tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3212164761772766192024-02-19T03:15:24.877-08:00Twistianity TodayAll The News That's Fit to Twist: Twisting Words Since 325CE.
Commentary on Today's Commentaries noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.comBlogger311125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-45423045231732791202022-01-02T08:15:00.004-08:002022-01-02T08:15:44.210-08:00Female Pastor Invites Drag Queen to Teach Scripture to Children at Lutheran Church<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Female Pastor Invites Drag Queen to Teach Scripture to Children at Lutheran Church</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5XNDQzRKxSvlGAqMI-ZbNTja5BBhoghdPbBiO8trsSZm0hhJLk_LfozJzzkPEOrS93IwdxIKwPQ_4FQGqZfQqlLgt5hBL0qLBq9GvTMwfyicJyJlfLtsglaZ32vwDGgFtCdKjxRNMCpSfwEd8os05VjF6j2DN2yDFaFCok5bgm2mNH225f5fQhivq=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5XNDQzRKxSvlGAqMI-ZbNTja5BBhoghdPbBiO8trsSZm0hhJLk_LfozJzzkPEOrS93IwdxIKwPQ_4FQGqZfQqlLgt5hBL0qLBq9GvTMwfyicJyJlfLtsglaZ32vwDGgFtCdKjxRNMCpSfwEd8os05VjF6j2DN2yDFaFCok5bgm2mNH225f5fQhivq=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Pastor Erin Coleman Branchaud invited the drag queen to read to children and teach scripture to them during worship on Sunday at the St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square. It should come as no surprise that the pastor includes her preferred pronouns in her bio.</p><p>Source: <a href="https://bigleaguepolitics.com/female-pastor-invites-drag-queen-to-teach-scripture-to-children-at-lutheran-church/">https://bigleaguepolitics.com/female-pastor-invites-drag-queen-to-teach-scripture-to-children-at-lutheran-church/</a></p>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-56137652143877520442020-06-22T05:17:00.001-07:002020-06-22T05:17:31.260-07:00Identity politics and the Marxist lie of white privilege<h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; font-family: roboto, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 2.4rem; margin: 0px; max-height: 4.8rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;">
<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;">Identity politics and the Marxist lie of white privilege</yt-formatted-string></h1>
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<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;">This is pure gold:</yt-formatted-string></div>
"It isn't necessary for us who are trying with the small part of our hearts that might be oriented towards the good to allow people who are manipulating us with historical ignorance and philosophical sleight of hand to render us a goddamn guilty about what our ancestors may or may not have done so that we allow our shame and our guilt to be used as tools to manipulate us into accepting a future that we do not want to have."<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PfH8IG7Awk0" width="560"></iframe>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-43995261690184033232020-02-05T13:31:00.000-08:002020-02-05T13:31:20.444-08:00The Bible on Gay and Lesbian (Homosexual) Sex<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 38px;">The Bible on Gay and Lesbian (Homosexual) Sex</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;">Author: <span class="vcard" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Berean Patriot</span></span></span></h1>
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The church’s historical stance on gay/lesbian sex is <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">mostly</span></em> right, but not 100% right. The error that crept in is an easy mistake to make unless you know Greek. I will partly break with tradition here, yet the tradition is mostly right with a single significant error.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Therefore, please don’t read this article</strong><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> if you aren’t open minded</strong>. </div>
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Let’s dive in.</div>
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There are three possible sexual combinations when you have two genders:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Male/Female</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Male/Male/</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Female/Female</li>
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Obviously no one has a problem with (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">married</em>) male/female sex, so we’ll ignore it. <a href="http://www.bereanpatriot.com/yes-the-bible-clearly-says-sex-outside-of-marriage-is-wrong/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Bible clearly says that all sex outside of marriage is wrong</a>, so that’s a prerequisite. By definition – and in the Bible – marriage is only ever between men and women (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">civil unions aren’t marriage by definition</em>). We’ll examine male/male and female/female sex after a quick word on Clarity.</div>
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<span id="Clarity-in-Biblical-Exegesis" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Clarity In Biblical Exegesis</span></h3>
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One of my biggest rules for theology is this: <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">never base doctrine on verses that aren’t clear.</span></div>
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There are some verses in the Bible which talk about gay (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">male/male</em>) sex but aren’t perfectly clear if they are condemning it or something else. These verses are:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genesis 19:1-38</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Judges 19:1-30</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jude 6-7</li>
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Nevertheless, I have written a brief synopsis of those passage and outlined why they aren’t clear. However, I recommend you <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">don’t</span></em> read my synopsis because these verses aren’t clear. I have included them below only for completeness.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="collapseomatic" id="id5e3aed2c18e07" style="background-image: url("images/arrow-down.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 16px; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0" title="Click here to expand my synopsis. (<strong><em>Not recommended because these verses aren't clear</em></strong>)">Click here to expand my synopsis. (<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Not recommended because these verses aren't clear</em></strong>)</span></span></div>
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<span id="MaleMale-Sex" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Male/Male Sex</span></h3>
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Okay, so it’s time to talk about the “clobber passages”. (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The LGBT community calls them that because Christians use them to “clobber” them over their sexual practices</em>). Basically, they are the verses in the Bible where homosexuality is clearly discussed.</div>
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There are several passages in the Bible that talk about it.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TO BE CLEAR: the following <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ONLY</em> applies to male/male sexual relations. Ironically, the Bible treats male/male sex <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">very differently</em></span> than female/female sex.</strong></div>
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The verses are:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 18:22;</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 20:13</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Corinthians 6:9-11</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Timothy 1:9-10</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:27</li>
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We’ll talk about each of them in turn</div>
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<span id="Leviticus-1822" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 18:22</span></h4>
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Context: the chapter begins in verses 1-5 with God saying He doesn’t want the Israelites to sin the same way that the Egyptians or Canaanites sinned. In verses 6-19, God lists all the people for who you shouldn’t “uncover the nakedness of” (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a Hebrew idiom for sex</em>). </div>
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Now, let’s pick it up at verse 20</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 18:20-24</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">20</strong> ‘You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">defiled</span> with her.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">21</strong> ‘You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">22</strong> <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">‘<span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female</strong></span>; it is an <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abomination</strong></span></span>.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">23</strong> ‘Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 24</strong> <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things</span>; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.</div>
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The prohibition on male/male sex is clear. </div>
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It’s sandwiched between two other sexual perversions: bestiality and adultery. Interestingly, these are the only three sexual practices for which the death penalty was proscribed.</div>
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The word translated “abomination” in verse 22 is “תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8441.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">toebah</a>). Some have argued that it simply means “ceremonially unclean”. However, that’s not supported by the text or its usage. It’s used over 100 times in the Old Testament. Every single time it’s translated similarly. You can look at every place it’s used <a href="https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_8441.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">here</a>. Below is how it’s translated.</div>
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(<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the NASB</em>)</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abominable (5),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abominable act (1),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abomination (39),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abominations (60),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">detestable (2),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">detestable act (1),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">detestable thing (3),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">detestable things (3),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">loathsome (2),</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">object of loathing (1)</li>
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This word is used to describe the worship of idols, those who practice witchcraft, and other obviously immoral things. It’s even used to describe God’s opinion of burning babies alive on an altar to the pagan god Molech in Jeremiah 32:35. (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps that’s why sacrificing babies in the fire – by “offering them to Molech” – is mentioned in verse 21.)</em></div>
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This word does not mean merely “unclean”. There are two other words with are used through this passage to mean “unclean”; this doesn’t mean that. In fact, in verse 27 says the defiling (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">or uncleanness</em>) came from the abominations.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 18:27</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27</strong> (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abominations</span>, and the land has become <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">defiled</span>)</div>
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From this verse, I don’t see how male/male sexual relations could be okay in God’s eyes. </div>
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<span id="Leviticus-2013" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 20:13</span></h4>
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I’ll copy/paste with a few extra verses for context, but it’s almost the same as the previous verse in Leviticus.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leviticus 20:10-16</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10</strong> ‘If there is<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> a man who commits adultery</span> with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">11</strong> ‘If there is <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a man who lies with his father’s wife</span>, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">12</strong> ‘If there is <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a man who lies with his daughter-in-law</span>, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">13</strong> ‘If there is <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman</strong></span>,</em> both of them have committed a <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">detestable act</strong></span>; they shall surely be <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">put to death</strong></span>.</span> Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">14</strong> ‘If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">15</strong> ‘If there is <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a man who lies with an animal</span>, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">16</strong> ‘If there is<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it</span>, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.</div>
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I want to point out: the penalty for <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all</strong></span></em> of these sexual sins is death. Male/male sex is right in the middle of the list. Despite God being super-clear and listing multiple instances of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">how</span></em> they could happen, most of the sins in this passage boil down to adultery, bestiality, and male/male sex.</div>
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In both places the Torah mentions male/male sex, it’s placed in the same category of adultery and bestiality. Those are serious sins, and male/male sex in mentioned in the same breath (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">figuratively speaking</em>).</div>
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The phrase “detestable act” is the same word used is Leviticus 18:22. As I said before, this word is used to describe idol worship, practicing witchcraft, and even child sacrifices to pagan gods. Again, male/male sex is counted among adultery and bestiality as the most serious sexual sins. (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We know this because they were the only ones for which the death penalty was proscribed.</em>)</div>
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Again, it can’t simply mean “ceremonially unclean”. This word simply doesn’t mean that. (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Often Hebrew words have multiple meanings and can be taken different ways; that’s not the case here</em>.)</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Again: this only applies to male/male sexual relations</strong></span>. </span> The Bible takes a different approach to female/female sex, which we’ll examine that soon. </div>
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<span id="1-Corinthians-69-10" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Corinthians 6:9-10</span></h4>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9</strong> Or do you not know that <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God</span>? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">homosexuals</strong></span></span>,</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10</strong> nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.</div>
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Many gay men say that this verse is mistranslated. I agree, but not for the reason they say. The word translated “homosexuals” is the Greek word “ἀρσενοκοῖται” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/733.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">arsenokoites</a>). It means: “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity</em>“, or more properly:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">733</strong> <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">arsenokoítēs</em> (from 730 <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">/árrhēn</em>, “a male” and 2845 <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">/koítē</em>, “a mat, bed”) – properly, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a man in bed with another man</span>; a <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">homosexual</em>.</div>
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This word <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">does</strong></span></em> refer to male/male sexual activity. However, it does <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not</em></strong></span> refer to female/female sexual activity. This word specifically – <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and only</strong></span></em> – means male/male sexual activity. Therefore, homosexual isn’t an accurate translation because that would include female/female sex also.</div>
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The ESV captures this accurately.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Corinthians 6:9</strong> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ESV</em>)</div>
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Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">nor <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">men</strong></span> who practice homosexuality</span>,</div>
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I have heard two explanations from the gay rights camp in an attempt to explain this verse away. </div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It refers to male prostitutes</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It refers to men forcing other men (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">or teenage boys</em>) into a non-consensual relationship; i.e. rape/pederasty. </li>
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To answer point #1, we simply need to back up a few words: The word translated “fornicators” is the Greek word “πόρνος” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/4205.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">pornos</a>). It means:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4205</strong> <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pórnos</em> (from <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pernaō</em>, “to sell off”) – properly, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a male prostitute</span>. 4205 (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pórnos</em>) is “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">properly</em>, ‘<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a male prostitute</span>‘ (so Xen., etc.); <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in the NT</em>, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">any fornicator</em></span>” (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Abbott-Smith</em>); i.e. <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">anyone engaging in sexual immorality</span>. See 4202 (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">porneia</em>).</div>
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It means anyone engaging in wrong sexual practices, but especially a male prostitute. Why would Paul repeat himself here?</div>
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To answer objection #2, there’s simply no evidence for it. We know it did happen in the culture of the time, but there’s no proof or evidence that’s what Paul is referring to. Obviously rape is wrong, but there’s no evidence that Paul is referring to it here. </div>
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That said, looking at the Biblical context in Romans, Leviticus, and the force of God’s condemnation in the Old Testament, I see no reason <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not</em></strong></span> to take the word at it’s plain meaning. It literally means two men having sex, and says that is wrong.</div>
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<span id="1-Timothy-18-10" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Timothy 1:8-10</span></h4>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8</strong> But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9</strong> realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10</strong> and immoral men and <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">homosexuals</strong></span></span> and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,</div>
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Again, the Greek word ” ἀρσενοκοῖται” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/733.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">arsenokoites</a>), which is the same word we just discussed in 1 Corinthians 6:9. I see no reason to twist the plain meaning of the word here either. </div>
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<span id="Romans-126-27" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26-27</span></h4>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27</strong> and in the same way also<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts</strong></span></span> and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.</div>
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I see no way to explain verse 27 other than the plain meaning. This is especially true because there’s a Greek word here that often mistranslated to keep the Bible “clean”. The word that’s translated “with” in the phrase “men with men” is the Greek word “ἐν ” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/1722.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">en</a>). It literally means “in”.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1722</strong> en (a preposition) – <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">properly, in (inside, within)</span>; (figuratively) “in the realm (sphere) of,” as in the condition (state) in which something operates from the inside (within).</div>
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The phrase is literally “men in men”, or perhaps “men inside men”; an obvious reference to the anal intercourse that gay men engage in during sex. This is called an “indecent act” by Paul. </div>
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<span id="MaleMale-Conclusion" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Male/Male Conclusion</span></h4>
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It seems to me that the Bible paints a consistent picture of male/male sex. From God’s opinion, it’s wrong and a sin at least on the level of adultery and bestiality.</div>
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<span id="FemaleFemale-Sex" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Female/Female Sex</span></h3>
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You may have noticed that every scripture we’ve examined so far deals specifically – <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and only</strong></span></em> – with male/male sex. Nothing in the Old Testament <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">even mentions</em></strong></span> female/female sexual relations. It’s just not there. Further, the Rabbinic Sages were also completely silent on the topic. In fact, the Jews didn’t even mention it until at least the end of the fourth century AD. Even then, it wasn’t considered a serious sin (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">more a “slap on the wrist” type thing</em>).</div>
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The New Testament is equally silent. </div>
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There’s only one place that <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">might</strong></span></em> talk about it, but the true meaning is frequently missed. </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26-27</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">their women exchanged the natural <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">function</strong></span> for that which is unnatural</span>,</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27</strong> <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in the same way</strong></span> also</span> the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.</div>
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There’s a couple things to keep in mind.</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">First</strong>, I would like to point out that it does not say “women with women” here, even though “men with men” is used in verse 27.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Second</strong>, I would like to point out that – as we just looked at – verse 27 <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">clearly</span></em> refers to men engaging in anal intercourse. Remember context is important.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Third</strong>, and most importantly<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> the Greek words used here make it practically impossible that verse 26 refers to female/female sex, but virtually certain it refers to women engaging in anal sex with men.</strong></li>
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Let me explain.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="The-Original-Gender-of-the-Words" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Original Gender Of The Words</span></h4>
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To start with, both men and women are mentioned, you just can’t tell in English. In English, we only have the gender neutral word “they/them” for a third person pronoun. Our word “they” does not convey gender. However, the Greek word equivalent to our word “they” is “αὐτός” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/846.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">autos</a>); it can and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">does</span></em> convey gender here.</div>
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So let’s look at the verse with gender included:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">them</strong></span> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Masculine pronoun</em>)</span> over to degrading passions; for <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">their </strong></span>(<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Masculine possessive pronoun</em>)</span> women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,</div>
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(<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Note: you can double check me by looking at <a href="https://biblehub.com/interlinear/romans/1-26.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Romans 1:26 in an interlinear Bible</a></em>)</div>
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Who is being given over?</div>
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Answer: The men. </div>
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In fact, you could translate it something like this:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26</strong> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">my modified version</em>)<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the men</span> over to degrading passions; for <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the men’s</span> women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,</div>
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Yes that’s awkward English (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“the men’s women”</em>), but it accurately conveys the gender of the original Greek. Rendering the original gender of the word makes it clear that both men and women are involved here. </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Remember, it’s <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">the men</span></em> who were given over to “degrading passions”.</strong></div>
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(<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s important.</em>)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="Penile-Penetration-is-Required" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Penile Penetration Is Required</span></h4>
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The Greek word translated “function” is the Greek word “χρῆσιν” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/5540.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">chrésis</a>). According to Strong’s Concordance, it means:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5540</strong> From chraomai; employment, i.e. (specially), <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sexual <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">inter</span></em>course</strong></span> (as an occupation of the body) — use.</div>
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Chrésis means intercourse; <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">inter</strong></span></em>course. Not outer-course (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">referring to non-penetrative sexual activity</em>), but intercourse (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">referring specifically to penetrative sexual activity</em>). Chrésis <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">requires</em> sexual penetration to be applicable. </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Without penetration, it’s not chrésis.</strong></div>
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Period.</div>
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I’m not the only one who thinks this either. The following quote is from David J. Murphy, who has a PhD. in Classics and taught Latin and Greek for many years.</div>
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When it refers to one person’s sexual activities with another person, though, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em> is assigned to the man, who was expected to penetrate someone and thus, “use” that person</span>—a woman, a boy, a male slave. Early Christian writers as well speak of the husband’s having “use” of the wife (Clement, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stromateis </em>3.11.71.4; Justin Martyr, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dialogue with Trypho</em> 110; Athenagoras, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Legation</em> 32.1). <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As far as I have found in the sources, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em> as sexual activity <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">always</strong></span></em> is associated with penetration</span>.</div>
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I do not know a case where the penetrated partner is said to have sexual “use” of the penetrating partner. It is not surprising, then, that David E. Frederickson has found <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">no case where <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis </em>refers to female homoeroticism</span> (“Natural and Unnatural Use in Romans 1:24-27,” in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Homosexuality, Science and the “Plain Sense” of Scripture</em>, ed. David L. Balch, Grand Rapids 2000, 197-222: 201).</div>
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On the other hand, this symmetry between the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em> phrases within v. 26b makes problems for the “lesbian” interpretation. What is supposed to happen in “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em> against nature” if we have two females? <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If neither penetrates the other, there is no <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em></span>. </div>
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<a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rolltodisbelieve/2015/09/18/heres-why-the-christian-right-is-totally-wrong-about-this-clobber-verse/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Source</a> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">emphasis added</em>)</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two women <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">cannot</span></em> engage in <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">penetrative</em></span> sex because neither has the anatomy <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">required</span></em> to do so, nor does <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">any</span></em> woman.</strong></div>
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That means that Paul <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">cannot</span></em> be referring to female/female <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">non-penetrative</span> sex</em> here because women <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">can’t</span></em> have chrésis (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sexual penetration/intercourse</em>) because they lack the required equipment (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a penis</em>).</div>
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As we’ve already covered, verse 27 was specifically about anal intercourse (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">though in the context of male/male sex</em>). </div>
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This asymmetry between v. 26b and v. 27 reflects typical gender expectations, in which Paul looks at the penetrative act from the point of view, first, of the penetrated female, and then, from the standpoint of the penetrating male. Only the male has use “of” the other partner. In other words, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in “natural <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em>,” the females start out being penetrated by males, and they do not have “use” of anyone. In “unnatural <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chresis</em>,” the females again are penetrated by males, and again they do not have “use” of anyone. They have only switched the orifice they presented for penetration</span>.</div>
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<a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rolltodisbelieve/2015/09/18/heres-why-the-christian-right-is-totally-wrong-about-this-clobber-verse/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Source</a> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">emphasis added</em>)</div>
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This well agrees with the context of verse 27 talking about anal sex.</div>
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<span id="More-Greek-Evidence" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">More Greek Evidence</span></h4>
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Verse 27 opens with “in the same way” or “likewise” depending on your translation, then speaks about men engaging in anal sex. The Greek word that’s translated “in the same way” or “likewise”, is “<span class="greek" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ὁμοίως</span>” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/3668.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">homoiós</a>). </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26-27</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27</strong> <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in the same way</strong></span> also</span> the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.</div>
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“Homoiós” is an adverb, and adverbs describe or modify verbs. Therefore, it describes what someone is <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">doing</span></em></strong>. (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Our English word “likewise” lacks this specificity centered on action; you can use it to say: ‘Bob is hungry, likewise so is Jane’ which requires no action.</em>)</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Homoiós is used 31 times in the Bible, and every single time it refers to similarity of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">action</span></em>.</strong></div>
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Since verse 27 begins with homoiós, we can be sure that the same <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">action</span></em></strong> that was performed in verse 27 (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">anal sex</em>) is also being performed in verse 26.</div>
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I might translate homoiós here as “doing the same thing”. </div>
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<span id="Yet-more-Greek-Evidence" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yet More Greek Evidence</span></h4>
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Further, the Greek at the end of verse 26 supports the anal interpretation vs the lesbian interpretation. Here’s the verse in the ESV, which is slightly more literal in this passage than the NASB I’ve been quoting.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26</strong> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ESV</em>)<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> those that are <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">contrary</strong></span> to nature</span>;</div>
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The word translated “contrary” is the Greek word “παρά” (<a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/3844.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">para</a>). It’s where we get our English word “parallel”, and it means:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3844</strong> pará (a preposition) – <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">properly, close beside</span>. 3844 /pará (<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“from closely alongside”) introduces someone (something) as <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">very “close beside</strong></span>.</span>“</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3844</strong> (pará) an emphatic “from,” means “from close beside” (“alongside”). It stresses nearness (closeness) which is often not conveyed in translation. 3844 (pará) is typically theologically significant, even when used as a prefix (i.e. in composition). 3844 <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(pará) usually adds the overtone, “from close beside” (implying intimate participation) and can be followed by the genitive, dative, or accusative case – <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">each one conveying a distinct nuance</strong></span></span>.</div>
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I won’t go full Greek language geek on you because I’ll lose 90% of my readers. You just need to know in this verse it’s in the accusative case, with the following additional nuance of meaning.</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">properly, of place, at, by, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">near, by the side of, beside</strong></span>, along;</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. beside, beyond, i.e. metaphorically,<ol style="border: 0px; font: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1.9em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">equivalent to <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">contrary to</strong></span></span>:</li>
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The primary meaning of the word – even in the accusative case – is “very close beside”, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">with the added nuance of “contrary to</span></em>” (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in the accusative case</em>). So it primarily means “very close beside”, but the additional meaning of “contrary to” is tacked on.</div>
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<span id="Putting-it-all-together" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Putting It All Together</span></h4>
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Let’s look at the verse again with all of this understanding. </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Romans 1:26-27</strong> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My modified version</em>)<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26</strong> For this reason God gave the men over to degrading passions; for <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">their women exchanged the natural <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">penile penetration</strong></em></span> for that which is <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">very close beside (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and contrary to</em>)</strong></span> natural</span>,</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27</strong> <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">doing the same thing</strong></span> also</span> the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">men <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in</strong></span> men</span> committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.</div>
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Again, we are talking about penetrative intercourse of something that is “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">very close beside” </em>natural penetration. Further, it’s confirmed in the next verse which says “in the same way” (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">homoiós = “doing the same thing”</em>) followed shortly by “men in men”. </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sounds like anal intercourse to me. </strong></div>
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Further, the early church fathers agreed</div>
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The early church fathers Clement of Alexandria, Athanasius, and Augustine all understood the unnatural act as being <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">non-coital intercourse</strong>, that is<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">… anal sex</strong>.</div>
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(<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Emphasis original</em><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">.</em>)</div>
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Clement said this in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Paedagogus. </em>Likewise Tertullian in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On the Military Garland</em> (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">c. 201-211</em>), Athanasius in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Against the Nations</em>, and Augustine argued it many times over several decades; notably in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Marriage and Concupiscence, On the Good of Marriage,</em> and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Against Julian</em>.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Again, the bible is completely silent on female/female sexual acts.</strong></div>
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It simply doesn’t mention them, and neither did the Jews’ Rabbinic Sages until a few hundred years after Christ died.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brief aside: Why does Paul mention this?</strong></div>
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You might ask why Paul mentions anal sex. To answer that question, I’ll quote from another article on the anal interpretation of Romans 1:26</div>
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It was common in antiquity for women to have anal or oral sex with men, often to avoid pregnancy or to preserve the hymen and thus, technically, their virginity. Trying to explain how Genesis 24:16 is not redundant when it recounts that Rebecca, future wife of Isaac, was a virgin and “had not known man,” Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish, ca. 250 C.E., could say, “The daughters of the gentiles had been careful to protect the virginity of their vaginas, but they were quite free with themselves at other orifices. But this one [Rebecca] was ‘a virgin’ as to the vagina, and ‘no man had known’ her under any other circumstances either” (Midrash Rabbah Genesis LX:V 2.B, translated by Jacob Neusner). These gentile girls are like Rebecca because, technically, they are virgins. They keep their hymen intact. They are unlike her because they find ways to “know” men anyway.</div>
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<a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rolltodisbelieve/2015/09/18/heres-why-the-christian-right-is-totally-wrong-about-this-clobber-verse/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Source</a>.</div>
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That jives well with my research on the topic. In that age, women often engaged in anal sex either to avoid pregnancy or to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">technically</span></em> preserve their virginity by ensuring the hymen wasn’t broken.</div>
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<span id="One-Final-Point-on-femalefemale-Sex" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One Final Point On Female/Female Sex</span></h4>
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Disclaimer: The following is <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">anecdotal at best</span></em>, not necessarily my opinion, and only included for completeness because it came up so much. </div>
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The most common way to describe sex in the Bible is “he went into her”. In my research, I have found time and again that according to the ancient mind, sex <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">required</span></em> penile penetration. If there wasn’t a penis in a vagina (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">or other orifice</em>), then it wasn’t sex in their view. Perhaps that’s why any mention of female/female sex is absent: because – in their mind – it wasn’t considered sex.</div>
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But again, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">that’s anecdotal at best and not necessarily my opinion</strong></span></em>; I’m merely including it here for completeness because it came up so often in my research. </div>
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<span id="Conclusion" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Conclusion</span></h3>
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Male/male sex is roundly condemned as a sin that’s as serious as adultery and bestiality. </div>
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Female/female sex is nowhere condemned, or even <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">mentioned</span></em> in the entire Bible. God is completely silent on the topic, despite clearly condemning male/male sex <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">at leas</span></em>t five times. God even goes out of his way in Leviticus to say women couldn’t have sex with animals. Yet even with all this specificity He never condemns female/female sex, nor even mentions it.</div>
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Not even once.</div>
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Make of that what you will.</div>
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I should also reiterate that <a href="http://www.bereanpatriot.com/yes-the-bible-clearly-says-sex-outside-of-marriage-is-wrong/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Yes, The Bible CLEARLY Says Sex Outside of Marriage is Wrong</a>, and marriage is only between men and women<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">…</strong> Just in case you thought I was in favor of lesbian “marriage”. (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">which I’m <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">definitely</strong></span> not. Marriage is only between men and women</em><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">by definition</span></em><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">.</em>)</div>
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(<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">P.S. I have a suspicion why God condemned male/male sex while being silent on female/female; but that will have to wait for another day/article.</em>)</div>
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<a href="http://www.bereanpatriot.com/the-bible-on-gay-and-lesbian-homosexual-sex/">Source: </a> <span style="color: #aaaaaa;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: #aaaaaa; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.bereanpatriot.com/author/k1b1fng2a46gk15y365fi3j/" rel="author" style="border: 0px; color: #0274be; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Berean Patriot">Berean Patriot</a> </span></div>
noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-18998451625832143162019-09-14T13:05:00.001-07:002019-09-14T13:05:38.280-07:00New Hebraic Roots Bible Retrofitted for the Christian Palate <span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="text-indent: -24px;">New </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Hebraic Roots Bible Retrofitted for the Christian P</span>alate </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; text-align: justify;"><i>"Bear in mind, the Jewish Scriptures were written in Hebrew, not in seventeenth century King James English."</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; text-align: justify;">Bible translations </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; text-align: justify;">meticulously shaped and painstakingly retrofitted in order to produce a message that would sustain and advance Church theology and exegesis.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvEcRToFnzof60pJKlzlzYAO_szr9iG-XW7FWmiLK1vT__SVM2CsQHjFN2xNPdBUAEsx_GbJzdyvlErqNgPWd_Aq555NMedRXi9f-TnMloaR0mKZmyBiEvVS-5e3w68iyBaT5Dp8wiHE/s1600/isr-logo-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvEcRToFnzof60pJKlzlzYAO_szr9iG-XW7FWmiLK1vT__SVM2CsQHjFN2xNPdBUAEsx_GbJzdyvlErqNgPWd_Aq555NMedRXi9f-TnMloaR0mKZmyBiEvVS-5e3w68iyBaT5Dp8wiHE/s320/isr-logo-header.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;">The
Institute for Scripture Research (ISR) better know as The Institute
for Scripture Twisting has a New Website! </span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;"><a href="http://isr-messianic.org/">http://isr-messianic.org/</a> [1]</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;">These
well meaning, sincere people are of a Christian
interpretation that changes the word of HaShem to advance a christopagan
doctrine as scriptural.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;">One
perfect example is found in Genisis 18:3</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">He
raised his eyes and looked, <b>and
there in front of him stood three men.</b>
On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated
himself on the ground, </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: maroon;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><b>Gen
18:3</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">
and said, “<span style="color: red;">*</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";">י</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span lang="he-IL">-</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";">ה</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span lang="he-IL">-</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";">ו</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span lang="he-IL">-</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";">ה</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span lang="en-US">,
if I have now found favour in Your eyes, please do not pass Your
servant by. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: teal;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span lang="en-US">Gen
18:4</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span lang="en-US">
“Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and
rest yourselves under the tree. </span></span></span></span>
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<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: red; text-indent: -24px;"> [*ADDED]</span></div>
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<h1 align="CENTER" style="font-family: David; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Deuteronomy Chapter 4 <span class="h" style="font-size: 40px;">דְּבָרִים</span></span></h1>
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<tr><td class="h" style="direction: rtl; font-size: 26px; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>ב</b> לֹא תֹסִפוּ, עַל-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם, וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ, מִמֶּנּוּ--לִשְׁמֹר, אֶת-מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי, מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם.</td><td style="direction: ltr; font-size: 19px; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>2</b> Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God </td></tr>
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<h1 align="CENTER" style="font-family: David; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Genesis Chapter 18 <span class="h" style="font-size: 40px;">בְּרֵאשִׁית</span></span></h1>
<br />
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<tr><td class="h" style="direction: rtl; font-size: 26px; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>ג</b> וַיֹּאמַר: אֲדֹנָי, אִם-נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ--אַל-נָא תַעֲבֹר, מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ.</td><td style="direction: ltr; font-size: 19px; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>3</b> and said: 'My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">Christians
use this as an example of a </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"><b>Theophany</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">,
from the </span></span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek"><span style="color: #0b0080;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">Ancient
Greek</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="el-GR">(ἡ)
θεοφάνεια (</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="el-GR"><i>theophaneia</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">,</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #0b0080;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">meaning
"appearance of God"),</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #0b0080;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">refers
to the appearance of a </span></span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity"><span style="color: #0b0080;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">deity</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">to
a human or other being, or to a divine disclosure.</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "titus cyberbit basic";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span></span>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4N3OQL-NefWvkWIc40nClDD1JZaey9AgbZRp1R-s3axvQDXyAbhSvAOw0Mvw5biVgTxbXCA2DVg0O_VPxPmMKntUHotuIGhQI30FF3GqO_gwffn2ysnJctqFlAH1DTxmATJeXrMe7lE/s1600/800px-Rubens-Death-of-Semele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4N3OQL-NefWvkWIc40nClDD1JZaey9AgbZRp1R-s3axvQDXyAbhSvAOw0Mvw5biVgTxbXCA2DVg0O_VPxPmMKntUHotuIGhQI30FF3GqO_gwffn2ysnJctqFlAH1DTxmATJeXrMe7lE/s320/800px-Rubens-Death-of-Semele.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 21px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Peter Paul Rubens' Death of Semele, caused by the theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise </span></td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">Yet
the Hebrew text does not confirm their assumption or theory, <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/rashi.html">Rashi</a>
explains as: Three Angels (messengers)</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">There
is no hebrew word known as tetragrammaton! (The Hebrew name of God
transliterated in four letters?) Perhaps the ISR saw the word LORD using <a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/find-and-replace-text-or-other-items-HP005189433.aspx">the find-replace feature</a> simply automatically replacing the word LORD with another as the RWKJV Bible does on the 17th century King James Version. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span lang="en-US">Gen 18:3 And said, <span style="color: red;">*</span>Y-H-W-H, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: ???? </span><span style="text-indent: -24px;"> <span style="color: red;">[*ADDED] </span> </span>H136 STRONGS [See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_antisemitism">"The History of Christian Anti-Semitism"</a>]</div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
</div>
<h1 align="CENTER" style="font-family: David;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">
Deuteronomy Chapter 4 <span class="h" style="font-size: 40px;">דְּבָרִים</span></span></h1>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="font-family: David; text-indent: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="h" style="direction: rtl; font-size: 26px; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>ב</b> לֹא תֹסִפוּ, עַל-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם, וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ, מִמֶּנּוּ--לִשְׁמֹר, אֶת-מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי, מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם.</td><td style="direction: ltr; font-size: 19px; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>2</b> Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="background-color: white;">Deu 4:2 In order to obey the mitzvot of ADONAI your God which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
ISR adds words not in the Torah?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>2. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">And
he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>three
men </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">were standing
beside him, and he saw and he ran toward them from the entrance of
the tent, and he prostrated himself to the ground.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>ב</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>. </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">וַיִּשָּׂא
עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה
אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא
וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל
וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><b>and
behold, three men: </b><b>One to bring the news [of Isaac’s
birth] to Sarah</b>, and one to overturn Sodom, and one to heal
Abraham, for one angel does not perform two errands (Gen. Rabbah
50:2). You should know that [this is true] because throughout the
entire chapter, Scripture mentions them in the plural, e.g.,
(below verse 8): “and they ate” ; (ibid. verse 9): “and they
said to him.” Concerning the announcement, however, it says
(ibid. verse 10): “And he said: I will surely return to you.”
