Society & Culture - 8 August 2006

1 Peter 5:1 says Peter was an elder. An elder must be the husband of one wife and have children who believe. (1 Tim. 3:2-4, Titus 3:2-4) According to the Bible, Peter was married. This is plainly taught in Matt. 8:14.

If Peter was first pope, and since Peter was married, why does Catholic church not allow popes and priests to marry? Either Peter was not a pope, or popes should be allowed to have a wife.

Also, how does the Catholic church deal with 1 Timothy 4:1-3 that calls “Forbidding to marry” a “doctrine of the devil”?

2006-08-08 11:16:32 · 9 answers · asked by JoeBama 7 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 11:15:42 · 23 answers · asked by vegasgirl 1 in Other - Society & Culture

2006-08-08 11:14:53 · 21 answers · asked by Ken P 1 in Religion & Spirituality

A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain—then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?"

2006-08-08 11:14:14 · 16 answers · asked by Nikki Tesla 6 in Religion & Spirituality

It may seem like we are high and mighty. why is that-God is in our hearts and we feel what the Almighty feels. Allah convicts u of ure sins, and u think we are judging. actually, it is through our actions God is judging ures. we know it hurts Him-we hurt inside, too!-to see you not believing in Him. u can laugh, call us crazy, call us stupid, u can abuse us. after all, nonbelievers laughed as Prophet Jesus hung on the cross in agony and abandonment. Allah longs for u to become His child. the more u hate us Muslims, the more we tend to love u nonbelievers. but, we do get discouraged sometimes when you don’t listen. thats OK. we arent here to make you believe, Allah does that,we are simply here to tell you what God said. you must decide ure eternal fate, we can only introduce u to the way of salvation. ultimately, it’s ure call that decides ure fate and all. u can deny Alalh, or u can accept. Allah loves u. u can hate Him—but the more He tends to love u. He won’t stop loving

2006-08-08 11:14:01 · 13 answers · asked by 自由思想家 3 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 11:13:28 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Society & Culture

There is NOT a single verse in the Bible mentioning 'trinity'.
Neither anywhere in Bible, Jesus Christ ever said "i m God"
nor did He say "Worship Me".

2006-08-08 11:13:01 · 13 answers · asked by Valentino 3 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 11:12:30 · 4 answers · asked by Jinx 5 in Other - Society & Culture

Would you rather sweat mayonaise or have noodles for hair?? and I mean where ever you have hair...like where the sun dont shine. Beware pasta grows fast and mayo is smelly.

2006-08-08 11:11:32 · 6 answers · asked by minami 2 in Other - Society & Culture

hows your life going so far?

2006-08-08 11:11:04 · 38 answers · asked by Mike3st 2 in Other - Society & Culture

Please think on this question before answering. I am only interested in mature answers, so be honest. This could very well be your last day. Any request or are you fully satisfied with the life you have lived up to this point? If you can't answer with honest please move on to another question.

Thanks

2006-08-08 11:10:53 · 20 answers · asked by Airam 2 in Other - Society & Culture

...that homosexuals try to validate their own sin by attempting to use the Bible to justify it? Case in point, this link: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aj0HPi5VlsD.Lkt0iuXsg8Dsy6IX?qid=20060808073120AAyj6FD . This question had many references to the Old Testamant as well as many answers, my own included. The one chosen as best is once again, not the truth, but what this person wanted to hear. So to clarify my question: "Who else is offended that homosexuals use the Bible as ammunition to defend their own choice, and it is a choice, to practice sexual deviance?"

2006-08-08 11:10:23 · 29 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

Most conflicts today involve Islamists but this fact is either mostly not known to the larger public or is not made a point of concern.

Is there a saturation point, afterwhich, non-muslims in the media will assert that the war is with Islam itself?

Suppose all the remaining non-muslim countries, that dont currently have constant Islamic terror attacks, suffered the same fate as India, Africa, Phillipines and Israel do today, would that change anything or would we insist that, even though all the attacks come from Islamists, the religion of Islam should not be condemned?

2006-08-08 11:10:02 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

I know, big assumptions going on here. Like that Jesus really walked on earth. But just humor me :)

2006-08-08 11:09:21 · 12 answers · asked by mikayla_starstuff 5 in Religion & Spirituality

Proving whether something is true or not is called apologetics. This word is derived from the Greek word “apologia,” which means “to defend.” The entire Clarifying Christianity site is filled with apologetics—proofs and explanations for many Christian-related issues. The focus of this page is the proof supporting the accuracy of the Bible. After all, if the Bible is not true or if it is filled with errors, Christianity would only be a “blind faith”—something people believe without any evidence to support it.

