₦airaland Forum

Mindfulness:
My brother, the fact that the-all-knowing-Bible-God exists in people's minds is a fact.
Whether he exists beyond thoughts nobody knows for sure.

Sagamite:
If I was Seun and owned this site, I would have given you like a month's ban for this your moronic and constant "Its LadyF again" in every first post you make on a thread.

Something tells me you are not mentally sound upstairs or you are one of those useless kids this junk site is attracting nowadays.

PastorAIO:
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other:
“Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”

Mindfulness:
I told you, God exists in people's minds. In yours too. Whether he exists beyond that, nobody has been able to prove so far.

Mindfulness:
HOWEVER, where I do not agree with you, is when you claim that God does not exist. The all-knowing-Bible-God exists in people's minds. This can be proved. He is also part of your thoughts. He occupies your mind strongly enough for us to have this conversation here about "him", whether he is a person(laity), imagination or wishful thinking

rabzy:
The Bible is a book written for men and in a way that people can understand. In fact some terms can be best understood if you know the terms or the idioms of the language in which it was written. The angels holding the ends of the earth has its meaning and it is well understood. Just as when someone says 'your life is in my hands' 'i am the one that made you' 'he is holding the tiger by the tail' 'When America sneezes the world catch cold'. These are physically impossible but idiomatically understandable.

rabzy:
This is just a feeble attempt to look for errors where there are none. The first verse was talking about the ground, the firma terra. The preceding verse talked about the earth or land and all its inhabitants, the land and all its inhabitants are all resting upon the seas and oceans. That's a statement of fact. In Genesis the earth or rather the productive land, the earth's crust was raised up from the depths of the oceans and came to lie or rest on the sea.

Yes the Bible was written in medieval times and has to speak in language that people would understand, it does not have to speak in scientific terms. In the Psalms 75:3 it is not talking about what the planet earth rests upon, it used pillars as a figurative sense. Pillar is the support of buildings and God is saying when the earth quakes and people tremble, it is he himself that holds the support. He is the ultimate support for the earth and all its inhabitants. These are idioms and illustrations for people to understand and figures of speech to make a lasting impression on people. Till date scientists still talk about sun rise and sun set but we all know the sun does not rise nor does it set. So if someone says meet at sunset, we know what that means even though the sun actually does not set.

We talk about the four cardinal points of the earth, there are no such points, they are just reference points for directions. We all talk about North, South East and West. Everywhere is north of a place and south of a place. But for easy understanding and to set directions, we choose a place as the 'true north'. Longitudes and lats are imaginary lines but they are part of our everyday speech. The angels standing at the four corners of the earth is the same as this. I didn't learn about the four cardinal points from the Bible, i learnt it from a geography which is a branch of science. And till date it is still being taught.

In fact the Bible mentions what is physically holding the earth in place...(Job 26:7) "He stretches out his heavens over empty space. He hangs the earth on nothing whatsoever[/b]. This was written at a time when alchemists believed fantastic stories about what the earth is resting upon. The verse even said he stretches the heavens, thousands of years later scientists has discovered that the universe is actually spreading, expanding or stretching. Brilliantly 3 scientists calculated the expansion rate and were given nobel prizes. I guess that's some brilliant science from the Bible for you there.

There was no vegetation before sunlight. There was the sun before the Vegetations. What Genesis detailed was the preparation of the earth for human habitation. The sun, moon and stars including the earth has existed as planetary bodies.

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 [b]Now the earth was formless and desolate, and there was darkness upon the surface of the watery deep, and God’s active force was moving about over the surface of the waters.

This means the sun and moon and earth existed, but there evidently were fumes and clouds covering the surface of the earth making it desolate and dark.
When God said on Day One, “Let light come to be,” diffused light evidently penetrated the cloud layers even though the sources of that light could not yet be discerned from the earth’s surface. It seems that this was a gradual process, as is indicated by translator J. W. Watts: “And gradually light came into existence.” (Ge 1:3, A Distinctive Translation of Genesis) God brought about a division between the light and the darkness, calling the light Day and the darkness Night. This indicates that the earth was rotating on its axis as it revolved around the sun, so that its hemispheres, eastern and western, could enjoy periods of light and darkness.—Ge 1:3, 4.

That light would be sufficient for the vegetation that came on the third day. So there was light before vegetation.

In Genesis 1:14, that verse was now talking about the source of light.

And God saith, 'Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to make a separation between the day and the night, then they have been for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.

Previously, on the first “day,” the expression “Let light come to be” was used. The Hebrew word there used for “light” is ʼohr, meaning light in a general sense. But on the fourth “day,” the Hebrew word changes to ma·ʼohr′, which refers to a luminary or source of light. (Ge 1:14) So, on the first “day” diffused light evidently penetrated the swaddling bands, but the sources of that light could not have been seen by an earthly observer. Now, on the fourth “day,” things evidently changed.
It is also noteworthy that at Genesis 1:16 the Hebrew verb ba·raʼ′, meaning “create,” is not used. Instead, the Hebrew verb ʽa·sah′, meaning “make,” is employed. Since the sun, moon, and stars are included in “the heavens” mentioned in Genesis 1:1, they were created long before Day Four. On the fourth day God proceeded to “make” these celestial bodies occupy a new relationship toward earth’s surface and the expanse above it. When it is said, “God put them in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth,” this would indicate that they now became discernible from the surface of the earth, as though they were in the expanse. Also, the luminaries were to “serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years,” thus later providing guidance for man in various ways.

Mindfulness:
You already know that I am not a defender of the Bible but I am actually surprised by the way you read the Bible.

How does the above Psalm mean that the earth is flat?

Moreover, there is a difference between "it can never be moved" (passive voice) and "the earth moves" (active voice). The Psalm says that NOBODY can move the earth and NOT that it can't move ITSELF.

North, South, East and West maybe?

Who or what is "it"?

First of all, how can the devil take you there? Ever met him?

Where is written that the moon has its own light. The moon shall not cause her light to shine means that it will not.

It lets the sun light through. It dims this light and in this way creates what we call night.

I know that stars don't fall but the reason is not because they are bigger than the earth. And again shall could be replaced by will. It refers to the future.

SHALL is not same as WILL. Refer to an English Language textbook. And don't let Christians catch you changing words in the Bible else this verse will be your undoing

Rev. 22:19
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book
...God shall take away his part out of the book
of life.

Come on!
When someone says "You'll always be in my heart", we don't take it literally.

HOWEVER, where I do not agree with you, is when you claim that God does not exist. The all-knowing-Bible-God exists in people's minds. This can be proved. He is also part of your thoughts. He occupies your mind strongly enough for us to have this conversation here about "him", whether he is a person(laity), imagination or wishful thinking

Mindfulness:
I know the meaning of arbitrary. I would like to know how a free willed choice is arbitrary by definition as you said.

Mindfulness:
I have received revelations. I actually do every day. It is not as sensational as people might assume now.
If you ask me to explain it to you, I probably won't be able to do so but something tells me that you will understand sooner or later.

Mindfulness:
Joseph1013,

it is time for me to ask you a few questions.

Do you really believe that there is a God who is wicked, evil and psychopathic?

Are you a Christian? If yes, why? If not, why not?

Mindfulness:
I thought it was proven that Jesus did exist as a historical figure.

Mindfulness:
Is the report above yours or did you copy and paste?

Of course this is my very subjective experience and view, I have never claimed for it to be objective or for it to be a universal truth.

Mindfulness:
I would have to write an autobiography to answer this question.

When you stop thinking by concentrating on your breath for example, then you might be able to realize that you are not your thoughts but a presence or consciousness that can observe these thoughts if any arise. And then you will also realize that beyond our thoughts, we are all this one consciousness.

rabzy:
Moses foretold the time when Israel would be ruled by a king and recorded this special command: “When he takes his seat on the throne of his kingdom, he must write in a book for himself a copy of this law from that which is in the charge of the priests, the Levites.” (Deuteronomy 17:18) Hence, some copies of the Scriptures were to be made. The instruction was that people should make copies so that they can personally study the scriptures themselves and not just rely on a Saturday or Sunday teacher.
Copying the Scriptures eventually became a profession in Israel. Indeed, Psalm 45:1 says: “May my tongue be the stylus of a skilled copyist.” Such copyists as Shaphan and Zadok were mentioned by name. But the best-known copyist of ancient times was Ezra, who also contributed original writings to the Bible. (Ezra 7:6; Nehemiah 13:13; Jeremiah 36:10) Even while later portions of the Bible were being written, those books already completed were being copied and distributed.
When Jesus Christ was on earth, copies of the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis to Malachi) were available not only in Jerusalem but also apparently in synagogues of Galilee. (Luke 4:16, 17) Why, at distant Beroea in Macedonia, spiritually minded Jews were able to ‘examine the Scriptures daily’! (Acts 17:11) Copying was necessary for all to have a share and for reservation. Moses wrote his laws on papyrus and other writers wrote theirs also on perishable materials, copying was a good way of making sure it survives. Its like the film iron man: age of ultron, the machine made copies of himself to survive, everyone of those copies would have to be destroyed for him to cease to exist.

How accurate was their copying?

Professional copyists of the Hebrew Scriptures (called Sopherim) were very concerned about avoiding any mistakes. To check their work, they counted the words and even the letters of each manuscript they copied. Therefore, Jesus, the apostle Paul, and others who often quoted the ancient Bible writers had no doubt about the accuracy of the copies they used.