And concerning the overturning of Sodom, it says (below 19:22):
“For I will not be able to do anything” ; (ibid. verse 21): “I
will not overturn” (Gen. Rabbah 50:11). <b>And Raphael, who
healed Abraham</b>, went from there to save Lot. This is what is
stated:“And it came to pass when they took them outside, that he
[the angel] said, ‘Flee for your life.’” You learn that only
one acted as a deliverer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>והנה
שלשה אנשים</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>: </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">אחד
לבשר את שרה ואחד להפוך את סדום ואחד
לרפאות את אברהם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">שאין
מלאך אחד עושה שתי שליחיות</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">תדע
לך שכן כל הפרשה הוא מזכירן בלשון רבים
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">פסוק
ח</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ויאכלו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">פסוק
ט</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ויאמרו
אליו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ובבשורה
נאמר </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">שם
י</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ויאמר
שוב אשוב אליך</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ובהפיכת
סדום הוא אומר </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">יט
כב</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">כי
לא אוכל לעשות דבר</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">שם
כא</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">),
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">לבלתי
הפכי</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ורפאל
שרפא את אברהם הלך משם להציל את לוט</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">הוא
שנאמר </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">שם
יז</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ויהי
כהוציאם אותם החוצה ויאמר המלט על נפשך</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">למדת
שהאחד היה מציל</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><b>were
standing beside him: </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">Heb.
</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">עָלָיו</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">,
lit. over him. Before him, like (Num. 2:20):“And next to him
(</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">וְעָלָיו</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">),
the tribe of Manasseh,” but it is a euphemism in reference to
the angels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>נצבים
עליו</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>: </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">לפניו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">כמו
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">במדבר
ב כ</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ועליו
מטה מנשה</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">אבל
לשון נקיה הוא כלפי המלאכים</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><b>and
he saw: </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">Why
is </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">וַיַרְא
</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">written
twice [in this verse?] The first is to be understood according to
its apparent meaning [i.e., and he saw], and the second means
“understanding.” He observed that they were standing in one
place, and he understood that they did not wish to burden him. And
although they knew that he would come out toward them, they stood
in their place out of respect for him, to show him that they did
not wish to trouble him, and he went out first and ran toward
them. (This is the reading in an old Rashi ms.) In Bava Metzia (ad
loc.) it is written: “standing beside him,” and then it is
written: “and he ran toward them!” When they saw that he was
untying and tying [his bandages], they separated from him.
Immediately, “he ran toward them.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>וירא</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>: </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">מהו
וירא וירא שני פעמים</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">הראשון
כמשמעו והשני לשון הבנה</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">נסתכל
שהיו נצבים במקום אחד והבין שלא היו
רוצים להטריחו ואף על פי שיודעים היו
שיצא לקראתם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">עמדו
במקומם לכבודו ולהראותו שלא רצו להטריחו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">וקדם
הוא ורץ לקראתם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">בבבא
מציעא </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">פו
ב</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">כתיב
נצבים עליו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">וכתיב
וירץ לקראתם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">כד
חזיוה דהוה שרי ואסר פירשו הימנו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">מיד
וירץ לקראתם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=210124136663534778" name="v"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=210124136663534778" name="v3"></a>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">And
he said, "My lords, if only I have found favor in your eyes,
please do not pass on from beside your servant.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>ג</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>. </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">וַיֹּאמַר
אֲדֹנָי אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ
אַל נָא תַעֲבֹר מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><b>And
he said, “My lords, if only I have, etc.”: </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">To
the chief one he said this, and he called them all lords, and to
the chief one he said,“Please do not pass by,” because if he
would not pass by, his companions would stay with him. According
to this version, it (</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">אִדֹנָי</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">)
is profane (Shev. 35b) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>(i.e.,
it does not refer to God).</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">
Another explanation: It (</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">אִדֹנָי</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">)
is holy, and he was telling the Holy One, blessed be He, to wait
for him until he would run and bring in the wayfarers. And
although this [“Do not pass by”] is written after, “and ran
toward them,” the statement [to God, “do not pass by”]
preceded it. It is customary for the verses to speak in this
manner, as I explained in reference to (above 6:3): “Let My
spirit not quarrel forever concerning man” [the decree that God
would wait 120 years before bringing the Flood] which was written
after (5: 32):“And Noah begot.” But it is impossible to say
otherwise than that the decree preceded the birth [of Japhet] by
20 years. And the two interpretations [of </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">אִדֹנָי
</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "ms sans serif";">as
being profane and holy in this context] are in Genesis Rabbah . [2]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>ויאמר
א</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>-</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>דני
אם נא וגו</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>': </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">לגדול
שבהם אמר</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">וקראם
כולם אדונים ולגדול אמר אל נא תעבור</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">וכיון
שלא יעבור הוא</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">יעמדו
חבריו עמו</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ובלשון
זה הוא חול</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">דבר
אחר קודש הוא</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">והיה
אומר להקב</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ה
להמתין לו עד שירוץ ויכניס את האורחים</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ואף
על פי שכתוב אחר </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">פסוק
ב</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">וירץ
לקראתם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">האמירה
קודם לכן היתה</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ודרך
המקראות לדבר כן</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">כמו
שפירשתי אצל </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ו
ג</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">לא
ידון רוחי באדם</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">שנכתב
אחר </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ה
לב</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ויולד
נח</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ואי
אפשר לומר אלא אם כן קודם גזירת מאה
עשרים שנה</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ושתי
הלשונות בבראשית רבה </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">מח
י</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial hebrew" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">):</span></span></div>
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Now the New <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Hebraic Roots Bible. Same Christopagan doctrine, same Christopagan translation. [4]</span><br />
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</div>
http://www.coyhwh.com/en/bible.php<br />
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<br />
2 And he lifted up his eyes and<br />
looked; and, behold, three men were<br />
standing by him. And he saw, and he<br />
ran to meet them from the entrance of<br />
the tent. And he bowed to the ground.<br />
1<br />
3 And he said, <span style="color: red;">*</span>YAHWEH, if now I<br />
have found favor in Your sight, I beg<br />
You, do <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">not leave from near Your </span><br />
servant. <span style="color: red;"> [*ADDED]</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;">This is only one example, using only one verse. </span><br />
<br />
<h1 align="CENTER" style="font-family: David; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">
Deuteronomy Chapter 4 <span class="h" style="font-size: 40px;">דְּבָרִים</span></span></h1>
<br />
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<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="font-family: David; text-indent: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="h" style="direction: rtl; font-size: 26px; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>ב</b> לֹא תֹסִפוּ, עַל-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם, וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ, מִמֶּנּוּ--לִשְׁמֹר, אֶת-מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי, מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם.</td><td style="direction: ltr; font-size: 19px; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>2</b> Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Deu 4:2 In order to obey the mitzvot of ADONAI your God which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it.</b></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="h" style="direction: rtl; font-size: 26px; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>ג</b> וַיֹּאמַר: אֲדֹנָי, אִם-נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ--אַל-נָא תַעֲבֹר, מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ.</td><td style="direction: ltr; font-size: 19px; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: top;"><b>3</b> and said: 'My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. [5]</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-indent: 0px;"><b>Rashi: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael not Jesus. (Three angels)</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span>
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<div align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
"Bear in mind, the Jewish Scriptures were written in Hebrew, not in seventeenth century King James English. What has made Christian believers so vulnerable to Bible tampering is that almost none of them can read or understand the Hebrew Bible in its original language. Virtually no Christian child in the world is taught the Hebrew language as part of a formal Christian education. As you and countless other Christians earnestly study the Authorized Version of the Bible, there is a blinding yet prevailing assumption that what you are reading is Heaven-breathed. Tragically, virtually every Christian in the world reads the translation of men rather than the Word of God. On the other hand, every Jewish child in the world who is enrolled in a Jewish school is taught to read and write Hebrew long before he or she even heard the name of Luther.<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
Unbeknownst to you and parishioners worldwide, the King James Version and numerous other Christian Bible translations were meticulously shaped and painstakingly retrofitted in order to produce a message that would sustain and advance Church theology and exegesis. This aggressive rewriting of biblical texts has had a devastating impact on Christians throughout the world who unhesitatingly embrace these corrupt translations. As a result, Christians earnestly wonder, just as you have, why the Jews, who are the bearers and protectors of the divine oracles of God, have not willingly accepted Jesus as their messiah."[6]</div>
<div align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;">Essentially the concept of God’s utter otherness protects Him from us. Left to our own devices, we humans tend to create things in our own image—or distort things to fit our image and our idea of them.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"> Yes, God is close. He is closer than t</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">he very air we breathe. This is true to such an extent that the Torah states, “Ein od milevado—there is no other besides Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35), and “Ein od—there is nothing else” (ibid. 4:39). Nonetheless there is a paradox here. The truth is that we may say this only when we understand that God is NOT the air we breathe, not an idea, not a physical or even spiritual quality or entity, not limited by matter, energy, time, space, or anything. God is the Creator of all these fundamentals of existence, and is therefore not defined or limited by any of them. They are all things that God created; they never can and never will define, confine, constrain, or contain God.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br />This is the meaning of what Chanah said in her prayer, “There is none kadosh (beyond, holy, transcendent, separate, other) like Hashem, for there is none besides Him. There is no Creator like our God” (I Samuel 2:2). It is the secret behind countless verses scattered throughout Tanakh wherein Hashem is seen as utterly other: “He dwells in eternity on high; His name is Kadosh, the transcendent Holy One” (Isaiah 57:17). “I am Hashem; I do not change” (Malakhi 3:6). “‘To whom will you liken Me that I be an equal?’ says Kadosh, the transcendent Holy One” (ibid. 40:25). “To whom will you liken Me, or make Me equal, or compare Me, that we may be alike?...I am Hashem, and there is none else. I am Hashem, and there is none like Me” (Isaiah .)40:5,9 </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br />ָקדֹו ׁש ָקדֹו ׁש ָקדֹו ׁש ְידָֹוד ְצ ָבאֹות ְמלֹא ָכל ָה ָאֶרץ ְּכבֹודֹו:</span>
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;">See worshiper of Mithras, worshiper of Sabazius or any solar deity Check the roots to your faith. </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sol Invictus The unconquered sun. A late Roman sun god. The title was also used of Mithras.</span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">As the Nicene Church was establishing its official doctrines and replacing biblical Judaism with Catholicism ("Universalism"), it is a well known and easily established fact that they incorporated the teachings of many different religious systems.</span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">These early "church fathers" were attempting to establish a new and global political and religious authority in order to control every aspect of human life. Whatever their motives, the Vatican created dogmas such as 'eternal torture' as a powerful stick to wield against its opponents. To this end the Catholic Bishops incorporated the Roman Pagan teachings. The message to the Jewish people from Christianity has been, “Jesus is the anti-Torah; forsake your Torah and come to Christ instead.” [7]</span></span></div>
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<h3 align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Mithra and Christ</span></h3>
<div align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
Over the centuries—in fact, from the earliest Christian times—Mithraism has been compared to Christianity, revealing numerous similarities between the two faiths' doctrines and traditions, including as concerns stories of their respective godmen. In developing this analysis, it should be kept in mind that elements from Roman, Armenian and Persian Mithraism are utilized, not as a whole ideology but as separate items that may have affected the creation of Christianity, whether directly through the mechanism of Mithraism or through another Pagan source within the Roman Empire and beyond. The evidence points to these motifs and elements being adopted into Christianity not as a whole from one source but singularly from <em>many</em> sources, including Mithraism.</div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"The evidence points to these motifs and elements being adopted into Christianity</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">..."</span></strong></div>
<div align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
Thus, the following list represents not a solidified mythos or narrative of one particular Mithra or form of the god as developed in one particular culture and era but, rather, a combination of them all for ease of reference as to any possible influences upon Christianity under the name of Mitra/Mithra/Mithras.</div>
<div align="justify" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
Mithra has the following in common with the Jesus character:</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<li><div align="justify">
Mithra was born on December 25th of the virgin Anahita.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
The babe was wrapped in swaddling clothes, placed in a manger and attended by shepherds.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
He was considered a great traveling teacher and master.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
He had 12 companions or "disciples."</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
He performed miracles.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
As the "great bull of the Sun," Mithra sacrificed himself for world peace.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
<img align="right" alt="Mithra ascending to heaven in his solar cart, with sun symbol" border="1" src="http://www.truthbeknown.com/images/mithraascendingheaven.jpg" hspace="10" style="height: 98px; width: 139px;" title="Mithra ascending to heaven in his solar cart, with sun symbol" vspace="5" />He ascended to heaven.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
Mithra was viewed as the Good Shepherd, the "Way, the Truth and the Light," the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
Mithra is omniscient, as he "hears all, sees all, knows all: none can deceive him."</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
He was identified with both the Lion and the Lamb.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
His sacred day was Sunday, "the Lord's Day," hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
His religion had a eucharist or "Lord's Supper."</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
Mithra "sets his marks on the foreheads of his soldiers."</div>
</li>
<li><div align="justify">
Mithraism emphasized baptism. [8]</div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: #372d2f; text-indent: 0px;"></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> "<span style="font-size: large;">A</span>lthough the belief in the unity of God is taught and declared on virtually every page of the Jewish Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity is never mentioned anywhere throughout the entire corpus of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, this doctrine is not to be found anywhere in the New Testament either because primitive Christianity, in its earliest stages, was still monotheistic. The authors of the New Testament were completely unaware that the Church they had fashioned would eventually embrace a pagan deification of a triune deity. Although the worship of a three-part godhead was well known and fervently venerated throughout the Roman Empire and beyond in religious systems such as Hinduism and Mithraism, it was quite distant from the Judaism from which Christianity emerged. However, when the Greek and Roman mind began to dominate the Church, it created a theological disaster from which Christendom has never recovered. By the end of the fourth century, the doctrine of the Trinity was firmly in place as a central tenet of the Church, and strict monotheism was formally rejected by Vatican councils in Nicea and Constantinople.2</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hen Christendom adopted a triune godhead from neighboring triune religious systems, it spawned a serious conundrum for post-Nicene Christian apologists. How would they harmonize this new veneration of Jesus as a being who is of the same substance as the Father with a New Testament that portrays Jesus as a separate entity, subordinate to the Father, and created by God? How would they now integrate the teaching of the Trinity with a New Testament that recognized the Father alone as God? In essence, how would Christian apologists merge a first century Christian Bible, which was monotheistic, with a fourth century Church which was not?"</span> [9]<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.27in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in;">
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>I
believe with perfect faith that God is one.<br />There is no unity that
is in any way like His.<br />He alone is our God.<br />He was, He is, He
will be.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><b>Hebrew Root Verses are:</b></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Exodus
20:2-3 - The First of the Ten Commandments</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land
of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (See also
Deuteronomy 5:7)</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Numbers
23:19</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">God
is not a man that He should lie, nor a mortal that He should change
His mind.”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Deuteronomy
4:11-12</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with
fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then
the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words
but saw no image; there was only a voice.”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Deuteronomy
4:35</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that God is
the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him!”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Deuteronomy
4:39</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Know
therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God
in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other!"</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Deuteronomy
6:4</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hear
O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Deuteronomy
6:14</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who
surround you!”</span></span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Deuteronomy
32:39</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">See,
now, that I, I am He - and no god is with Me...”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
Samuel 2:2</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There
is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee; neither is
there any Rock like our God."</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
Samuel 15:29</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor change His mind: for He is not
a man that He should change His mind.”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
Kings 8:27</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For
will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have
built?”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
Kings 8:60</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is God and
that there is no other!”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">II
Kings 19:19</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now,
O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on
earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (Psalm 113:5)</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
40:18</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To
whom then will you liken God? To what likeness will you compare unto
Him?”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
40:25</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To
whom will then you liken Me, that I should be his equal?” says the
Holy One.</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
42:8</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to
another. Neither My praise to graven images!”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
43:10-11</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have
chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am
He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I,
even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
44:6-8</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">This
is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord
Almighty, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is
no God! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and
lay out before Me...Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not
proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is
there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not
one.”</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
44:24</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">"So
said the Lord, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb,
“I am the Lord Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the
heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself.”</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
45:5-6</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God... I
will strengthen you...I order that they know from the shining of the
sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord
and there is no other!”</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
45:18-19</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">"For
this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God;
He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create
it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: “I am
the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from
somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's
descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I
declare what is right.”</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
45:21-22</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">...who
announced this before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it
not I, the Lord, and there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God
and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you
ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
46:5</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To
whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may
be alike?”</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
46:9</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Remember
the first things of old, that I am God and there is no other; I am
God and there is none like Me.”</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Isaiah
48:11</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">...And
My honor I will not give to another.”</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hosea
13:4</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall
acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me!”</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Joel
2:27</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord
your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.”</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Malachi
2:10</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Have
we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why should we
betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our
forefathers?”</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Psalm
73:25</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Whom
have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides
You.”</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Psalm
81:8-9</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hear,
O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen
to Me! Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship
any foreign god."</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Psalm
146:3</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Do
not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there
is no salvation!”</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; line-height: 0.27in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Nehemiah
9:6</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
alone are the Lord; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens
and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and
all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the heavenly
host bow down before You.”</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
Chronicles 17:20</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;">“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; line-height: 0.27in; text-indent: 0.42in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">O
Lord, there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You,
according to all that we have heard with our ears!”</span></span> </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Helpful Websites:</span></span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em; text-indent: 0px;">
<li style="border: none; color: #333333; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #820055; text-decoration: initial;">My Jewish Learning</a></li>
<li style="border: none; color: #333333; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm" style="background-color: white; color: #820055; text-decoration: initial;">Judaism 101</a></li>
<li style="border: none; color: #333333; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.chabad.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #820055; text-decoration: initial;">Chabad.org</a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://yeshivabethhashem.org/" style="color: #820055; text-decoration: initial;">Derech Y'shua Yahadut - (The Jewish Way of Y'shua) </a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: #372d2f; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.22in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.22in;"><br />[1] </span><a href="http://isr-messianic.org/" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 0.22in;">http://isr-messianic.org/</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 0.22in;"> </span>SOURCE: </div>
<div style="line-height: 0.22in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.22in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif;">[2]</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/AID/9170/showrashi/true" style="background-color: white;">http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/AID/9170/showrashi/true</a></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.22in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.22in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
[3] <a href="http://www.templeinstitute.org/107-The-Paradox-of-Transcendence.pdf" style="background-color: white;">http://www.templeinstitute.org/107-The-Paradox-of-Transcendence.pdf</a><br />
<br />
[4] <a href="http://www.coyhwh.com/en/bible.php">http://www.coyhwh.com/en/bible.php</a><br />
<br />
[5] <a href="http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0118.htm">http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0118.htm</a><br />
<br />
[6] <a href="http://www.outreachjudaism.org/articles/lutheran.html">http://www.outreachjudaism.org/articles/lutheran.html</a><br />
<br />
[7] <a href="http://yeshivabethhashem.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #e128a8; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">http://yeshivabethhashem.org</a><br />
<br />
[8] <a href="http://truetwistianity.blogspot.com/2013/01/mithraism-or-christianity.html">http://truetwistianity.blogspot.com/2013/01/mithraism-or-christianity.html</a><br />
<br />
[9] <a href="http://www.outreachjudaism.org/articles/jesus-claim-to-be-god.html"> http://www.outreachjudaism.org</a></div>
noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-82381011056119880032019-06-26T03:49:00.002-07:002019-06-26T04:07:01.364-07:00So, this Meme is going around on Facebook, with the hashtag “No Need for Jesus”<div class="_1dwg _1w_m _q7o" style="padding: 12px 12px 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">What, exactly, does Gd say about human sacrifice in the TaNaKH?</span></h5>
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But first, some Christian Circular Reasoning</h5>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"So, this Meme is going around on Facebook, with the hashtag “No Need for Jesus,” (and even though that is not his original name), I am outraged by these insinuations!</span></h5>
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I am going to respond to all seven of these false accusations against our Messiah one-by-one (as I have the time during my travels).</div>
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The first thing that I want to address is this notion that our Messiah was supposedly a “human sacrifice.”</div>
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When somebody is willing to die in order to uphold the Mosaic Law (Towrah), they are not offering themselves as a human sacrifice!</div>
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Some examples are, the prophet Daniel who refused to bow to another false deity, and he was threatened with death by the Lion's Den. Daniel was willing to die rather than to violate Towrah!</div>
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Another example is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they refused to bow to the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar, and they too were threatened with being cast alive into a furnace. They were willing to die rather than violate Towrah!</div>
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During the Maccabean Revolt in 164 B.C. all those Jewish martyrs who were slaughtered in the days of Antiochus Ephiphanes (because they refused to violate the Mosaic Law) fall under the category of a law found in the Talmud.</div>
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In the Babylonian Talmud, (Makkot 23b-24a), it says:</div>
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“Three types of negative commandments fall under the yehareg ve’al ya’avor, meaning ‘One should let himself be killed rather than violate it.’”</div>
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These Towrah commands for which the Talmud states that we should be willing to die for rather than to violate are: murder, idolatry, and forbidden sexual relations.</div>
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This begs the question: “Which of these commandments did Yahuwshuwa allow himself to be killed for, rather than to violate them?”</div>
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To find out, please see this blog entitled:</div>
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Was Our Messiah a Human Sacrifice?</div>
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Exodus 21:30 says that if the owner of an Ox kills a person, (and it has previously been known to hurt people), the Ox and it's owner must both die. The owner of the Ox may also pay money instead of his life for a RANSOM. Our Messiah did both! He offered up his life, and he also paid the Bride Price!</div>
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Exodus 21:30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the RANSOM of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.</div>
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The “Ox” (the aleph, or first-born) is symbolic of Yisra'el, and they were known to kill all the prophets who were sent to them! Therefore, our Messiah (being the owner of the Ox) offered his life as a RANSOM!</div>
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Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a RANSOM for many.</div>
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Our Messiah was in fact, portraying the “twin goats” for Yom Kippur, as well as the “one-year old male lamb” for Passover (Exodus 12:5).</div>
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Not only that, but he was also portraying the “red heifer” for the cleansing of the altar (see Numbers 19). The red heifer was not killed inside the Temple! The red heifer is the only sacrifice that was done OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF JERUSALEM!</div>
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To understand fully what our Messiah did for us, we must understand that he was actually fulfilling all the sacrifices in the Abrahamic Covenant seen in Genesis 15:9 (a 3-year old heifer; a 3-year old she-goat; a 3-year old ram; a turtledove and a young pigeon).</div>
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Our Messiah came to CONFIRM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT, see this blog entitled:</div>
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Who Confirms the Covenant of Daniel’s 70th Week?</div>
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Yes, it is true that the lamb in Leviticus 4:32 for a sin offering is a female (because Eve being female was the first to sin). However our Messiah fulfilled the pattern of the twin goats on Yom Kippur for Both Houses of Yisra'el.</div>
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The meme is not taking into account the ordinance for Yom Kippur in Leviticus 16, which uses twin goats.</div>
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According to the instructions in Leviticus 16, one goat is killed as a sin offering, and the other is “sent away into the wilderness,” called the scapegoat.</div>
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The Hebrew word for the twin goats in Leviticus 16:7 is “sayir,” which literally means “a he-goat.” The Hebrew word for “scapegoat,” is “azazel,” the root-word being “az,” (a she-goat). However, it is obvious that since the priest had to cast lots to determine which goat was killed and which one was sent away, both goats had to be the same gender, which would be male.</div>
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Our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa, fulfilled the pattern of the Yom Kippur Twin Goats forty days before he began his ministry on Yom Kippur (see Luke 4). His cousin John (a Levite) was the legitimate High Priest that year in the eyes of the Father, (while Caiaphas was an impostor).</div>
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So, yes, as the sin offering, he was indeed brought before the High Priest (his cousin John) according to Deuteronomy 12:13-14!</div>
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It is important to understand that there are two altars in Jerusalem:</div>
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1.) The one in the Temple.</div>
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2.) The one where Abraham offered up his son, Isaac at the base of the Mount of Olives (this is where Messiah was sacrificed at the place of the Skull!)</div>
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John was the one who “selected” the Yom Kippur goat when he announced, “Behold the Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29-36)</div>
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At his baptism, he was portraying the role of the “Yom Kippur” sacrificial goat who would later die for the sins of Both Houses of Yisra’el. Baptism is a metaphor for death (see Romans 6:3-4). Immediately following his baptism, he was “sent into the wilderness” as the scapegoat for the Lost Sheep of the House of Yisra’el (the exiles).</div>
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Not only was he portraying himself as the Yom Kippur twin goats at his baptism, but he was also cleansing himself in preparation to be the High Priest (Melchizedek) after his 40-day fast in the wilderness (see Leviticus 16:4).</div>
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When he read the Isaiah 61 scroll in Luke 4, he was announcing himself as “Messiah” (the anointed one) and as the “High Priest” who “declared the acceptable year of YHWH.” Only the High Priest could “declare the acceptable year of YHWH” on Yom Kippur (see Numbers chapter 10).</div>
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The role of the High Priest was being transferred from the sons of Aaron, back to the original High Priest, Melchizedek when John the Baptist declared “I am not worthy to unloose his shoe-strap” (this is an allusion to the Levirate Marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5-10).</div>
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Our Messiah was the perfect sin offering that had no defect (symbolic of sin) according to Leviticus 22:22-25. His body was broken for us because his body was also symbolic of “Bread from heaven.”</div>
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Wheat must be broken, beaten, and finely milled before it can be made into bread. The stripes and the piercings on his body are seen on Unleavened Bread at Passover (Isaiah 53:5; Zechariah 12:10).</div>
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Our Messiah was killed as the Passover Lamb, which is not a sin offering! The Passover Lamb is a SUBSTITUTE FOR THE FIRST-BORN SONS!</div>
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Our Messiah fulfilled all the sacrifices of the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 15:9 in ONE FELL SWOOP!</div>
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To understand fully, how our Messiah portrayed the role of the Yom Kippur Twin Goats as well as the High Priest at the beginning of his ministry, see these two blogs below:</div>
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Messiah’s Forty Days of Fasting Leading Up to Yom Kippur!</div>
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<a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdoubleportioninheritance.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F09%2Fmessiahs-forty-days-of-fasting-leading_4090.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR12fzsmKOiohPqsknTBPY-7Ojem2XKUig_V01ZjcxU5nx8fcLVyNuxjiwY&h=AT3K_FFB30EpPk3gIivzW1BvAPgfj9VXG-mSKc3HI4RvH1kbXi4oUJr5LWIMn1Ivc4k2g3EG6ZLBoQKllLdkrlF20lpkYehJu7Zkwubq0YVqNMuWTzc-A3JsoNI_PiixWQGzMwprTh8V_2KNOQsXTjTmQnqWaZ-BmIm31ws" href="https://doubleportioninheritance.blogspot.com/2011/09/messiahs-forty-days-of-fasting-leading_4090.html?fbclid=IwAR12fzsmKOiohPqsknTBPY-7Ojem2XKUig_V01ZjcxU5nx8fcLVyNuxjiwY" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://doubleportioninheritance.blogspot.com/…/messiahs-fo…</a></div>
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The Yom Kippur Twin Goats Fulfilled in Messiah</div>
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Source: <a ajaxify="/groups/member_bio/bio_dialog/?group_id=169903429701839&member_id=100008138382904&ref=floc3" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard-referer="ARQeJXXLX0J4A8bA4pVdiDPF4OHORy_lx8Ja3gBEHtbF0LYkkOwlNd2RuK1ivN8ZYQg" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100008138382904&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdC-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARDlq-17UR-8uAhiaBxNZh5TAdU4zf_rA6NPAkyj3vldYNogPMSzLfbzxJO_sjYy5xAoF_Nxo6avj0nu%22%2C%22hc_ref%22%3A%22ARQeJXXLX0J4A8bA4pVdiDPF4OHORy_lx8Ja3gBEHtbF0LYkkOwlNd2RuK1ivN8ZYQg%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22gs%22%2C%22directed_target_id%22%3A169903429701839%2C%22dti%22%3A169903429701839%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22group%22%7D" href="http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/explanation4.html" rel="dialog" role="button" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Maria Merola Wold">Maria Merola Wold</a> <a class="_5pcq" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/chozenppl/permalink/3345295585495925/" style="color: #616770; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="">June 22 at 9:53 AM</a></div>
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<span class="r_8d_yj799"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">G-d hates human sacrifices.</span></span></div>
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The Christian idea of the messiah is that Jesus was the blood sacrifice that saves everyone from his or her sin. But who, exactly, died on that cross? If it was Jesus-the-god, that would mean that Gd can die. But how can Gd die? If it was only Jesus-the-human, then all Christians are left with is a human sacrifice. What, exactly, does Gd say about human sacrifice in the TaNaKH?</div>
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In Deuteronomy, Gd calls human sacrifice something that Gd hates; an abomination to Gd.</div>
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Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the Etrnl thy Gd: for every abomination to the Etrnl, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. [Deuteronomy 12:30-31]</div>
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In Jeremiah, Gd tells us that Human sacrifice is so horrible a concept, that it did not even come into Gd's mind.</div>
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Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Etrnl, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but The Valley of Slaughter. [Jeremiah 19:4-6]</div>
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Similarly, in Psalm 106 and in Ezekiel 16:</div>
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Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. [Psalm 106:37-38]</div>
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Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter? [Ezekiel 16:20]</div>
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Some Christians might claim that Gd seemed to want human sacrifices, because Gd appeared to demand one from Abraham, when He commanded the sacrifice of Isaac. This is a misreading of the biblical text in Genesis. When one reads this section carefully, one sees something quite different.</div>
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Most Jewish biblical commentators interpret this incident as a test of Abraham's loyalty: Gd wanted to see if he would actually kill Isaac, his own son. However, a number of Jewish commentators from the medieval era, and many in the modern era as well, read the text somewhat differently. The early rabbinic midrash 'Genesis Rabbah' imagines Gd as saying 'I never considered telling Abraham to slaughter Isaac.' Rabbi Yona Ibn Janach (Spain, 11th century) wrote that Gd demanded only a symbolic sacrifice. Rabbi Yosef Ibn Caspi (Spain, early 14th century) wrote that Abraham's imagination led him astray, making him believe that he had been commanded to sacrifice his son. Ibn Caspi writes 'How could Gd command such a revolting thing?'</div>
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Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Chief Rabbi of the British Empire), writes that child sacrifice was actually 'rife among the Semitic peoples,' and suggests that 'in that age, it was astounding that Abraham's Gd should have interposed to prevent the sacrifice, not that He should have asked for it.' Hertz interprets the Binding of Isaac as demonstrating that human sacrifice is abhorrent. 'Unlike the cruel heathen deities, it was the spiritual surrender alone that Gd required.'</div>
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Let's examine the text:</div>
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And it came to pass after these things, that Gd did test Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. [Genesis 22:1-2]</div>
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The text reads that Abraham should 'offer him there for a burnt offering'. It does not read that Gd told Abraham to kill him for a burnt offering!</div>
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The original Hebrew is actually even clearer on this issue. The Hebrew reads, 'v’ha-ah-ley-hu sham l’o-lah.' It translates as, 'Raise him up there FOR a sacrifice.' The text does not say that Gd demanded Isaac to BE a sacrifice, but rather only that he should be raised up for one.</div>
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Furthermore, a close reading of the text tells us that this was a test, and that Abraham did not pass it. What is the test to which Abraham is being put? Gd wants Abraham to tell Gd, 'NO! I WON’T DO IT!' Abraham had just defended people he did not know in Sodom and Gemorrah. So Gd's test of Abraham is whether or not he would defend his own family as vigorously as he had defended strangers. Like many of us, he did not. He flunked. Many of us, for example, will talk sweetly to a voice on the phone, get off the phone, and then speak disrespectfully to our kids or our spouse, treating others, even strangers, better than we treat those we love.</div>
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When the test is first put before Abraham, the day before he actually takes the knife, preparing to kill his own son, Gd speaks to him directly:</div>
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And it came to pass after these things, that Gd did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. [Genesis 22:1-2]</div>
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Please not that it is Gd speaking directly to Abraham, and not an angel of Gd. However, after he takes hold of the knife, it is only an Angel of Gd who speaks to Abraham:</div>
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And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the Angel of the Etrnl called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. [Genesis 22:10-11]</div>
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And then later it is still only an Angel of Gd who speaks to Abraham:</div>
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And the Angel of the Etrnl called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time… [Genesis 22:15]</div>
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As a matter of fact, Gd never spoke directly to Abraham again. From the very moment that Abraham demonstrated his willingness to actually kill his son, Gd never again spoke directly to Abraham.</div>
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Note also that the promises of the Angel of Gd to Abraham are nothing new, they are only reiterating what Gd, directly, had already promised to him (cf. Gen. 12:2, 12:3, 12:7, 13:15, 13:16, 13:17, 15:1, 15:5, 15:7, 15:14, 15:18, 17:2, 17:4, 17:6, 17:8, 17:16). It is as if Gd was saying to the Angel, 'I am through with him. Pat him on the head because he thinks he did right, remind him of his reward for his previous faith, but I am done with him!'</div>
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You see, Gd had already told Abraham His covenant would go through Isaac. Gd wanted Abraham to say, 'Wait a minute, You, Gd, are now going against Your own word!' Gd knows that we are always closer to those we will argue with, than with those we will not.</div>
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When person does wrong, who are you more likely to admonish: someone you know, or someone you do not know?</div>
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Gd wants us to be that close to Gd. Gd wants us to be like Abraham, who was willing to argue with Gd regarding strangers in Sodom and Gemorrah. Gd wants us to be as close to Gd as Moses was, indicated by the fact that Moses argued with Gd -- repeatedly -- on behalf of the People of Israel. Gd wants us to be like Job, who felt so close to Gd that he could argue with Gd for justice. We can argue with Gd like true close friends can argue with each other, because Gd is truly our Closest Friend. Abraham flunked Gd's test, and so Gd never spoke to Abraham directly again.</div>
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Note also the true meaning of the word, 'Israel,' which is 'One who wrestles with Gd.' We are not to be blind followers (the word 'Christian' means 'follower of the Christ’), and we are not to merely submit to Gd ('Islam' means 'voluntary submission to Gd.' A Muslim is one who submits to Gd).</div>
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We Jews are to be wrestlers with Gd, like True Friends can do with each other. THAT is how close Gd wants us to be with Him.<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/explanation4.html">http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/explanation4.html</a></div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-68988655853814476322018-11-15T06:42:00.001-08:002018-11-16T03:35:24.678-08:00Pastor criticized for asking male church member who was dressed like a woman to leave<br />
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Pastor criticized for asking male church member who was dressed like a woman to leave</h1>
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<span class="article-dates" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nov 13, 2018 4:55 pm</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="1087" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcjameslhuillier%2Fvideos%2F10101308620237090%2F&width=500&show_text=false&height=1087&appId" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 1087px; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 500px;" width="500"></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">The pastor of an Illinois church is facing backlash after he publicly rebuked a man who attended church Sunday night dressed as a woman, which was first reported by the Christian Post.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">Pastor Antonio Rocquemore of Power House International Ministries in Chicago, later claimed the man had been warned multiple times that he would not be allowed to worship unless he dressed as a man.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">“Can you leave my church and go put on man clothes?” Roquemore asked the church member during service. “And don’t come here like that no more.”</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">Rocquemore had been preaching for nearly half an hour when he called the unidentified man out into the aisle and asked him to go change his clothes.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">Members can be heard in the video expressing support for the pastor.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">“Thank you, Jesus,” one member said.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">What was the reaction?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">Reaction from some hasn’t been as supportive of the pastor.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">“In a place that is supposed to be a place of change, a place of deliverance whatever you want to call it, why would you destroy someone in front of a room full of people,” Christian James Lhuillier wrote in part in a Facebook post that included a clip from the service.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">And the video has been shared nearly 4,000 times and viewed more than 170,000 times since it was posted Monday on social media.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "texgyreherosbold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400;">“This is the kind of bulls**t that causes people to go home and commit suicide. S**t like this is the reason that the church has no power in 2018 because they are so worried about the wrong things,” Lhuillier continued on Facebook. “I know drag queens and transsexuals that can pray you out of sickness faster and some of these preachers that collect your love offerings every Sunday.”</span></span></h3>
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What else did Rocquemore tell the congregation?</h3>
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Rocquemore told the congregation that they could do whatever they want outside the church, but that there’s a “standard in here.”</div>
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“I hold a standard in here. Whatever you do on the outside is your business, but I will not let drag queens come in here. And if you’re gonna come in here you’re gonna dress like a man,” the pastor said. “When you come in this house if you’re a man, dress like a man. If you’re a woman, you dress like a woman. I’m not going to allow it. My salvation is more important and God is holding me accountable.”</div>
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“I will not play this game. If you don’t like it, don’t come here. You will not be wearing weaves and heels and fooling people up in here,” Roquemore continued. “Whatever you do on the outside is between you and God. You’ve gotta respect the rules of the house.”</div>
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What did the pastor say in a follow-up video?</h3>
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On Monday, Rocquemore posted an hourlong video on Facebook in response to his critics.</div>
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He claimed that the man had been a member for several months and had verbally agreed to follow the rules of the church, which included dressing appropriately for worship.</div>
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“He was not put out the church because he was gay. First of all, I don’t bash nothing. I don’t separate sin. Sin is sin,” Rocquemore said, according to The Post. “There is no need to bash one or the other if you’re preaching the word.</div>
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“… When you join my church, all the rules and regulations is told to you then. If you ever slip up [on the rules] we would still take you privately and go over them again. This particular situation, this young man was told several times in private. I went to him personally myself.”</div>
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Rocquemore said he was forced to rebuke him in front of the congregation.</div>
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“He challenged me publicly and I challenged him back publicly,” he said of the incident. “I asked the young man to leave. There was no security taking him out.”<br />
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<img alt="Pastor criticized for asking male church member who was dressed like a woman to leave" class="img-responsive wp-post-image" height="720" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" src="https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-1280x720.jpg" srcset="https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-300x168.jpg 300w, https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-384x216.jpg 384w, https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-192x108.jpg 192w, https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-96x54.jpg 96w, https://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/screen-shot-2018-11-13-at-3.12.32-pm-100x56.jpg 100w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: texgyreherosregular, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="1280" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #555555; font-family: texgyreherosregular, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Illinois pastor Antonio Rocquemore publicly rebuked a male church member who came to church Sunday night dressed as a woman. The pastor said the man had been warned multiple times that he would not be allowed to worship unless he dressed as a man. (Image source: Video screenshot)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-under-fire-booting-male-member-dressed-like-woman-church-service-228505/">Source:</a></div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-30692922268457359312018-09-05T05:47:00.000-07:002018-09-05T05:47:53.156-07:00Wisconsin parents arrested after teen son dies during 40-day religious fast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A mother and father in Wisconsin were charged on Tuesday after their 15-year-old son reportedly died during a 40-day religious fast.</div>
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Kehinde Omosebi, 49, and Titilayo Omosebi, 48, of Reedsburg, face charges of child neglect causing death and child neglect causing great bodily harm, the <a href="https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime/parents-charged-with-starving-their--year-old-to-death/article_cb434eef-0bcf-5173-b4ef-05967c108f3d.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(167, 198, 229); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 2px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003366; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background 0s ease 0s, all 0.25s ease 0s, all 0s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Wisconsin State Journal</a> reported.</div>
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On Sunday, Kehinde allegedly walked to the Reedburg police station to report his son had died on Friday, Chief Timothy Becker said. Friday would’ve been the 44th day of the fast.</div>
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Investigators who went to the Omosebi home reportedly had to force their way in, as the doors was padlocked on the inside. No food was discovered in the home. They found the “extremely emaciated and deceased” teenager, and also found a gaunt 11-year-old child, along with his mother, Titilayo, who was also undernourished, according to the report.</div>
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The father, Kehinde, told authorities that the family began fasting on July 19, and that he was a “religious minister affiliated with Cornerstone Reformation Ministries,” which is believed by police to have been made up.</div>
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The mother and 11-year-old were transported to a hospital. The mother reportedly refused medical treatment due to religious reasons, and was taken to the Sauk County Jail.</div>
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The child remains in protective custody at Children’s Hospital in Madison, while, according to Becker, the parents are eating while in jail.</div>
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Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/04/parents-charged-after-teen-dies-following-religious-fast.html</div>
noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-59044435573210046592018-05-13T07:46:00.000-07:002018-05-13T07:46:53.968-07:00The Elusive Holy Spirit Of G-d: Now You've Got It, Now It's Gone Again<div class="clearfix" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; zoom: 1;">
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The Elusive Holy Spirit Of G-d: Now You've Got It, Now It's Gone Again</h2>
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by Amos Wittenberg</div>
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It is remarkable how "believers" – that is, Jesus worshippers – leave simple logic at home when evaluating the core of their assertions of biblical support for their idolatrous practices.</div>
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Perhaps no biblical text is more central in the thinking of Jesus worshippers than Isaiah 53. So important is this text that it can easily be argued that without its interpretation as a prophecy of a suffering and dying saviour who atones for the sins of the world Jesus worshippers will themselves realise that there is zero scriptural evidence for this essentially pagan concept.</div>
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Reading Dr Mitch Glaser's paper <span style="font-weight: 600;"><em>Isaiah 53 in 20th Century Jewish Evangelism</em></span> (available elsewhere on my timeline) my attention was caught by the following passage:</div>
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But at the time, as a young believer, many things were “black and white” to me! I was sure that if the Rabbis did not interpret Isaiah 53 as being fulfilled by Jesus, then their choice not to do so was it intentionally deceptive!</div>
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I do not believe there was a real and actual cover-up to keep this chapter from the Jewish people – at least, not on the part of the majority of our sages. Nonetheless, it was so clear to me that Isaiah 53 was a reference to Jesus the Messiah that I felt betrayed by my own religious leaders – as if someone were trying to keep something from me.</div>
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These semi-conspiracy theories continue to this very day. For example, many believers think that Isaiah chapter 53 is intentionally left out of the weekly Haftarah portions read in the synagogue. Was Isaiah 53 intentionally left out? It is possible, but many other chapters were omitted as well.</div>
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The plain fact is that the clarity with which I – and perhaps you – see the Messianic fulfilment of this passage is not shared by everyone who reads Isaiah 53. We must allow room for the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit. I have discovered over the years that although Isaiah 53 clearly points to the Messiah and His work, this is not self-evident to those in whom the Holy Spirit is not working.</div>
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Let me translate this into plain language. What Glaser says is</div>
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<li>the "forbidden chapter" hoax is a "semi-conspiracy theory". Of course, Glaser prevaricates. He cannot disavow his fellow-"believers" who spread this lie about the evil rabbis all over the world – right from the inception of Jesus worship. But he is honest enough, just about, to admit that the cover-up does not exist, and that it is "as if" someone is hiding something.</li>
<li>Isaiah 53 does NOT clearly point to any messiah UNLESS the Holy Spirit does its work of enlightenment and illumination - a nice bit of padding, by the way: enlightenment and illumination are the same thing.</li>
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The two points are intimately related. For whom exactly is it "as if" someone is hiding something? Precisely for those in whom the Spirit is working. And in whom is the Spirit working? You guessed it: in someone who already worships Jesus or someone who receives this Spirit from G-d Most High.</div>
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So, away with the idiotic hoax that Jews somehow hide Isaiah 53 because, if anyone would read it without any prejudice, they would immediately see the plain truth: Jesus died for my sins. By Glaser's reasoning "the rabbis" have nothing to fear from Isaiah 53 because no one who does not have the Spirit working in them will "get" Isaiah 53.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 600;">Glaser's Holy Spirit is a strange fellow. Apparently it worked perfectly fine for many of you for many years. </span> "Of course Isaiah 53 is about Jesus. What else could it possibly mean?" was your understanding. Glaser's contention is that this was because the Spirit was working in you, and not because the messianic meaning of Isaiah 53 was plain for all to see.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 600;">And now that you have "fallen from grace" and "denied Yeshua" – oh horror of horrors! – what happened to the workings of the Spirit in you?</span></div>
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Has G-d Most High revealed His truth to you by the Spirit and then subsequently blinded you by withdrawing the Spirit from you?</div>
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Or have you committed the ultimate sin against the Spirit and "denied Yeshua" <em>despite</em> the fact that the Spirit illuminates you?</div>
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Let's look at these two possibilities one by one. The first: G-d Himself has withdrawn the Spirit from you and now you are going to hell. As far as I remember this would be Calvin's position: G-d grants salvation to whom He pleases and can withdraw His divine favour at a whim, without reason. Hurray for a sovereign G-d without any morals.</div>
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The second: you did it yourself, <span style="font-weight: 600;"><em>you</em> </span>sinned and ignored the Spirit. What does <span style="font-weight: 600;"><em>that</em> </span>mean? Well, by Glaser's reasoning it was <span style="font-weight: 600;"><em>not</em></span> you who saw Jesus in Isaiah 53 but it was the Spirit who <span style="font-weight: 600;"><em>showed</em></span> it to you. That is, you did not have any choice in the matter initially. You are only responsible for not <em><span style="font-weight: 600;">rejecting</span></em> that which the Spirit already clearly showed to you. Hurray for a G-d Who grants you free choice selectively: never on the way in, but only on the way out.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 600;">All this is of course a perfect way of un-asking any questions. It is also a classical "<em>heads I win, tails you lose</em>" stratagem.</span></div>
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So what about that Spirit? What does the Bible – the Only Testament, I mean – say about the Spirit?</div>
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וַאֲנִי זֹאת בְּרִיתִי אוֹתָם אָמַר ה' רוּחִי אֲשֶׁר עָלֶיךָ וּדְבָרַי אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי בְּפִיךָ לֹא יָמוּשׁוּ מִפִּיךָ וּמִפּי זַרְעֲךָ וּמִפִּי זֶרַע זַרְעֲךָ אָמַר ה' מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם</div>
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[And as for Me, this is My covenanting them, says Hashem: My Spirit which is on you and My words which I put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth and from your offspring's mouth and from your offspring's offspring's mouth, says Hashem, from now and forever.] (Isaiah 59:21)</div>
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I have been liberal with the Capitals in my Translations although Hebrew does not have capitals. Christian translations frequently use tendentious Capitalisation to make the text say something that simply ain't there in the Hebrew: Son, Child, Redeemer, Saviour, Messiah, Lord are Keywords That Come To Mind.</div>
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In this case, however, I claim that my Capitals are justified. For every one plain to see, without any magical Spirit to show it to you, we read in this verse about G-d's Spirit, that which we Jews call the רוח הקודש [Ruach haKodesh = the Spirit of Holiness or the Holy Spirit]. It also clearly and unambiguously makes a promise, unconditional and irrevocable: Hashem has covenanted with His people that they will forever have that Spirit "on them" and Hashem's words will never never never depart from them and their children, for all generations.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 600;">So who can claim that the Spirit illuminates them when they read the very words of G-d which He Himself promised would never depart from their ancestors and their ancestors' offspring for all generations? And who reads Isaiah 53 in the light of that illumination?</span></div>
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And if the odd Christian reads this – and odd they have to be, to even want to read this – I have a suggestion. Set aside your fears for a moment and just evaluate what you have read. Where do you find fault? Do you need to appeal to the Holy Spirit to continue in your Jesus worship? If so, you should read about Baron Munchausen's neat trick. He could lift himself up by his own bootstraps. That is obviously a fairy tale. Some fairy tales are a nightmare.</div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-69379323401335571932018-05-04T11:45:00.000-07:002018-05-04T11:45:01.310-07:00Can the Septuagint/LXX be Trusted???<h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-primary-text-color)); font-family: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-family, inherit); font-size: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-size, 1.8rem); font-variant: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-variant, inherit); font-weight: 400; line-height: 2.4rem; margin: 0px; max-height: 4.8rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-shadow: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-text-shadow, none); transform: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-transform, none);">
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NW0H0TUI5f4" width="560"></iframe>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-34057989887951490202018-05-03T17:50:00.001-07:002018-05-03T17:50:35.819-07:00Army investigates 101st Airborne chaplains accused of dismantling on-post programs for Jewish soldiers<h2 class="underline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; color: #666666; font-family: "Roboto Slab", serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: -0.02em; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Jeanette Mize, who has provided services to Jewish soldiers since 1999, says she was pushed out by 'fundamentalist Christians' at the 101st Airborne Division's Fort Campbell</h2>
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Chaplains in the <a class="" href="https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2018/04/17/the-101st-airborne-division-is-back-in-afghanistan" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff5126; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">101st Airborne Division</a> have fired the longstanding Jewish lay leaders at <a class="" href="https://rebootcamp.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/04/07/two-soldiers-killed-in-apache-helicopter-crash-at-fort-campbell" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff5126; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">Fort Campbell, Kentucky</a>, allegedly without providing any reason, effectively ending Friday night Shabbat services for Jewish soldiers and their families.</div>
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The two ranking chaplains also <a class="" href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2015/06/02/black-and-jewish-wwi-heroes-finally-getting-medal-of-honor/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff5126; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">refused to support</a> the Jews’ attempts to celebrate Passover on March 30, the first night of the eight-day long religious celebration, allegedly because it <a class="selected-link" data-original-title="" href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2014/11/14/rotc-program-under-review-amid-religion-based-challenges/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff5126; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">conflicted with Christians</a>’ Good Friday observances and would save money during the installation’s four-day holiday.</div>
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Jeanette Mize, her husband, Curt, and son, Lawrence, served as lay leaders for Jewish worship on the installation for nearly two decades. On Feb. 28, the three were <a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2014/08/07/lawsuit-master-sgt-was-kicked-out-for-anti-obama-and-religious-views/" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff5126; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">allegedly fired without cause</a> under the direction of the division chaplain, Col. John Murphy, and his deputy chaplain, Lt. Col. Sean Wead.</div>
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She added that her family has “faithfully provided weekly Shabbat and yearly religious worship events since 1999,” and they have worshiped at Fort Campbell since 1984.</div>
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Mize contacted Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, who lodged a complaint with base officials. Weinstein subsequently spoke by phone with Col. Brett Sylvia, the division’s chief of staff, who is currently deployed with the headquarters to Afghanistan.</div>
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Robert Jenkins, Fort Campbell’s director of public affairs, said the post is now investigating the allegations. He would not put Army Times in touch with the chaplains in question while that investigation is proceeding.</div>
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“Fort Campbell is committed to maintaining and improving the exceptional support we strive to offer all of our chapel communities,” Jenkins said. “We make every effort to ensure all soldiers, family members and civilians have the opportunity to exercise their religious rights. Further comment as this is examined is not appropriate.”</div>
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But Weinstein said he was informed on Friday morning that the inquiry had become a 15-6 investigation. That type of inquiry hints at the severity of the allegations and how seriously the Army is taking them, according to Weinstein.</div>
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“About 10 percent of the cases I file with the Army become 15-6 investigations,” he said.</div>
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Mize and her family have never been paid for the services they provide for the roughly 80 members of the Jewish community on Fort Campbell.</div>
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“There is no synagogue in the Fort Campbell area or the nearest towns of Hopkinsville or Clarksville,” she said. “The nearest synagogue is located in Nashville, more than 50 miles away.”</div>
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Mize added that other religious groups at Fort Campbell could actually worship nearby, “outside the gate,” but there is still worship at Fort Campbell for these organizations.</div>
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At the meeting in which she was terminated, two subordinate chaplains did not give her a reason for her dismissal, and would only say they appreciated her service of many years, according to Mize.</div>
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“I asked him what he ‘appreciated,’ since he and [the other chaplain] had never been to a worship event, even though I had invited them for High Holy Days and Shabbat,” she said.</div>
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One of the chaplains told her he had been busy with a Catholic event and that another Christian Army chaplain reported back to him.</div>
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When <span style="box-sizing: inherit; color: black;">Mize </span>said that chaplain has never attended a religious worship service, he responded that “it would compromise his religion to attend,” according to Mize.</div>
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“They had to celebrate Passover on a non-Passover date,” Weinstein said. “That’s like telling Christians ‘I know you want to do Christmas on Dec. 25, but it’s more convenient if you do it on Dec. 7, so we can save money.’ ”</div>
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Mize said she was told that if the Jewish community still wanted to hold a Passover event on the proper night, there would be no advertising or support for it….</div>
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Source:<a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/2018/04/27/army-investigates-101st-airborne-chaplains-accused-of-dismantling-on-post-programs-for-jewish-soldiers/"> https://www.armytimes.com/news/2018/04/27/army-investigates-101st-airborne-chaplains-accused-of-dismantling-on-post-programs-for-jewish-soldiers/</a></div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-80318837547089219572018-02-26T06:18:00.000-08:002018-02-26T06:18:42.697-08:00BILLY GRAHAM IS NOT IN HEAVEN... YET<h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-primary-text-color)); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-size, 1.8rem); font-weight: 400; line-height: 2.4rem; margin: 0px; max-height: 4.8rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-shadow: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-text-shadow, none); transform: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-transform, none);">
BILLY GRAHAM IS NOT IN HEAVEN... YET</h1>
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BY PASTOR DOUG BATCHELOR</h1>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;">There is voluminous evidence in the Bible that the Kingdom of God will reign on this earth!<br /><br />"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the House of the Eternal shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be ex</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;">alted above the hills; and people [physical human beings will still be alive on the earth during that day!] shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Eternal, and to the House of the God of Jacob and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Eternal from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Eternal of Hosts has spoken it" (Micah 4:1-4).<br /><br />"All scripture is given by inspiration of God [meaning, 'God-breathed'], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16)<br /><br />Major footnote: When Paul wrote his letter to Timothy there was No "New Testament". Paul is talking about the Tanach (what christians call the old testament)<br /><br />The divinely-revealed Word of God is the ultimate source to which we must go to discover the real truth about the reward of the saved, about what happens at death; about the promise of "heaven," or the threat of "hell."<br /><br />Wouldn't it seem logical to you that if heaven is the reward of the saved; that if hell is the reward of sinners; that if the saints are raptured away to heaven—there would at least be one scripture somewhere in the Bible plainly saying so?<br /><br />Jesus was a Jew. I know, shocking to some, he would most definitely been versed in the thirteen principles of faith, one of which is the belief in the resurrection of the dead.<br /><br />"The Christian idea of rapture is another such idea, which has little or nothing to do with Jewish tradition, which has always believed in the notion of the resurrection of the dead.”<br /><br />Belief in the eventual resurrection of the dead is so fundamental to Jewish thought that it is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. These 13 basic Jewish beliefs were compiled in the 12th century by the one of the greatest codifiers of Jewish law, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (also known as Maimonides or Rambam).<br /><br />I believe with perfect faith that there will be a resurrection of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.<br /><br />"Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise–awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust–for Thy dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the shades.” Isaiah 26:19</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">"</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Christ returns, the false prince—Satan—will be judged and cast out (John </span>16:11)" ~Pastor Doug Batchelor</b></div>
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Christian, what are you going to say to G-d of Israel when your god Jesus doesn’t return?</h1>
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<img alt="man-bowing-before-jesus" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3702" data-attachment-id="3702" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="man-bowing-before-jesus" data-large-file="https://dailyminyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/man-bowing-before-jesus.jpg?w=600?w=247" data-medium-file="https://dailyminyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/man-bowing-before-jesus.jpg?w=600?w=247" data-orig-file="https://dailyminyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/man-bowing-before-jesus.jpg?w=600" data-orig-size="247,185" data-permalink="https://dailyminyan.com/2014/12/15/christian-what-are-you-going-to-say-to-g-d-of-israel-when-your-god-jesus-doesnt-return/man-bowing-before-jesus/" sizes="(max-width: 247px) 100vw, 247px" src="https://dailyminyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/man-bowing-before-jesus.jpg?w=600" srcset="https://dailyminyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/man-bowing-before-jesus.jpg 247w, https://dailyminyan.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/man-bowing-before-jesus.jpg?w=150 150w" style="float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%;" />Worshiper of Jesus, Christian/Messianic, what are you going to say when you stand before G-d after the false man-god Jesus whom you worship and to whom you pray <em>doesn’t</em> appear? What are you going to say to your Maker when you knew all along (and I am merely reminding you here now) that worshiping <em>anyone</em> or <em>anything</em> other than Him is a grave sin and betrayal? How will you justify your worship of a mortal creature to whom billions bow their knees? Will you deny that you knew that He has warned you that He was neither a man nor a son of man (Numbers 23:19), that He had no visible form and that He can’t be compared to anything He created? Will you try to defend yourself that you only followed your leaders or will you admit to G-d your sin of idolatry? Will you appeal to the polished literary character from the pages of your New Testament? Will you tell G-d that Jesus paid for your sins by his blood when He explicitly warned that He doesn’t approve of human sacrifices (Leviticus 18:21 and Deuteronomy 12:31) and that no man can punished for the sins of another (Ezekiel 18:20)? Will you point to the [Greek] Testament in your defense and claim it to be the “word of G-d”? Will you claim that you have put your faith in Jesus, Paul, apostles, the church scribes, church fathers, pastors and evangelists? Will you attempt to boldly walk into the Holy of Holies as the author of Hebrews exhorts you to do (Hebrews 10:19) and demand to be allowed in since you placed your trust in a “son of man”, despite the fact that G-d has told us in Numbers 23:19 not to do just that? What will come out of your mouth? Do you know?<br />
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The Bible already knows what you are going to say. Indeed, it gives us a glimpse of your very words and it tells us in the Jewish scriptures, the writings that you call “the Old Testament”, the words all of the nations will utter before the G-d of Israel in the end of days:</div>
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“To you (Hashem) shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Do people make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!” (Jeremiah 16:19-20)</div>
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Today, however, the choice is still yours. Today, you can still either choose to continue worshiping Jesus as you god, to proclaim him as your “lord and savior” or you can choose to discard your idolatry and turn to the living G-d of Israel and Him alone. Make no mistake – you DO have a choice whom you will serve – if a man Jesus whom Christianity has deified to seat him on G-d’s throne is your ba’al (Hebrew word for “lord”), serve him. But if the G-d of Israel is the L-rd, then you know what you need to do. If you choose idolatry over the Living G-d of Israel, do not think that there is safety in the great numbers among the nations that Christianity and other religions can boast. As G-d said:</div>
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“Before Him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing. To whom, then, will you compare G-d? What image will you compare him to?” (Isaiah 40:17-18)</div>
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Source: <a href="https://dailyminyan.com/2014/12/15/christian-what-are-you-going-to-say-to-g-d-of-israel-when-your-god-jesus-doesnt-return/">https://dailyminyan.com/2014/12/15/christian-what-are-you-going-to-say-to-g-d-of-israel-when-your-god-jesus-doesnt-return/</a><br />
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<br />noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-14657356753864369222017-01-16T13:10:00.001-08:002017-01-17T08:15:36.463-08:00Bishop Eddie Long Dead at 63<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://up.anv.bz/latest/anvload.html?key=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" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helveticaneue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Bishop Eddie Long was involved in a handful of scandals that ranged from a <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/us/44352-feds-arrest-man-who-allegedly-scammed-bishop-eddie-long-s-church">Ponzi scheme</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26pastor.html">sexual allegations</a>, to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2012/02/03/long-torah-wrap.wsb">the crowning as King</a> after being wrapped in a 300-year-old “Holocaust scroll,” misrepresenting both Jewish and Christian religious traditions setting the blogosphere a blaze.</i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2012/02/03/long-torah-wrap.wsb">On January 29th 2012 a Colorado</a>
"rabbi" wrapped embattled Bishop Eddie Long in a Torah scroll,
says he has been raised "to a kingship."</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9eOL2e0sJZF4fjHhIaTnVvaVTDkRn3WrqD6HuFLjkR3ZpbsS1etxLEz6yZCKDyNytaZm8dNt2fXrJBXJHH7UzLdyeIt5nehlALxVdixL7cxi88ivgc5DJZ89CHuk9hGDXfMCruJjVcU/s1600/eddiebeefcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9eOL2e0sJZF4fjHhIaTnVvaVTDkRn3WrqD6HuFLjkR3ZpbsS1etxLEz6yZCKDyNytaZm8dNt2fXrJBXJHH7UzLdyeIt5nehlALxVdixL7cxi88ivgc5DJZ89CHuk9hGDXfMCruJjVcU/s320/eddiebeefcake.jpg" width="320" /></a><em style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Long reportedly struggled with health issues for much of 2016. In August, a video clip appeared with a slimmed-down Long who told the camera he was on "God's medication."</span></b></em><br />
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New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor Bishop Eddie Long died Jan. 15, 2017, after a battle with an aggressive form of cancer. He was 63.</div>
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In an <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://WGCL.images.worldnow.com/library/81c6887d-f124-4b67-a8de-5f105f871d5d.pdf" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0346ae;" target="_blank">official statement</a> from the church acquired by WGCL in Atlanta, First Lady Elder Vanessa Long, Bishop Long's wife, said, "I am confident through my belief in God that my husband is now resting in a better place. Although his transition leaves a void for those of us who loved him dearly, we can celebrate and be happy for him, knowing he's at peace."</div>
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Long reportedly struggled with health issues for much of 2016. In August, a video clip appeared with a slimmed-down Long, who told the camera he was on "God's medication."</div>
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"No medications. I'm on the medication that God gave to feed your immune system, to build you up, because you know what? If you really want to move through this world and have influence, you gotta be spiritual, you gotta walk by His commandments and you know you have to be healthy. You know the Bible says, 'Behold I want you to be in health,' and the prosperity and all of that, and so I want to be in good health because I know God's given me something for me, for the church, for the kingdom and He's given you something," Long said.</div>
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But later that year, Long was hospitalized for a mystery illness, which some claimed was <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.charismanews.com/us/59724-contrary-to-popular-reports-bishop-eddie-long-not-in-the-hospital&source=gmail&ust=1484581915641000&usg=AFQjCNGHHGeJcBn3uc2zbk6vDgBO-vz9sg" href="http://www.charismanews.com/us/59724-contrary-to-popular-reports-bishop-eddie-long-not-in-the-hospital" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0346ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">cancer</a>.</div>
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"I am recovering from a health challenge that I trust God to deliver me from. It is unrelated to the eating for life diet consisting of mostly raw vegetables that I am continuing as part of a holistic approach to good health," Long said in a statement at the time.</div>
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Long was born in Georgia in 1953 and stepped into the pastoral role at New Birth in 1987. According to his biography, membership flourished to 25,000 under the bishop.</div>
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The pastor was involved in a handful of scandals that ranged from a <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://premium.charismanews.com/article/44352&source=gmail&ust=1484581915641000&usg=AFQjCNHdTqPN8yCLfgmqtXnGL-pN3jd1eA" href="http://premium.charismanews.com/article/44352" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0346ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ponzi scheme</a> to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26pastor.html&source=gmail&ust=1484581915641000&usg=AFQjCNGyugRUWUuEO8_gHuys_Z3bonuN9w" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26pastor.html" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0346ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">sexual allegations</a>.</div>
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Long took a leave of absence from New Birth in <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://premium.charismanews.com/article/32452&source=gmail&ust=1484581915641000&usg=AFQjCNEDL7fNo1SXpo6fGVc-VxFi5_oPSg" href="http://premium.charismanews.com/article/32452" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0346ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">2011</a> before returning in the new year in <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://premium.charismanews.com/article/32615&source=gmail&ust=1484581915641000&usg=AFQjCNH9glVwhzQHjdvBDBZNJ18KQCBrGg" href="http://premium.charismanews.com/article/32615" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0346ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">2012</a>. <img alt="" class="EoA_torch" src="http://cdn.charismanews.com/plugins/content/cm_endofarticlemessages/torch1.png" height="15" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 7px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="14" /><br />
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Source:<a href="http://www.charismanews.com/us/62407-bishop-eddie-long-dead-at-63"> http://www.charismanews.com</a></div>
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<br />noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-13594755674385624312016-12-30T19:55:00.001-08:002016-12-30T20:03:18.775-08:00Torah Wrapped Paula White Will Pray at Inauguration, minus the Torah Scroll we hope.<h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: "Roboto Slab", serif; font-size: 40px; letter-spacing: 0.025em; line-height: 46px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
An Actual Trinity-Denying Heretic Will Pray at Trump’s Inauguration</h1>
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By Erick Erickson </div>
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Paula White is a trinity denying heretic. She rejects the Council of Nicaea’s creed that every Christian accepts. To reject the orthodoxy of the Nicene Creed is to reject Christianity itself. You can see Paula White do this in the video above. <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/28/scam-pastor-to-pray-with-trump-at-inauguration.html" style="border: none; color: #28bbe8; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">And Paula White is going to pray at the inauguration</a>.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "open sans"; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">"The doctrine of the Trinity has no greater foe than the Hebrew Scriptures."</span></span></blockquote>
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Why does it matter? I don’t think anyone thinks Trump takes his faith serious (if at all), but Paula White claims to do so and claims to be a Christian. The President of the United States putting a heretic on stage who claims to believe in Jesus, but does not really believe in Jesus, risks leading others astray. Christians have an obligation to speak in defense of their faith. Trump letting this heretic pray in Jesus’s name should offend every Bible believing Christian.</div>
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I’d rather a Hindu pray on Inauguration Day and not risk the souls of men, than one whose heresy lures in souls with promises of comfort only to damn them in eternity. At least no one would mistake a Hindu, a Buddhist, or an atheist with being a representative of Christ’s kingdom.</div>
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Roman Emperor Constantine called the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 to settle a growing controversy in the Christian church. Was Christ part of the God-head or was he the first fruit of creation? The Council of Nicaea, in June of AD 325, settled the issue.</div>
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Jesus Christ is the second person in the trinity, the only begotten son of God. The phrase “not an iota of difference” comes from this debate. It centered around the Greek word <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">homoousios</em>, meaning “of same substance,” versus the word <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">homoiousios</em>, meaning “of similar substance.”</div>
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The heretic Arius, who had taught Christians a song with the line “there was a time the son was not,” argued that Jesus Christ was the first born of creation, but was not the eternal, begotten son of God. He argued that Christ was made of a similar substance, but was not God. Arius’s view was rejected at Nicaea. One of the bishops of the church rebuking the Arian heresy was a guy we now call Santa Claus, St. Nicholas of Myra.</div>
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Since AD 325, it has been settled in the orthodoxy of the Christian church <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">of every single Christian denomination</em> that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God. Re-iterated in the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381, the Nicene Creed as we know it today contains these line:</div>
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I believe in one God the Father Almighty,<br />
Maker of heaven and earth,<br />
And of all things visible and invisible:<br />
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,<br />
Begotten of his Father before all worlds,<br />
God of God, Light of Light,<br />
Very God of very God,<br />
Begotten, not made,<br />
Being of one substance with the Father,<br />
By whom all things were made;</div>
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This is literally 1,691 year old settled orthodoxy of every Christian denomination. Presbyterians, Catholics, Orthodox, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, and other Christian denominations, along with a few Episcopalian churches <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">all say this creed.</em> It, along with the Apostles Creed, are the two major, foundational creeds in Christendom.</div>
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So it should be a pretty damn big deal that Donald Trump is inviting to pray at the inaugural an actual, factual heretic who rejects the Nicene Creed.</div>
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Paula White, a prosperity gospel charlatan and Trump’s “spiritual advisor,” is going to pray. In the video above you can see White, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">in her own words</em>, rejecting the trinity. She claims Jesus Christ is the first born of creation and not the only begotten son of God.</div>
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That is well settled and agreed upon heresy by every single Christian denomination. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. To utter those words is to not be a Christian. It is that simple.</div>
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Barack Obama was the first President to mention atheists in his inaugural address and Donald Trump will now go a step beyond that. He is inviting an actual trinity-denying heretic to pray at his inauguration. [sic]<br />
<a href="http://theresurgent.com/an-actual-trinity-denying-heretic-will-pray-at-trumps-inauguration/">Source: </a></div>
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"A video showing minister Paula White being wrapped in a Torah scroll by controversial rabbi and television personality Ralph Messer has emerged only days after White’s attorney denied the pastor’s endorsement of Messer following a “coronation” ceremony involving Bishop Eddie Long. <a href="https://atwistedcrownofthorns.com/2012/02/07/paula-white-wrapped-in-torah-scroll-too-by-rabbi-messer/">[The Video has been removed] </a> due to copyright claim by Paula White Ministries? (but we found another copy....)</div>
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The ceremonial wrapping seen in the 2009 video (shown below) of Messer on White’s program, “Paula Today,” is almost identical to Messer’s wrapping of Long during a recent sermon at the minister’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga.<span id="more-12278"></span>, as seen in a video clip that has gone viral on YouTube since its posting on the Internet last week."</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 43px;">Did Someone Find the Doctrine of the Trinity In the First Chapter of the Bible? To Whom Was God Speaking When He Said, “Let Us Make M</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 43px;">an in Our Image?</span><br />
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Question:</h1>
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Dear Rabbi Singer,</div>
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A Messianic Jew is working overtime to try to convince me that I need JC. She recently showed me Genesis 1:26, “Let US make man in OUR image,” stating that JC was part of creation with God, plural Us and Our being the proof. Can you explain the plural in this verse to me? I want to have an intelligent answer. I am trying very hard to learn more of my Jewish religion, as I was raised in a non-religious home. The only Bible I own is the one she gave me and it is a King James.?</div>
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Answer:</h1>
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The doctrine of the Trinity has no greater foe than the Hebrew Scriptures. It is on the strength of this sacred oracle that the Jew has preserved the concept of One, single, unique Creator God Who alone is worthy of worship. Missionaries undertake an daunting and unholy task as they scour the Jewish Scriptures in search of any text that can be construed as consistent with the doctrine of the Trinity.</div>
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No prophet remained silent on the uncompromising radical monotheism demanded by the God of Israel. The Jewish people, therefore, to whom these sublime declarations about the nature of the Almighty were given, knew nothing about a trinity of persons in the godhead.</div>
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Because the prophets relayed their divine message on the nature of God with such timeless, transparent, clarity, very few verses in Tanach could be summoned by the Church to corroborate their alien teachings on the doctrine of the Trinity. Understandably, though, the defenders of Christendom parade the few verses that they insist support the notion that there is a plurality in the godhead.</div>
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One of the most popular verses used by missionaries as a proof text in support of the doctrine of the Trinity is Genesis 1:26. This verse appears frequently in missionary literature despite of the fact that this argument has been answered countless times throughout the centuries and numerous Christian scholars have long abandoned it. Let’s examine the creation of man as described in the Torah:</div>
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And God said, “Let <strong style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">us</strong> make man in <strong style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">our</strong> image, after <strong style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">our </strong>likeness; and they shall rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”</div>
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(Genesis 1:26)</div>
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With limited knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures, missionaries submit the above verse as evidence that there was a plurality in the godhead that participated in creation of our first parent. What other explanation could adequately account for the Torah’s use of the plural pronouns such as “us” and “our” in this verse?</div>
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This argument, however, is deeply flawed, and, accordingly, a great number of Trinitarian theologians have long rejected the notion that Genesis 1:26 implies a plurality of persons in the godhead. Rather, Christian scholars overwhelmingly agree that the plural pronoun in this verse is a reference to God’s ministering angels who were created previously, and the Almighty spoke majestically in the plural, consulting His heavenly court. Let’s read the comments of a number of preeminent Trinitarian Bible scholars on this subject.</div>
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For example, the evangelical Christian author Gordon J. Wenham, who is no foe of the Trinity and authored a widely respected two-volume commentary on the Book of Genesis, writes on this verse,</div>
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Christians have traditionally seen [Genesis 1:26] as adumbrating [foreshadowing] the Trinity. It is now universally admitted that this was not what the plural meant to the original author.<span id="rf1-2588" style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#fn1-2588" rel="footnote" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Gordon J. Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary on Genesis, Word Books, 1987, p. 27.">1</a></span></div>
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If you had attended any one of my lectures you would know that the <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New International Version</em> is hardly a Bible that can be construed as being friendly to Judaism. Yet, the <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NIV Study Bible</em> also confirms in its commentary on Genesis 1:26,</div>
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<strong style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Us… Our… Our.</strong> God speaks as the Creator-king, announcing His crowning work to the members of His heavenly court (see 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; I Kings 22:19-23; Job 15:8; Jeremiah 23:18).<span id="rf2-2588" style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#fn2-2588" rel="footnote" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="NIV Study Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 7.">2</a></span></div>
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Charles Caldwell Ryrie, a highly regarded Dispensationalist professor of Biblical Studies at the Philadelphia College of Bible and author of the widely read Bible commentary, The Ryrie Study Bible, writes in his short and to-the-point annotation on Genesis 1:26,</div>
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Us…Our. Plurals of majesty.<span id="rf3-2588" style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#fn3-2588" rel="footnote" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Charles Caldwell Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible (Dallas Theological Seminary), Chicago: Moody Press, 1978, p. 9.">3</a></span></div>
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<em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Liberty Annotated Study Bible</em>, a Bible commentary published by the fundamentalist Reverend Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, similarly remarks on this verse,</div>
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The plural pronoun “Us” is most likely a majestic plural from the standpoint of Hebrew grammar and syntax.<span id="rf4-2588" style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#fn4-2588" rel="footnote" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jerry Falwell (Executive Editor), Liberty Annotated Study Bible, Lynchburg: Liberty University, 1988, p. 8.">4</a></span></div>
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The exhaustive 10-volume commentary by Keil and Delitzsch is considered by many to be the most influential exposition on the “Old Testament” in evangelical circles. Yet in Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary on Genesis 1:26, we find,</div>
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The plural “We” was regarded by the fathers and earlier theologians almost unanimously as indicative of the Tr ini ty; modern commentators, on the contrary, regard it either as<em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> pluralis majestatis</em> … No other explanation is left, therefore, than to regard it as <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pluralis majestatis</em>…<span id="rf5-2588" style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#fn5-2588" rel="footnote" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Peabody: Hendric., 1989, Vol. I, p. 62.">5</a></span></div>
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The question that immediately comes to mind is: What would compel these conservative scholars – all of whom are devout Trinitarians – to categorically reject the notion that Genesis 1:26 supports the doctrine of Trinity? Why do they conclude that God is speaking in this famed verse in His majestic address to the angelic hosts of Heaven? Why are the commentaries of the above conservative Christian writers completely consistent with the age-old Jewish teaching on this verse?</div>
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The answer emerges from the Torah and its Prophets. If you search the Hebrew Bible you will find that when the Almighty speaks of “us” or “our,” He is addressing His ministering angels. In fact, only two chapters later, God continues to use the pronoun “us” as He speaks with His angels. At the end of the third chapter of Genesis the Almighty relates to His angels that Adam and his wife have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge and must therefore be prevented from eating from the Tree of Life as well; for if man would gain access to the Tree of Life he will “become like one of us.” The Creator then instructs his burning angels, known as <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cherubim</em>, to stand at the entrance to the gate of the Garden of Eden, waving a flaming sword to prevent man from entering the Garden and eating from the Tree of Life. Let’s examine this famed text:</div>
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Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of <strong style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Us</strong>, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” – therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">cherubim</em> at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.</div>
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(Genesis 3:22-24)</div>
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This use of the majestic plural in Genesis 3:22-24 is what contributed the <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NIV Study Bible</em>’s annotation on Genesis 1:26 (above). At the end of its comment on this verse, the <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NIV Study Bible</em> provides a number of biblical sources from the Jewish Scriptures to support its position that:</div>
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“God speaks as the Creator-king, announcing His crowning work to the members of His heavenly court.” The verses cited are: Genesis 3:22, 11:7, Isaiah 6:8, I Kings 22:19-23, Job 15:8, and Jeremiah 23:18. These verses convey to the attentive Bible reader that the heavenly abode of the Creator is filled with the ministering angels who attend the Almighty and to whom He repeatedly refers when using the plural pronoun “Us.”<span id="rf6-2588" style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#fn6-2588" rel="footnote" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="A similar verse describing God as He converses with His ministering angels is found in the beginning of the sixth chapter of Isaiah, which reads:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew… Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
(Isaiah 6:1-8) ">6</a></span></div>
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Again, the <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NIV Study Bible</em>’s concession in its commentary on Genesis 1:26 is particularly significant because this work of the product of conservative, Trinitarian commentary on the Bible. Its contributing authors had no incentive to support the Jewish interpretation of this verse. Its annotation relies on the simple context and exegesis of this verse.</div>
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I will close this letter with one final note.</div>
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Outsiders often wonder what powerful force binds the Jewish people united in faith. This is not so odd a question when we consider the internal conflicts that has followed our people throughout our troubled history. Bear in mind, regardless of the turbulent quarrels that fester among us, the oneness of God remains the binding thread which unites the Jewish people in history and witness. The teachings of the Torah were designed to set forever in the national conscience of the Jewish people the idea that God is one alone. Accordingly, He is the only Savior worthy of our devotion and worship.</div>
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Sincerely yours,</div>
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Rabbi Tovia Singer</div>
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<ol class="footnotes" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #303030; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem 2em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li id="fn1-2588" style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Gordon J. Wenham, <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Word Biblical Commentary on Genesis</em>, Word Books, 1987, p. 27. <a class="backlink" href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#rf1-2588" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text."><img alt="↩" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/svg/21a9.svg" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /></a></div>
</li>
<li id="fn2-2588" style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NIV Study Bible</em>, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 7. <a class="backlink" href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#rf2-2588" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jump back to footnote 2 in the text."><img alt="↩" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/svg/21a9.svg" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /></a></div>
</li>
<li id="fn3-2588" style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Charles Caldwell Ryrie, <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Ryrie Study Bible</em> (Dallas Theological Seminary), Chicago: Moody Press, 1978, p. 9. <a class="backlink" href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#rf3-2588" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jump back to footnote 3 in the text."><img alt="↩" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/svg/21a9.svg" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /></a></div>
</li>
<li id="fn4-2588" style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Jerry Falwell (Executive Editor), <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Liberty Annotated Study Bible</em>, Lynchburg: Liberty University, 1988, p. 8. <a class="backlink" href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#rf4-2588" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jump back to footnote 4 in the text."><img alt="↩" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/svg/21a9.svg" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /></a></div>
</li>
<li id="fn5-2588" style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Keil & Delitzsch, <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Commentary on the Old Testament</em>, Peabody: Hendric., 1989, Vol. I, p. 62. <a class="backlink" href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#rf5-2588" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jump back to footnote 5 in the text."><img alt="↩" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/svg/21a9.svg" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /></a></div>
</li>
<li id="fn6-2588" style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
A similar verse describing God as He converses with His ministering angels is found in the beginning of the sixth chapter of Isaiah, which reads:</div>
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In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above it stood <em style="background: transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">seraphim</em>; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew… Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”</div>
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(Isaiah 6:1-8) <a class="backlink" href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/#rf6-2588" style="border-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #480000; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Jump back to footnote 6 in the text."><img alt="↩" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/svg/21a9.svg" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
Source:<a href="https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/"> https://outreachjudaism.org/trinity-genesis/ </a></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 43px;"><br /></span>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-71552918049399620812016-10-13T13:40:00.000-07:002016-10-19T17:43:21.656-07:00Megachurch Pastor James MacDonald Just Doesn't Get It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">"Donald Trump hasn’t vetoed bills that would have outlawed the procedure known as partialbirth abortion. Bill Clinton alone is responsible for the brains being sucked out of unanesthetized babies during delivery." ~</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Dr. James Dobson</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A pastor of Donald Trump's
evangelical council has written a sharply-worded condemnation of the Republican
US presidential candidate, describing him as "lecherous and
worthless".<br />
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James MacDonald, megachurch pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, a nondenominational
evangelical church in Illinois, sent an email on Saturday to members of Trump's
faith council, his campaign liaison and to some who oppose Trump's
candidacy. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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"Mr Trump's comments released yesterday – though 10 years ago (he was 60)
– are not just sophomoric or locker room banter," he wrote. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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"They are truly the kind of misogynistic trash that reveals a man to be
lecherous and worthless – not the guy who gets politely ignored, but the guy
who gets a punch in the head from worthy men who hear him talk that way about
women."</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The problem is Mr megachurch pastor, I don't want a preacher or a saint as
commander-n-chief. We don't need to elect an Aimee Semple McPherson, at such a
time as this, we need a General George Smith Patton Jr. (</span><span style="background: rgb(249 , 249 , 249); font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Bandito" "Old
Blood and Guts") </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.32px;">"Bandito" </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.32px;">"Old Blood and Guts"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">MacDonald
wrote that he has a wife of 33 years, a daughter and two daughters-in-law.
"I am not able to offer my time any further without an obvious 'change of
heart and direction' true believers call repentance," he wrote.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"If
Mr Trump isn't seeking our counsel now – (1) to be repentant (2) on how to
portray that repentance, then the idea of a faith council (which has
deteriorated into influence brokering anyway) is really kind of a joke
right?" MacDonald wrote. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"I have spent my life helping men get free
from such disgusting commentary on women – even writing my doctoral
dissertation on self-disclosure of sin among men. I cannot and will not offer
help to a man who believes this kind of talk a minor error." </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">ahem...Excuse me </span><span style="background-color: white;">Mr. megachurch pastor, but wouldn't Mr Trump already repented of his sins when he became a christian? Now you're upset he hasn't came to you to repent and ask you to tell him "</span><span style="background-color: white;">how to portray that repentance"? Curb your ego, Dude! Remember, "</span></b></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arimo" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;">If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us </span><i style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Arimo, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;">our</i><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arimo" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"> sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." </span><b style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: white;">He, not James MacDonald.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Megachurch preacher just doesn't get
it....he can't believe that people are so angry that they can no longer be
manipulated!<br />
<br />
Millions of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>trump supporters feel
this way about Donald J. Trump.....</span><br />
<span style="background: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The liberal mainstream media — and establishment
Republicans — have tried every trick in the book to take down GOP presidential
nominee Donald Trump. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In the latest attempt to malign Trump, an 11yearold
video was released in which Trump made lewd comments about women. While some
establishment Republicans used this as an excuse to withdraw their feckless
“support,” Dr. James Dobson stood strong and refused to allow the media to
manipulate him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: none; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dobson, a prominent Christian conservative
leader who founded Focus on the Family and Family Talk Radio, has advised
presidents over the years. He gave a statement about the Trump video
reiterating his support for the GOP candidate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I do not condone nor defend Donald Trump’s
terrible comments made 11 years ago. They are indefensible and awful. I’m sure
there are other misdeeds in his past, although as Jesus said, ‘Let him who is
without sin cast the first stone,’ he said, according to WND. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I am, however, more concerned about America’s
future than Donald Trump’s past. I wonder about how Bill Clinton’s language
stands up in private.” Dobson, who initially supported Sen. Ted Cruz for
president, explained his support of Trump in response to those who have asked
if the candidate’s comments have caused him to withdraw his support. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“My condemnation of the former president is on
an entirely different level,” Dobson said. “To my knowledge, Donald Trump has
never abused women physically or had oral sex in the Oval Office with a
vulnerable intern. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Nor has he committed perjury by lying to
Congress for many hours. “Trump hasn’t been impeached by Congress for his lies.