However, Christianity is not a blind faith. It is the only religion that can prove itself, and a main source of that proof is the Bible. Although it is becoming less common, there are still people who tell others that they follow Christianity “because it feels right” (or use wording like that). This is unfortunate, since there is a lot of evidence supporting Christianity. The existence of all that evidence is one reason we started this site. We want people to learn about the solid evidence that supports their faith, and have a place that collected that evidence so they can show it to others.

By the way, if you would like some reference materials that are a little more portable than a computer with an Internet connection, a book we recommend is Know Why You Believe by Paul Little. This book is available in larger bookstores and most Christian bookstores. Also, the Tucson Community Church recorded a seminar called “Knowing The Facts Behind The Faith.” It is available on DVD and VHS video (NTSC format). If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can get one directly from the church that produces them at the Tucson Community Church website. They also handle international orders.
The Proof of Science

There is a great deal of scientific evidence that supports the Bible. Enough that we have a separate page to discuss this proof alone. If you would like to see our science page, click on this sentence.
The Proof of Prophecy

One of the strongest arguments for the accuracy of the Bible is its 100% accuracy in predicting the future. These future predictions are called “prophecies.” The Old Testament was written between approximately 1450 BC and 430 BC. During that time, many predictions of the future were recorded in the Bible by God’s prophets. Of the events that were to have taken place by now, every one happened just the way they predicted it would. No other “sacred writing” has such perfectly accurate predictions of the future.
One Type—The Messianic Prophecies

Of these prophecies, the most striking examples are the predictions about an “anointed one” (“Messiah” in Hebrew) who was to arrive in the future. About 4 BC, a miraculous event occurred—a boy named Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary. You can read His story in the book of Luke. Starting at age 30, Jesus fulfilled more and more of these prophecies written about the Messiah. His fulfillment of these prophecies was very spectacular: Jesus gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cured those who had leprosy, gave the deaf hearing, and raised people from the dead! These miracles and others were done many times in front of thousands of witnesses for three years. About 30 AD, Jesus was crucified (a prophecy) and died (a prophecy). Three days later he rose from the dead (another prophecy), after which He was seen by over 500 witnesses. Since these prophecies were written down at least 400 years before they happened, there is no doubt that the Bible’s writers were inspired supernaturally—by God. To examine these prophecies yourself, click on the link below.

aqua ball The Messianic Prophecies
A Second Type—Fulfilled Prophecy Dealing With Nations

There are many prophecies that can be proven through archaeology, especially prophecy dealing with entire nations. Typically, when God declared judgment on a nation, He would send a prophet to announce to the citizens why He was judging them and what He was going to do to them if they continued their evil behavior. On occasion, God would also tell the citizens how He would reward them if they started doing what was right. The book of Jonah records a case where the Assyrians stopped doing what was evil as a result of Jonah’s short prophecy. This is what God wanted, and God did not punish them as a result of their change of heart. However, most often the people would jeer at God’s prophet and continue their bad behavior—later becoming recipients of the exact punishment that God threatened.

Like other prophecy recorded in the Bible, these predictions support the supernatural inspiration of the Bible. The prophecies recorded in the Bible came true in such a detailed way that they could not have been predicted by chance. Further, archaeologists have evidence that these prophecies were written down many years before they were fulfilled, proving that they were not falsified documents claiming to be prophecies that came true. (The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls stopped the majority of that talk.) Although an entire web site could be filled with this information, we will provide one example—the foretelling of the destruction of Edom and its capital city of Petra.

aqua ball Click here for an example of fulfilled prophecy dealing with nations
The Proof of Textual Evidence

Both the Old and New Testaments are strongly supported by manuscript evidence (the evidence of early hand written copies). The famous Dead Sea Scrolls are one example of the Old Testament evidence. These documents came from the “library” of a settlement founded at Qumran before 150 B.C. and abandoned about 68 A.D. Some of the manuscript copies were made during that period, and some were written earlier (third century BC) and brought to the settlement. Ignoring spelling-oriented (orthographic) changes and similar small differences, the Dead Sea Scrolls match the Hebrew text behind today’s Old Testament, in spite of the passage of over 2,000 years (where one would expect errors to creep in).

