1. Should I write the religious theology book that I am working on since I am not a mature chrisitan?
2. Will God restore my emotions after I rebelled against Him and if He will, how will He do this?
3. Will I marry Kyle if I go out with him (a prophet at church said no)?

So there is this guy named Adrian, he was a total classist, idolatorous jerk in middle school and now he is so kind, selfless, humble, faithful, joyful and religious… he talks about God 24 hours a day 7 days a week to everybody and tries to convert them. As well he was incredibly ugly in middle, didn’t have any friends and is VERY good-looking now.

I had a dream that Adrian was talking and leading a bunch of people, in the dark night, where only the man made lights made things bright. There was a small pit behind Adrian that might have been man made and was shaped exactly like those pits that people use to practice skatboading tricks on… and lights flashing on either side of the pit…. and adrian stood right in front of the ravine shaped pit, right at the mid point between the two ends of the ravine side and I was listening to him talk.

And then Adrian came along with this large triangle, that had other triangles attached to it in a tree-like formation… like a triangular pyramid, that had been divided into many subsets of triangles… and they were hung along by strings and even the strings themselves were extended in triangular formation forming the subsets and each triangle was in the shape of a pyramid. I wanted Adrian to give me one of those triangular pyramid trees for myself but he would’t reproduce one for me and it I couldn’t get it on my own… I forgot to mention the triangle tree diagram held along by strings was held up by the top most triangle of the pyramid, and Adrian kept the triangles in proper order by holding up the highest triangle in his hand.

And then… I saw that each person had a "magic" book in their hand… the book had a collection of "magic" electronic photographs of different people in their life, and when you opened the book, you were brought into this surreal hall… where they had many portraits like an art gallery, each portrait the same size, width length and height about twice the size of a grown man… and each portrait had the image of someone on them… I went to the first portrait and saw an old white lady who was my grandmother, and she came magically to life and started talking to me, she was sitting down in a repose sort of way, was very skinny and had an excellent figure. She had a pony tail up, wore glasses, and was drinking tea. I believe her hair was orange.

I am chinese, so it’s strange that in my dream the grandmother was white. I believe that chinese symbolize wisdom, or mysticisim and that white symbolizes an outgoing type of person.

Try a dream dictionary on the internet

(NO); the Bible Is (NOT) a word of "third party" hands !

This is because the Bible says at second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16 "ALL Scripture is INSPIRED of God" !

Christians blasphemously claim that their New Testament is a continuation of the "Old Testament" but that is a LIE. Christianity needs a book of truth to give their pagan Christian doctrine credibility. The have taken verses from the books of the prophets in the Israelite Scriptures and claimed they were prophesies about their Messiah Jesus Christ. Check Matthew 2:13-15. "This was done to make what the Lord had said through the prophet come true, "I called my Son out of Egypt". But the prophet in the Israelite Scriptures was not prophesying about Jesus Christ, he was speaking about the Israelites:

"God says, ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him and called him out of Egypt as my son. But the more I called to him, the more he turned away from me. My people sacrificed to Baal; they burnt incense to idols." (Hosea 11:1-2). God referred to the Israelites as his son:

"Again, God said to Moses, ‘Now that you are going back to Egypt, be sure to perform before Pharaoh all the miracles which I have given you the power to do. But I will make Pharoah stubborn and he will not let my people go. Then you must tell him that I God say, ‘Israel is my firstborn son. I told you to let my son go, so that he might worship me, but you refused. Now I am going to kill your firstborn son." (Exodus 4:21-23).

Christians have stolen sacred words and attached them to their pagan religious doctrine. Christianity’s sin is greater than any other religion on earth.
Source(s):
The Israelite Scriptures: Hosea 11:1-2, Exodus 4:21-23

By plagiarizing and attempting to connect the Hebrew Bible with the stories of Jesus, this was the only way early Christians could connect Jesus and turn it into a new religion. The problem also lies with the fact that early Jews actually believed this character, and simply added storiues about him onto what they already knew. The harm it did later was that a non-Jew then took what they had done and further twisted it into whatever order he wanted, divisions within the Christian religion itself arose, then the Bible was translated into many lanaguages hleping people to interpret for themselves (which is half ot he problem) making more and more religious denominations, until you have what we have today, a distored view, which certainly is NOT what Christianity was, using a Jewish text to try and suppose JESUS onto everything, which is not the truth.