Donald Trump hasn’t vetoed bills that would have outlawed the procedure known
as partialbirth abortion. Bill Clinton alone is responsible for the brains
being sucked out of unanesthetized babies during delivery. That naziesque
procedure continued for years until the Supreme Court declared it illegal.
Donald Trump is prolife. “<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Clinton and his wife disrespect the Constitution
of the United States, although Trump has promised to protect it, especially the
First Amendment. Shall I go on? “I am supporting Mr. Trump primarily because I
believe he is the most capable candidate to lead the United States of America
in this complicated hour,” Dobson concluded.<span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 15.0pt; margin-right: 15.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and Family
Talk, says Donald Trump has recently given his life to Jesus Christ and is now
"a baby Christian," urging believers to pray for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 15pt 15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In an<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="ilad"><span id="IL_AD2" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: center !important; background-size: initial !important; cursor: pointer !important; float: none;">interview</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>with Pastor Michael Anthony of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.godfactor.com/blog/exclusive-interview-with-dr-james-dobson-did-donald-trump-recently-accept-christ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #378ace;">GodFactor.com</span></a>, Dobson
said, "There are a lot of people ministering to him personally — a lot of
ministers… He did accept a relationship with Christ. I know the person who led
him to Christ, and that's fairly recent. I don't know when it was, but it has
not been long."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 15pt 15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dobson added: "I believe he really made a commitment, but
he's a baby Christian. We all need to be praying for him, especially if there
is a possibility of him being our next chief executive officer."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; font-size: 1rem; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 15.0pt; margin-right: 15.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">He said
this at Trump's closed-door meeting last week with hundreds of top evangelical
and social conservative leaders. The meeting, "A Conversation About America's
Future with Donald Trump and Ben Carson," was held in New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 15.0pt; margin-right: 15.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It is neither an "inquisition" nor a
"coronation," but a "conversation," Johnnie Moore, the
spokesperson for My Faith Votes, a non-partisan organization focused on
engaging the 25 million<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="ilad"><span id="IL_AD3" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: center !important; background-size: initial !important; cursor: pointer !important; float: none;">Christians</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>who did not vote in 2012 and one of
the two groups behind the meeting, told The Christian Post earlier. "The
Trump campaign has been unbelievably cooperative to commit such time with these
leaders … It is the largest, most representative gathering of national,
Christian leaders I've seen in my lifetime," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 15pt 15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Trump's campaign has not responded to Dobson's assertion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 15pt 15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Last year, Trump said he had never asked for God's forgiveness,
and despite calling the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="ilad"><span id="IL_AD1" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: center !important; background-size: initial !important; cursor: pointer !important; float: none;">Bible</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>his favorite book, he refused to name
a favorite verse. "The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Bible<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>means a lot to me, but I don't want to
get into specifics," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Trump "doesn't know our language," Dobson said.
"We had 40<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Christians<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>together with him; he used the word
'Hell' four or five times. He doesn't know our language. He really doesn't. He
refers a lot to religion and not much to belief and faith in Christ."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 15pt 15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">He continued,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Christians<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>"got to cut him some slack,"
as "he didn't grow up like we did. I think there's hope for him."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 15pt 15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">After Trump's meeting with evangelicals and conservatives, the
founder of the Faith & Freedom Coalition Ralph Reed said the presidential<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="ilad"><span id="IL_AD4" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: center !important; background-size: initial !important; cursor: pointer !important; float: none;">candidate</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>"talked about personal faith,
importance of faith."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 15.0pt; margin-right: 15.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">"But he made it abundantly clear,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>'I don't know the </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 14pt;">Bible as well as you do, I'm not a
theologian, but I'm a Christian,"<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Reed
said, according to</span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/26/politics/donald-trump-james-dobson-baby-christian/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #378ace; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">CNN</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> "He talked about his children and how he raised his
children, moral values, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs. It's not
really our job to judge other peoples' spiritual journey. Just because they're
not in the same place we are, we accept him for who he is now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
<br />
"We don't care if the guy swears... or how many times he's been married...or
who he voted for, or what his income tax return shows. We want the problems
fixed. Yes he's an egomaniac, but we don't care. We know he's not a racist, or
bad to women, or all the other things the liberal media is trying to label him
with. We know he's raised a good family, and that says a lot about him.<br />
<br />
The country is a mess because politicians suck, the Republican Party is two
faced & gutless, and illegals are everywhere and Muslims are openly trying
to hurt this country and make the civilized world adjust to them. We want it
all fixed!<br />
<br />
We don't care that Trump is crude, we don't care that he has changed positions,
we don't care that he fights with Megan Kelly, Rosie O'Donnell, and so many of
the elected establishment. We don't care that Rubio, Ryan, the Bush's, and so
many other top old and new Republicans refuse to endorse him for their own
selfish reasons, and we know what they are. We don't care that he doesn't know
the name of some Muslim terrorists, we don't care that he tried some businesses
that didn't work out.<br />
<br />
This country is weak, bankrupt, our enemies are making fun of us, we are being
invaded by illegals, we are becoming a nation of victims, where every Tom,
Ricardo and Hasid is a special group with special rights to a point where we
don't even recognize the country we were born and raised in, AND WE JUST WANT
IT FIXED. And TRUMP is the only guy who seems to understand what the people
want.<br />
<br />
We're sick of politicians, sick of the Democratic and Republican Party. We're
angry about the Iran deal, the budget, treatment of Israel, military weakness,
lobbyists, special interests, overpaid politicians with their self serving
bills and back room deals, trade deals, loss of jobs, manipulated economic
numbers, businesses fleeing, and even the phoney pay for play Clinton
Foundation.<br />
<br />
Americans are no longer going to be fooled, and the movement is out to change
the direction we're taking. Trump may not be a saint, but he doesn't have
lobbyist money holding him, he doesn't have political correctness restraining
him, and all you know is that he has been very successful, a good negotiator,
he has built a lot of things, he's flexible, and he's also not a politician.
And he says he'll fix it. And we believe him because he is too much of an
egotist to be proven wrong or looked at and called a liar.<br />
<br />
Public service has become elected greed. This may be our only chance to have a
non-politician, despite his flaws, try and correct the mess, at least for 4
years. We must take the shot, because the consequences of putting Hillary
Clinton in office are frightening. There is a tidal wave happening, and its
going to overcome much of what's happened to this country."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.32px;"><br /></span>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-88583444835337010392016-10-04T06:04:00.000-07:002016-10-04T06:04:20.544-07:00Stop Worshipping Me, I Am Not The Real Jesus ~Actor Robert Powell
<img alt="14516368_10208982871386389_5521337215863366273_n" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2186" height="382" src="https://acquiescere9.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/14516368_10208982871386389_5521337215863366273_n.jpg" width="568" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"I will bow to this King, said Steven."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Since he played the character, Jesus, in the 1977 movie, Jesus of Nazareth, Robert Powell’s photos are hung in churches, homes, cars, schools, offices and many holy grottos all over the world to drive off evil forces and attract good fortunes.
However, Powell has cried out in the social media that he is not Jesus and that people should stop worshiping him. Rather, they should respect the true Jesus and worship God. His is among the most trending stories on social media in January 2016.
In his words: “I never cease to say and I repeat it to the world since 1977. I am not Jesus Christ, I am just an actor and British comedian. I am tired of seeing my photos displayed in places of worship and other places for worship. I just make a film for a living. Burn my picture and worship the only God in truth ! I am just an actor…Jesus is Lord!<span style="color: red;">*</span>”<br />
<br />
Another actor who played Jesus is Jim Caviezel. According to clipd.com, “Jim is arguably one of the most famous portrayals of Jesus in acting history. He played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion Of The Christ,’ which is the greatest selling Christian movie of all time. Jim won one award for his portrayal as Jesus, and several other nominations.” He too may soon beg people to stop worshipping<br />
him like Powell.<br />
<img alt="robert-powell-as-jesus-e1454152426441" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2189" height="400" src="https://acquiescere9.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/robert-powell-as-jesus-e1454152426441.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<h3>
<strong>HITLER'S BODYGUARD Combining archival footage, period photography, captured SS documents, and eyewitness interviews, and more... the expert commentary continually being presented by the <em>narrator</em>, <em>Robert Powell</em></strong></h3>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ZLkd6lNmx8" width="560"></iframe>
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<img alt="unnamed" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2199" height="540" src="https://acquiescere9.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/unnamed.jpg" width="540" />
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<h1>
<span style="color: red;">
*</span>Passages on the Unity of God</h1>
<div class="entry-content">
<blockquote>
<h4>
<strong>I believe with perfect faith that God is one.</strong>
<strong>There is no unity that is in any way like His.</strong>
<strong>He alone is our God.</strong>
<strong>He was, He is, He will be.</strong></h4>
</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
</h4>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Exodus 20:2-3 – The First of the Ten Commandments</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
<div align="justify">
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (See also Deuteronomy 5:7)</div>
</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Numbers 23:19</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“God is not a man that He should lie, nor a mortal that He should change His mind.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Deuteronomy 4:11-12</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no image; there was only a voice.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Deuteronomy 4:35</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“You are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that God is the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Deuteronomy 4:39</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Deuteronomy 6:4</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Deuteronomy 6:14</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Deuteronomy 32:39</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“See, now, that I, I am He – and no god is with Me…”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>I Samuel 2:2</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee; neither is there any Rock like our God.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>I Samuel 15:29</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“The Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor change His mind: for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>I Kings 8:27</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>I Kings 8:60</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“So that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>II Kings 19:19</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (Psalm 113:5)</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 40:18</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“To whom then will you liken God? To what likeness will you compare unto Him?”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 40:25</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“To whom will then you liken Me, that I should be his equal?” says the Holy One.</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 42:8</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another. Neither My praise to graven images!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 43:10-11</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 44:6-8</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
This is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before Me…Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 44:24</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
So said the Lord, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb, “I am the Lord Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 45:5-6</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God… I will strengthen you…I order that they know from the shining of the sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord and there is no other!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 45:18-19</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 45:21-22</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“…who announced this before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it not I, the Lord, and there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 46:5</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“To whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may be alike?”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 46:9</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Remember the first things of old, that I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Isaiah 48:11</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“…And My honor I will not give to another.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Hosea 13:4</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“And I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Joel 2:27</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Malachi 2:10</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why should we betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our forefathers?”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Psalm 73:25</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Psalm 81:8-9</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Psalm 146:3</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation!”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>Nehemiah 9:6</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“You alone are the Lord; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the heavenly host bow down before You.”</blockquote>
<h4 align="justify">
<strong>I Chronicles 17:20</strong></h4>
<blockquote>
“O Lord, there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears!”</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="g1-meta entry-terms">
</div>
<strong>Here Powell’s profile as published by Wikipedia:</strong><br />
<img alt="rober-powell-as-jesus-of-nazareth" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2221" height="224" src="https://acquiescere9.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/rober-powell-as-jesus-of-nazareth.jpg" width="177" /><br />
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<b>Robert Powell as Jesus of Nazareth</b><br />
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“Robert Powell (born 1 June 1944) is an English television and film actor, best known for the title role in Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay. He is also known for his role as Mark Williams in BBC One medical drama, Holby City, and as David Briggs in the sitcom The Detectives alongside Jasper Carrott.</div>
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His distinctive voice has become well known in advertisements and documentaries, especially in World War II documentaries such as World War II in HD Colour, Hitler’s Bodyguard, The Story of the Third Reich and Secrets of World War II.</div>
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Powell was born in Salford, Lancashire, the son of Kathleen (née Davis) and John Wilson Powell. Powell was educated at Manchester Grammar School (where one of his classmates was the actor Ben Kingsley), then a direct grant grammar school for boys in the city of Manchester in North West England, and later at the Royal College of Advanced Technology in Salford.</div>
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Powell took up acting while an undergraduate. He had aspired to become a lawyer and in 1963-4 attended an external London University LLB degree Course at the Manchester College of Commerce but at the same time quietly took acting roles under Trevor Nunn. At the College of Commerce he swapped roles with Bernard Brandon in a week-long College Revue of Comedy Sketches to see which role gave him “the best laughs”. This early comedy experience was later to be fulfilled with Jasper Carrott. After this he secured a post at a repertory theatre in Stoke-on-Trent.His first film part was in Robbery when he played the driver of the driver who is coshed in the Stanley Baker film about the great train robbery. He had a small role in the original film version of The Italian Job (1969) playing one of the gang, but had to wait a few years for his first success, playing scientist Toby Wren in the BBC’s science fiction series, Doomwatch in 1970. Having been killed off in the last episode of the original series, at his request, Powell became a pin-up and a household name, following up with starring roles in several BBC serials, including television adaptations of the novels Sentimental Education (1970) and Jude the Obscure (1971). He also appeared in the 1975 series Looking for Clancy, based on the Frederic Mullally novel Clancy.</div>
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For several years Powell continued as a television regular, with occasional forays into film, as the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler in the Ken Russell biopic Mahler (1974) and Captain Walker in Russell’s film version of Tommy (1975). His role in Tommy had no lines at all and apart from a few early scenes during the overture with Ann-Margret, he is primarily seen through the mind of his son as played by Barry Winch (Young Tommy) and Roger Daltrey. In one of those scenes Captain Walker is shown in a crucifixion pose.</div>
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He then played Jesus Christ in Jesus of Nazareth (1977) following a successful second audition with Franco Zeffirelli. The two-part television film had an all-star cast, including Laurence Olivier, Ernest Borgnine and Stacey Keach, Christopher Plummer, Rod Steiger and James Mason. For this role, Powell was nominated for a BAFTA award, and collected the TVTimes Best Actor award for the same performance.</div>
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In 1975, Powell married his girlfriend, the Pan’s People dancer Babs Lord, shortly before he was due to start filming for Jesus of Nazareth on location in Morocco. On 23 November 1977, they had their son, Barney, followed in 1979 by a daughter, Kate.</div>
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In 1978, Powell took the leading role of Richard Hannay in the third film version of The Thirty Nine Steps. It met with modest success, and critics compared Powell’s portrayal of John Buchan’s character favourably with his predecessors. His characterisation proved to be enduring, as almost ten years later a television series entitled simply Hannay appeared with Powell back in the role, (although the Buchan short stories on which the series was based were set in an earlier period than The Thirty-Nine Steps). Hannay ran for two seasons.</div>
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In 1980, Powell appeared in the film Harlequin, playing the Harlequin of the title who seems to have the power to cure the son of a powerful politician. For this performance, he won the Best Actor Award at the Paris Film Festival. In 1982, he won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his role in Imperativ.</div>
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Powell then agreed to a request from his old friend and golf partner, comedian Jasper Carrott, taking the part of an incompetent detective in a succession of sketches that formed part of Carrott’s television series. The Detectives was so popular that it was turned into a sitcom, Powell’s first and only venture into this genre.</div>
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In 1984, Powell made his U.S. film debut in What Waits Below (as known as Secrets of the Phantom Caverns).</div>
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In 1986, Powell narrated and co-starred in William C. Faure’s popular miniseries Shaka Zulu, with football legend Henry Cele in the title role. In 1992, he starred in the New Zealand World War I film Chunuk Bair, as Sgt Maj Frank Smith. In 1993-1995, he was the voice actor of Dr Livesey in The Legends of Treasure Island.</div>
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Nowadays Powell appears in person less often, but his distinctive voice is frequently heard on voice-overs, advertisements and as a narrator of television programmes such as Great Crimes and Trials and The Century of Warfare and World War II in HD Colour. He read the novel Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime, and has also narrated many audio books including The Thirty Nine Steps, abridged versions of many of Alan Garner’s books, and several abridged novels for ‘The Talking Classics Collection’. Powell has also lent his voice to musical works, such as David Bedford’s album The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,[4] or the 2002 rock opera The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman, where he played the role of John Watson. He also narrated on two rock albums by Rick Wakeman called Cost of Living and The Gospels (1987).</div>
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On 29 October 2001, a state-of-the-art theatre named after him was opened at the University of Salford.[5] He became a patron of 24:7 Theatre Festival in 2004, and continues to operate in this capacity as of 2014. In early 2005 he became a regular in the UK TV medical drama, Holby City, where he remained for six years before departing to return to theatre.[6] On 9 February 2008, he performed as narrator in Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa in the North of England.[7] He currently has a regular spot narrating literary passages on BBC4’s The Book Quiz and will appear in Aladdin at the Malvern Theatre this winter .</div>
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On 20 December 2014, he took on the role of “Ebenezer Scrooge” in Neil Brand’s BBC Radio 4 adaptation of A Christmas Carol.”</div>
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Other actors who have played Jesus in movies are:</div>
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Jeffrey Hunter, Max von Sydow, Jeremy Sisto, Chris Sarandon, Claude Heater, Henry Byron Warner, Christian Charles Philip Bale, Willem Dafoe, John Rubinstein, Brian Deacon and Cameron Mitchell.</div>
<h3>
<strong>Jesus is Not the Jewish Messiah Part 1</strong></h3>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u_kNA2ThUDc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2016/01/actor-robert-powell-stop-worshipping-me-i-am-not-the-real-Jesus/" rel="noopener">http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2016/01/actor-robert-powell-stop-worshipping-me-i-am-not-the-real-Jesus/</a><br />
<br />
Passages on the Unity of God <a href="http://outreachjudaism.org/unity-of-god/">http://outreachjudaism.org/unity-of-god/</a>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-62414951983469546572016-05-26T05:02:00.001-07:002016-05-26T16:06:00.241-07:00Girls Must Overcome ‘Discomfort’ of Seeing ‘Male Genitalia’ in Locker Rooms<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arbutus Slab'; font-size: 14.5px; line-height: 21.75px; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: justify;">
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<span itemprop="name" style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Charlotte Observer: Girls Must Overcome ‘Discomfort’ of Seeing ‘Male Genitalia’ in Locker Rooms</span></h1>
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Thanks to the “progress” made by “progressives” in government, the media and the SJW movement we, as a nation, are quickly approaching the point of losing our collective minds and turning the country into the living embodiment of a Far Side cartoon. There is currently no better example of this than the ongoing debate taking place in North Carolina over the question of whether or not men (and I am tired of using the redundant, needless phrase <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">biological men</em>) should be allowed in public bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms and showers with women and young girls. [5]<br />
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A leading North Carolina newspaper issued an editorial last week telling girls to attempt “overcoming discomfort” at the sight of “male genitalia,” should transgender bathroom laws be enacted. In a defense of President Obama’s order compelling schools to allow access to restrooms on the basis of gender identity, the Charlotte Observer editorial board compared the discomfort of school-aged girls seeing male genitalia in locker rooms to the discomfort of white people being around black people in post-segregation America. [1] The newspaper assumes the law will eventually be repealed or declared illegal. While that may or may not happen any time soon, it is the justification for this position used by the Observer that reveals the true nature of this battle of the bathroom. [2]</div>
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<a class="snppopup" href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/18/charlotte-observer-girls-must-try-overcoming-disco/" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Washington Times</em>:</span></a></div>
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“This is what the Obama administration nudged the rest of the country toward Friday,” the editorial said. “Yes, the thought of male genitalia in girls’ locker rooms — and vice versa — might be distressing to some. But the battle for equality has always been in part about overcoming discomfort — with blacks sharing facilities, with gays sharing marriage — then realizing it was not nearly so awful as some people imagined.” [1]</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a class="snppopup" href="http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/05/charlotte_observer_girls_must_overcome_discomfort_at_seeing_male_genitals_in_locker_room.html" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Writing at<em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"> The American Thinker</em></a>, Rick Moran throws some much needed cold water on the idea that this is anything in the same zip code as “normal” or that it’s some sort of parallel to racial inequity.</span></div>
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The notion that the Obama administration is “nudging” anything is laughable. The Obama Justice Department is shoving this rule down the throats of Americans, most of whom oppose the policy. How is this issue remotely connected to race relations? It isn’t, but gullible Americans will believe it, despite the disconnect from reality. Black and white people did not choose their race. By its very definition, transgendered people choose their gender identity. That’s a monumental difference hidden in this politically correct message. [2]</div>
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Rick is absolutely correct and little more on that specific aspect of the discussion needs to be said. The era of segregation saw people of different races being herded into separate facilities, with those provided for minorities frequently being of lesser quality if they were available at all. And, as he notes, no one ever gave a black person the “choice” to be white instead. In this farcical debate, even in facilities which only provide the two, traditional, gender specific accommodations, everyone is offered the same services and they are only separated for reasons of privacy, comfort and safety. Comparing this debate to race relations is a dishonest attempt to deliberately cloud the issue. [5]</div>
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While admitting that exposure to male genitalia is a possible outcome of transgender bathroom laws, the editorial said the notion that such laws constitute a threat to the privacy and safety of women and children is a “political fiction” pushed by Republicans. “Those safety issues are political fiction — non-transgender men wouldn’t have been allowed in women’s bathrooms under the Charlotte ordinance that HB 2 killed, and the 200 or so cities with similar ordinances have had no incidents involving bathroom predators,” the editorial said. [1] Liberals believe that attacks by men in women’s rooms will be rare, so it’s ok – except of course, for the parents of a young girl who is molested on one of those “rare” occassions. But “progress” demands we make those kinds of sacrifices, you ignorant hillbillies. When a man exposes himself on the street in front of a teenage girl, the police always offer the services of a psychologist to the young woman to help her deal with the trauma of seeing a male penis. Liberals will claim the context is different in a locker room or bathroom. That’s nonsense. To a teenage girl, a penis is a penis and context is meaningless. But to the Charlotte Observer and the Obama administration, teenage girls being exposed to the sight of male genitals is something to be “overcome.”[2]</div>
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President Obama issued a legally nonbinding order on Friday compelling schools to allow bathroom access on the basis of gender identity, or risk losing federal education funding. Several states have promised to oppose the decree. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the state of North Carolina over a law regulating public restroom access on the basis of biological sex. [1]</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;"><b>Got that, North Carolina? </b> A little girl staring at a naked man probably feels uncomfortable the way a racist felt uncomfortable when he sat next to an African-American. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">Ironically, the Charlotte Observer’s piece acknowledged that there are, in fact, inherent biological differences between men and women and people have a natural sense of privacy that prevents them from wanting to change in front of members of the opposite sex.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">The Charlotte Observer’s editorial admitted that the current cultural battle over bathrooms is, in fact, about whether people with male genitalia—men—should be allowed in women’s bathrooms. This is a much more honest argument than the one leftists typically use, which is that men who want to access the women’s restroom are “trans women” and therefore every bit as female as biological women.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">“The answer to what happens in bathrooms is a lot less fearsome than the question,” the editorial board wrote, arguing that there is no threat from bathroom predators.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">“In this lunatic world, we place the burden of transgender progress on young girls, telling them to just get over it.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">The conservative blogosphere was quick to point out the absurdity of the Charlotte Observer’s arguments.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;"><b>A civil rights activist who joined the famous Greensboro lunch counter sit-in called it “offensive” to compare the transgender fight to the civil rights movement.</b></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">“During the Jim Crow Era, we stared down the nozzle of firehoses, felt the piercing bite of police dogs, dangled from trees after being strung up by an angry mob, all because of the color of our skin,” civil rights activist Clarence Henderson wrote in response to the editorial. “Our businesses were burned, churches bombed, communities destroyed, all because of the color of our skin. We had to drink at separate water fountains, shop at different stores and even had to sit at the back of the bus, all because of the color of our skin. All this and more took place after enduring 400 years of arguably the most heinous crime in history – slavery.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;">“In comparison, transgender individuals do not have to fight dogs, can shop anywhere and can use any water fountain,” he continued. “They are free to work, shop and ride the bus. And to my knowledge, they have not experienced 400 years of slavery and the ongoing fight for parity 151 years after emancipation. [9]</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9QK8KypzGJD9y72skYg_HJRP6KCWJm_tTiJrP1OFrKPaYmr1-gdl9uJC1hJL-uMcamFmr9TGHbT9c7Oa5IvDviH6SrHYwfLc29zs3v2KC9hdQpvbPb94qwidPVSq8qVSs0sHhfQF-IQ/s1600/imgres1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9QK8KypzGJD9y72skYg_HJRP6KCWJm_tTiJrP1OFrKPaYmr1-gdl9uJC1hJL-uMcamFmr9TGHbT9c7Oa5IvDviH6SrHYwfLc29zs3v2KC9hdQpvbPb94qwidPVSq8qVSs0sHhfQF-IQ/s1600/imgres1.jpg" /></a></div>
The Greensboro Four, also known as the A & T Four<br />
Taken on the second day of February 1960, this photo shows the young Joe McNeil, Frank McCain, Billy Smith, and Clarence Henderson, sitting in at the lunch counter of the Greensboro Woolworth’s Store.<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 25.7143px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="line-height: 21.75px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 25.7143px;">We are also encouraged by the scores of state leaders who are standing up to the Obama administration's unilateral redefinition of federal law. “It is now time for Republicans in Congress, who have the constitutional authority as a co-equal branch of government, to support these state leaders and bring the imperial White House under control.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arbutus slab";"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 21.75px;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "proximanovabold" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.16px; line-height: 24px;">States Move Quickly in Suing Over Obama Transgender Policy</span></span></span></h2>
<span style="color: #232323; font-family: "proximanovaregular" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01rem; line-height: 24px;">Mississippi plans to back 11 other states that filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block the Obama administration's transgender bathroom policy at public schools, Gov. Phil Bryant said.</span><br />
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"Our office has talked to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office and I intend, as soon as possible, to join the lawsuit against this latest example of federal overreach," Bryant, a Republican, said Thursday in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/im4phil/photos/a.187699847916281.44604.149191811767085/1174205659265690/?type=3&theater" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #4372b8; text-decoration: none;">Facebook post</a>.</div>
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Texas is leading the lawsuit, and governors from Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Utah are also on board.</div>
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The Department of Education two weeks ago ordered all of the nation's public schools to honor transgender students' bathroom of choice. But in their suit, the states say the Obama administration is turning schools and workplaces "into laboratories for a massive social experiment."</div>
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They are also challenging a memo from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that tells employers that denying workers from using a bathroom based on their gender identity amounts to sex discrimination.</div>
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The American Civil Liberties Union has labeled the suit a "political stunt."</div>
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[1] Bradford Richardson, <a class="snppopup" href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/18/charlotte-observer-girls-must-try-overcoming-disco/" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Charlotte Observer: Girls must overcome ‘discomfort’ of seeing ‘male genitalia’ in locker rooms, </a><em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The Washington Times</em>, Wednesday, May 18, 2016</div>
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[2] Rick Moran, <a class="snppopup" href="http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/05/charlotte_observer_girls_must_overcome_discomfort_at_seeing_male_genitals_in_locker_room.html" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Charlotte Observer: Girls must overcome ‘discomfort’ at seeing male genitals in locker room</a>, <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">American Thinker,</em> May 19, 2016</div>
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[3] Claire Chretien, <a class="snppopup" href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/girls-must-get-over-their-discomfort-at-seeing-male-genitals-in-locker-room" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Girls must get over their ‘discomfort’ at seeing male genitals in locker room: Charlotte Observer</a>, <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Life Site News,</em> Fri May 20, 2016 – 3:48 pm EST</div>
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[4] Jim Hoft,<a class="snppopup" href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/05/charlotte-observer-young-girls-must-overcome-discomfort-seeing-naked-male-genitalia-locker-room/" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;"> Charlotte Observer: Young Girls Must Overcome the “Discomfort” of Seeing Naked Male Genitalia in Locker Room</a>, <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The Gateway Pundit</em>, May 19th, 2016 3:09 pm</div>
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[5] Jazz Shaw, <a class="snppopup" href="http://hotair.com/archives/2016/05/20/charlotte-observer-young-girls-should-overcome-discomfort-about-male-genitals/" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Charlotte Observer: Young girls should “overcome discomfort” about male genitals,</a> <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hot Air, </em>8:01 am on May 20, 2016</div>
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[6] Amanda Prestigiacomo, <a class="snppopup" href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/5914/charlotte-observer-girls-must-work-overcoming-amanda-prestigiacomo" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Charlotte Observer: Girls Must Work On ‘Overcoming Discomfort’ of ‘Male Genitalia’ In Their Bathrooms</a>, <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Daily Wire,</em> May 20, 2016</div>
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[7] Rick Moran,<a class="snppopup" href="http://beforeitsnews.com/economy/2016/05/charlotte-observer-girls-must-overcome-discomfort-at-seeing-male-genitals-in-locker-room-2824995.html" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;"> Charlotte Observer: Girls Must Overcome ‘Discomfort’ at Seeing Male Genitals in Locker Room,</a> <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Before It’s News,</em> Friday, May 20, 2016 9:00</div>
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[8] <a class="snppopup" href="http://www.weaselzippers.us/272360-charlotte-observer-women-must-overcome-discomfort-of-seeing-male-genitalia-in-locker-rooms/" style="border: 0px none; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">Charlotte Observer: Women Must Overcome ‘Discomfort’ Of Seeing Male Genitalia In Locker Rooms…</a>, <em style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Weasel Zippers,</em> May 19, 2016 12:16 pm<br />
[9] Girls must get over their ‘discomfort’ at seeing male genitals in locker room: Charlotte Observer ...lifesitenews</div>
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<a href="http://culturalmarxism.net/charlotte-observer-girls-must-overcome-discomfort-of-seeing-male-genitalia-in-locker-rooms/">Source:</a> <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/girls-must-get-over-their-discomfort-at-seeing-male-genitals-in-locker-room">Source:</a><br />
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-41228941945203045462016-05-24T14:48:00.000-07:002016-05-25T15:56:15.773-07:00Comparing theTransgender Agenda to Racial Equality? Get back Loretta<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 28.16px;">The pronoun command</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 28.16px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px; line-height: 28px;">the idea that exchange of one’s sex is possible</span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 28.16px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 28px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i>Everyone’s chromosomes are literally stamped with his or her sex. Female chromosomes contain two X’s and male chromosomes contain an XY, whereas there is no biological equivalent to dictate who is black and who is white. ~ Get back Loretta </i></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 28.16px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 28px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: 1.1rem; line-height: 1.6;">A “transmasculine” teacher at an Oregon elementary school has been awarded $60,000 by her school district as compensation for harassment she claims to have suffered on the job, including being referred to by the wrong pronoun.</span></div>
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According to The Oregonian, Leo Soell was born a woman, but now prefers to identify as “transmasculine” and “genderqueer,” meaning she does not consider herself to be male or female. After getting breast cancer in late 2014, she had her breasts amputated to create a more masculine appearance and changed her name to Leo. Once she returned from medical school in May, 2015, Soell was fully public with her gender-neutral identity.</div>
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Once she returned to work, Soell claims she fell victim to relentless harassment from her co-workers. She says employees persisted in calling her hurtful terms like “Miss Soell,” “lady,” and “she.” If a student asked Soell’s sex, she says she was ordered to reply it was a private matter not suitable for discussion at school.</div>
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Some teachers were even worse, Soell said. She claimed one teacher screamed at her in the hallway that her gender choice was offensive to God, and she said teachers conspired to use the school’s only gender-neutral bathroom so Soell would have to wait a half-hour or more to use it. </div>
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The school conducted an internal investigation after Soell complained, but found no proof of harassment.</div>