Over 20,000 known manuscripts document the New Testament text. This makes the New Testament the most reliable document of antiquity (a document written before the printing press). These manuscripts vary in size from a part of a page to an entire Bible (Old and New Testaments). The earliest New Testament manuscripts date from the second century (100-199) AD These manuscript copies were written in different languages by people of different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. In spite of all those differences between them, the New Testament texts all agree. (That is, those differences that we do observe between these hand written documents are occasional changes in the spelling of names or isolated cases of missing or changed words. Still, since we have so many copies, it is obvious to anyone but the hardened skeptic can that they all represent the same text.)

Note: Those minor differences that do exist between the Old and New Testament manuscripts are interesting for academic reasons. They are the topic of a future “in depth” Clarifying Christianity page. (It is currently about 10,000 words long and still under construction—stay tuned.)

The Proof of People Living at the Time of Christ

Special proof exists for the New Testament, since Christians were strongly persecuted by both the Jews and the Roman government. If the New Testament writings were false, these two groups would have produced a great deal of evidence to stop the growth of this “sect.” None exists. Further, the New Testament writings (before they were assembled into the “book” we call the New Testament) circulated during the lifetimes of thousands of people who had actually seen Jesus’ miracles and other historic events. No one ever refuted the New Testament writings as “fairy tales.”
The Proof of Historians

Secular history supports the Bible. For example, in The Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3 the famous historian Flavius Josephus writes:

“Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”

In 115 AD, P. Cornelius Tacitus wrote the following passage that refers to Jesus (called “Christus,” which means “The Messiah”) in book 15, chapter 44 of The Annals:

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

2006-08-08 11:07:58 · 42 answers · asked by bibleman_the_great 1 in Religion & Spirituality

Moreover, do people who are in a cult realize that they are in a cult?

2006-08-08 11:07:48 · 20 answers · asked by Ejsenstejn 2 in Religion & Spirituality

Chinese ghost day today. My new employee met the previous owner of my store down in the basement this morning. He came upstairs and asked me who is Mike? I told him Mike was the previous owner here who died of cancer around three years ago. His face turned paled and he quietly continued to work. I'm thinking most ghosts usually take decades to resurface. Am I wrong or is he bullshitting me.

2006-08-08 11:07:26 · 15 answers · asked by xxthink2muchxx 2 in Mythology & Folklore

Why are there no strip clubs with women for women? In Los Angeles it seems like there's a strip club on every other block, but none designed for gay females. The only way I'll go to a strip club is with a large group of females, not just me and my gf. Guy customers seem to get mixed up about who will and will not be taking off their clothes. Guys also seem to get embarressed whenever a party of women show up at a strip club. It's like they're suddenly embarressed to be there.

2006-08-08 11:07:00 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

My car insurance is high because I need to be covered incase someone sues me. My cousin was in an accident, this guy actually swerved to hit her car so he could collect a payout. If you trip over, always someone is to blame, it's never your fault. How did it get like this? The courts should throw most of this out

2006-08-08 11:06:35 · 13 answers · asked by mrmoo 3 in Other - Society & Culture

Am so confuse by this,when i read muslim texts they say Abraham was the first but same texts say Khadijah was the first convert....how come
"Many women in Islam have had high status; consider the fact that the first person to convert to Islam was Khadijah,the wife of Muhammad, whom he both loved and respected"

2006-08-08 11:06:16 · 6 answers · asked by DeffJones 1 in Religion & Spirituality

I'm trying to figure out what to give my best friend as a birthday gift. She's in her late 20's and prego and I'd like to do something creative for her but not something off the wall. Any suggestions?!

2006-08-08 11:05:08 · 26 answers · asked by kristinaanneblack 2 in Other - Holidays

2006-08-08 11:02:46 · 44 answers · asked by Mitchell B 4 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 11:01:36 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Society & Culture

2006-08-08 11:01:11 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 10:59:43 · 30 answers · asked by kimber g 4 in Religion & Spirituality

Is it just me or does it seem like today there are a lot of jackasses posting questions in this particular forum?

2006-08-08 10:59:05 · 10 answers · asked by CartoonFreak1985 2 in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

the most offensive and disgusting statement you have ever read on this site?


jesus never had sex, because he was tramatized at birth, when mary forgot to take out her bloody camel hair tampon. and so jesus had to chew his way through it just to be born.

2006-08-08 10:58:59 · 9 answers · asked by crazyman_2 1 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 10:58:38 · 11 answers · asked by Iloveitwhenyoucallmebigpoppa 2 in Etiquette

Some of my best friends and family members voted for Bush for that specific reason, what do you think?

2006-08-08 10:58:23 · 9 answers · asked by t4king 2 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-08 10:57:50 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender