Free Republic

So, has anyone told you your deductions are going up? These liars didn't bother to tell you this was in their new tax bill!

Having lived and worked in Ukraine several times in the past few years, there is one thing that irks Ukrainians more than any thing, and that is the use of the definitive article "the" when referring to Ukraine.

The Ukraine-Which Direction? Moscow or The West?

That has always been used to show that Ukraine was subject to Russia in the past. Now that they are supposedly independent they resent the use of "the" to define their country as a part of Russia. After all we wouldn't say the Germany, the Spain, or the Russia, would we?

It is a very touchy issue with Ukrainians, as they struggle to break free from centuries of oppression. They are probably the most strategic piece of property on the entire globe. If you've ever played Risk, you would know that country is captured and recaptured more than any other in that game. The same happens in real life.

My prayers are with these wonderful people as they struggle to gain their real freedom!

What sort of bugs do you experience with Firefox?

Lately Firefox will randomly close all windows. Don't know what brought this on. Must be an extension I added or something. I reinstalled Firefox, and java. Shame it was such a good browser till this.

It means that if you have a program such as Thunderbird email client that can pick up news feeds, you can subcribe using that url and Free Republic postings will show up in you email program as they are posted. Great for reading blogs too.

Just pick the mirror that is close to you geographically and it will start the download.

Try Media Player Classic it plays everything. You can download it at http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/guliverkli/mpc2kxp6482.zip?download

Why was this terrorist even allowed to apply for citizenship? Makes you wonder how many are citizens! Gee, thanks Bill!

"I fought for America...before I fought against it".--John F. Kerry

I think Mark has hit the nail on the head!

Typical "AAS" liberal exercise to control, guide, impact on, impel, impress, incite, incline, induce, instigate, manipulate, modify, mold, move, persuade, predispose, prejudice, prevail, prompt, pull strings, regulate, rouse, rule, seduce, sell, shape, snow, sway, talk into, train, turn, urge, work upon the average non thinking sheople mind.

Those dim Dems can't stand it when the shoe is on the other foot!

I'll bet every Marine in Iraq is pulling for this fine U.S. soldier to win! What a boost of morale for our fighting men than to see one of their own compete for excellence!

I heard David Robinson (The Admiral) of the San Antonio Spurs asked if we should continue with the Final Four and the NBA playoffs while the war was on. He Said "Absolutely, our service men need something to cheer about. They're no different than the rest of us. They look forward to any news from home, even their favorite sports teams!

God Bless Our Service Men!

"My Life As A Worm"

This billboard will be up until February 28, 2002. This same billboard changes all the time, always with a similar statement on gun control.

Matthew is the genealogy of Joseph, Luke is Mary's. what is interesting is In Mary's her line is traced back to the first man..this shows that Jesus is God and Man; the second Adam.

I still don't see where you guys get this stuff. My Bibles have no reference to a genealogy of Mary. Where is it? Clearly one ends with Joseph, the other starts with Joseph. Both refer to him as the father of Jesus!

The geneologies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke are not the same, which one is correct.

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Answer: They BOTH are! One is the lineage from the Mary's side.

I don't buy that argument! In Matthew the genealogy begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph the husband of Mary. In Luke the genealogy goes backward from Joseph to Adam. There is no reference anywhere to a genealogy of Mary, anywhere in the text or the footnotes of the five different versions of the Bible I have.

Literalists always have this problem, they can't explain the contradictions between the four gospels, so they have to make this stuff up to justify their belief in a literal interpretation.

Luke tells us that Jesus was born at the time of the census of Quirinius. This took place in 6 AD. Yet Matthew tells us that Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, who died in 4 BC. Luke contradicts himself when he states that Jesus and John were concieved six months apart in the reign of Herod, but still portrays Mary pregnant with Jesus at the time of the census in 6 AD. Did she have a ten year pregnancy?

Too many problems are created when you take every word literally. There is much greater spiritual truth when we study the Bible as allegory as it was clearly intended.

Actually you may prefer that God made you in His image,but unless you have completely discarded the bible...that is not what God's word says

Genesis 5 1 This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man."

