[LWC]

Do you believe in new Earth, or old Earth? Also, how come some of the gospels say the women got to the tomb at dawn, and as the sun was rising, and some gospels say it was still dark?

Of these theories:
Young Earth creationism
Old Earth creationism
Gap creationism
Day-age creationism
Progressive creationism
Intelligent design

I have not decided fully which I am yet. Growing up, I was always taught Young Earth, but I believe that I am leaning away a little.

I fully believe that if God wanted to (or did) create the world in 6, 24-hour days he has the power to do it. I just am undecided as to whether he did that.
Remember:

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."

With that in mind, "The first day" could have been 1000 years. God could have made it instantly and waited 1000 years. The 7th day could have been 1,000 years, etc...

Again, I have not entirely decided. That particular subject does not come up in every-day ministry, so I have not found it imperative to decipher yet. I will look a little closer over the next few days.

Just like all the End-time theories; I always tell people: Don't worry about it. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you wont have to worry about it. Either you will have gone on to be with the Lord, or you will be called up. Either way, nothing to worry about.

[Stardust]

If you show me Bible, I will change my answer, until then, Jesus didn't have older brothers that were from Mary and Joseph being sexually together.

I'm not saying that Mary was not a virgin. I believe that completely. But many christians get blindsided by the question of Jesus's older brothers, where no place in the bible it explains his older siblings. It is possible that Joseph not just had a previous wife, but may have been married at the time he married Mary.

[TheRealVille]

What do you think about the gospels part of my question?

Also, how come some of the gospels say the women got to the tomb at dawn, and as the sun was rising, and some gospels say it was still dark?

[LWC]

^I don't have an answer for that right now. Might have to Google that one.

[Westside]

How did Noah manage to catch and move 2 of every animal onto the ark, keep them fed, and keep them alive (disease), and keep them from killing each other?

[Westside]

What does the Bible say about people getting a divorce or someone marrying someone who has gotten divorced?

[MVP2]

Do you support Coal/Mountain top removal?

[TheRealVille]

How did Noah manage to catch and move 2 of every animal onto the ark, keep them fed, and keep them alive (disease), and keep them from killing each other?

Was it 2 or 7?

[Westside]

Was it 2 or 7?

I thought 2, but I'm no expert.

[Beetle01]

Who wrote the Bible as we know it today? Do you have full confidence that what is written in it has not been tampered with and changed for other reasons throughout the last 1900 years or so. Also, do you believe the Catholic Church is hiding other "books" of the Bible?

As for the first question I know who the supposed authors are of the originals books of the Bible, but my question mainly is how much of what they originally wrote do you believe is still present in the Bible you have sitting beside you?

[LWC]

Are these serious questions that many of you have or are they "gotcha" questions? lol.

If these are questions that many of you really want an answer or my opinion on, I will answer them.

[LWC]

How did Noah manage to catch and move 2 of every animal onto the ark, keep them fed, and keep them alive (disease), and keep them from killing each other?

I had never really thought about it but, again, this website seems to answer it well:

http://www.gotquestions.org/Noahs-ark-animals.html

Again, I promise that not every answer will come from this site. I bought their book and their are things I disagree with about it. However, for most questions that have been posed so far, I agree with them.

Answer: How did Noah fit all of those animals on the ark? Was the ark big enough to fit “two of every kind… of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind,” and seven of some kinds? What about food? There had to be enough room to store enough food to last Noah and his family (8 in all), plus all of the animals, at least a year (see Genesis 7:11; 8:13-18) and maybe more, depending on how long it took for vegetation to grow back. That’s a lot of food! What about drinking water? Is it realistic to believe that Noah’s boat was big enough to store all of these animals and all of this food and water for over a year?

The dimensions for the ark given in Genesis are 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high (Genesis 6:15). What is a cubit? A cubit is an ancient unit of measurement, the length of the forearm from the elbow to the longest finger (the term “cubit” comes from the Latin word “cubitum” which means “elbow.” The Hebrew word for “cubit” is “ammah.” As everybody’s arms are different lengths, this unit may seem a bit ambiguous to some, but scholars generally agree that it represents somewhere between 17 and 22 inches (43-56 centimeters). The ancient Egyptian cubit is known to have been 21.888 inches. So, doing the math,

300 x 22 inches = 6,600; 50 x 22 inches = 1,100; 30 x 22 inches = 660
6,600/12 = 550 feet; 1100/12 = 91.7 feet; 660/12 = 55 feet.

