Well I wouldn't have put America first either.  They certainly provided much help when it was most needed but Great Britain [now the UK] had to fight for years by themselves and had the Nazis won even America's freedom would have been threatened.  It must not be forgotten either that our Scottish and Welsh brethren carried much of the burden as did our commonwealth brethren.  I thank them.  Our free Irish brethren chose to help the enemy under the guise of neutrality.

God bless

from ollie
Is it not possible for all parties concerned to simply say, " Let us go to God's word and see what He teaches?"
Then accept it as the final authority on the matter since it is from God

WHY ?

Homosexual propaganda is routinely left on the tables in our lunch room.  A few weeks ago I left a “Focus on the Family” brochure touting marriage as something between a woman and a man – someone threw it in the wastebasket within 20 minutes.

“Community involvement” means passing out condoms or protesting conservative government.  “Tolerance” is something others must have for homosexuals – no other opinions are tolerated.  “Being spiritual” is swimming naked and marijuana is medicine.  Crosses are worn on nipple rings as a “statement”.  The three most “evil” men in the world are President Bush, the Pope and Billy Graham.  

But I still openly post Bible verses on my office wall.  (Since I am a manager they are ignored rather than admonished.)  I openly read the Bible on the train to and from The City – which usually means the empty seat next to me is the last one taken on a crowded train – and when it is finally taken it is, more often than not, another Christian.  (Praise the Lord!!!)  

Today it is cold and windy, (well if you consider 50 F cold), threatening rain – it is actually quite dreary.  I looked out our office window an hour or so ago and watched the wind turn someone's umbrella inside out just as she was almost mowed down by a Yellow Cab.  The cabbie was having a hissie-fit because she dared walk where he was driving.  

What is REALLY interesting is to see all the summertime tourists in their T-shirts and shorts absolutely FREEZING to death.  They all have a quizzical look like "I thought this was "Sunny California!""

I know what you mean JudgeNot but God knows the truth and your efforts will be rewarded one day.  I honestly did not know that it was so bad in San Francisco.

God bless.

Reply #27, page 2

It is difficult to walk away from something, ollie, when you have to use the phone as part of your work and it is staring you in the face. That is precisely why they did it but the last laugh was on them.  LOL

I am afraid your experience about the display of pornographic material is somewhat limited.  People will get away with what they can.

God bless

Yes I saw it in Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and those giant redwood trees too.

giant sequoia n.
A very tall, coniferous evergreen tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum) native to the high western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in southern California and having a massive trunk and light-colored, reddish wood. Also called big tree, giant redwood.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Done !

Thanks for the "vote of confidence" in my gospel, michael_legna.  LOL

Just as a matter of interest, when I was first saved 27 years ago, our minister kept saying, "The gospel this .... and the gospel that .... " but never actually said what the gospel was.  This so intrigued me that I determined to sit down and try to write down what I thought the gospel was.  I expected to write down some rough notes which I could alter later on but the Holy Spirit must have got hold of my pen and guided it because, to this day, I have never had to alter a single word of it.  It can be found at : -
http://lance.christian.net/gospel.htm

See what you think.
God bless

Well michael_legna, you deserve a medal for reading all that.  LOL   Don't get me wrong, I admire your zeal for your church and realize that you could be a powerful force on our side, but alas I have met powerful forces before and I have yet to see one change course.  There were zealots in Jesus day too and one of them was in Jesus band but that was an exception and Jesus could see that his motives were right.

Your description of your own church, I thought a little extreme since there are probably saved people in all churches.  I can think of a few in your own church but they are the exception rather than the rule.  My experience of Catholics has been so adverse that I no longer witness to them because of their violent reaction to the true gospel.  Equate that with, " My sheep hear my voice " and you will see that there is something dreadfully wrong.

God bless

Hi michael_legna,

I am well aware what Roman Catholics believe.  I obtained the book "Catechism of the Catholic Church" which is 1½ inches thick and will take you a thousand years to quote on this forum.  That ought to demonstrate how the RCC have sewn things up doctrinally.  However it is wrong from beginning to end.  I think I would be prohibited from saying on this forum just what I believe the RCC to be but I dare say you can guess.  That does not mean all Catholic things are wrong.  That is how one gets converts—look for the points of agreement and expand from there. These are the very tactics cults use too.

God bless.

It's like trying to hold back the sea.  However Christians don't have to accept homosexuality.  In our small ways we can stand against it just like any other sin.  If we all throw up our hands in desperation, it will gain acceptance.
If we are asked why we don't accept it, it is enough to say that God has forbidden it and leave it there.

Here's a funny story at least I hope you find it so.  When I first became a Christian many years ago and my work mates found out, as they were bound to do, they hung a calendar of nude pictures next to the office telephone so that when one answered the phone one got a close up look.  I got some double sided tape and stuck patches over the "naughty" bits.  This caused an outrage as I expected it would and it wasn't too long before I was up in front of the boss.  He wanted to know why I had done it to which I replied that it was only done for provocation and next time I would remove offending calendars completely.  He replied by saying that if I did I would be charged with stealing.
Several weeks later we were to receive a very important visit from some people from the far east and the boss realized that they may be offended by the extensive display of pornographic material.  He issued a directive that it must be removed.  Those people who refused had it forcibly confiscated.  LOL

Thanks Psalm 119 for the one positive response to this thread.

Psalm 119 is one of my favourite psalms even though it is rather long.  I like it best read out to me as at this site : -

Click here to listen [needs Real Player]

Faint praise. LOL

Yes I agree there is a difference in approaches.  One relies on the Church to resolve all disputes as in Matt 18:17 and sees the Church as the pillar and ground of truth as in 1 Tim 3:15.

The others rely on the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in true believers, but unfortunately that indwelling is apparently by 30,000 or more different spirits since their are 30,000 or more interpretations of scripture.  I for one don't believe there are 30,000 different Holy Spirits, so that is why I don't trust those individuals interpretations because they aren't from the Holy Spirit no matter what their pride tells them.  

I think the key reason the Holy Spirit isn't helping those individuals with their 30,000 different interpretations is because they aren't all true believers - I mean how could they be, they all believe different things.

To hear Catholics talk one will soon realize that St Paul and his team were wasting their time, according to them, since they had no church to lean on like modern day Catholics—and yet they quote scriptures written by them.  If they were inspired, is inspiration limited to them alone.  I think not.

There are rogues in every outfit but it doesn't make everyone bad.  I would be interested too, to know where the figure of 30,000 comes from.  Is it an accurate figure or an approximate one.  Could it be 29, 999 or possibly 30,001 ?

Can't you see michael_legna that Catholics and Protestants will never agree on scripture interpretation ?  They are like chalk and cheese.  The Catholic repeats his church dogma and the obedient ones will not budge from it come what may.  The Protestant on the other hand really has no dogma to cling to and relies on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  One repeats his church dogma secondhand; the other gets his teaching direct from the third person of the Trinity.

Amen

It looks like Jeremiah was right when he fortold,

 Jer 17:9-11 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool."

What a lovely nick, "sincereheart."