Rev Denzel

It’s been years since I have perused the forum, and it seems the newest posts are over a year old. Have I missed a mass exodus?

This seems to be comparing apples and oranges, to me at least. Characterizing making sure to pay your bills and take care of your car, and scientific facts as fear based content is a bit off. I understand what Jonathon is saying, and in a way his interpretation has merit. I see the bible as 2 story lines essentially. Old and New Testaments. Personally I do not see the bible as fear based content once you read the New Testament. The way I interpret it, and I could be flawed in this, is that the New Testament gives us the New Covenant through Jesus, which kind of supersedes the Old Testament (Law of Moses) and focuses more on the spirit rather than the rules laid out in the Old Testament. It’s like raising your children, in a way. As parents, we’ve all given warnings(some outlandish) to keep our children safe and turn them into decent human beings. Later, they’ll see you said some crazy stuff to keep them in line(talking fear based warnings and such) and keep them safe, and they’ll learn as they go that some of it was exactly that. That’s how I interpret the Old and New Testaments. Old Testament is rules, warnings, threats of punishments, if you will, like for toddlers. New Testament is bringing it full circle to show your now teenaged child the best path to be a good human. side note: Jesus says in John 4:21-24, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” I read this as the “Fire and Brimstone, Hellfire and Damnation” of the Old Testament is being replaced by the promise of Jesus’ message. One where temples and houses of worship are not the only place to seek God. Now, you may say I’m wrong and that Hell is warned about in the New Testament, and you’d be right! Jesus mentioned Hell more than any other person in the bible, characterizing it as not only a physical place of punishment for rebellion against God, but also a figurative place meaning God being absent from your life. But reconciliation with God is always possible! Just my interpretations on the matter.

Yes! The pair of each unclean animals were brought aboard to repopulate after the flood, and the 7 pairs of clean were meant to be used as sacrifice in gratitude to God. Or so I read.

Praying for your good health and a smooth recovery!