Thus, the ark could have been up to 550 feet long, 91.7 feet wide and 55 feet high. These are not unreasonable dimensions. But how much storage space does this amount to? Well, 550 x 91.7 x 55 = 2,773,925 cubic feet. (If we take the smallest measurement of cubit, 17 inches, we end up with 1,278,825 cubic feet). Of course, not all of it would have been free space. The ark had three levels (Genesis 6:16) and a lot of rooms (Genesis 6:14), the walls of which would have taken up space. Nevertheless, it has been calculated that a little more than half (54.75%) of the 2,773,925 cubic feet could store 125,000 sheep-sized animals, leaving over 1.5 million cubic feet of free space (see - http://www.icr.org/bible/bhta42.html).

John Woodmorappe, author of the definitive Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study, estimated that only about 15% of the animals on the ark would have been larger than a sheep. This figure does not take into account the possibility that God may have brought Noah “infant” animals, which can be significantly smaller than adult animals.

How many animals were on the ark? Woodmorappe estimates about 16,000 “kinds.” What is a “kind”? The designation of “kind” is thought to be much broader than the designation “species.” Even as there are over 400 dog breeds all belonging to one species (Canis familiaris), so many species can belong to one kind. Some think that the designation “genus” may be somewhat close to the biblical “kind.”

Nevertheless, even if we presume that “kind” is synonymous with “species,” “there are not very many species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. The leading systematic biologist, Ernst Mayr, gives the number as 17,600. Allowing for two of each species on the ark, plus seven of the few so-called “clean” kinds of animals, plus a reasonable increment for known extinct species, it is obvious that not more than, say, 50,000 animals were on the ark” (Morris, 1987).

Some have estimated that there were as many as 25,000 kinds of animals represented on the ark. This is a high-end estimation. With two of each kind and seven of some, the number of animals would exceed 50,000, though not by very much, relatively speaking. Regardless, whether there were 16,000 or 25,000 kinds of animals, even with two of each and seven of some, scholars agree that there was plenty of room for all of the animals on the ark, plus food and water with room to spare.

What about all of the excrement produced by all of these animals? How did 8 people manage to feed all of those animals and deal with tons of excrement on a daily basis? What about animals with specialized diet? How did plant-life survive? What about insects? There are a thousand other questions like these which could be raised, and they are all good questions. In the minds of many, these questions are unanswerable. But they are certainly nothing new. They have been asked over and over for centuries. And in all of that time researchers have sought answers. There are now numerous, very scholarly feasibility studies which have put Noah and his ark to the test.

With over 1,200 scholarly references to academic studies, Woodmorappe’s book is “a modern systematic evaluation of the alleged difficulties surrounding Noah's Ark” (John Woodmorappe, “A Resource for Answering the Critics of Noah’s Ark,” Impact No. 273, March 1996. Institute for Creation Research, 30 January 2005 http://www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-273.htm). Woodmorappe claims that after years of systematically examining all of the questions which have been raised, “all of the arguments against the Ark are… found wanting. In fact, the vast majority of the anti-Ark arguments, at first superficially plausible, turn out to be easily invalidated.”

[TheRealVille]

I thought 2, but I'm no expert.

Some verses say 2, some say 7. Like Vundy said, I can go on for days with these. I'm not religious for a reason, I studied this stuff for years.


Genesis 6:19 "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark."
Genesis 7:8-9 "Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah."

Genesis 7:2-5
2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

3Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

5And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.


Genesis 7:15 "And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life."

[TheRealVille]

I had never really thought about it but, again, this website seems to answer it well:

http://www.gotquestions.org/Noahs-ark-animals.html

Again, I promise that not every answer will come from this site. I bought their book and their are things I disagree with about it. However, for most questions that have been posed so far, I agree with them.

You went to college and got a Masters in divinity, you shouldn't have to rely on "gotquestions" at all. A trained theologian should never rely on a website to answer his questions for him.

[LWC]

http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/bible.htm

According to this site, there are 143 supposed Bible errors and contradictions. They list all of those. They also list answers or apologetics to those accusations.

I wanted to post some of them here but they are so detailed and so long, that is is better just to link the site and let people view for themselves.

[LWC]

You went to college and got a Masters in divinity, you shouldn't have to rely on "gotquestions" at all. A trained theologian should never rely on a website to answer his questions for him.