You wouldn’t believe it if I told you, but my son (age 6 1/2) and I are currently working our way through the Chronicles of Narnia for his evening bedtime stories (we finished "The Magician’s Nephew" last week, and are currently about halfway through "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe"). He really seems to enjoy them; although since he hasn’t really been introduced to Christian lore, the ham-handed allegory of Aslan-as-Jesus goes completely unnoticed by him…

And for the Christians (since I know some of you are reading this as well) — would you object if your child had a copy of "The God Delusion" in their backpack, or if they wanted to rent "The Golden Compass" at Blockbuster tonight?

As a kid, I loved the Chronicles of Narnia. But my mom actually wouldn’t allow me to read them because it had a witch in it. She considered it unchristian. I would sneak them from my best friend though. And not once did I ever catch on to an idea of christianity. I was just taken up in the fantasy and fun of it.

Most kids read books to have fun. I want my kids to read whatever books they can enjoy.

And given the level of bickering back and forth about what Scripture means, do you believe that God expects each of us to be a scholar of Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Chaldean to understand His word and the message of salvation? No! This is why He, in His wisdom, started a Church with teaching authority through Peter, the earthly father of the New Covenant and whose successors sit on the Chair of Peter, just as Abraham was the earthly father of the Old Covenant and his successors sat on the Chair of Moses.

Though we are not to "Judaize" because as Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, warned in the 1st century, " Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity," Christianity can only be fully grasped by understanding it for what it is: the Old Covenant growing into the New Covenant, the fulfillment of the Old Testament religion, the organic result of the coming of the expected Messiah Who was Himself from the Tribe of Judah. Tradition and earthly authority have always been an extremely important part of this:

Malachi 2-7
For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

Our Lord founded a Church (Matthew 16:18-19), not a book, which was to be the pillar and ground of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15). We can know what this Church teaches by looking not only at Sacred Scripture, but into History and by reading what the earliest Christians have written, what those who’ve sat on the Chair of Peter have spoken consistently with Scripture and Tradition, and what they’ve solemnly defined. To believe that the Bible is our only source of Christian Truth is unbiblical and illogical.

And here is a little something to think on for those who believe in sola scriptura: Ignatius, appointed as Bishop of Antioch by Peter, came up against some Jews who resorted to the same mind-set in order to disprove Christ’s Messiahship. In his first century letter to the Philadelphians he wrote: "When I heard some saying, If I do not find it in the ancient Scriptures, I will not believe the Gospel; on my saying to them, It is written, they answered me, That remains to be proved."

2 Peter 3:16
As also in all his [Paul's] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
My original question was going to say :

Why do some Protestants like to use 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as a "proof-text" that Sola Scriptura (Bible only) is a Biblical principle?

.

Pastor Billy says: truth be told, the ones who claim they hold to sola scriptura don’t. They’ve been waving that false claim around like some sort of banner the last 450 years but in truth they’ve merely exchanged the authority of the Pope and bishops for the authority of themselves or the local congregational preacher and once they decide they don’t like his take on things one of two things happen, they go find another preacher they like or start their own church and become pastors in training.

After the Protestant reformation the Protestants pretty well immediately sub-divided and that subdivision is still on-going to this day. Some of the higher church Protestants still resemble what should be Christian worship yet all of them do not have a valid priesthood and once that was given up there was an authority void created, a black-hole in a sense. The liturgical and sacramental life of the Church was damaged and an attempt to fill this hole the idea of "sola scriptura" arose. It sounded good (superficial as it is) and so some Protestants ran with it such as the dim and plain witted Puritanicals hiss boo hiss.

