us to release the negativity associated with the action just as forgiving others allows us to let go of the bad feelings concerning their actions.
  10. I'm not a psychology person but here is the first article on a google search for me. And a quick quote from the article. "Psychologically, when people reported higher levels of forgiveness, they also tended to report better health habits and decreased depression, anxiety, and anger levels. Even in betrayed couples, greater levels of forgiveness were associated with more satisfied relationships, a stronger parenting alliance, and children's perceptions of parenting functioning. Physiologically, higher reported levels of forgiveness were associated with lower white blood cell count and hematocrit levels. White blood cells are an integral part of fighting off diseases and infections. Together, these results highlight the importance of forgiveness - not for the other person, but for you. Don't allow your mind and your body to go through another day feeling vengeful and angry. "
  11. I understand what you're saying but I kind of enjoyed having them come over. I got to meet some nice people who were doing their best to follow the teachings of the Bible as they understand them. I started our Bible study the first morning with this scripture; 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. I then explained to them that as a kid in church I had been told to stay away from JWs because they had bad doctrine. I even told them, after they asked what else I had heard, that some would call them a cult. They just said that they had heard worse. LOL Then I explained that, as a grown man, I was going to see first hand what they teach and make up my own mind. They had a nice little book that lays out their doctrine, clearly, in an organized fashion. As we went through it we found that for the first three or four chapters we were in complete agreement. When we had differences I would question them and then give scriptures that supported why I disagreed with their stance. Hopefully I gave them something to think about that wasn't covered in the literature. How to explain to the wife ... Hi dear, I got you some help with the housework!
  12. Wait, what? You offered to buy her???? I invited them over for Bible study on Saturday mornings. I visited their Kingdom Hall a few times and got to see how they conduct their services. One of the elders came by on Saturday bringing one or two other members of the congregation. Some times I even got guest elders from out of state. I think they came by for about six months before they finally realized that they weren't going to persuade me to change my theology, the doctrines that I adhere to nor forgo the symbolism and holidays of mainstream Christianity. I will say this though, I now know more about Jehovah Witnesses than I would have ever thought I was going to know even a few years ago.
  13. On a side note; I suppose, if the writer of the initial article viewed consciousness as being the soul, then it could be seen as "less" of an act of sensationalizing. That of course brings us back to cuchulain's point in the topic "Does the human soul exist?". Until we can come to an agreement on what a soul is we will continue to have disagreement on all points relating to the soul.
  14. Alright, I've finished the scientific article located here (ok I may have skipped a few areas where quantum math formula's were being given) and it appears that the original article may have read into the theory something that I did not see being discussed in a well written review of the theory. It seems to me that Orch OR is a theory of how/where/when consciousness occurs. I saw nothing about a soul. The writer gives a list of criticisms and responses. (Found in section 5.6) 5.6. Orch OR criticisms and responses Orch OR has been criticized repeatedly since its inception. Here we review and summarize major criticisms and responses. They also give a list of predictions of Orch OR. (Found in section 5.7) 5.7. Testable predictions of Orch OR – current status Orch OR involves numerous fairly specific and essentially falsifiable hypotheses. In 1998 twenty testable predictions of Orch OR in 9 general categories were published [15]. They are reviewed here with our comments on their current status in italics. Their conclusion to the article; ‘Orchestrated objective reduction’ (‘Orch OR’) is a theory which proposes that consciousness consists of a sequence of discrete events, each being a moment of ‘objective reduction’ (OR) of a quantum state (according to the DP scheme), where it is taken that these quantum states exist as parts of a quantum computations carried on primarily in neuronal microtubules. Such OR events would have to be ‘orchestrated’ in an appropriate way (Orch OR), for genuine consciousness to arise. OR itself is taken to be ubiquitous in physical actions, representing the ‘bridge’ between the quantum and classical worlds, where quantum superpositions between pairs of states get spontaneously resolved into classical alternatives in a timescale ∼τ, calculated from the amount of mass displacement that there is between the two states. In our own brains, the OR process that evoke consciousness, would be actions that connect brain biology (quantum computations in microtubules) with the fine scale structure of space–time geometry, the most basic level of the universe, where tiny quantum space–time displacements are taken to be responsible for OR. The Orch-OR proposal therefore stretches across a considerable range of areas of science, touching upon the foundations of general relativity and quantum mechanics, in unconventional ways, in addition to the more obviously relevant areas such as neuroscience, cognitive science, molecular biology, and philosophy. It is not surprising, therefore, that Orch OR has been persistently criticized from many angles since its introduction in 1994. Nonetheless, the Orch OR scheme has so far stood the test of time better than most other schemes, and it is particularly distinguished from other proposals by the many scientifically tested, and potentially testable, ingredients that it depends upon.