No offense intended but that is just a silly notion. Why should I take the time to write all of an answer out if someone else answers it just as well?

If I know an answer to someone's question, is it wrong to pull out a Bible and give Scriptures? What about when politicians cite the Constitution or recent polls or an opponents voting record?

Plenty of people cite sources. Billy Graham, as high of regards as he is held, cited sources when he used them.

I am getting my M.Div (Masters of Divinity) but even in those classes we have to use other books.

People that attack the Christian faith use quotes from philosophers and books. When Apologists defend the faith they cite other sources.

Even you, Hoot and Bob Seger post links to other sites, lol.

I understand your post if you are saying that you would like to know my opinion, and that is all fine and good. However, I noted that if GotQuestions.org and I disagreed (which we do many times) I would not use that link and I would answer it for myself. We disagree on women in ministry, we disagree somewhat on election and eternal security, etc... If those questions come up, you will see me give a different answer. But if we agree, and they have it typed out WITH a link for someone to explore other questions, why should I have to type out almost the exact same thing?

[Stardust]

Are these serious questions that many of you have or are they "gotcha" questions? lol.

If these are questions that many of you really want an answer or my opinion on, I will answer them.

LWC, please be careful with your answers. Be open, but please be understanding.

There is a lot in life that cannot be explained, as in how does the physical body produce electrical charges that keeps the heart beating. There is much to be opined.

As a Christian, there are many easy questions that can be thrown at us that does not make the reasonable man sound reasonable. I in no way can argue the points of God that can be thrown at Christians.

I really like the question posed before about the Bible, how can we trust that what was written by man?

I love the question about Noah and the Ark and all of the questions about "How" could such an event, the incredible job of a man collecting, caring, and refereeing such an act could have ever taken place.

But, since I put my heart and soul into the belief that Jesus is the Christ, and God is the creator of all, then I can only trust that God did this through his will. That's not good enough for all of mankind to comprehend, thus, it is not possible for mankind to explain in his own words the acts of God.

As a Christian, you either accept God's will through faith, or a Christian you are not. Because the act of being a Christian alone does not allow any human act. To believe that Christ came from heaven, and went back to heave as we have been taught, is an act of faith alone. I'm not sure any Christian could possibly provide the explanations to those acts. I know my limitations, but I do accept the fact that I am a Sheep. I will be led by the word, and that word is what gives me life. I am fine with those who wish to think me a fool, my faith is only one of many foolish things people could think of me.

Answer the questions that you can based on the bible and prayer, but you do need to understand that you are best suited to lead others to Christ and let them seek the answers for themselves. As a minister, you are expected to KNOW the answers, but Moses, Noah, Peter, they didn't know the answers to even the most basic of questions at the time, thus it is impossible to put yourself into the position to answer those that you do not know.

I like what you have done in giving what you can, but you should remember that your resources, though come from those who have prescribed a better answer than you could come up with as well, were limited just the same. they, like you, are only human.

Good luck my friend, but don't allow yourself to "try to answer all". I have to seek my own answers, and I know that is not what a minister who is trying to do the lords work of gathering wants to hear. Find yourself in prayer, and you will learn the "next" step. Let God speak through you, and not the words of LWC.

[LWC]

^Also, I own a book by the author of the site, so I could have just as easily said that I got it from a book and told the book title and I might have sounded more scholarly, lol.

[LWC]

LWC, please be careful with your answers. Be open, but please be understanding.

There is a lot in life that cannot be explained, as in how does the physical body produce electrical charges that keeps the heart beating. There is much to be opined.

As a Christian, there are many easy questions that can be thrown at us that does not make the reasonable man sound reasonable. I in no way can argue the points of God that can be thrown at Christians.

I really like the question posed before about the Bible, how can we trust that what was written by man?

I love the question about Noah and the Ark and all of the questions about "How" could such an event, the incredible job of a man collecting, caring, and refereeing such an act could have ever taken place.

But, since I put my heart and soul into the belief that Jesus is the Christ, and God is the creator of all, then I can only trust that God did this through his will. That's not good enough for all of mankind to comprehend, thus, it is not possible for mankind to explain in his own words the acts of God.

As a Christian, you either accept God's will through faith, or a Christian you are not. Because the act of being a Christian alone does not allow any human act. To believe that Christ came from heaven, and went back to heave as we have been taught, is an act of faith alone. I'm not sure any Christian could possibly provide the explanations to those acts. I know my limitations, but I do accept the fact that I am a Sheep. I will be led by the word, and that word is what gives me life. I am fine with those who wish to think me a fool, my faith is only one of many foolish things people could think of me.

Answer the questions that you can based on the bible and prayer, but you do need to understand that you are best suited to lead others to Christ and let them seek the answers for themselves. As a minister, you are expected to KNOW the answers, but Moses, Noah, Peter, they didn't know the answers to even the most basic of questions at the time, thus it is impossible to put yourself into the position to answer those that you do not know.

I like what you have done in giving what you can, but you should remember that your resources, though come from those who have prescribed a better answer than you could come up with as well, were limited just the same. they, like you, are only human.

Good luck my friend, but don't allow yourself to "try to answer all". I have to seek my own answers, and I know that is not what a minister who is trying to do the lords work of gathering wants to hear. Find yourself in prayer, and you will learn the "next" step. Let God speak through you, and not the words of LWC.

I do not 100% understand your post, so if I come off as snappy in any of these posts, I do not intend to. That is danger of text conversation.

I have always said that in anything related to Christianity, I will either give and answer to someone or look for the answers somewhere. I do not like leaving people hanging. Sometimes, I will point out a resource and allow people to search for themselves.

[MVP2]

I do not 100% understand your post, so if I come off as snappy in any of these posts, I do not intend to. That is danger of text conversation.
I do not like leaving people hanging.
I have always said that in anything related to Christianity, I will either give and answer to someone or look for the answers somewhere. Sometimes, I will point out a resource and allow people to search for themselves.

You didnt answer my question.

[LWC]

^Was yours about Coal mining or Mountains? I forgot the exact wording.

[MVP2]

^

Yes, do you support it?

[Granny Bear]

"Good luck my friend, but don't allow yourself to "try to answer all". I have to seek my own answers, and I know that is not what a minister who is trying to do the lords work of gathering wants to hear. Find yourself in prayer, and you will learn the "next" step. Let God speak through you, and not the words of LWC. "


Wow....how insightful is this!!

Allow me to go one step further. I probably won't even revisit this site to see the comments to this post LOL

I believe that God made the Bible to be "individual". I think it is entirely possible, even probable, that two people can read the same verse and (depending on the needs of that individual) receive two different meanings from that same verse.....and both be correct.

I don't believe in denominations (correct me LWC if I'm wrong, but I have never found that word in the Bible) and for the most part don't trust most people who claim to be "Christians". I've found over the years that "Christians" have done more to promote the devil that those who actually claim to be satan worshippers. Mostly with gossip and their judgmental attitude. I've found that those who are living a life that God wants them to live don't have to talk a good game; they are living it. And by living it; leading by example.

I recently heard an expression that "Christians shoot their wounded." I must say that I have to agree. It appears to me, as a follower and believer of God, that no one deserves or needs the power and love of God than those who are at their lowest point in life. I've actually witnessed one denomination to "break fellowship" with a member because of their drug addiction. I belived and still believe, that that was my signal to pray and work harder.

Just an old woman's opinion.

[Westside]

What does the Bible say about people getting a divorce or someone marrying someone who has gotten divorced?

LWC

Would you care to give me your take on this one? I seriously want to know. Thanks.

[vundy33]

"Good luck my friend, but don't allow yourself to "try to answer all". I have to seek my own answers, and I know that is not what a minister who is trying to do the lords work of gathering wants to hear. Find yourself in prayer, and you will learn the "next" step. Let God speak through you, and not the words of LWC. "


Wow....how insightful is this!!

Allow me to go one step further. I probably won't even revisit this site to see the comments to this post LOL

I believe that God made the Bible to be "individual". I think it is entirely possible, even probable, that two people can read the same verse and (depending on the needs of that individual) receive two different meanings from that same verse.....and both be correct.

I don't believe in denominations (correct me LWC if I'm wrong, but I have never found that word in the Bible) and for the most part don't trust most people who claim to be "Christians". I've found over the years that "Christians" have done more to promote the devil that those who actually claim to be satan worshippers. Mostly with gossip and their judgmental attitude. I've found that those who are living a life that God wants them to live don't have to talk a good game; they are living it. And by living it; leading by example.

I recently heard an expression that "Christians shoot their wounded." I must say that I have to agree. It appears to me, as a follower and believer of God, that no one deserves or needs the power and love of God than those who are at their lowest point in life. I've actually witnessed one denomination to "break fellowship" with a member because of their drug addiction. I belived and still believe, that that was my signal to pray and work harder.

Just an old woman's opinion.

I agree pretty much 100%.

[LWC]

"Good luck my friend, but don't allow yourself to "try to answer all". I have to seek my own answers, and I know that is not what a minister who is trying to do the lords work of gathering wants to hear. Find yourself in prayer, and you will learn the "next" step. Let God speak through you, and not the words of LWC. "


Wow....how insightful is this!!

Allow me to go one step further. I probably won't even revisit this site to see the comments to this post LOL

I believe that God made the Bible to be "individual". I think it is entirely possible, even probable, that two people can read the same verse and (depending on the needs of that individual) receive two different meanings from that same verse.....and both be correct.

I don't believe in denominations (correct me LWC if I'm wrong, but I have never found that word in the Bible) and for the most part don't trust most people who claim to be "Christians". I've found over the years that "Christians" have done more to promote the devil that those who actually claim to be satan worshippers. Mostly with gossip and their judgmental attitude. I've found that those who are living a life that God wants them to live don't have to talk a good game; they are living it. And by living it; leading by example.

I recently heard an expression that "Christians shoot their wounded." I must say that I have to agree. It appears to me, as a follower and believer of God, that no one deserves or needs the power and love of God than those who are at their lowest point in life. I've actually witnessed one denomination to "break fellowship" with a member because of their drug addiction. I belived and still believe, that that was my signal to pray and work harder.

Just an old woman's opinion.

Denominations make me sad. I truly am non-denominational in nature. I happen to currently serve in the UMC. However, I have either served at or been a member of:

Baptist
Nazarene
Non-Denominational
Holiness/Pentecostal
Inter-denominational
Campus Ministry
An Evangelical-based church

You can see that the name on the door does not really matter to me. I just tried to make an outlet for people to ask serious questions and also to have fun as well. I have had people tell me that I come off as confrontational in text conversation; I know that I have to get better about that. Anyone that knows me in real-life knows that I am very jovial.

[TheRealVille]

Denominations make me sad. I truly am non-denominational in nature. I happen to currently serve in the UMC. However, I have either served at or been a member of:

Baptist
Nazarene
Non-Denominational
Holiness/Pentecostal
Inter-denominational
Campus Ministry
An Evangelical-based church

You can see that the name on the door does not really matter to me. I just tried to make an outlet for people to ask serious questions and also to have fun as well. I have had people tell me that I come off as confrontational in text conversation; I know that I have to get better about that. Anyone that knows me in real-life knows that I am very jovial.

I, for at least one, do not see you as even minutely confrontational.

[LWC]

^

Yes, do you support it?

I am not sure.

I have friends that are VERY Pro-Coal and I even have a friend that is working in Washington DC for a PAC that is trying to do away with mountain top removal. As you can imagine, I get so much information from both sides that I get confused sometimes.

There are so many advantages of coal mining but disadvantages to coal miners and their families as well.

In this economy, opening up coal mining and granting more permits/licenses could help with jobs.

My answer seems to change because I do not have anyone very close to me that is seriously affected by coal mining. If I did, it would certainly be different.

When my father-in-law was a pastor at a certain church in the city limits of Hazard a few years ago, he drew very close to the coal mining issue. His secretary's husband was a coal miner and the money he made from it did a lot of good things (went to churches, cancer foundations, community improvement, etc...)

With all of that said, the only main drawbacks I see to coal are black lung and that it destroys mountains. No offense to anyone, but the "beautiful view of the mountains" is the least of my concerns with coal mining.

In conclusion, I definitely support coal miners, without any hesitation.
I am 80% in support of coal mining.

[LWC]

What does the Bible say about people getting a divorce or someone marrying someone who has gotten divorced

For TRV and some others that want me to answer in my own words or using just the Bible, will get their wish

Remember, this is ONLY using Bible verses. No personal opinion.

“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[a] says the LORD Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

SEE NEXT POST AS WELL.........

[LWC]

Part 2/2

When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his ...

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

(but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in ..

I hope these verses lead you to your answer. If you have the question of a wife/husband as a victim of severe abuse, please PM me. I am willing to talk with you about it, but I do not want that to be a public conversation. I am always here to talk.