I had a dream that adrian was talking and leading a bunch of people, in the dark night, where only the man made lights made things bright. There was a small pit behind Adrian that might have been man made and was shaped exactly like those pits that people use to practice skatboading tricks on… and lights flashing on either side of the pit…. and adrian stood right in front of the ravine shaped pit, right at the mid point between the two ends of the ravine side and I was listening to him talk.

And then Adrian came along with this large triangle, that had other triangles attached to it in a tree-like formation… like a triangular pyramid, that had been divided into many subsets of triangles… and they were hung along by strings and even the strings themselves were extended in triangular formation forming the subsets and each triangle was in the shape of a pyramid. I wanted Adrian to give me one of those triangular pyramid trees for myself but he would’t reproduce one for me and it I couldn’t get it on my own…

And then… I saw that each person had a "magic" book in their hand… the book had a collection of "magic" electronic photographs of different people in their life, and when you opened the book, you were brought into this surreal hall… where they had many portraits like an art gallery, each portrait the same size, width length and height about about 2 times the size of a grown man… and each portrait had the image of someone on them… I went to the first portrait and saw an white old lady who was my grandmother, and she came magically to life and started talking to me, she was sitting down in a repose sort of way, was very skinny and had an excellent figure. She had a pony tail up, wore glasses, and was drinking tea. I believe her hair was orange.

I am chinese, so it’s strange that in my dream the grandmother was white. I believe that chinese symbolize wisdom, or mysticisim and that white symbolizes an outgoing type of person.
I forgot to mention the triangle tree diagram held along by strings was held up by the top most triangle of the pyramid, and adrian held the triangles in his hand.

I am impressed that you remember so many details about a dream that complex. But this story was not only too long but it was confusing. Its your dream so its meant for you to decipher.

2:191- Kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from wherever they drove you out.

5: 45– We ordained therein for them: Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear. Tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.

2:193- Fight them on until there is no more tumult and religion becomes that of Allah

9:29- "Fight those who do not believe in God and the last day… and fight People of the Book, (Christian and Jews) who do not accept the religion of truth (Islam) until they pay tribute (Zizziya tax) by hand, being inferior.
5:33-The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution (by beheading), or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;

8:12- I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off.

47:4- Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), strike off their heads; at length; then when you have made wide Slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives: thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens.

Read the bible…how can anyone claim Christianity is a peaceful religion?

Even though my son didn’t, the majority of the kids ripped them up, set fire to them or played a new version of football with them.

Isn’t this just a waste of you good christians money ???

And would i be allowed to hand out copies of the ‘Book of Shadows’ by Lady Sheba at schools ???
My son is at secondary.

The books were handed out in ‘assembly’.

I am not a liar, and this is no joke.
PS::Sorry maybe i should have said but my son has 4 bibles. 1 i bought him, 1 he bought himself and 2 he won for bible reading.
He said to the man "no thanks i have 4 bibles at home. And the chap said everyone needs to take one". So he did.

Also there are children from many religions in this school and my sons class.
My son is 12yrs old, and we live in Scotland, UK.

I will be phoning the school first thing in the morning. Plus i allow my sons to follow thier own religion, they are christian, i am a witch. Thats it. But other kids were calling my son a ‘bible basher’ because he didn’t tear or burn it.

By the way some of these kids who destroyed them are from ‘christian families’ but i doubt thier parents will get to hear of thier kids actions.

Thanks for all the replies….
PPS:::Well firstly thanks for all your replies.
As for the school i phoned them first thing yest. morn. to speak to the principal ‘Suprisingly’, he was not available. So i left my name and number with his secretary, for him to return my call.
Needless to say i am still waiting.
But i will be sending a letter today to the education dept.
Yes btw, this is a non-denominational school. And its not just because of my beliefs, i am going to take action. It’s because i think it is wrong the way they ‘forced’ all the kids to take one.
BB
AW….