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Eventually, Soell was able to cut a deal with the school to have her referred to by her preferred pronoun, “they,” but Soell said the harassment didn’t stop, so she finally hired an attorney and prepared to file an official complaint.</div>
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Oregon is a very friendly state for individuals who claim they have suffered discrimination based on gender identity. The state’s labor commissioner, Brad Avakian, forced a bakery to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple they wouldn’t bake a cake for, and he has also compelled a bar owner to pay a whopping $400,000 to a group of transgender customers he tried to ban from his bar.</div>
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Eager to avoid meeting a similar fate, district officials agreed to pay Soell $60,000 in compensation for her emotional distress, and they also agreed to adopt a whole battery of new policies to make the district more transgender-friendly. Among other things, the new policy will require all teachers to refer to their co-workers by their preferred names and pronouns, and it will also ensure transgender employees and students have their bathroom needs met. Teachers who refuse to comply with the pronoun command may be fired, the school district warns.<br />
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<a href="http://wiki.susans.org/index.php/Detransitioning" style="color: red;">Detransitioning, or retransitioning</a>, is the process of reverting back to the gender assigned at birth after transition has taken place. Take a look at 8 stories of people who went through this journey twice.<br />
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The man who underwent sex change then went back to being a man for his dying dad</div>
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<i>“The only thing that is constant is change.”</i> The famous verse by Heraclitus is likely the mantra of Mark Marzo, a man who underwent many big changes in his life.<br />
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A self-proclaimed gay man since birth, Mark had a sex change operation to become a female. However, because of his dying father's wish to have a grandson, Mark needed to give up the "big change" and return to being male.<br />
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Despite his sexual preference, Mark, the youngest of 13 kids, was his father's favorite. Growing up, Marzo was fortunate to have the acceptance of his family. After his sex change, he changed his name to Maria Corazon Marzo and got married.<br />
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Then the impossible happened: Maria 's terminally-ill father requested she give him a grandchild. Surprisingly, she agreed to grant her father's wish and had a sex reversal.<br />
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Now Mark again, he sought the help of Sheryl Ocampo, a friend and co-worker, who agreed to get pregnant via in vitro fertilization. In 2001, their son Andrei was born.<br />
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Currently, Mark works as an area-manager of a salon in Ortigas, and is not dating anyone as he is focused on his career. (<a href="http://www.thedailypedia.com/2014/11/man-undergoes-sex-change-goes-back-man-dying-dad/" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source</a>)<br />
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The transsexual woman who is demanding the NHS pay for a second sex change op because being a woman is too "exhausting"</div>
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A British transsexual who had a $15,000 sex change in 2007 now deems living as a female to be too “exhausting,” and wants British taxpayers to pay roughly $22,000 to undo the original procedure.<br />
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Chelsea Attonley, 30, who was born Matthew, recently told a British magazine, “I have always longed to be a woman, but no amount of surgery can give me an actual female body, and I feel like I am living a lie.”<br />
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Attonley, who has started taking testosterone, said that she must have the breast implants removed, and possibly penis reconstruction surgery. She is hoping that her bill will be taken care of by the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS).<br />
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Attonley isn't working due to the alleged stress she is under, said she would not feel bad about saddling British taxpayers with the reverse-sex change operation because she doesn't “consider it a choice,” a newspaper reported. (<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/4/uk-transsexual-expects-taxpayers-to-fund-reverse-s/" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source</a>)<br />
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The once youngest sex swap patient in Britain who wants to reverse her sex change treatment</div>
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Ria Cooper made headlines in 2011 when she became Britain's youngest sex change patient at 17, after years of begging her family and the NHS to turn her in to a girl. However, after living as a woman for less than a year, she decided to change back in to a man after suffering huge mental anguish as a woman.<br />
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She cancelled the full sex change operation that was scheduled and ceased the female hormone therapy that saw her develop breasts, saying that she found the changes overwhelming and that they made her deeply unhappy.<br />
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Born Brad, Ms. Cooper began dressing as a girl at 12, and at 15-years-old, begged doctors to help her become a woman.<br />
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Although she underwent a thorough psychological assessment and counseling at Hull Royal Infirmary prior to starting her sex change therapy, Cooper has suffered such torment living as a woman that she has tried to commit suicide twice. (<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2224753/Ria-Cooper-Britains-youngest-sex-change-patient-reverse-treatment.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source</a>) </div>
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The newsman who switched genders and wanted to switch back just after a couple of months claiming amnesia</div>
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<img alt=" The newsman who switched genders and wanted to switch back just after a couple of months claiming amnesia" border="0" class="imgl" src="http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles2/a99220_double-sex-change_4-editor-amnesia.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; max-width: 100%; padding: 8px;" /></div>
In 2013, Don Ennis, an ABC News editor, had a sex change. Three months later, the father of three decided he wanted to change back into a man.<br />
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It all started when Don Ennis showed up at work wearing a little black dress and a wig and told co-workers to call him Dawn. At the time, Ennis, a father of three, said he had an “unusual hormone imbalance” and was more comfortable living as a woman.<br />
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He also changed his Facebook picture, replacing the one of himself as male to female, and tried to address any confusion he may have caused among friends and family.<br />
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Soon after becoming Dawn, Ennis and his wife of 17 years separated, but three months later, Dawn showed up at work as Don again. He claimed that he had suffered from amnesia and accused his wife of dressing him in a wig and creating a fake ID card with the name “Dawn” on it.<br />
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The Danbury, Connecticut journalist explained that while his memories of the last 14 years had returned, his female identity did not.<br />
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A year later, Ennis returned to work as Dawn (her legal name and gender identity remained female throughout the whole ordeal) — and was, unsurprisingly, fired shortly afterward. (<a href="http://nypost.com/2014/04/24/gender-switching-abc-editor-pitches-medical-mystery-book/" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 1</a> | <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/man-who-underwent-sex-change-planning-to-change-back" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 2</a> | <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/abc-fires-exec-changed-gender-3-times-article-1.1832330" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 3</a>)<br />
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The man who became a woman only to reverse the operation 7 years later</div>
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<img alt="The man who became a woman only to reverse the operation 7 years later" border="0" class="imgl" src="http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles2/a99220_double-sex-change_5.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; max-width: 100%; padding: 8px;" /></div>
At 42-years-old, Walt Heyer was, by all accounts, a happily married man with two children. But it was then he decided to undergo gender reassignment surgery to become a woman - a decision he would later say had a "tremendous, destructive process" on his life. He reverted back to being a man just eight years later.<br />
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Now, at 74, Walt, a Los Angeles resident, claims he should never have been allowed to have the sex change in the first place. He was delighted at being a female at first, having felt trapped in the wrong body since he was five years old. But he said these feelings of elation soon gave way to much darker feelings.<br />
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Walt's genitals were removed as part of the transformation. He also received breast implants, treatment to reduce the hair on his face, and a course of estrogen hormones for as long as he remained a woman.<br />
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In the mid-1980s, Walt says he came to the realization that his desire to change genders came from deep-rooted childhood trauma - rather than a genetic disorder. He claims that his gender confusion was caused simply by his environment and family relationships. But with no safe reversal procedures at the time, it was already too late.<br />
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It was only after eight years and £20,000 spent, he once again became Walt Heyer. Now, through his website "Sex Change Regret," he acts as an unofficial counselor to those considering the same procedure. (<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2921528/The-man-s-TWO-sex-changes-Incredible-story-Walt-Laura-REVERSED-operation-believes-surgeons-quick-operate.html?ito=social-facebook" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source</a>)<br />
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The British tycoon and father of two who has been a man and a woman and a man again</div>
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Property tycoon Charles Kane is, by any standards, a very successful man. He has a multi-million-pound property portfolio, a law degree, a £250,000, 52ft motor yacht, a top-of-the-range Mercedes and a wardrobe stuffed with designer suits. And yet, he is far from happy. Despite all these attributes, which should act as a magnet to certain women, the one thing missing from his life is a lasting and fulfilling relationship. Most of his romances end abruptly after the first date after the women learn about his "secret."<br />
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Turns out that Charles is one of the few people in the UK to have undergone two sex change operations; the first to turn him into a woman and the second to turn him back into a man after he realized he'd made a horrible mistake.<br />
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Born Sam Hashimi, the divorced father-of-two had a sex change in 1997 to turn him into glamorous blonde Samantha Kane. Then, in 2004, after seven years living as a woman, he decided he wanted to be a man after all. He is now in the unique position of knowing what it is like to be both a woman and a man, and he has reached the conclusion that it is much better being a man - even with the current disadvantages.<br />
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Having decided he was not a true transsexual, but had been "confused" after the break-up of his 12-year marriage, Charles had his breast implants removed and underwent three private operations after being referred by the gender clinic at London's Charing Cross Hospital to reconstruct his male genitalia, using skin grafts from his stomach.<br />
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Charles now believes he suffered a complete mental breakdown, during which he started to question everything, including his sexuality. (<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1026392/A-British-tycoon-father-man-woman---man---knows-hed-be.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source</a>)<br />
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The former transgendered NFL cheerleader who decided to go back to being a man</div>
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In 2013, Texas native Philip Porter decided to transition back to his birth sex (male) after living for 32 years as a transgender woman.<br />
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Growing up in the 1970s, Porter faced skepticism and disdain from doctors and psychologists when he first showed his desired to become a woman. "Back then -- this was the '70s, we did not have Google, we did not have Internet -- it was very difficult to find, you know, a professional doctor or psychologist who could hear my story."<br />
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Finally, he met a doctor in Dallas, Texas who helped him. "I was in his office the next day, an endocrinologist office the day after that, and just began my life living as a female. And did that very successfully and very happily for 32 years -- I was an NFL cheerleader and I was a topless dancer for many years."<br />
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But 32 years into his life as Phoebe, Porter began to consider living as a male. So, in 2009, he stopped taking hormones and started the journey to live once again as a man. (<a href="http://www.inlander.com/spokane/life-in-transition/Content?oid=2137492" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 1</a> | <a href="https://philipsdetransition.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 2</a> | <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/transgender-nfl-cheerleader_n_3728301.html?ir=Gay+Voices" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 3</a>)<br />
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The sports writer who went from being a male to woman and back to male before killing himself</div>
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<img alt="The sports writer who went from being a male to woman and back to male before killing himself" border="0" class="imgl" src="http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles2/a99220_double-sex-change_8.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; max-width: 100%; padding: 8px;" /></div>
In late April 2007, sports writer Mike Penner published an article unlike any of the thousands he had written for the Los Angeles Times. Under the headline "Old Mike, new Christine," Penner explained that he would soon assume a female identity and byline.<br />
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Gone was quiet, circumspect Mike Penner, replaced by ebullient, outgoing -- and instantly famous -- Christine Daniels. Celebrity meant a megaphone, and Daniels vowed to use it as an advocate. She told her story at transsexual conferences across the country, becoming a symbol of courage to a transgender community inspired by the most visible coming-out in decades.<br />
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A year after the essay, the Daniels byline vanished from the newspaper, and within months Penner was back at work, living as a man and writing under his male name. Once so vocal about the reasons for becoming Christine, Penner was silent about the reasons for abandoning the identity.<br />
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One year after that, he killed himself. His suicide is believed to be based on issues not addressed during transition that were compounded after the choice to detransition. (<a href="http://wiki.susans.org/index.php/Detransitioning" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 1</a> | <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/27/local/la-me-sportswriter27-2010mar27" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Source 2</a> |<a href="http://www.gq.com/news-politics/mens-lives/201006/mike-penner-sportswriter-christine-daniels" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Photo</a>)<br />
<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.oddee.com/item_99220.aspx">Source</a></span></div>
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Transgenderism: A Pathogenic Meme</h2>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by</em> <span class="fn" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Paul McHugh</span></div>
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<span style="color: #608ec4; font-size: 18.6667px; line-height: normal;">The idea that one’s sex is a feeling, not a fact, has permeated our culture and is leaving casualties in its wake. Gender dysphoria should be treated with psychotherapy, not surgery.</span></div>
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For forty years as the University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School—twenty-six of which were also spent as Psychiatrist in Chief of Johns Hopkins Hospital—I’ve been studying people who claim to be transgender. Over that time, I’ve watched the phenomenon change and expand in remarkable ways.</div>
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A rare issue of a few men—both homosexual and heterosexual men, including some who sought sex-change surgery because they were erotically aroused by the thought or image of themselves as women—has spread to include women as well as men. Even young boys and girls have begun to present themselves as of the opposite sex. Over the last ten or fifteen years, this phenomenon has increased in prevalence, seemingly exponentially. Now, almost everyone has heard of or met such a person.</div>
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Publicity, especially from early examples such as “Christine” Jorgenson, “Jan” Morris, and “Renee” Richards, has promoted the idea that one’s biological sex is a choice, leading to widespread cultural acceptance of the concept. And, that idea, quickly accepted in the 1980s, has since run through the American public like a revelation or “meme” affecting much of our thought about sex.</div>
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The champions of this meme, encouraged by their alliance with the broader LGBT movement, claim that whether you are a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, is more of a disposition or feeling about yourself than a fact of nature. And, much like any other feeling, it can change at any time, and for all sorts of reasons. Therefore, no one could predict who would swap this fact of their makeup, nor could one justifiably criticize such a decision.</div>
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At Johns Hopkins, after pioneering sex-change surgery, we demonstrated that the practice brought no important benefits. As a result, we stopped offering that form of treatment in the 1970s. Our efforts, though, had little influence on the emergence of this new idea about sex, or upon the expansion of the number of “transgendered” among young and old.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Olympic Athlete Turned "Pin-Up" Girl</span></div>
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This history may clarify some aspects of the latest high-profile transgender claimant. Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion, is turning away from his titular identity as one of the “world’s greatest male athletes.” Jenner announced recently that he “identifies as a woman” and, with medical and surgical help, is busy reconstructing his physique.</div>
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I have not met or examined Jenner, but his behavior resembles that of some of the transgender males we have studied over the years. These men wanted to display themselves in sexy ways, wearing provocative female garb. More often than not, while claiming to be a woman in a man’s body, they declared themselves to be “lesbians” (attracted to other women). The photograph of the posed, corseted, breast-boosted Bruce Jenner (a man in his mid-sixties, but flaunting himself as if a “pin-up” girl in her twenties or thirties) on <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/caitlyn-jenner-bruce-cover-annie-leibovitz" style="border: 0px; color: #608ec4; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="the cover of Vanity Fair">the cover of <em style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vanity Fair</em></a> suggests that he may fit the behavioral mold that Ray Blanchard has dubbed an expression of “autogynephilia”—from gynephilia (attracted to women) and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">auto</em> (in the form of oneself).</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Emperor’s New Clothes</span></div>
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But the meme—that your sex is a feeling, not a biological fact, and can change at any time—marches on through our society. In a way, it’s reminiscent of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Emperor’s New Clothes</em>. In that tale, the Emperor, believing that he wore an outfit of special beauty imperceptible to the rude or uncultured, paraded naked through his town to the huzzahs of courtiers and citizens anxious about their reputations. Many onlookers to the contemporary transgender parade, knowing that a disfavored opinion is worse than bad taste today, similarly fear to identify it as a misapprehension.</div>
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I am ever trying to be the boy among the bystanders who points to what’s real. I do so not only because truth matters, but also because overlooked amid the hoopla—enhanced now by Bruce Jenner’s celebrity and Annie Leibovitz’s photography—stand many victims. Think, for example, of the parents whom no one—not doctors, schools, nor even churches—will help to rescue their children from these strange notions of being transgendered and the problematic lives these notions herald. These youngsters now far outnumber the Bruce Jenner type of transgender. Although they may be encouraged by his public reception, these children generally come to their ideas about their sex not through erotic interests but through a variety of youthful psychosocial conflicts and concerns.</div>
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First, though, let us address the basic assumption of the contemporary parade: the idea that exchange of one’s sex is possible. It, like the storied Emperor, is starkly, nakedly false. Transgendered men do not become women, nor do transgendered women become men. All (including Bruce Jenner) become feminized men or masculinized women, counterfeits or impersonators of the sex with which they “identify.” In that lies their problematic future.</div>
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When “the tumult and shouting dies,” it proves not easy nor wise to live in a counterfeit sexual garb. The <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885" style="border: 0px; color: #608ec4; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="most thorough follow-up of sex-reassigned people">most thorough follow-up of sex-reassigned people</a>—extending over thirty years and conducted in Sweden, where the culture is strongly supportive of the transgendered—documents their lifelong mental unrest. Ten to fifteen years after surgical reassignment, the suicide rate of those who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery rose to twenty times that of comparable peers.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How to Treat Gender Dysphoria</span></div>
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So how should we make sense of this matter today? As with any mental phenomenon, what’s crucial is noting its fundamental characteristic and then identifying the many ways in which that characteristic can manifest itself.</div>
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The central issue with all transgender subjects is one of assumption—the assumption that one’s sexual nature is misaligned with one’s biological sex. This problematic assumption comes about in several different ways, and these distinctions in its generation determine how to manage and treat it.</div>
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Based on the photographic evidence one might guess Bruce Jenner falls into the group of men who come to their disordered assumption through being sexually aroused by the image of themselves as women. He could have been treated for this misaligned arousal with psychotherapy and medication. Instead, he found his way to surgeons who worked him over as he wished. Others have already commented on his stereotypic caricature of women as decorative “babes” (“I look forward to wearing nail polish until it chips off,” he said to Diane Sawyer)—a view that understandably infuriates feminists—and his odd sense that only feelings, not facts, matter here.</div>
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For his sake, however, I do hope that he receives regular, attentive follow-up care, as his psychological serenity in the future is doubtful. Future men with similar feelings and intentions should be treated for those feelings rather than being encouraged to undergo bodily changes. Group therapies are now available for them.</div>
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Most young boys and girls who come seeking sex-reassignment are utterly different from Jenner. They have no erotic interest driving their quest. Rather, they come with psychosocial issues—conflicts over the prospects, expectations, and roles that they sense are attached to their given sex—and presume that sex-reassignment will ease or resolve them.</div>
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The grim fact is that most of these youngsters do not find therapists willing to assess and guide them in ways that permit them to work out their conflicts and correct their assumptions. Rather, they and their families find only “gender counselors” who encourage them in their sexual misassumptions.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Those with Gender Dysphoria Need Evidence-Based Care</span></div>
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There are several reasons for this absence of coherence in our mental health system. Important among them is the fact that both the state and federal governments are actively seeking to block any treatments that can be construed as challenging the assumptions and choices of transgendered youngsters. “As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors,” said <a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/enact-leelahs-law-ban-all-lgbtq-conversion-therapy" style="border: 0px; color: #608ec4; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Valerie Jarrett">Valerie Jarrett</a>, a senior advisor to President Obama.</div>
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In <a href="http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/11/11181/" style="border: 0px; color: #608ec4; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="two states">two states</a>, a doctor who would look into the psychological history of a transgendered boy or girl in search of a resolvable conflict could lose his or her license to practice medicine. By contrast, such a physician would not be penalized if he or she started such a patient on hormones that would block puberty and might stunt growth.</div>
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What is needed now is public clamor for coherent science—biological and therapeutic science—examining the real effects of these efforts to “support” transgendering. Although much is made of a rare “intersex” individual, no evidence supports the claim that people such as Bruce Jenner have a biological source for their transgender assumptions. Plenty of evidence demonstrates that with him and most others, transgendering is a psychological rather than a biological matter.</div>
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In fact, gender dysphoria—the official psychiatric term for feeling oneself to be of the opposite sex—belongs in the family of similarly disordered assumptions about the body, such as anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder. Its treatment should not be directed at the body as with surgery and hormones any more than one treats obesity-fearing anorexic patients with liposuction. The treatment should strive to correct the false, problematic nature of the assumption and to resolve the psychosocial conflicts provoking it. With youngsters, this is best done in family therapy.</div>
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The larger issue is the meme itself. The idea that one’s sex is fluid and a matter open to choice runs unquestioned through our culture and is reflected everywhere in the media, the theater, the classroom, and in many medical clinics. It has taken on cult-like features: its own special lingo, internet chat rooms providing slick answers to new recruits, and clubs for easy access to dresses and styles supporting the sex change. It is doing much damage to families, adolescents, and children and should be confronted as an opinion without biological foundation wherever it emerges.</div>
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But gird your loins if you would confront this matter. Hell hath no fury like a vested interest masquerading as a moral principle.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Paul McHugh, MD, is </em><em style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School and the former psychiatrist in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is the author of </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Has-Mountains-Reflections-Psychiatry/dp/0801882494/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433878077&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Mind+Has+Mountains%3A+Reflections+on+Society+and+Psychiatry" style="border: 0px; color: #608ec4; font-family: 'Crimson Text', Georgia, serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="The Mind Has Mountains: Reflections on Society and Psychiatry">The Mind Has Mountains: Reflections on Society and Psychiatry</a>.</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/06/15145/">Source: </a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 28px;">Comparing the transgender agenda to racial equality seems to be a favorite among leftists. This argument, however,</span><a href="http://thefederalist.com/2015/06/12/if-rachel-dolezal-isnt-black-how-is-caitlyn-jenner-a-woman/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #ea370b; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> just doesn’t make sense</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 28px;">, because race is a social construct while sex is a biological one. For decades, civil rights advocates fought against the notion that blacks and whites were genetically distinct.</span><br />
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Everyone’s chromosomes are literally stamped with his or her sex. Female chromosomes contain two X’s and male chromosomes contain an XY, whereas there is no biological equivalent to dictate who is black and who is white, as much of the definition is <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/what-we-mean-when-we-say-race-is-a-social-construct/275872/" style="border: 0px; color: #ea370b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">dependent upon cultural context.</a></div>
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While race is clearly a social construct, sex is not. Sex is clearly biological, which is why bathrooms are designed to cater to and protect people based on their distinct biological needs. This is why women’s bathroom’s do not contain urinals (and it’s also why lines to the men’s room at large venues like stadiums or concert halls are always so much shorter than those to the women’s bathroom).</div>
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Wanting to <a href="http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/26/predator-who-claimed-to-be-transgender-declared-dangerous-offender" style="border: 0px; color: #ea370b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">prevent grown men from using the little girls’ room</a> doesn’t make you a bigot, and wanting to force young girls to shower in a locker room with men who pretend to be women doesn’t make you Martin Luther King, Jr:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 28.5px;">Watch Jesse Lee Peterson debate black lesbian activist regarding same-sex marriage and transgender bathroom laws:</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 28.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="watch-title" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Black Lesbian Activist Debates LGBT Issues, Claims Dialogue Was 'Personally Damaging' (Episode #12)">Black Lesbian Activist Debates LGBT Issues, Claims Dialogue Was 'Personally Damaging' </span></h1>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-58809993846274476222015-11-06T13:12:00.000-08:002015-11-06T13:12:27.482-08:00‘Iron Sharpens Iron’ groups face backlash thanks to ISIS<div style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 18px;">
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DAYTON, Ohio — Trinity Church member John Kelly was surprised to arrive at work Monday and see an email from his boss saying “Come into my office.”</div>
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“He sat me down and said, ‘I knew you were religious, but what’s with supporting ISIS?’” Kelly says.</div>
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Kelly has led an Iron Sharpens Iron (ISI) group Fridays at lunchtime for eight years at the plastics company where he works. But a co-worker took his most recent flyer from the break room and reported it, thinking Kelly was supporting the northern Iraq-based terrorist group, ISIS.</div>
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“I tried to explain that we’re about iron sharpening iron,” Kelly said. “That only made it worse.”</div>
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ISI groups around the country are facing new suspicions as the Iraqi terrorist group with similar initials commits atrocities widely seen on the Internet.</div>
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In North Carolina, ISI Bible study leader Dewayne Lovett sent out an email inviting people to join his group and immediately heard back from guys saying, “What do you all do, kill journalists?” It didn’t help that one of the people on the email is a former Muslim named Mohammed Al Akbar.</div>
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“I like the name ‘Iron Sharpens Iron’ ‘cause it sounds masculine but I guess it’s freaking people out,” says Lovett. “I wonder if I’ll hear from the NSA next.”</div>
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In Spokane, where Jerry Nuell leads an ISI group at a coffee shop on Tuesday mornings, some patrons objected to the ISI logo on his Bible study binder.</div>
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“One lady thought I was starting a domestic arm of ISIS and no amount of explanation would appease her,” Nuell says. “She pointed her finger at me and said, ‘I always knew you religious radicals would team up — all you Muslims, evangelical Christians and homeschoolers.’”</div>
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Nuell’s church is considering changing their ISI groups’ names to “Man Up” for the time being.</div>
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“For guys who aren’t sure about studying the Bible anyway, the fact that ISI is one letter away from a crazy terrorist organization doesn’t help,” Nuell’s pastor, Gary Whittaker, says. “We’d rather keep the door open.”</div>
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Kelly, who leads the ISI group at work, was allowed to keep his Bible study but is having to do “a little damage control,” he says. “We try to explain to people that we’re not about violence or cutting people’s heads off. We sit around, eat pizza and discuss the book of Proverbs.” </div>
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<a href="http://www.larknews.com/archives/5756">Source: </a></div>
noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-7300087943484901232015-10-31T14:34:00.000-07:002015-10-31T17:25:03.490-07:00Apostate Church Now Hosting Drag Queen Gospel Festival Insisting God Is a Woman <h1 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.875em; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Apostate Church Now Hosting Drag Queen Gospel Festival Insisting God Is a Woman</h1>
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Yes, this even shocked me.</div>
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First Church Somerville United Church of Christ has issued a public service announcement from its "drag-queen-in-residence." (Yes, I just wrote the words "drag queen" and "church" in the same sentence and it doesn't have to do with a powerful testimony of deliverance from darkness.)</div>
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James Adams, also known as Serenity Jones, begins his public service announcement declaring a bit of truth—God is good all the time—followed by a blasphemous lie that God is a "diva" and a "girl." In true Pentecostal preacher style, asks "Can I get a witness up in here!? Can I get an amen my sistahs and my brothahs!?"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">Friday, Oct. 16 marked the beginning of the fifth annual Drag Gospel Festival, a weekend sponsored by First Church Somerville, Old South Church and The Imperial Court of Massachusetts emphasizing the United Church of Christ’s acceptance of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Over 100 guests packed into the backroom stage of Club Café in the South End for a drag show hosted by New York-based drag queen Sapphira Cristal.</span></td></tr>
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Um ... no. No, you can't.</div>
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The twisted "public service announcement" goes on to say the church will become "Fierce Church Somerville" for two days in October and will see congregants worship, praise and use their God-given musical and artistic talent, creativity and fashion.</div>
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"What do drag queens or drag kings have to do with Jesus or the gospel? We at FCS believe 'God don't make no junk,'" Jones writes. "So whether you are straight, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered or still playing hard to get, Jesus loves you and so do we! Amen, baby! So come and get yours at this here church!"</div>
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This so-called Drag Gospel event is the brainchild of Adams. According to the First Church Somerville website, Drag Gospel first launched in 2011 and is now an annual event.</div>
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"It is our way of demonstrating the radical welcome that we believe Jesus offered to all kinds of people—especially people exiled to the margins just for being the people God made them to be: queer or straight or a little bit of each, male or female or a little bit of each," Adams writes, emerging from his "Serenity" persona.</div>
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The Drag Gospel kicks off with a benefit concert and drag show to raise funds for the LGBT Asylum Task Force. Jones himself will perform at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/firstchurchsomerville/videos/vb.76794009581/10153316335949582/?type=2&theater">Club Cafe</a>, along with other area drag queens and kings.</div>
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The main event, though, takes place during Sunday morning worship. Yes, we've moved from the club to the church with this perversion, which features Jones in full drag attire as the liturgist for the day.</div>
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Apparently, his "pastors"—sometimes also known to appear in drag—will join him in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with a "distinctly loving message for LGBTQ-add-your-letter-here." An after party promises "kids running around in feather boas, straight men in skirts, people who never thought they'd be in a church basement hollering Hallelujahs!"<br />
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In March, I released a prophetic word about a tsunami of perversion rising. This is one wave of the rising tide and it's crashing to shore. Jones is right that God is good. Jones is right that Jesus offered a welcome to all kinds of people—especially people exiled to the margins. But he's wrong that Jesus sanctioned a soulish state that would leave them separated from Father forever. God is love, and love does not condone perversion.</div>
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We're seeing the rapid rise of perversion even now but I believe this is just the beginning. We'll see the rise of false prophets who deceive many because, Jesus said, of the increase of wickedness (see Matt. 24:12). The mystery of lawlessness was working in Paul's day (see 2 Thess. 2:7) and that mystery is revealing the depth of its wicked plot in our day.</div>
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While this perversion grieves me, with every story about throuples, bestiality, and the like, I know we are getting closer to a Great Awakening. I know this because, as I've written before, the Holy Spirit told me in 2007 that things would grow darker in this nation before His light shines brightly again.</div>
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I believe things are on a course to grow very dark very rapidly. But I also believe in the power of prayer and faith-inspired action. I also believe in the power of preaching the gospel. I also believe God wants to bring transforming revival—a Third Great Awakening—to this nation.</div>
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It's up to us to stand in the gap. It's up to us to make up the hedge. It's up to us to weep between the porch and the altar. It's up to us to pray without ceasing. It's up to us to decree and declare God's will on the earth. It's up to us to speak the truth in love. It's up to us to take the gospel to our city. Yes, I believe it will grow darker and the perversion will rise, but I believe the glory of the Lord will rise and shine upon us again if we are faithful to obey His commands.</div>
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"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord shall rise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. The nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Is. 60:1-3). Amen.<img alt="" class="EoA_torch" src="http://cdn.charismanews.com/plugins/content/cm_endofarticlemessages/torch1.png" height="15" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 7px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="14" /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.0015px; line-height: 24.0024px;"><a href="http://huntnewsnu.com/2015/10/drag-gospel-festival-embraces-every-identity-supports-lgbt-refugees/"><b>Drag Gospel Festival embraces every identity, supports LGBT refugees</b></a></span></span><br />
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Why Every Church Needs a Drag Queen</h1>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">By</span> <span style="font-size: 0.72222rem; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase;">EMMA GREEN</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5555px; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase;"><b>A tattooed, profanity-loving Lutheran pastor believes young people are drawn to Jesus, tradition, and brokenness.</b></span></div>
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“When Christians really critique me
for using salty language, I <i>literally</i> don’t give a shit.”</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is what it’s like to talk to
Nadia Bolz-Weber, the tattooed Lutheran pastor, former addict, and head of a
Denver church that’s 250 members strong. She’s frank and charming, and yes, she
tends to cuss—colorful words pepper her new book, <i>Accidental Saints.</i> But
she also doesn’t put a lot of stock in her own schtick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Oh, here’s this tattooed pastor who
is a recovering alcoholic who used to be a stand-up comic—that’s interesting
for like five minutes,” she said. “The fact that people want to hear from
me—that, I really feel, has less to do with me and more to do with a Zeitgeist
issue.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">America’s church-y “Zeitgeist
issues” are many, including the alleged decline of religion; the seeming lacklusterness of mainline
Protestantism; and the backlash against religious institutions that have
themselves sinned, against children or LGBT folks or those who gave their money to support ministry. But
Bolz-Weber was referring to something simpler, and more pervasive—to use her
word, “bullshit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I have this hunch that people
really find Jesus compelling, and they see what Christianity really could be.