  15. I have to agree with you both here. There is not really any proof in the story. The article seems to me to be written by someone who was less concerned with the details than they were concerned with sensationalizing the theory. That being said, I have started to look into the theory a little farther. Although this is the first time I can remember hearing about it, it was originally proposed in the '90s.The article I'm reading now is much more detailed and a little hard to fully grasp. I'm about 1/4 of the way through it so far. If I see anything that seems to be more quantifiable I'll let you all know. BTW, when I searched Google for info on Orch OR there was also in the "related searches" Orch OR debunked which I may read next.
  16. I ran across this Article today and thought some here might find it interesting. The attention grabbing headline reads, "Scientists Concluded That the Soul Does NOT Die – It Goes Back to the Universe!" Of course I had to read it to see what groundbreaking new theory could propose such a thing. It seems that the information that makes you you and me me is stored in what they call micro-tubules. Once we die these guys say that these micro-tubules lose their quantum state. " Dr. Stuart Hameroff, an American physicist, and Sir Roger Penrose, a mathematical physicist, claim that the soul is maintained in brain cells’ micro-tubules. Both researchers refer to this process as “Orch-OR” or “Orchestrated Objective Reduction.” " " In case the patient is resuscitated, revived, then this quantum information could go back into the micro-tubules and they say that they had a near-death experience. However, in case the patient isn’t revived, and they die, then this quantum information may exist indefinitely outside the body, as a soul. "
  17. I think that there are many other points we can gain from these stories when looked at in the proper perspective. For me the proper perspective begins with understanding when the stories were written. Moses and the Exodus are generally accepted to be about 3300-3500 years ago. I'm not looking to quibble about exact date. Orthodox rabbis say the Torah was written in 1312 BCE; another date given for this event is 1280 BCE. The exact date is not as important as the time period for me. When reading these texts I try to imagine what levels of knowledge were actually available to those people. I also like to keep in mind that Moses was raised in Pharaoh's household and was very educated for his time. Moses would have known how important a peoples story is to them and would have collected them and had them written down. Now the two stories we are talking about would be stories that had been told by the Hebrews for centuries from one generation to the next. And where would these stories have originated? From Abraham of course. So what does the Bible tell us about Abraham? We are told that Abraham was from Ur, which was the capitol of ancient Sumer. Certainly he brought with him certain stories from Sumer which he told to Issac who passed them on to Jacob who passed them on to his twelve sons, and so on.
  18. Another interesting aspect of the two stories is that they were written from different perspectives. Chapter one all the way into verse three of chapter two (a better place to have separated the two IMO) are written from an Elohist viewpoint. Throughout this version only the word elohim is used. The Hebrew word elohim is defined as gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels. We are not actually introduced to YHWH (definition; self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.) the Elohim until verse four of chapter two which is usually referred to as being written from the Yahwist perspective. These are the three translations I was able to find quickly with a close match to Jonathan's. Notice that all three do not have "In the beginning" as part of the text. It has been suggested that when translated in this manner God's creative work may not have been creatio ex nihilo (Latin, "creation out of nothing"). Genesis 1 Jewish Study Bible (TANAKH) 1 When God began to create heaven and earth Genesis 1 Common English Bible (CEB) 1 When God began to create[a] the heavens and the earth— Genesis 1 Living Bible (TLB) 1 When God began creating[a] the heavens and the earth,
  19. I wasn't even planning on posting to that topic until I saw in my all activity how he was attempting to belittle respected members of this forum with his arrogance. Even if I usually disagree with you and cuchulain, you are respected members of this community. I'd also like to make this clear (and I'm going to borrow from you Jonathan) I don't know if his credentials were/are real or not. I don't know and I don't care. If he really wanted to impress us maybe he should have attempted to astonish us with his knowledge or dazzle us with his intelligence, not just inform us of his degree and his position as a "professor". My narcissist alarm started going off right away. I can't speak for anyone other than myself but stroking someones ego is not why I continue to come here. I come to learn what I can and teach when I have an opportunity.
  20. To add a little to Jonathan's statement, (from Quora) "Reason is much broader and includes logic, but also includes aspects of argumentation -- making points using rhetoric. Reasoning must avoid what are called fallacies, too, such as argument from authority ("this is true because I'm an expert") and the ecological fallacy, which involves taking a general fact and assuming it applies to every individual case ("men are stronger than women, therefore Bob is stronger than Jane" -- not if Bob is 97 and Jane is a weightlifter, he's not). In logic you can always absolutely prove what you set out to prove if you do it right, but its utility is limited in day-to-day life. Reasoning is much broader and assembles evidence to support a viewpoint, but it seldom constitutes absolute proof."