The school cannot make any child take home religious texts…that is crazy. I wouldn’t care if it were optional but they would have to allow for all religious texts to be handed out…and I would love it if you sent my son home with that particular book of shadows…I need some fresh ideas for my own.=)

Tonight: Priceless (Rhodes/Dibiase) get a re-match at Edge/Christian (c) for the WTE World Tag Team Championships. Their is also another team that hasn’t been getting along well after the Rumble, Shane McMahon and Big Daddy V failed to capture the EWE Tag Team titles and tonight these two will have the chance to beat the hell out of each other in a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE match. And, in our Main Event KWE’s Alex Dman and GPWF’s Jack Riot will team up and fight EWE’s Champions……The Intercontinental Champion, UMAGA and the World Heavyweight Champion, KANE in an ECW EXTREME RULEZ match! Also tonight, as a result of The Undertaker burying CM Punk at last week’s Royal Rumble, The Deadman will host CM PUNK’S FUNERAL!

LET’S START THE SHOW, here’s tonight’s matches:

1. 8-Diva Tag Team match:

Maryse/Beth Phoenix/Michelle McCool/Velvet Sky
vs
Victoria/Lita/Trish Stratus/O.D.B

2. Tag Team match: Re-match for the WTE World Tag Team Championships!

Edge/Christian (c) vs Cody Rhodes/Ted Dibiase

3. EXTREME RULEZ: Rob Van Dam vs Mick Foley

4. HARDCORE match: Falls Count Anywhere!

Shane McMahon vs Big Daddy V

Event#1: The Undertaker hosts "CM PUNK’S FUNERAL"!

The Undertaker comes to the ring, bringing with him a Casket. (which is said to have Punk’s body inside) Undertaker steps into the ring with a black book in hand. (the book of the dead) Undertaker is followed by fellow member of The Ministry Gangrel and about 10 men in black capes hiding their faces as they chant: "Rest in Peace thy lonley soul". The Deadman welcomes the fans to the funeral and he reminds them why this came to be: "CM Punk and I had a Buried Alive match last week at the Royal Rumble, the object of that match was to beat up your opponant, then shove them inside a Casket close the lid and bury him under 2 tons of dirt. I did that exact thing to CM Punka**, I beat him within an inch of his life. He had so much blood pouring from his head, he thought he was DEAD! (or at least he wished he was) Then I shoved him in that Casket, shut the lid an buried that "Punk" under. And that is why you did NOT see him in the Royal Rumble match last week. And now i’m here hosting his funeral, he had a good run (while it lasted) but I had a better one! What did Punk do in his career in the WWE? Winning the World title cashing in Money in the Bank? Well, that won’t fly here in EWE. If Punk wants a title match here he’ll have to earn it, which he won’t even have that opprotunity now that he’s gone and will never return to EWE again! I on the other hand have earned myself a shot at the I.C title next week, I will beat Umaga and once again be called a Champion! So, to CM Punk I say this: REST….IN….PEACE!" Jimmy Wang Yang makes his entrance and this match begins!

5. The Undertaker vs Jimmy Wang Yang

MAIN EVENT: ECW EXTREME RULEZ!

Kane (c)/UMAGA (c) vs KWE: Alex Dman/GPWF: Jack Riot

Give today’s edition of EWE a rating and answer the WQ below.

WQ: Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy at WM*25*? So, where’s Christian’s return?

1. 8-Diva Tag Team match:

Maryse/Beth Phoenix/Michelle McCool/Velvet Sky
vs
Victoria/Lita/Trish Stratus/O.D.B
Trish hits the Springboard Bulldog 1.2.3

2. Tag Team match: Re-match for the WTE World Tag Team Championships!

Edge/Christian (c) vs Cody Rhodes/Ted Dibiase
Ted-Dibiase hits the Dream Crusher TAP TAP TAP (Cobra Clutch Legsweep, into a Cobra clutch style camel clutch.

3. EXTREME RULEZ: Rob Van Dam vs Mick Foley
Van Dam bites Mick Foleys hand when Foley applies the Edible Claw, then he hits the Holly wood star press 1…2…3

4. HARDCORE match: Falls Count Anywhere!

Shane McMahon vs Big Daddy V
Shane hits the Coast to Coast 1…2…3

Event#1: The Undertaker hosts "CM PUNK’S FUNERAL"!