But what they see instead, so often, is an institution that tries to protect
itself and promote itself,” she said. “I think they want to have a place where
they can speak the actual truth about themselves in the world and they don’t
have to pretend.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a performative pastor, Bolz-Weber
might seem New Age, but her ministry is actually focused on something old
school: sin. It’s a somewhat surprising bent for a mainline pastor—and a
thought-provoking model for churches that have been bleeding young people for
more than a decade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Sometimes I can be an asshole, but
it’s almost as though I can hear Jesus saying”—here, Bolz-Weber cleared her
throat a little and moved her voice one half-step lower, perhaps trying to
imitate bro-Jesus—“‘uh, that’s okay, it’s not that I, like, love you and claim
you despite that. I love you and claim you because of that.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Perfectionism is deeply embedded in
American Christianity. The Puritans performed piety in hopes of being part of God’s chosen elect, and their efforts were
followed by three centuries of purity balls and pushes for temperance<span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span>and church culture that revels in polish. At the church she
planted in 2008, The House for All Sinners and Saints, Bolz-Weber has upended
many stereotypes about Christianity; the church is open to gays and lesbians
and atheists alike. But she’s especially committed to defying the assumption
that church is for people who have it together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We have this socially progressive
church, all these queer people, everyone’s welcome,” she said. “And you know
what we have in our liturgy every Sunday? Confession and absolution. Let us
confess that God is God and we are not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cast of real-life sinners she
describes in her book are diverse: the Sandy Hook shooter, kids who committed
suicide, a grieving pastor who drank a little too much and accidentally killed
a woman with his car. These are the sins of life and death; it’s easy to look
at people like this and feel judgmental. But Bolz-Weber counts herself among
them; her sins are of a different scale, but she names them with equal parts
relish and remorse. In her theology, just as Adam Lanza needs forgiveness, so
does she.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I don’t want to be in bondage to
the fact that I can be an asshole,” she said. “So for me, the best path toward
some sort of freedom from being absolutely bound to it is to admit that I need
grace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If you don’t have a drag queen in your congregation, you
should get one.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In no sense has Bolz-Weber claimed
to reinvent Christianity, magically discovering the secret of sin and
forgiveness that’s preached endlessly in the Bible. For her, it’s more that
this idea is often obscured in delivery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There’s a cultural wrapping around
a lot of mainline Protestantism where the church has confused the gifts and the
wrapping,” she said. “The sort of slight formality and nicey-nice chit-chat and
dressing up a little and not going too deep, but just being nice, good people
who do some volunteer hours.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even though she’s part of a
progressive, mainline Lutheran denomination, with this particular jab,
Bolz-Weber sounds a lot like many American conservatives and evangelicals.
Mainline Protestantism is dying, it’s sometimes said, for exactly this reason: It’s Christian
identity, not Christian theology. But both mainline and evangelical traditions
have reason to worry about losing Millennials, she said. Young people are
“either passively consuming a mediocre rock concert”—as in the amphitheater environs of most American
megachurches—“or passively consuming a formal liturgy, instead of being a
community of creators.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her solution is a combination of new
and old. She encourages active member participation in church services and the
creation of new rituals, like baking cookies in honor of saints. She’s also
deeply invested in tradition, using a liturgy she says is orthodox. It’s an
unusual mix: a stated commitment to socially progressive values, and a stated
commitment to tradition. But perhaps this misconception—that progressive values
and traditional worship can’t mix—is one reason why some Americans have felt like they don’t have a place at
church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“For the population I serve, I sense
that there’s a lot of chaos in people’s lives,” Bolz-Weber said. “The liturgy
runs so deep, and is so unchanging ... that it’s a comfort to have that one
thing that’s regular and predictable every Sunday in their lives. It’s language
that generations of the faithful have worn smooth through their own prayer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lyon Display', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 36px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 38.0002px;">“On the front, it’ll say: ‘This shit ain’t free.’ And on the back, it’ll say: ‘You better tithe, bitches.’”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It may also be that this act of
church reinvention is necessary because of the sins of churches past.
Bolz-Weber says most of the people she serves are people who have fallen away
from Christianity for one reason or another; for example, roughly a third of
her congregation is gay, lesbian, or transgender. But there are joys to be
found in recovering lost souls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If you don’t have a drag queen in
your congregation, you should get one,” Bolz-Weber said. One such man in her
congregation was working with her on soliciting donations, she said, “And he
goes, ‘Well we should make a T-shirt.’ And he goes, ‘On the front, it’ll say: <i>This
shit ain’t free</i>. And on the back, it’ll say: <i>You better tithe,
bitches.</i>’ Oh my God, it just makes church better.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ultimately, that’s what Bolz-Weber
is trying to do: make church better, with the caveat that church is a place for
humans, and humans are sinful. As the drag queen from Bolz-Weber’s church might
say: <i>You better repent, bitches.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">_________________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<a href="https://menashedovid1.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/leaven-a-la-carmen-welker/"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFV0uQomv16zeSip8BgRNN-SLx7WEV5PHVqtXkzRx8PugiS7xUYNY-UL_FXgSe_1HraZve7NTAUoiqtiu5slXU1NgZT8LNhD30ozQ_LjYd8eNdZqXcoP2-a1Zb3kJwxYoqClkpbheiIc/s200/carmen_welker.png" width="161" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">Sources: </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/watchman-on-the-wall/52915-apostate-church-now-hosting-drag-queen-gospel-festival-insisting-god-is-a-woman">1. http://www.charismanews.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/bringing-sin-back-into-church/402391/">2: http://www.theatlantic.com</a></span><br />
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3: Special thanks to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/917825484944839/">Carmen Welker</a> of Refiners Fire Reality Check, <a href="http://www.alaskathunderfuck.com/">Alaska Thunderfuck</a> and <a href="http://www.firstchurchsomerville.org/beloved-community/drag-gospel-festival/">Serenity Jones</a>. Happy Halloween Girls<br />
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4: <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/christianzamora/fierce-drag-queen-transformations-thatll-blow-your-wig-of#.wwR7J92WE">http://www.buzzfeed.com/christianzamora/fierce-drag-queen-transformations-thatll-blow-your-wig-of#.wwR7J92WE</a></div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-40776969034370509772015-10-22T19:58:00.000-07:002015-10-22T20:05:26.798-07:00TBN Family Battle Offers Look Inside Lavish TV Ministry<br />
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Family Battle Offers Look Inside Lavish TV Ministry</h1>
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<span class="byline" itemid="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/e/erik_eckholm/index.html" itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 0.6875rem; font-weight: 700; line-height: 0.75rem;">By <span class="byline-author" data-byline-name="ERIK ECKHOLM" data-twitter-handle="eckholm" itemprop="name">ERIK ECKHOLM</span></span></div>
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<img alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-caption="The Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla., is part of the Trinity Broadcasting Network&#8217;s operations." data-mediaviewer-credit="Brian Blanco for The New York Times" data-mediaviewer-src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/TBN/TBN-superJumbo.jpg" src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/TBN/TBN-articleLarge.jpg" itemid="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/TBN/TBN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 675px;" /><br />
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<figcaption class="caption" itemprop="caption description" style="bottom: 23px; color: #666666; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; position: static; right: 0px; width: auto;"><span class="caption-text">The Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla., is part of the Trinity Broadcasting Network’s operations.</span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder" style="color: #999999; display: inline-block; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 1rem;"><span class="visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Credit</span>Brian Blanco for The New York Times</span></figcaption></figure></div>
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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — For 39 years, the <a href="http://www.tbn.org/" style="color: #326891;">Trinity Broadcasting Network</a> has urged viewers to give generously and reap the Lord’s bounty in return.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.4375rem;">The prosperity gospel preached by Paul and Janice Crouch, who built a single station into the world’s largest Christian television network, has worked out well for them.</span></div>
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Mr. and Mrs. Crouch have his-and-her mansions one street apart in a gated community here, provided by the network using viewer donations and tax-free earnings. But Mrs. Crouch, 74, rarely sleeps in the $5.6 million house with tennis court and pool. She mostly lives in a large company house near Orlando, Fla., where she runs a side business, the<a href="http://www.holylandexperience.com/" style="color: #326891;"> Holy Land Experience</a>theme park. Mr. Crouch, 78, has an adjacent home there too, but rarely visits. Its occupant is often a security guard who doubles as Mrs. Crouch’s chauffeur.</div>
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The twin sets of luxury homes only hint at the high living enjoyed by the Crouches, inspirational television personalities whose multitudes of stations and satellite signals reach millions of worshipers across the globe. Almost since they started in the 1970s, the couple have been criticized for secrecy about their use of donations, which totaled $93 million in 2010.</div>
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<img alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-caption="<strong>A SIDE BUSINESS </strong> The theme park is run by Janice Crouch, a TBN&#160; founder." data-mediaviewer-credit="Brian Blanco for The New York Times" data-mediaviewer-src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/JP-TBN-1/JP-TBN-1-superJumbo.jpg" src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/JP-TBN-1/JP-TBN-1-popup.jpg" itemid="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/JP-TBN-1/JP-TBN-1-popup.jpg" itemprop="url" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 540px;" /><br />
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<figcaption class="caption" itemprop="caption description" style="bottom: 23px; color: #666666; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; right: 0px; width: auto;"><span class="caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 700;">A SIDE BUSINESS </span>The theme park is run by Janice Crouch, a TBN founder.</span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder" style="color: #999999; display: inline-block; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 1rem;"><span class="visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Credit</span>Brian Blanco for The New York Times</span></figcaption></figure><br />
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Now, after an upheaval with Shakespearean echoes, one son in this first family of televangelism has ousted the other to become the heir apparent. A granddaughter, who was in charge of TBN’s finances, has gone public with the most detailed allegations of financial improprieties yet, which TBN has denied, saying its practices were audited and legal.</div>
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The granddaughter, Brittany Koper, and her husband have been fired by the network, which <a href="http://tbnnewswire.com/blog/tbn-responds-to-articles-allegations-concerning-network-finances/" style="color: #326891;" title="TBN statement">accused them</a> of stealing $1.3 million to buy real estate and cars and make family loans. “They’re just trying to divert attention from their own crimes,” said Colby May, a lawyer representing TBN. Janice and Paul Crouch declined requests for interviews.</div>
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In two pending lawsuits and in her first public interview, Ms. Koper described company-paid luxuries that she said appeared to violate the Internal Revenue Service’s ban on “excess compensation” by nonprofit organizations as well as possibly state and federal laws on false bookkeeping and self-dealing.</div>
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The lavish perquisites, corroborated by two other former TBN employees, include additional, often-vacant homes in Texas and on the <a href="http://trinitymusiccity.com/" style="color: #326891;">former Conway Twitty estate in Tennessee</a>, corporate jets valued at $8 million and $49 million each and thousand-dollar dinners with fine wines, paid with tax-exempt money.</div>
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In the lawsuits and interviews, Ms. Koper, 26, also charges that TBN has spent millions of dollars in sweetheart deals with a commercial film company owned until recently by a son of the Crouches, Matthew, including poorly monitored investments made after he joined the TBN board in 2007.</div>
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“My job as finance director was to find ways to label extravagant personal spending as ministry expenses,” Ms. Koper said. This is one way, she said, the company avoids probing questions from the I.R.S. She said that the absence of outsiders on TBN’s governing board — currently consisting of Paul, Janice and Matthew Crouch — had led to a serious lack of accountability for spending.</div>
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Ms. Koper and the two other former TBN employees also said that dozens of staff members, including Ms. Koper, chauffeurs, sound engineers and others had been ordained as ministers by TBN. This allowed the network to avoid paying Social Security taxes on their salaries and made it easier to justify providing family members with rent-free houses, sometimes called “parsonages,” she said.</div>
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The company did not always succeed. Last year, officials in Orange County, Fla., turned down TBN’s application to register the adjacent lakefront houses in Windermere as parsonages, saying they served no religious purpose, <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-holy-land-lawsuit-orlando-20120419,0,4823344.story" style="color: #326891;" title="The Sentinel article">The Orlando Sentinel reported</a>. The designation would have resulted in religious exemptions and saved TBN roughly $50,000 in taxes a year.</div>
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Ms. Koper said that the company run by Matthew Crouch, 50, who is her uncle, had received an estimated $50 million in TBN money over the years, with little oversight, to finance religious film projects and television shows. TBN recouped only a small fraction of its loans and investments, sometimes forgiving large sums in return for broadcast rights of limited value, she said.</div>
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<img alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-caption="<strong>MAJOR ROLE </strong> A souvenir of a park actor depicting Jesus. Performers are said to be ministers playing roles." data-mediaviewer-credit="Brian Blanco for The New York Times" data-mediaviewer-src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/JP-TBN-3/JP-TBN-3-superJumbo.jpg" src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/JP-TBN-3/JP-TBN-3-popup.jpg" itemid="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/05/05/us/JP-TBN-3/JP-TBN-3-popup.jpg" itemprop="url" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 540px;" /><br />
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<figcaption class="caption" itemprop="caption description" style="bottom: 23px; color: #666666; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; right: 0px; width: auto;"><span class="caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 700;">MAJOR ROLE </span>A souvenir of a park actor depicting Jesus. Performers are said to be ministers playing roles.</span> <span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder" style="color: #999999; display: inline-block; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 1rem;"><span class="visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Credit</span>Brian Blanco for The New York Times</span></figcaption></figure><br />
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She also questioned the justification for providing rent-free houses for Matthew, now a TBN vice president, and his wife, Laurie, and separate houses for their young-adult sons in Costa Mesa, Calif., including one that Ms. Koper said was remodeled at company expense with wall-mounted Transformer robot figures costing several thousand dollars, a putting green and an indoor basketball court.</div>
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Ms. Koper and her husband, Michael Koper, 28, who formerly managed sales of TBN airtime, said they were fired last September after writing memorandums to the elder Mr. Crouch about questionable spending. They showed a reporter for The New York Times what they said were copies of the memos.</div>
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“People have been conned by my grandparents,” Ms. Koper said.</div>
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But TBN said the pair made their charges only after the company confronted them with evidence of embezzlement. TBN later filed and then dropped a civil lawsuit accusing the Kopers of fraud, and this week filed a new suit in a California court, repeating only a few of the original allegations. No criminal charges against the Kopers have been filed.</div>
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Mr. May, the lawyer, offered a broad defense of TBN and the Crouches. He said that TBN had indeed ordained hundreds of people who felt a true “ministerial call” and that performers at Holy Land Experience, for example, were “ministers playing roles.”</div>
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He said that all contracts with the film company that Matthew Crouch led until mid-2010, <a href="http://8x.com/" style="color: #326891;">Gener8Xion Entertainment</a>, had been at “arm’s length” and provided good value to TBN.</div>
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Mr. May added that TBN owned so many homes because traveling employees and guests used them. He said that the remodeled house, in the Lifestyles complex in Costa Mesa, was not occupied, but used as a set for youth television programs, with the Transformers serving as props. Matthew Crouch, through the company spokesman, declined an interview request. But Gilbert J. Luft, president of the Lifestyles Homeowners Association in Costa Mesa, said that the sons were familiar residents and that the association does not permit filming there.</div>
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Extolling TBN’s prominence and programs, Mr. May said the spending that some call opulent “is necessary to convey the ministry’s position of accomplishment.”</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">The Gospel of Prosperity</span></div>
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<section class="vhs-metadata" style="line-height: 1; vertical-align: middle;"><span class="vhs-show-name" style="display: inline-block; font-family: nyt-karnak-display-130124; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: middle;">U.S.</span> <span class="vhs-byline" style="backface-visibility: hidden; border-left-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; display: inline-block; font-family: nyt-franklin; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; left: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 8px; max-width: calc(100% - 180px); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 8px; position: relative; text-overflow: ellipsis; top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">By Kassie Bracken</span> <span class="vhs-video-length" style="display: inline-block; font-family: nyt-franklin; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: middle;">4:26</span></section><section class="vhs-video-title" style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; margin-top: 8px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">The Gospel of Prosperity</section></div>
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On the air, the Crouches combine uplifting talk with encouragement to give to the Lord, and so be repaid. This “prosperity gospel” is shared by several televangelists who appear on TBN. But many conventional Christian leaders regard it as a sham.</div>
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“Prosperity theology is a false theology,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Between its message and its reputation for high spending, Mr. Mohler said, “TBN has been a huge embarrassment to evangelical Christianity for decades.”</div>
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While TBN said it provided tens of millions of dollars’ worth of free advertising time to conventional charities like the Salvation Army and a few million dollars in some years for aid to disaster victims, it is forthright about its overriding purpose: “to spread the Gospel to the world” through its cable systems, satellite transmitters and, now, via computers and smartphones.</div>
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Janice Crouch, called “Mama” on the air, is known for her pink-tinged wigs, which look like huge swirls of cotton candy, and for talking emotionally about the Lord’s blessings. Mr. Crouch, or “Papa,” is relentlessly upbeat as he quotes flurries of Bible verses on signature programs like “Praise the Lord.”</div>
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Clearly, many viewers have heartfelt responses. In 2010, TBN received $93 million in tax-exempt donations, according to its <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/353134-trinity-centers-2010-tax-exemption-form.html" style="color: #326891;" title="TBN’s IRS Form 990 for the year 2010">tax report</a>. The company also had $64 million in additional income from sales of airtime and $17 million in investment income that year.</div>
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It spent $194 million operating its far-flung network and investing in new programs. The company was in the red for the year, but could draw on its cushion of $325 million in cash and investments.</div>
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Rusty Leonard, an independent tax expert and the leader of <a href="http://www.ministrywatch.com/ww/flash/index2.html" style="color: #326891;">Wall Watchers</a>, a charity watchdog group that has long criticized TBN for financial secrecy, said televangelists often escape penalties for extravagant spending because the definition of taxable “excess benefits” is subjective, and authorities are reluctant to challenge religious groups.</div>
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Marcus S. Owens, a tax lawyer with Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, said that lavish spending by nonprofit organizations could raise red flags for tax officials. “The law says that any compensation must be reasonable, and the value of a house is part of that,” he said. “Dinner on the company every night could be an issue too.”</div>
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At the same time, Mr. Owens said, churches have considerable latitude under the First Amendment. Regarding the ordination of untrained workers, he said, “absent clear fraud, the government is not going to touch that.”</div>
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A Religious TV Empire</h4>
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A Religious TV Empire</h4>
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A TBN spokesman said executive salaries were recommended by independent consultants. In 2010, Mr. Crouch received $400,000 as president, Mrs. Crouch $365,000 as first vice president.</div>
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On the air, Mr. and Mrs. Crouch tell viewers that they have almost no personal assets. But that only underscores the problem, said Tymothy S. MacLeod, a lawyer for the Kopers. “It’s the tax-exempt company that is giving them this opulent lifestyle.”</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">Accounts of Extravagance</span></div>
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Relatives and former employees agreed that Paul and Janice Crouch seem to have deep spiritual feelings and believe they are doing the Lord’s work — a belief, according to a former employee, Troy Clements, that seemed to justify almost any extravagance.</div>
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Mr. Clements, a former executive at Holy Land Experience, said that when employees questioned decisions like remodeling the cafe three times in six weeks, Mrs. Crouch said, “No one has told me ‘no’ for 30 years, and you’re not going to start now.”</div>
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Mr. Clements, who was sales and then personnel director at Holy Land, said that he resigned in frustration in 2008 and that working for Mrs. Crouch had often been “surreal.”</div>
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In 2008 and 2009, as Mrs. Crouch began remodeling Holy Land Experience, she rented adjacent rooms in the deluxe Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando — one for herself and one for her two beloved Maltese dogs and clothes, according to Mr. Clements and Ms. Koper. Mrs. Crouch rented the rooms for close to two years, they said.</div>
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Ms. Crouch was seldom without her little white dogs, pushing them in a pink stroller and keeping a costly motor home, originally purchased to serve as an office, for two years as an air-conditioned sanctuary for her pets, the two former employees said.</div>
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In Newport Beach, according to Ms. Koper, the elder Mr. Crouch sometimes traveled in a chauffeured Bentley, which TBN says is used to ferry television guests in proper style.</div>
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First-class “working dinners” are a way of life. In pending lawsuits, the Kopers say that Mr. Crouch, Mrs. Crouch and their son Matthew each ran up meal expenses of at least $300,000 per year. Mr. May, the TBN lawyer, said this was not accurate but did not offer other figures.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">A Contentious Exit</span></div>
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When Brittany Koper and her husband decided to join TBN in 2007 after college, they were tempted by the generous perquisites, they admit. But they said that as Mr. Koper completed law school on the side, and Ms. Koper her M.B.A., they began to feel uneasy and moved out of their company house.</div>
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Nonetheless, they did borrow company money for their down payment on a private home and the purchase of a condominium, and gave Mr. Koper’s uncle a company loan of $65,000, among other acts that Mr. May called thefts. The Kopers said the loans were authorized in writing by the elder Mr. Crouch, with clear repayment terms.</div>
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TBN says Mr. Crouch’s signature was forged. Mr. May showed a reporter letters from the fall in which Ms. Koper apologized for lying and lending herself company money.</div>
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Ms. Koper said that she had never admitted to breaking the law. She said she was pressured by TBN lawyers to show “Christian contrition” and to hand over company property and repay their loans.</div>
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In October the Kopers moved to New York. “We just wanted a fresh start,” Ms. Koper recalled.</div>
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Her father, Paul Crouch Jr., Matthew’s older brother, was also forced off the staff and quit the board.</div>
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He declined to be interviewed, but he wrote in an e-mail, “Getting caught in the middle of disputes involving my daughter, brother and parents is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to endure.”</div>
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As lawsuits and countersuits swirl, the Kopers are living in the basement of his father’s modest house in Elmont, on Long Island.</div>
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Mr. Crouch and an assistant, Matthew and his family, and two pilots are nearing the end of a six-week world tour in the larger company jet, visiting affiliates, taping programs and scouting new territory for evangelism in Rome, Dubai, Israel, Hong Kong and Hawaii.</div>
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“Others may do things differently, and may criticize TBN for how it operates, its look, its doctrine and belief,” Mr. May said. “But what is absolutely clear is that TBN, with God’s grace, has succeeded where most others have failed.” </div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html">http://www.nytimes.com</a></div>
noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-12046519244351163452015-10-22T06:51:00.000-07:002015-10-22T06:51:17.320-07:00Televangelist Paul Crouch Leaves a Dirty Legacy; Evangelical Christians Look the Other Way<h1 class="entry-title" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">
Televangelist Paul Crouch Leaves a Dirty Legacy; Evangelical Christians Look the Other Way</h1>
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<em><strong>[Note: Hemant and I both felt inspired to write a little remembrance of Paul Crouch. <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/12/01/paul-crouch-who-founded-trinity-broadcasting-network-and-made-millions-off-the-backs-of-gullible-viewers-is-dead/" style="color: #0066cc;">Here's his</a>.]</strong></em></div>
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<strong>Paul Crouch</strong> died of heart failure on Saturday, at 79. Forty years ago, he founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network, now the country’s most successful religious TV enterprise. In a good year, TBN takes in close to $100,000,000 in tax-exempt donations, mostly from <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-paul-crouch-20131201,0,3333095.story" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">lower-income Americans</a>.</div>
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If you’re not familiar with Crouch and his wife <strong>Janice</strong>, they are the <a class="ext-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Faye_Messner" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jim and Tammy Faye</strong></a> that time forgot.</div>
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<a class="ext-link" href="http://i.imgur.com/XOoXKGx.jpg" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="" height="330" src="http://i.imgur.com/XOoXKGx.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: none; padding: 4px;" width="499" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">
Paul and Jan Crouch</div>
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<a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?pagewanted=2" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">Here</a>‘s a little flavor:</div>
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Janice Crouch, called “Mama” on the air, is known for her pink-tinged wigs, which look like huge swirls of cotton candy, and for talking emotionally about the Lord’s blessings. Mr. Crouch, or “Papa,” is relentlessly upbeat as he quotes flurries of Bible verses on signature programs like “Praise the Lord.”</div>
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The <em>New York Times</em> published an <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">exposé</a> of the Crouches’ financial tricks last year. It tells you volumes about how the darling duo spent all that revenue from donations, TV rights, and investments.</div>
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<a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/05/04/us/20120505_TBN-7.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">For instance</a>:</div>
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The [couple's] lavish perquisites, described by [estranged granddaughter and former financial officer Brittany] Koper and corroborated by interviews with two other former TBN employees, include additional, often-vacant homes in Texas and on the former Conway Twitty estate in Tennessee, <strong>corporate jets valued at $8 million and $49 million each and thousand-dollar dinners with fine wines, paid with tax-exempt funds</strong>.</div>
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<a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/05/04/us/20120505_TBN-10.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">Plus</a>:</div>
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Last year [in 2011], officials in Orange County, Fla., <strong>turned down TBN’s application to register [the Crouches'] adjacent lakefront houses as parsonages</strong>, saying they served no religious purpose, <em>The Orlando Sentinel</em>reported. The designation would have resulted in <strong>religious exemptions and saved TBN roughly $50,000 in taxes a year</strong>.</div>
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<a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/05/04/us/20120505_TBN-13.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">And</a>:</div>
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[F]ormer TBN employees also said that dozens of staff members, including Ms. Koper,<strong>chauffeurs, sound engineers and others had been ordained as ministers by TBN. This, she said, allowed the network to avoid paying Social Security taxes on their salaries</strong> and made it easier to justify providing family members with rent-free houses, sometimes called “parsonages.”</div>
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From <a class="ext-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Crouch#Criticisms_and_controversies" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">Wikipedia</a>:</div>
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<strong>Crouch family members control the boards of all TBN entities</strong>, which makes TBN “ineligible to join” the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an evangelical self-regulating group.</div>
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Why would working-class Christians give so much money to a pair of greedy preachers who live high on the hog? <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?pagewanted=3" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">One answer</a> is that</div>
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On the air, Mr. and Mrs. Crouch tell viewers that <strong>they have almost no personal assets</strong>.</div>
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Which is technically true, as the assets in question, such as homes and private planes, are provided by TBN, whose board is stacked with family members. (Also, thousand-dollar dinners, and a separate <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?pagewanted=3" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">luxury hotel room for Janice Crouch’s beloved Maltese lapdogs</a>, do not count as assets.)</div>
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Courtesy of <em>the L.A. Times</em>, here’s <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-paul-crouch-20131201,0,3333095.story?page=2" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">another episode</a> that St. Peter might be quizzing Pastor Crouch about right now.</div>
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In 1989, in the wake of the [Jim and Tammy Faye] Bakker scandal, the National Religious Broadcasters, a voluntary association, investigated complaints that TBN had violated ethical standards. One of the complaints came from Marvin L. Martin, a former producer of “Praise the Lord,” who said <strong>he had been fired after questioning the Crouches’ financial practices and moral fitness</strong>.</div>
