It is just nice to be on a forum where someone isn't telling us it is a "type of Mary"


Good article ..

[The early church obviously added a great deal to the scriptures. If the text applied for this principle is Revelation 22, then it's worth noting that that verse about adding and taking away seems to be referring to Revelation as such, rather than the Bible as such.]

I'm very hesitant to suggest that adding to the Scriptures is a good idea at this point - for one thing, the Book of Mormon contains obvious contradictions and theological untruths. But I'm not sure where the warning about adding to Scriptures is. The early church obviously added a great deal to the scriptures. If the text applied for this principle is Revelation 22, then it's worth noting that that verse about adding and taking away seems to be referring to Revelation as such, rather than the Bible as such.

If there is another verse, though, I would be very grateful to know it. I could definitely use it in certain conversations. 

God is the author of the scriptures, He is also the organizer of them. It is not an accident that that admonition falls at the end of the Scriptures .

God is immutable, He does not change or contradict himself

Deu 4:2   Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Deu 12:32   What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Pro 30:6   Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Jesus offers this warning

Mat 15:9   But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

This is also where my grievance lies. 

When Christ was preaching, He could be as harsh or as gentle as He wanted, because He knew the hearts of the people He was addressing.  He knew exactly where they were coming from and exactly what they needed to hear.

We, as regular sinful human beings, do not have this power.  We cannot gauge someone's knowledge of the Bible, so throwing a Chick tract at them might not be so effective, especially if it's one of the offensive tracts mentioned by servant. 

Sometimes  the truth stings but it is still the truth

Thanks to all for the warm welcome !

I'm always hearing Protestants and Roman Catholics bad mouthing the Mormans. Why? Simply because their doctrine is different? They still believe Jesus is the Savior.

They have a different jesus not the Jesus of the Bible.

Their jesus is a spirit child of  god and the spirit brother of satan .

So the jesus they see as saviour is a false Christ

[the waters [were] to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters [were] to the loins.]

Hi Calsgal,

Again welcome to Christians Unite. I am gald to see you here.

There were two special trees in the Garde of Eden. Personally I would not call either of the mystical or magical. I do know that each had their special abilities. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil gave Adam and Eve the ability to know the difference between good and evil. The other tree was the Tree of Life which had the ability to maintain life forever. We know that the Tree of Life is now in heaven as we are told in the book of Revelations and those that have accepted Jesus as their Saviour will be able to partake of it.

I have had a fascination with the images the scriptures paint for us .

This scripture spoke to me when I was a fairly new Christian



Eze 47:3   And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters [were] to the ankles.


Eze 47:4   Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters [were] to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters [were] to the loins.


Eze 47:5   Afterward he measured a thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.


Eze 47:6   And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen [this]? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.


Eze 47:7   Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many trees on the one side and on the other.


Eze 47:8   Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: [which being] brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.


Eze 47:9   And it shall come to pass, [that] every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.


Eze 47:10   And it shall come to pass, [that] the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a [place] to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

Eze 47:12   And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.


Eze 47:13   Thus saith the Lord GOD; This [shall be] the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph [shall have two] portions.

My heart saw this flowing stream as the grace of God that came to my ankles then my knees and then engulfed me .


We see the same image in Revelations

Rev 22:1   And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.


Rev 22:2   In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.


Rev 22:3   And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:


Rev 22:4   And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.


Rev 22:5   And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Amen and amen

Calsgal, Hi I would first like to welcome you to CU, I am happy you decided to join us.

to answer your question was there 'magic' in the tree or mystical power? or the fruit.

There was no magic in anything that God created.

It was a LAW, God's law was for Adam and Eve not to eat of that particular tree, they broke that law. Because God is Omniscient He knew they had broken His law and the result of that breaking of God's command we are all too familiar with.

God does not contradict Himself in anyway. He condemns srcery and workers of magic.

God is Omnipotent, He does not need to work magic on anything.

I agree with you on this 

Thanks, there was an old saying that came from the puritans I think

It went some like 

Before the fall, man was free to sin or not sin ( man was innocent)

After the fall man could only choose sin

After man is saved he can choose to sin or not sin

In glory man will not be able to sin


Luther called the result of the  fall " the bondage of the will" .

In Adam all of us fell..

We had a lesson today and my teacher said that God did not put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. I would like to get your views on this matter. We had a man in our class who said the tree was a metaphor. I don't believe it to be a metaphor but I am kind of confused too. 
catty

Of course God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden, just as He put Satan in the garden.

Now was there "magic " in the tree? Did the fruit have some mystical power?

I am not too sure if it was the fruit itself .

God had a covenant with Adam, there was only one law. Do not eat of that tree.

Up to the point of disobeying the Law given by God, Adam and Eve were innocent . They did not know what sin was (transgression of the law-- Romans) . But once they did transgress the law they did know what sin was ( their eyes were open), they lost the innocence they had. They now understood that there was good and their was evil, they now had a conscience . That is why they ran and hid their nakedness.


God put the tree in the garden, God put Satan in the Garden . God was not surprised at the fall, He had already made provision for it.

 

Isn't God good ?

ONLY GOD IS GOOD

["God isn't saying lets make a deal, God is saying, this is the deal."]

As a friend of mine would say, and I am paraphrasing, "God isn't saying lets make a deal, God is saying, this is the deal." Gods Word, is Gods Word. There is no nit-picking Gods Word, God said it I believe it.

AMEN

[Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do]

I still don't see how my original answers were misleading.  Any reasonable person should be able to understand what I was saying.  If you could clue me in to how I was being facetious, that'd be appreciated.

I don't believe in mincing words when witnessing either.  But I believe everything should be presented as clearly, fairly, and correctly balanced as possible.  And in my opinion, Jack Chick isn't doing this.  His ideas seem rather radical (Roman Catholics are not Christian, all Rock music is from the devil, even Christian rock, etc...)  He uses a scare tactic in trying to convert people.  He also plays into ALL types of offensive stereotypes and I just wondered why people advocate his work.

And for the record, I have seen people walking down the street with signs that say "repent or go to hell."  Carried by people passing out these tracts. 

Jhn 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.

Jhn 6:70   Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

Chick tracks are very direct, and sometime a bit harsh. But you can not present the gospel to people unless you get their attention first. I prefer to "judge" them one at a time rather than a general condemnation .

And I handed out tracks at halloween ( not Chick, but defiantly presenting the need everyone has for a Savior)

I don't carry signs around in that manner but when I witness to someone I don't mince words. Jesus Christ Himself said in Luk 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. I see no mincing of words in that statement either.

God is a God of love but He is also a God of wrath. As long as salvation is taught it does not matter or do you reject the teaching of Phillipians 1 ?

I agree.

Unless men see and understand they have broken Gods law and that they deserve punishment, they will never see a need for a saviour .

Before one can accept mercy they must know they have already been judged guilty !

Like Jim from Ohio, this New Yorker has come to look around and see if this can be a new home.
Like him I am not thrilled with my current forum

I love Christ and the word of God. I also love doctrinal apologists . I take God at His word that Iron sharpens iron.