The Undertaker comes to the ring, bringing with him a Casket. (which is said to have Punk’s body inside) Undertaker steps into the ring with a black book in hand. (the book of the dead) Undertaker is followed by fellow member of The Ministry Gangrel and about 10 men in black capes hiding their faces as they chant: "Rest in Peace thy lonley soul". The Deadman welcomes the fans to the funeral and he reminds them why this came to be: "CM Punk and I had a Buried Alive match last week at the Royal Rumble, the object of that match was to beat up your opponant, then shove them inside a Casket close the lid and bury him under 2 tons of dirt. I did that exact thing to CM Punka**, I beat him within an inch of his life. He had so much blood pouring from his head, he thought he was DEAD! (or at least he wished he was) Then I shoved him in that Casket, shut the lid an buried that "Punk" under. And that is why you did NOT see him in the Royal Rumble match last week. And now i’m here hosting his funeral, he had a good run (while it lasted) but I had a better one! What did Punk do in his career in the WWE? Winning the World title cashing in Money in the Bank? Well, that won’t fly here in EWE. If Punk wants a title match here he’ll have to earn it, which he won’t even have that opprotunity now that he’s gone and will never return to EWE again! I on the other hand have earned myself a shot at the I.C title next week, I will beat Umaga and once again be called a Champion! So, to CM Punk I say this: REST….IN….PEACE!" Jimmy Wang Yang makes his entrance and this match begins!

5. The Undertaker vs Jimmy Wang Yang
Yang has so much mometum, and is beating undertaker then Yang goes for the Yang time, but Undertaker cathes him and hits the Jumping Tombstone Piledriver 1…2…3

MAIN EVENT: ECW EXTREME RULEZ!

Kane (c)/UMAGA (c) vs KWE: Alex Dman/GPWF: Jack Riot Tornado Tag
End: After a huge!!! two hour fight after doing so many finishers on each other, Jack Riot HAS HAD ENOUGH, Riot taunts to the crowd…. OMG no….. Jack riot is unleashing, for the first time on EWE….. His Main Event, high profile Killer…… THE INFERNAL STRANGLEHOLD (Cobra Clutch Style Triangle Hold – watch this on youtube) Kane is going purple, he starts spewing out blood…. Kane keeps on going…. Dman keeps Umaga away from Riot while the hold is on…..wait…………TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give today’s edition of EWE a rating and answer the WQ below.
10/10 because of the INFERNAL STRANGLEHOLD

WQ: Where have you been Joey? where is Alex? In GPWF, Benoit has returned to fight orton, plz answer my shows!

is the bible truely the words of God as the figure " Jesus and his apostles stated within it " ? – and do not give me any answers with Bible scriptures , tell me with divine proof that you know for a fact that God created that Bible……

If I handed you a book with demands in it that I wrote myself and said " these are the laws that you must obey in order to acheive eternity " I guess you christians would believe me correct ?

Where is the proof that God wrote that book ?

If Jesus is suppose to be a true figure , then is that to say that God is actually powerless to what goes on in the world and cannot choose to straighten things up as he wishes ?.. and do not tell me anything from the bible about Jesus dying for our sins so that God could look kindly on us as we sin .
where is the proof that God wrote that book ……How do you know that there were actually apostles that copied the words of Jesus in an effort to save us from our sins ….where is it ?
dont get me wrong …I’m not only directing this to christianity ….this is an effort to see truth from all religions…. no one book can prove God wrote any of it ….
Bobert ….." the word of God "….according to who ?….how do you know this ?…. prove it .

It baffles me how people demand answers from people. What is it that you are really searching for? Is the fact that I believe in Christ bothersome to you? I will share Christ with you if you would allow it, but i will not try to force it upon you. What is wrong with that my friend?

EDIT: Do you really want to know the truth?
If you do, then just do this one thing ok, I do believe in the bible and that is it God breathed…..and the bible says that if anyone wishes to know TRUTH, to just pray to God and Ask Him to show you……He promises to. So if you really really want to know my friend. Just try it…..What will it hurt….God Bless you, i will pray for you. He will listen.

1, is the bible which is in your hands, the book which jesus wrote as a scripture revealed by god?

2, did jesus order or desire at any time in his life to write anything on his behalf?

3, was the bible which is in your hands, written during the life of jesus?

4,was the bible which is in your hand today written immediately after the crucification/departure of jesus?

use yes/no.
thx.

yes to all !!! JESUS is the WORD, and was in the beginning !!!

An anonymous webmaster wrote about a revelation that he received during her/his daily prayer and meditation:

"Suddenly many aspects of the New Testament made sense. Jesus never married. He preached love, tolerance, and forgiveness of sins. He did not condemn and vilify as his so-called followers do today. He surrounded himself with men whom he loved. The Bible says nothing of Jesus’ sexuality, yet we are taught that he was both divine and fully man. Why did he never marry? Why is the New Testament silent about his sexuality? It became so clear when I had the insight that Jesus was probably gay and that He understood hatred and bigotry first-hand."

Mark 14:51-52 describes the incident when Jesus was arrested by the religious police. It describes how one of Jesus’ followers was scantily dressed. The King James Version says he had a linen cloth cast on his naked body; the size and location of the cloth is not defined. The New International Version says that he was "wearing nothing but a linen garment." When the police tried to seize him, they were able to grab only his cloth; the man ran away naked. Reverend Peter Murphy wrote: "We don’t know from the sources what really was going on, but we do know that something was very peculiar between Jesus and young men." 11 (Emphasis in the original.)

bulletMichael Kelly wrote of Jesus’ attitude towards a same-sex couple as described in Matthew 8:5-13: and Luke 7:2: "One day a Roman Centurion asked him to heal his dying servant. Scholars of both Scripture and Ancient History tell us that Roman Centurions, who were not permitted to marry while in service, regularly chose a favorite male slave to be their personal assistant and sexual servant. Such liaisons were common in the Greco-Roman world and it was not unusual for them to deepen into loving partnerships….Jesus offered to go to the servant, but the centurion asked him simply to speak a word of healing, since he was not worthy to welcome this itinerant Jewish teacher under his roof. Jesus responded by healing the servant and proclaiming that even in Israel he had never found faith like this! So, in the one Gospel story where Jesus encountered people sharing what we would call a ‘gay relationship,’ we see him simply concerned about and deeply moved by their faith and love." Kelly implies that Jesus’ sensitivity towards the gay couple might have arisen from his own bisexual or homosexual orientation. 1
bulletSome commentators argue from silence. They note that there is no passage in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) that directly describes anything about Jesus’ sexuality. There are many direct and indirect references to Jesus’ sensuality. He was accused of being a "drunkard and a glutton" and of partying with "prostitutes and sinners." He apparently enjoyed a tender foot massage from a woman. Yet, neither Jesus’ sexuality nor his celibacy is mentioned. Yet, sex is referred to, elsewhere in the Bible, quite often. One might argue that the books in the Christian Scriptures might have once described Jesus’ sexual relationships, but that these passages have been vigorously censored by the later church because they were unconventional.
bulletOther commentators have noted that Jesus is silent towards homosexuality in the Gospels. Yet, Paul’s opinions and those of many other authors in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are clearly stated. They conclude that Jesus might have been gay. Odler Jeanlouie speculated: "Is it meaningful that, in the Sermon on the Mount, central to his teaching, he offered a one-way trip to the Kingdom of God, to anyone who is persecuted?" 12

THERE_!

Completely within yahoo guidelines, with references cited. Report this one, I appeal, and you lose points

Now lets have a discussion without the blasphemy crying kids.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jegay.htm

"no…."
Yes, Jesus liked the gentleman. Take a minute, breathe, and take that in.
Omg.. I was kind enough to post arguments from both sides, and the people who disagree with Jesus being gay are refuting the wrong evidence

So it has finally come to light that the books of the bIble are not in fact as true as people thought them to be…Kudos to you ! …

"He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso braketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him." Ecclesiastes 10:18

Sometimes we read of some blatant atheist who challenges God to strike him dead, or to prove His existence, but it is rarely indeed that God takes up such a challenge in the form in which it is made. However, in the case we are considering, and accepted it in such a remarkable way that the infidel’s grave is preaching effective sermons to many people week after week and year after year. The cause related is not one that occurred in the distant past, and which no one can investigate today. Any one with an automobile and a little spare time can see for himself. Large numbers of people are doing that very thing. It was my privilege to make the trip to North Benton, Ohio, to see the cemetery of which I speak.