3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

Here's what my Bible says:

Genesis 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Why did you quote this verse, you think I am from the devil? I love how you literalists have a verse somewhere to condemn us all!

I have a natural tendency to rebel against domination.

Well the inability to allow God to have dominion over you could be a problem

If you had taken my statement in context you would know I was referring to domination by the church. Since I am God's creation, God already has dominion over me. Why should I submit to men?

I guess that it is easier to follow a "christ" who places so little responsibility on you except to follow your own path of enlightenment. The Jesus Christ of the New Testament is a far different person than the one you follow. The true Christ was actually a pretty judgmental fellow who pulled no punches when it comes to the demands of discipleship. He actually had the audacity to demand total obedience to His will.

This is why so many people turn away from fundamentalist churches like yours. I prefer that God makes me in his image and not yours. Literalist fundamentalism always trys to make you in their image, and I have a natural tendency to rebel against domination. Christ never meant for his church to be placed in the chains of literalism, beaten into submission until we have no will of our own. Tied to a legalism that destroys the very soul, our churches are places of death, not life.

God meant for us to live free from bondage, able to explore his creation. We were made in his image and we should reflect that image, not an image of spiritual death. This is why Christ was resurrected, to set us free!

Are you actually able to articulate the "gospel" that set you free "from all that garbage"? If so, and you really believe what you say, then isn't it imperative that you share your message with others? If you notice, I have given you several opportunities to share your "path of enlightenment". All we have seen, so far, is a vague mish-mash of gnostic mysticism.

I am not amazed that you think that my salvation (or lack of it ) is something that needs to be articulated. Salvation being a free gift from God is strictly a personal experience that defies description. Since you think us gnostics are lost in our mish-mash of mysticism, it would be a complete waste of my time to even try to explain the unexplainable.

Your belief system is exactly what tried to annihilate Gnostic Christianity in the first place. There are many Christian writings that I consider to be scripture that you don't. So we have no common ground on which to have a rational discussion.

For those who might be interested on my course of enlightenment you can click here.

Its odd... but almost all of the extreme literalists on FR that routinely doom everyone but themselves to Hell, are Southern Baptists. Are they some kind of freaky cult or something? It seems they do a great job of driving people from religion. Just who's unwitting tool are they?

They are not far removed from the church I grew up in. All the kids in school would always ask me if we (the church of Christ) were the only ones going to heaven. Well, that's what we were taught, but, by my own churches standards I was already condemned, so what's the point in being a christian then?

It took me many years to discover the truth, that Christ set me free from all that garbage. I don't let them dump their refuse on me any more. It's a big waist of time though, they are convinced they hold the keys to heaven, when in fact Christ holds the key. They remind me of the Pharisees in the Bible who had to follow the letter of the law. Even Jesus said the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. Most Christians today think the New Testament is a new law, when in fact it sets us free.

OK, let's get a few things "out on the table" before we continue. My background? I am a Southern Baptist seminary educated conservative pastor who holds to the innerancy and inspiration of the Bible. Additionally, I am a Calvinistic baptist, and hold to the doctrines of grace.

How about your background? I can only guess, since you provided us with a "new agey" bastardization of the Lord's Prayer and also think that a gnostic view of Genesis is "good".

Possibly you could confirm your background in order to give us some idea of where you are coming from.

 

Now we see your true colors. Only Southern Baptist seminary educated conservatives have the keys to the Word of God.

My background is from the church of Christ, being born and raised in that literalist church. I grew up knowing I would never get to heaven because I could not live a perfect enough life. They did more to discourage me than to encourage me. I consider what they and other literalist churches do is spread confusion and devisiveness. God is unity, sanity, order, and truth. Having a degree in theology in my opinion is nothing more than a license to distort the truth. Truth is found in many places other than the Bible. Is the truth God's Word.

I am just a pilgrim in this world like you, searching for the truth, and having a good time doing it. You can condemn me as being new age if you like. That does seem to be the easy way out for literalists. Because I do not take the Bible literally I am condemned to a life in eternal damnation by most of you.

Christ freed me from the power of sin many years ago. You may not agree, or like that, but I now live in total freedom knowing that Chist has freed me from all your legal mumbo jumbo.