In 1947 there was an unexpected discovery of some ancient scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea. These scrolls showed just how accurate the copying of the Scriptures had been. Among the scrolls was a copy of the Bible book of Isaiah that was about a thousand years older than any manuscript previously available. Yet, a comparison showed that the only differences between the Dead Sea manuscript and later copies were in such things as word order and grammar. The meaning of the text was unchanged after a thousand years of copying! Concerning the text of the Hebrew Scriptures, scholar William Henry Green could therefore say: “It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.” Similar comments have been made about the accuracy of transmission of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The technicality was that they were trying to bring in something that the constitution has specifically ruled out..creationism. So whether it was true science, since it was proven to be linked to creationism, its out. The case of whether it was design or not was not properly explored and it would have been best explored outside the court room, where scientists from different fields who discuss it scientifically in front of their peers. Many evidences would be tabled..refuted and others brought forward..just like it is presently being done with the different variants and understanding of the evolution theory by its proponents.

Mindfulness:
Life taught me.

rabzy:
The apostle Peter’s statement that Christ, as the sacrificial Lamb of God, was “foreknown before the founding [form of Greek ka·ta·bo·le′] of the world [ko′smou]” is construed by advocates of predestinarianism to mean that God exercised such foreknowledge before mankind’s creation. (1Pe 1:19, 20) The Greek word ka·ta·bo·le′, translated “founding,” literally means “a throwing down” and can refer to the ‘conceiving of seed,’ the same word was used at Hebrews 11:11. While there was “the founding” of a world of mankind when God created the first human pair, as is shown at Hebrews 4:3, 4, that pair thereafter forfeited their position as children of God. (Ge 3:22-24; Ro 5:12) Yet, by God’s undeserved kindness, they were allowed to conceive seed and produce offspring, one of whom is specifically shown in the Bible to have gained God’s favor and placed himself in position for redemption and salvation, namely, Abel. (Ge 4:1, 2; Heb 11:4) It is noteworthy that at Luke 11:49-51 Jesus refers to “the blood of all the prophets spilled from the founding of the world” and parallels this with the words “from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah.” Thus, Abel is connected by Jesus with “the founding of the world.”

Thus the time Abel was born was also considered as a 'founding of the world', so the foreknown was at the conceiving of Abel or specifically when the first faithful man was martyred, at which point Jesus has been destined to come and save mankind.

Even before children were born to Adam and Eve, God indicated that there would be enmity between the ‘seed of the woman’ and the ‘seed of the serpent.’ (Ge 3:15) Thus from the founding of the world it had already been determined that no worshiper of the wild beast would have his name written in the Lamb’s scroll. Only persons sacred from God’s standpoint were to be so privileged.—Re 21:27.

Malachi 3:16: “At that time those in fear of Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance began to be written up before him for those in fear of Jehovah and for those thinking upon his name.

This indicates that the names of these people were not there until they started doing fearing God, speaking about him and thinking on his name and God payed his attention to this and then had their names written.

Now the following verses shows that those whose actions God has judged to merit life can have their names removed when they change their course of good conduct. Manasseh name was apparently included when he changed from bad to good and probably Solomon was erased.

(Revelation 3:4, 5)The one who conquers will thus be dressed in white garments, and I will by no means blot out his name from the book of life, but I will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his ange. . .... This shows blotting out is possible.

(Psalm 69:28) 28 Let them be erased from the book of life, And may they not be enrolled among the righteous.

God's decision to blot out any unfaithful one was shown when Israel worshiped the golden calf at Sinai. After asking God to forgive Israel Moses said: “But if not, pray blot me out of thy book.” Jehovah’s reply was: “Whoever sins against me, him only I blot out of my book.”—Ex. 32:32, 33, AT.

That is why the following admonitions were given to faithful ones:
“Do your utmost to make the calling and choosing of you sure for yourselves.” Like the apostle Paul, all those who would remain in the book would be able to say this: “I have fought the fine fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith.”

Phil. 2:12, RS: “As you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Matt. 7:13, 14, RS: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

It is those who find it that are granted life.

So nobody's damnation or salvation was cast in stone at anytime. Jesus said he that endures to the end would be saved. if it was all cast in stone, Satan would not have bothered deceiving Jesus or anyone else for that matter.

rabzy:
I will like to know those verses, so we could discuss it.

Mindfulness:
I believe that there is a God. I believe that God is life and in all of us. I do not think that our thoughts can comprehend what God is about but I believe that he can be found and felt in stillness and beyond thought. If you want to know more, just ask.

PastorAIO:
Yes temporoparietal activity is well documented to be involved in OBE (out of body experience).