The atheist in question was Mr. Chester Bedell, who died in 1908 at the age of eighty-two. He is said to have been a very bold and blatant skeptic, and was out-spoken in opposition to God and the Bible. I was told that he was a very mean man and that neighbors and others were afraid that if they crossed him they might get up the next morning to find their barn burned to the ground or other damage done. It is declared that he left one dollar each to his two Christian daughters and his 2,500 acres of land to his unbelieving sons. He was in many law suits during his life. It is said that he occasionally attended the Presbyterian Church in the town of North Benton, and that his presence threw such coldness over the service as soon as he entered that it almost broke up the meeting.

The direct challenge which Mr.Bedell hurled at the Almighty was this: "If there is a God or any truth in the Bible, let Him infest my grave with snakes." He wrote a book against the Bible entitled, "Universal Mental Liberty." Sometime before his death he had an imposing statue of himself made of bronze and placed upon a large pedestal. In his uplifted hand is a book with the inscription, "Universal Mental Liberty." Under his foot is a scroll representing the Bible, with the word "Superstition" in large letters. A minister visited one of Mr.Bedell’s daughters for information, and she said her father belonged to "The Society of Damned Souls" and had said that if there was a God he wanted Him to infest his grave with snakes. His daughter says that when he was dying he said, "Oh, that I had never had that monument built," and he wished he were able to go over to that cemetery and tear it down, but it was too late.

And what was the sequel? SNAKES! When the grave was dug the sexton killed two snakes and when the casket was brought to the grave another large snake had to be removed before it could be lowered. That was twenty-four years ago, and since that time the family lot has been full of snake holes around the curbing. The snakes can be seen any day you visit the cemetery, except, perhaps the day after a rain. The sexton told me that under the monument and around the grave is a den of snakes. And an equally remarkable fact is that this burial lot is the only place in the cemetery where snakes are ever found-so the sexton declared to me in a talk I had with him. The North Benton cemetery has a regularly employed sexton who takes excellent care of the grounds.

The trip which I made to North Benton was by auto from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. North Benton is just eighty miles from Pittsburgh. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, who took me in their car, had made two previous trips. On one they counted eight live snakes. On the other they saw sixteen that had been killed and piled up by other parties. As we neared the cemetery I felt nervous and somewhat excited. Yes, there was the monument just as it had been described to me! I counted ten angry looking snake holes around the grave. I have pictures of five snakes, including two large ones crawling from between crevices in the cement curbing. The sexton had killed a black snake six feet six inches long just before we came, and he saw the head of another, the largest he had ever seen, which crawled back before he could kill it. I inquired why there were bloodstains on the statue, and the sexton said boys would kill the snakes and throw them up and around the neck of Mr. Bedell’s statue, then he would have the task of taking them down. That is almost enough to make the old atheist turn over in the grave! As many as twenty snakes have been killed in a day, and the sexton says that the more you kill the more there seem to be. One expression heard in and around North Benton is , "Well, if Bedell did ask for snakes he sure got ‘em!"

The sexton informed me that people come from all over the United States to see the statue and grave, and that previous Sunday, 200 or more people were in that cemetery. Mr. Bedell’s Sons and some people near the cemetery are pretty much stirred up over the publicity that snakes have brought to the place and have been talking of taking the statue down, feeling that the statue and snakes together are a reflection on their cemetery. Some have told the caretaker that they wished that he would tear the monument down, but he replied that he did not think that it should be torn down, as it preached too many sermons.