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He specifically complained that <strong>at a TBN staff prayer meeting Crouch asked God to kill a man</strong> who had petitioned the <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/media-industry/federal-communications-commission-ORGOV000341.topic" id="ORGOV000341" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="Federal Communications Commission">Federal Communications Commission</a> to take over the network’s flagship station in Orange County. <strong>Crouch responded that he “probably did pray that God would kill anyone or anything that was attempting to destroy the ministry.”</strong> He offered no apology and said his prayer “has not changed.”</div>
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<strong>Steve Strang</strong>, the founder and publisher of <em>Charisma News,</em> was one of the few in the evangelical Christian world who was willing to say <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/38695-why-paul-and-jan-crouch-cant-escape-accountability" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">moderately critical things</a> of the Crouches, including that they sometimes embarrassed his tribe:</div>
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Though they aren’t answerable to us, they are answerable to the Christian public who donate the millions, just as public companies must be accountable to their shareholders. In some ways the Crouches know this. They gush over how they love their TBN partners. They talk about the “little grandmas” who send in their love gift every month. But what about those who feel some things on <strong>TBN make a laughing stock of all charismatics and Pentecostals</strong>? Or that with some of the questionable programming they are spreading confusion around the world at the same time they’re spreading the gospel?</div>
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Of course, that was back in March. <em>Charisma News</em>‘ <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.charismanews.com/us/41930-tbn-found-paul-crouch-dies-at-79" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">current remembrance</a> of Crouch mentions <em>not a syllable</em> about the galling ostentatiousness of his lifestyle, nor of the barely-legal thievery and the financial scandals that he engaged in especially in the last decade of his life.</div>
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As legacies go, Crouch undoubtedly leaves a troubling one — but don’t expect most other Christians to call him on it. Per the <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/tributes-pour-in-for-tbn-founder-paul-crouch-including-from-max-lucado-creflo-dollar-109833/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title=""><em>Christian Post</em></a>,</div>
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“We celebrate Dr. Paul Crouch’s good & faithful work on earth. <strong>May we all leave such a legacy for the Kingdom</strong>,” wrote <a class="ext-link" href="https://twitter.com/Creflo_Dollar" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">Creflo Dollar</a>, founder and senior pastor of World Changers Church International, on Twitter.</div>
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Crouch’s televangelist colleague <strong>Benny Hinn</strong> also <a class="ext-link" href="https://twitter.com/Benny_Hinn/status/407025237130493952" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">weighed in</a>:</div>
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“On this day of his glorious home-going, please reflect upon the <strong>tremendous impact of this man’s extraordinary life</strong>,” reads a tweet by <a class="ext-link" href="https://twitter.com/Benny_Hinn" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">Pastor Hinn from Benny Hinn Ministries</a>.</div>
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Then it was preacher <strong>Arthur Blessitt</strong>‘s <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank" title="">turn</a>:</div>
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“Let’s all pray for his wife Jan and all the family. His focus was always +jesus. Tears pour from my eyes,” he continued. “I’ll miss my friend but <strong>there is joy in heaven where millions of people are thanking him for sharing Jesus with them</strong>.”</div>
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If a man with Crouch’s record goes to heaven, I actually prefer the down escalator, so I may avoid him and his ilk for all eternity.</div>
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<a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/12/02/televangelist-swindler-paul-crouch-leaves-a-dirty-legacy-evangelical-christians-look-the-other-way/">Source: </a></div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-58431289959565622532015-09-02T14:47:00.000-07:002015-09-02T15:18:10.921-07:00Mike Huckabee offers support to Kentucky clerk who refuses to issue gay marriage licenses<h1 itemprop="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: FranklinITCProBold, HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 48px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 52px; margin: 0px 0px 0.45em;">
Mike Huckabee offers support to Kentucky clerk who refuses to issue gay marriage licenses</h1>
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<img class="courtesy-of-the-resizer zoom-in" data-hi-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_908w/2010-2019/Wires/Images/2015-07-27/AP/Huckabee_Iran-03980.jpg&w=1484" data-low-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_908w/2010-2019/Wires/Images/2015-07-27/AP/Huckabee_Iran-03980.jpg&w=480" src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_908w/2010-2019/Wires/Images/2015-07-27/AP/Huckabee_Iran-03980.jpg&w=1484" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: -webkit-zoom-in; width: 619px;" /><br />
<span class="pb-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6e6e6e; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal;">Huckabee expressed his support to a Kentucky clerk who is refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (AP Photo/John Locher)</span></div>
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Mike Huckabee called a Kentucky clerk who is refusing to issue gay marriage licenses Wednesday to offer his prayers and support for "not abandoning her religious convictions."</div>
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The Supreme Court turned away a request by Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to be excused from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but the clerk continues to refuse to issue those licenses, calling the requirement a violation of her religious liberties.</div>
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"I spoke with Kim Davis this morning to offer my prayers and support. I let her know how proud I am of her for not abandoning her religious convictions and standing strong for religious liberty. She is showing more courage and humility than just about any federal office holder in Washington," Huckabee said in a statement.</div>
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Huckabee, a former pastor, is the first presidential candidate to contact Davis, and one of only a handful to weigh in on her case.</div>
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), gave a mixed endorsement of Davis Tuesday, telling Boston Herald Radio Tuesday "people who do stand up and are making a stand to say that they believe in something is an important part of the American way."</div>
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Carly Fiorina, former Ohio governor John Kasich and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) each said they don't agree or were disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, but that Davis must comply with the ruling.</div>
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"I support traditional marriage, but she’s accepted a job where she has to apply the law to everyone. And that’s her choice," Graham <a href="http://www.hughhewitt.com/senator-lindsey-graham-on-2016/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">said</a> on the Hugh Hewitt Show.</div>
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A spokeswoman for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who assailed the Supreme Court after the marriage ruling, said religious liberty is guaranteed under the First Amendment.</div>
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"The federal government, and by extension, the court, has no business to compel people of faith to violate their religious beliefs," Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.8em;">Huckabee, who is competing with Cruz for evangelical Christian voters, said Davis is a person of conviction.</span></div>
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"When people of conviction fight for what's right they often pay a price, but if they don't and we surrender, we will pay a far greater price for bowing to the false god of judicial supremacy. Government is not God. No man - and certainly no unelected lawyer - has the right to redefine the laws of nature or of nature's God," Huckabee said.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.8em;">Huckabee said that only Congress can make a law - and the Supreme Court did not with its ruling, which he said has no legal precedent and is not backed by the Constitution.</span></div>
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The justices, Huckabee said, "have violated American's most fundamental right guaranteed by our Constitution -- religious liberty."</div>
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The issue of religious liberty has rocketed to the forefront of the 2016 Republican presidential primary in the wake of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/04/02/gov-pence-signs-revised-indiana-religious-freedom-bill-into-law/%22%3E" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">controversy</a> over religious freedom laws in Indiana and Arkansas and the Supreme Court’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gay-marriage-and-other-major-rulings-at-the-supreme-court/2015/06/25/ef75a120-1b6d-11e5-bd7f-4611a60dd8e5_story.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">decision</a> that same-sex couples have the right to marry nationwide.</div>
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The phrase has become a rallying cry for conservatives on the campaign trail and a way for establishment candidates to showcase their support for conservative social issues without directly addressing hot-button topics such as gay marriage.</div>
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“There’s a very real sense that people of faith now need to be protected in some way to make sure they cannot be punished for acting in accordance with their faith,” Dan Holler, a spokesman for Heritage Action, said. “That’s something that resonates with conservative primary voters.”</div>
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The focus on religious liberty and social issues comes as candidates in a packed primary field try to woo the religious right, who have strong a strong constituency in the early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina and in the South, which is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-sweet-tea-primary-the-campaign-takes-an-early-southern-swing/2015/08/13/b8360688-4060-11e5-8d45-d815146f81fa_story.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">set</a> to play a major role in the nominating contest.<br />
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Source:<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/02/mike-huckabee-offers-support-to-kentucky-clerk-who-refuses-to-issue-gay-marriage-licenses/"> http://www.washingtonpost.com/</a></div>
noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-35486807040785826242014-05-23T12:14:00.000-07:002014-05-24T03:39:07.987-07:00Solid Gold Calf To Be Placed Below Pulpit In Main Sanctuary of Church<center style="background-color: white;">
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By a unanimous vote in Church Council, a Golden Calf will be placed below the pulpit in the Main Sanctuary on June 1st, 2014. The calf will remain there until July 7th, marking the closing ceremony of Landover Baptist's 52nd Annual Levitical Law Week Celebration. Freehold Iowa Farmer, and council member, brother John Wilkins, was glad to offer recently born calf, Clara Bell. Her corpse will serve as the framework that will be dipped into a vat of molten gold. There is still some debate as to how the early Jews went about this practice. We are uncertain at this point as to whether or not Clara Bell will be placed into the scalding hot liquid metal while she is still breathing.</div>
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"We are giving everyone a taste of idolatry, before they actually have to pay for it," Rev. Deacon Fred stated at all 14 Wednesday evening services. He was speaking of Landover's upcoming 'Levitical Law Week' where church members are placed back under the complex system of laws enforced upon the early Jews, for a period of 7 days.. "Members will be subject to all of the laws written in the book of Leviticus by God." Rev. Deacon Fred continued, "You can look at the idol, you can touch the idol, you can even bow your head before the idol, but on July 1-7, anyone caught doing so will be placed under Dr. Jonathan Edwards' care. Under his care, you can expect to be subjected to chemically induced wasting diseases that will destroy your sight, and drain away your life.(Lev 26:18) If you return to the sanctuary and look at the idol again, you will have your home burned down, and be forced to eat the flesh of your sons and daughters (Lev 26:23-29). Folks, let's try to keep the casualty list down this year, and make it a wonderful celebration."</div>
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The golden calf is placed in the Sanctuary to provide Church members with a 'virtual' experience. "They will feel like they are going through the same temptations that the early Jews went through," Pastor Smith remarked, "When the 7th day of July is upon us, we expect to melt the gold from the idol, and dispose of the rotted carcass of Clara Bell. The gold will then be cast into a 27 foot cross, that will be erected above the pulpit in the east wing of Sanctuary 11A." </div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0699/calf.html">Landover Baptist Church News </a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 25px; line-height: 30px;"><i><a href="http://aarss.blogspot.com/2013/01/horoscopes.html">True Christian™ Horoscopes</a></i></span></span></div>
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noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-17234313506878480992014-03-26T03:53:00.000-07:002014-03-26T03:57:33.853-07:00Pastor Leandria Johnson Tells Church To Stop Sucking Her Titty<h1 class="yt" id="watch-headline-title" style="border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94qJzD33BGo8y0vxaHzgLv8uZASNlse-G1FX4Qg633FbiRnqrRlce-oN9K4cjfjHfm3Wynn_22gEzEB4Clzci34z9VuTKm711u4b83zjUxTDYWZ3DRu7DtTWad1ByUuSJebhogtLImwY/s1600/1151_1372420914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94qJzD33BGo8y0vxaHzgLv8uZASNlse-G1FX4Qg633FbiRnqrRlce-oN9K4cjfjHfm3Wynn_22gEzEB4Clzci34z9VuTKm711u4b83zjUxTDYWZ3DRu7DtTWad1ByUuSJebhogtLImwY/s1600/1151_1372420914.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Pastor Leandria Johnson has just taken preaching where no other pastor would have dared to go - she just told the congregation "stop sucking my titty." It was just as unscripted as it was shocking, and it just jumped out of her mouth once she hit the climax or shall I say, once she jumped "into the spirit.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ly9EwOUIUuk?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>noachbenavrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00901464701676163846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321216476177276619.post-72160141578851497732014-03-08T02:22:00.000-08:002014-03-08T02:33:09.582-08:00Pope Francis Sends Video Message to Kenneth Copeland - Lets Unite<h1 class="yt" id="watch-headline-title" style="border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;">
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His Holiness' message begins at 31:00 minutes<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Pope Francis sends a message to leading 'Word of Faith' teacher Kenneth Copeland via Bishop Tony Palmer saying that Charismatics and Catholics must unite.</span><br />
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The Real History of Christianity…</h1>
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by Bill Zebub</h2>
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<span style="color: maroon; font-family: arial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What is it that blocks otherwise intelligent people from looking objectively or critically at Christianity? Is it like overlooking the defects of a loved one? Is it denial, like refusing to see the signs of drug abuse in a loved one? Is this how the myriad contradictions are reconciled within the believer’s mind? While all religions are fabrications, Christianity deserves special investigation because of its aggressive history, namely in the forced conversions and the murderous removal of opposing sects. It is this very sort of abusive power that has controlled what the masses hear, but anyone who wishes to discover the true origins is by no means completely blocked. It is not an ordinary thing, however, for someone to actually research history, especially when it applies to religious farce.</span></div>
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The one thing that is common to all forms of Christianity is the myth of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. It should be interesting to note that the story of the resurrection did not exist in the earliest manuscripts. Further, the Gospels were composed during times when hundreds of Jews were being crucified each week. They were written for a Greco-Roman audience. If the events did actually happen, the obvious role of the Romans in the trial of Jesus as well as his execution “had to be whitewashed and presented as sympathetically as possible” (Holy Blood, Holy Grail 348). There was absolutely no criticism of Roman oppression, nor any mention of Jewish revolt. The Jews were cast in the role of villains, but this is historically illogical because they (the Sanhedrin) had the right to pass death sentences. They did not need Pontius Pilate. Further, if they had wanted Jesus to be killed, he would have been stoned to death, not crucified. Crucifixion was exclusively used by Rome to execute the enemies of Rome. It was never a Jewish form of capital punishment. If he really was crucified, he did something to provoke Roman wrath, not Jewish wrath.</div>
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The three Synoptic Gospels have Jesus being arrested and condemned by the Sanhedrin on the night of the passover. This could not be real history because the Sanhedrin, by Judaic law, were forbidden to meet over Passover. The Gospels state that the arrest and trial occurred at night, but the Sanhedrin “were forbidden to meet at night, in private houses, or anywhere outside of the precincts of the temple” (Holy Blood, Holy Grail 349).</div>
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The story of Barabbas being freed in exchange for Jesus is pure fiction. Two Gospels describe a Roman custom of freeing a prisoner during passover festival, but no such policy ever existed on the part of the Romans. A Roman procurator, especially someone as ruthless as Pilate, would likewise never consent to the pressure of a mob.</div>
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Pontius Pilate, as he is depicted in the Gospels, appears to be a decent person who consents only reluctantly to the crucifixion of Jesus. History paints a different picture of him. He was a procurator of Judea from A.D. 26 o 36, and he was a cruel and corrupt man. Why is there no criticism of him in the Gospels?</div>
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Another historical impossibility in the crucifixion story is the removal of the body of Jesus from the cross. According to Roman law at the time, a crucified man/woman was denied burial. The person was left to the elements, birds, and animals, which completed the humiliation of this form of execution.</div>
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There is no verification of a significant crucifixion in the writings of historians such as Philo, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, Epictectus, Cluvius Rufus, Quintus, Curtis Rufus, Josephus, nor the Roman Consul, Publius Petronius. The crucifixion also was unknown to early Christians until as late as the Second Century.</div>
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The punishment for robbery was not crucifixion. The New Testament accounts of the crucifixion depict two thieves being crucified along with Jesus. Crucifixion was never the penalty for robbery. On the other hand, the Romans spoke of Zealots as ‘Robbers’ in order to defame them. Zealots were crucified because of their crimes against the Roman empire.</div>
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Muslims have never attributed the crucifixion of Jesus as true. “And they killed him not, nor did they cause his death on the cross” (The Koran, Surah 4). Although the premise of this essay is that all religions are fabrications, it is interesting to note how they regard each other.</div>
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“Messiah” is a term that Christians think had specifically been applied to Jesus, but for people living at the time of Jesus, the idea of a divine Messiah “would have been preposterous, if not unthinkable” (Holy Blood, Holy Grail). The Greek word for Messiah is Christos. The term generally referred to a king. For Zealots, the term implied a lost king, someone from the bloodline of David who would liberate them from Roman tyranny. In one Gospel, the lineage of Jesus is traced to David, which is ironic because his father is named as Joseph, which contradicts the myth of the immaculate conception in which Jesus is birthed by a deity as well as a mortal woman.</div>
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“Many of the now-called persecutions of the early Christians were due solely to the fact that they were criminal activists, not religious devotees. As Marcellinus Ammianis (c. 330-400), the famous Roman historian said of them in his time, ‘the atrocity of the Christians against opponents surpasses the fury of wild beasts against men’.” (The Bible Fraud 96) Rome was tolerant of all religions except Druidism. They resented religions that presented political rivalry.</div>
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Gospels that do not appear in the New Testament, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Truth, and the Gospel of the Egyptians, were mentioned by the early church fathers, like Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and Origen. These texts date no later than A.D. 150. What is interesting about them is that they escaped the censorship and revision of the later Roman orthodoxy, and they were written for an Egyptian audience, so they weren’t slanted to the Roman ear. The Gospel of Thomas was unearthed in 1945. This, and other works that were salvaged, are collectively called the “Nag Hammadi” scrolls. In one such scroll, Jesus speaks:</div>
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I did not succumb to them as they had planned and I did not die in reality but in appearance, lest I be put to shame by them. . . my death which they think</div>
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happened. . . their error and blindness.. . . And I was laughing at their ignorance.(Holy Blood, Holy Grail 381).</div>
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Fundamentalists believe that the Bible is actual history, and apparently they believe that totally different stories are equally valid. According to Luke, when Jesus was born he was visited by shepherds. According to Matthew he was visited by kings. There are many such contradictions, and the validity of any is questionable, if not utterly fictitious. For instance, Nazareth did not exist during the lifetime of Jesus, but it did exist at the time of the writings which occurred much later.</div>
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It wasn’t until A.D. 325, at the Council of Nicea, convened by Roman emperor Constantine, that it was decided, by a vote, that Jesus was to be depicted as a god, not a mortal prophet. A year after this the Council of Nicea, Constantine ordered all works that challenged the official orthodox teaching to be destroyed. In A.D. 331, he commissioned and financed new copies of the Bible. It was at this point that crucial alterations were made, and the new status of Jesus was fabricated. Constantine never converted to Christianity. He was actually baptized when he was on his deathbed, completely unaware.</div>
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The Bible is only a selection of works. It has been subjected to drastic editing and revision. One ommission from the Gospel of Mark, which gives a different account of raising Lazarus from the dead, depicts him as calling out from the tomb, never having been dead in the first place. After which, the passage reads:</div>
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And going out from the tomb they came into the house of the youth, for he was rich. . . and in the evening the youth comes to him, wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night. (Holy Blood, Holy Grail 321)</div>
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Clement freely acknowledge the existence of the secret Gospel of Mark. In a letter to one of his underlings, a man identified only as Theodore, Clement writes in regard to people who criticize Church writings: ”Even though they should say something true, one who loves the truth should not, even so, agree with them” (Holy Blood, Holy Grail 319)</div>
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On no subject has the world been more blinded or deceived than that of the church’s portrayal of the character and integrity of the presbyters. “In the early days, the New Testament was oral. During that time, the presbyters were beggared entertainers of the public, and nothing more” (The Bible Fraud 165). For the first 300 years, the church had no organization and the clergy had no special title. They were called presbyters. The word originally meant ‘old man’ and when it was simplified into Old English it was changed to ‘preost’ which today is ‘priest’.</div>
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The three presbyters credited with the founding of the church were Irenaeus (115-202), Clement of Alexandria (160-215) and Tertullian (160-210). In The Canon of the Bible. Professor Samuel Davidson said of all of them:</div>
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The three presbyters of whom we are speaking had neither the ability nor incli nation to examine the genesis of the documents. . . No analysis of their authen ticity and genuineness was seriously attempted. . . The ends which they had in view, the polemic motives, their uncritial inconsistent assertions, their want of sure data, detract from their testimony. . . The very arguments they use to estab lish certain conclusions show weakness of perception (The Bible Fraud 166)</div>
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The presbyters could not agree about which stories or writings should be publicly spoken. The scandals of their debates were embarrassing to the later church and many records of these deliberations were suppressed. One of them, Eusebius (260-339) is on record saying ‘It is an act of virtue to deceive and lie, when by such means the interests of the church might be promoted’.</div>
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One of the most vocal critics was Celsus, who wrote a book called ‘True Discourse’ which was destroyed by the Fifth Century Church. He wrote:</div>
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They openly declared than none but the ignorant were fit to hear their discourses and that one of their rules was ‘let no man who is learned come among us’. They never appeared in the circles of the wiser and better sort, but always took care to intrude themselves among the ignorant and uncultured, rambling around to play tricks at fairs and markets” (The Bible Fraud 170).</div>
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Toward the end of his life, St. Augustine confessed that Christianity was ‘a religion of threats and bribes unworthy of wise men’. Ironically he is called ‘Doctor of the Church’.</div>
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St. Jerome, a transvestite who was taught to read and write Hebrew by an old monk, was paid a large sum of money in A.D. 382 by Pope Damasus to reword and restructure the Bible, which later became the Vulgate Bible. He was commissioned for this task despite being accused of heresy for preferring to read Pagan literature.</div>
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The presbyters had strange beliefs. They believed in the Phoenix, and Clement said that he saw it. Origen not only believed in the Phoenix, but he insisted that the sun, moon, and stars were living creatures who were rational because they moved across the sky. He argued that because stars could only be seen at night, the air was populated by demons. St. Justin Martyr believed in demons and said that they were the offspring of angels who had sex with the daughters of men. He went on record saying that the insane were possessed by the souls of the wicked who had died in sin, and claimed that this possession was proof of the immortality of the soul. Theophilius claimed that the pain of childbirth and the fact that snakes slither on their bellies is proof of the story of Eden. Tertullian believed that the hyena changed sex, and that the stag renewed its youth by eating poisonous snakes. He also taught that volcanoes were the openings of hell. They also thought that the Garden of Eden was not on earth.</div>
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The presbyters of the Second. Third, and Fourth centuries developed the Christian texts. The earliest version of the Gospel of Mark had no mention of Mary or the virgin birth, or any of the prophesies about a Messiah. It did not have the term “Son of God”, and it did not contain the family tree which links Jesus to King David. In it, Lazarus was alive when Jesus came to him in the tomb. It also did not contain any story about any resurrection.</div>
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Rabbi Ebion authored the Gospel of the Hebrews (Essenes). The presbyters had a copy that they falsified and later named the Gospel of Matthew. Rabbi Ebion’s document was the original Hebrew language version of the Matthew Gospel, and there are some alarming differences. Most notably, it did not contain the first two chapters that are read today. It likewise has no story of any resurrection, no family geneology of jesus, not any Old Testament references to Jesus fulfilling prophesies. The Catholic Encyclopedia now states that the first two chapters of the Gospel of Matthew were added in the Third Century. The earliest form of the Gospel of John, like that of Luke and the others, do not have the story of the virgin birth. In A.D. 374, St. Epiphanius listed 118 passages where the later Gospels differed from earlier manuscripts.</div>
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Many of the earliest texts that were written that were originally included in what would become the New Testament were later removed and suppressed, like the Gospel of Peter. It was said to have contained heresy.</div>
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Emperor Constantine ordered all presbyters to attend a council in Nicaea in 325, and they were to bring with them their manuscripts. The council, over which he presided, was to decide what Christianity was, and which writings were to be used. It was at this council that it was decided to preach that Jesus was divine, not just a man. This was a bitter debate. Arius from Alexandria, and his followers, argued against the notion. Nicholas, whom the Santa Claus myth is based on, was so enraged at Arius that he punched him. Arius was later poisoned. The whole affair became so violent that Constantine called on the army to restore order. After a process of elimination whereby surviving representatives were permitted to vote, Jesus became a god by a vote of 161 against 157.</div>
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Constantine instructed Eusebius to compile a uniform collection of writings from the collection of presbyters’ manuscripts, with the instruction “make them to astound!” This was the first Christian New Testament. Constantine decrees that these were to be considered the “words of God”. Constantine proclaimed Jesus to be the “Prince of Peace” although that title was originally bestowed on Augustus. The New Testament was also to be bound with the Old Testament to give the appearance of combining the two religions. Constantine then ordered that anyone possessing the earlier manuscripts should be beheaded instantly. E also sent Joseph of Tiberias to Jerusalem to construct a small temple over the site of a cave that was to he referred to as the birthplace of Jesus. He offered bribes for influential people to accept the new creed.</div>
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Constantine issued edicts forbidding other sects to hold meetings, and many were put to death. After the council of Nicaea, various records were forged to establish that Jesus was a historical personage. One such fabrication was inserted into the writings of Josephus (which has long since been exposed). No such passages were found in any copy of the works of Josephus prior to Eusebius.</div>
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I t should be noted that Constantine drowned his wife in boiling water and killed his son, which is hardly the way that Christians like to depict him.</div>
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The Roman Catholic Church apparently inherited Roman cruelty and lust for dominion. No other Christian sect was tolerated. The Cathars, in France, like many others, rejected the notion that Jesus was in any way divine. Further, they denied the validity of all priests, bishops, et cetera. To them, there was no intercession between a person and his/her deity. They doubted the story of the crucifixion, and they certainly saw no relevance in it. They regarded the cross as an emblem of Rex Mundi, lord of the material world, which was a world that they rejected. Their common ideal was that life on earth was to transcend matter and to renounce anything connected with power.</div>
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This denial of Roman Catholic authority met with tragic consequences. In 1208 Pope Innocent III ordered their extermination. Over 30,000 Cathars, which included children, women, and the elderly, were brutally massacred over a number of years.. Those who escaped the sword were burned alive and subject to other horrific deaths.</div>
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In A.D.1607 a committed of 47 men took two years and nine months to re-write the Bible, which is now called the King James Bible. It removed seven books from the Catholic version. King James chose Sir Francis Bacon to edit the manuscripts. It should be noted that the earlier Greek versions were not written until around the Fourth Century, and before that, the writings were in Hebrew and Aramaic.</div>
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Since the Dead Sea scrolls were found, close associates of the Vatican were placed in dominant positions in every phase of the translation. Priests regulated the flow of information and controlled its release. J. Edgar Hoover commented, “It can be held certain that information that is withheld or suppressed contains truths that are detrimental to the persons involved in the suppression” (The Bible Fraud 51)</div>
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Flavius Josephus recorded that the Essenes considered it a grave sin to reveal anything to outsiders. Dr. Barbara Thiering boldy claimed that the Dead Seas Scrolls dated from the time of Jesus instead of before his birth. The official dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls was based on writing, but the writing of the scrolls is in cursive, which cannot be dated. Additionally, dating had to allow error of up to sixty years because the scribe can be very old or very young. The Dead Sea Scrolls described a way of hiding information in stories. The stories would themselves have meaning, but beneath the surface lurked important details, which in Dr. Thiering’s interpretation were secret histories which needed to be protected from the marauding Romans. The word “pesher” is used to name the procedure. The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls used the “pesher technique” when they transcribed Old Testament books, like when they wrote about Babylonians marching toward Judea, but the message is really about the Romans during the time of the writing of the scrolls. Part of this technique is to give words special meaning. Applying this to the New Testament, where the word “wicked” appears, as in “wicked men” the passage refers to “the wicked priest” so particulars are made out of universals. (The Wicked Priest is a figure described in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and scholars bitterly argue as to the true identity of this character. Some argue that it is Jesus.). If the hypothesis is to hold, the “pesher” must be true in every instance of the term, etc.</div>
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Source: <a href="http://noahide-ancient-path.co.uk/index.php/christianity-2/2014/02/the-real-history-of-christianity-2/">http://noahide-ancient-path.co.uk/index.php/christianity-2/2014/02/the-real-history-of-christianity-2/</a></div>
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