-B.E. Perigo.
And if you think it’s to long then don’t waste my time by sending me stupid answers

I think this was truly fascinating, and was worth the reading! To the caretaker I would respond that it was NOT the monument that caused the snakes, it was the man’s challenge to God. And it doesn’t matter if anyone "planted" the snakes; with today’s technology, those snakes could be easily eradicated. No one has been able to do that, and the old man got what he wanted; physical proof that God exists. AND that God ANSWERS PRAYER, even to a professed atheist! What is so intriguing is that even with evidence such as this, people will scoff and say it is not proof. I would respond, "go to that grave with the best method for removing snakes and get rid of them; then tell me there is no God." Any takers?

The passage here is talking about the dominance that humans have over the "beasts" or animals of lesser intelligence.

Fact is, those beasts DO fear us. Man has no NATURAL predators. Attacks on humans are almost always territorial and defensive. They feel threatened and attack to protect their young or themselves.

We have the ability to dominate every animal on the planet through the resources we were given. I have no problem what-so-ever attacking a bear or a lion because I’ve been given the intelligence to do so in a way that does not require me to use brute force (the only real weapon those beasts have on their side).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4717864.ece

Of course you forgot that time is differ to God than it is to you. Read this:

2 Peter 3

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

He is delaying the Great Tribulation so that others may come to Jesus the Christ. what you should doing right now is bringing the good news to others so they may not experience the day of GOD’s WRATH!!!

To me, these fail to be convincing arguments on the Christians’ part. Non-Christians are not going to appreciate having the whole Bible spewed out in front of otherwise simple questions to answer, and "God loves you" is really overused as a rebuttal to everything, no matter how irrelevant. These seem to come up especially often on questions that the Christians seem afraid to answer directly.

Meanwhile, the atheists are better at reasoning out their responses and specifically addressing the question at hand. Their responses typically show a good deal of logic they applied themselves, and not something they are merely parroting from a book or preacher. Their responses tend to be much less emotional and more grounded in logic, fact and scientific evidence.

I think everybody would benefit if the Christians were able to argue their viewpoints on more intellectual terms and stimulate thoughtful discussion, versus their traditional blind preaching. Atheists, what suggestions could you make to Christians that would make their views more plausible to you? Christians, can you think of different arguments to back up your points, that maybe show a little more independent thinking on your part and less repeating random verses? Anybody who doesn’t fit into either of these groups, what are your thoughts on the matter?
Alright, a small correction. I am NOT implying that all Christians on here are like this; indeed, I have seen some that can display a good deal of thoughtfulness in their answers. I am merely pointing out a couple trends that I tend to see in most of the others’ answers.
Rolling Stone, there’s that "Jesus loves you" thing I pointed out above. Just because you use a literary material as a source does NOT automatically make your argument valid and proven. Ultimately, your source had to be backed by its own sources in turn, and the problem is that the Bible cannot do that. Also, I LOVE how you just assumed that I am a Bible hater. I appreciate the prejudice.

Hey Rolling Stone, by applying your logic I could argue that Harry Potter was a real character, because a book was written down where he appeared and did things. By using that book as a reference, then it must mean that everything in it must be true.

See the flaw?

It matters not what is used as a reference, if it has no evidence backing it up, then it’s pretty much just as valid as using a Harry Potter book as reference. And this is where science and religion differ. Science usually has evidence and such backing up a scientific theory, so it’s not just an idea full of air. Yes, these theories may end up being proved wrong with future evidence, but this doesn’t remove anything from the validity of science. Once a theory is proved wrong, then another will inevitably be formed that takes into consideration the new evidence found. And you’re also free to disagree with a scientific theory if you want (in fact, it’s fundamental to the scientific method to be skeptical of most, if not all, theories, since by constantly researching and testing theories is how they’re usually proved or disproved), just as long as you have a valid argument against such theory, of course.

And what does religion do? It provides no backing to it’s statements besides the one in which the writers were ‘divinely inspired’ or something of that nature (which, really, has absolutely NO validity whatsoever, since I could write a book right now and say it was inspired by God, and I could even convince people that it’s true.), it’s stagnant in nature, and completely disregards most advances in science that disprove its validity. And it’s usually seen as wrong to even question the bible and related works.

Obviously they’re 2 different people.