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I have never heard of fornication to mean all sexual sin before now, but I am still a neophyte.  I have been under the impression that fornication, in the context of Matthew 5:32, is to mean physical sexual activity before one is married.  If fornication can be used to encompass all sexual sin, it would seem redundant to use it in that way when followed by a specifically named sexual sin.  It seems like, in that context, it would be  saying, (Matthew 5:32) But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit formication: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth fornication.

However, if fornication is here being used to mean sexual activity before one is married, then it would make fornication impossible for one who is married.  It would be called adultery after one is married.  In this context, the only exception for divorce would be if a husband learns that his wife (or betrothed) was sexually active before their marriage, but never told him, then he would be within his rights to put her away.  To me, this view allows for a clearer understanding of Matthew 1:18-19.

One thing I do avoid is referring to the Greek and Hebrew.  I have heard many people say, "A little Greek is a dangerous thing."  I am confident that the translators of the King James Bible had a far greater understanding of Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic (and many other languages) than anyone alive today.  I don't think that looking up a bit of Greek or even studying it for a few years of college, prepares one for attempting to dissect the scriptures.  I do not believe the KJV to be inspired as the original texts were, but I do believe that God worked directly with the men who created the KJV.  I trust God's guidance through those men enough to not need to refer to the original languages.

3 hours ago, Disciple.Luke said:

Which Study or Reference Bible would you recommend (Other than Scofield)?

Personally, I don't believe in study Bibles.  I believe it's important to keep God's words separate from man's words.  I have Wilmington's Guide to the Bible, the Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible and Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary.  I also have a shelf full of collected antiquarian books that contain sermons and many old dictionaries, but I stick to those three listed when I need assistance.  I can't imagine having a commentary alongside of God's word.  I used the NIV study bible before I knew any better and I think the concept is just awful.  I think it's just laziness, so one does not have to set down the Bible and open another book.

I am also not a supporter of Scofield.  If you haven't learned about him, a little searching should tell you all you ned to know about why I keep myself as far from him and his teachings as possible.

2 minutes ago, wretched said:

Hardly, can't go wrong with a S&W shield/MP compact or a bodyguard

I was thinking of trading in my M&P 9c for a 9mm Shield.  Still undecided.  I guess my only issue is having to give up the capacity.

Just now, heartstrings said:

Nice!

It's best to wear hearing protection at the range. Earplugs or muffs will work.

I wear plugs and muffs.  The pain is due to a condition that I have called hyperacusis.

These are the only ones I have.  I alternate them, depending upon what I am wearing, as my EDC. I got started late in life and only a few years before I damaged my ears.  I used to go to the local range, once a week or so, with a friend of mine, but since I damaged my ears, I only go once or twice a year.   I go to an outdoor range (The Pit in Lapeer, Mich.) early in the morning, before anyone is there because the sound of gunfire is so painful now.  I'm looking to get a shotgun for the house, though.

3 minutes ago, wretched said:

That is the mag tube extension he added

I'm an idiot.  No, really, I'm an idiot.

1 hour ago, heartstrings said:

 

That looks like a pipe cutter roller mark about 1/4" back from the end of the barrel, no?

1 hour ago, Disciple.Luke said:

Half the Christians I see have a hard enough time trying to find 1 John in their own bibles, and using a bible app is just more of a crutch. In a way it's seems about "lazy" instead of learning where the different books are in a hard copy.

1 hour ago, Jim_Alaska said:

Using a printed Bible in church encourages others to bring and use theirs. One of the first things I remember doing as a new Christian is learning where the books of the Bible are. In this respect I think that this is a needful endeavor, much like memorizing bible verses. You get familiar with not only the book or verse, but also where it is located. Is the book in the front, between the front and the middle, in the middle, between the middle and the end?

I am something of a bibliophile, (with Luddite-like tendencies) so I will never welcome electronic devices as anything even close to primary use.  A large number of studies show that there is something about physically doing things with tangible, non electronic devices, that allows for better retention of information and skill.  From personal experience, I find this to be true.

Knowing where stories are located in a physical Bible allow for a linear mnemonic timeline, of sorts, to be visualized in one's mind.  The subject of mnemonics can be a series of threads in and of itself, but the general idea behind it is that our brains work much more efficiently, in regard to memory, when visuals are used.  You probably can't remember your shopping list from last month, but you can probably mentally walk through every room of the home in which you grew up and account for nearly every item within.  Since there are actual physical locations that you read and touch and write upon, within the pages of physical books, they are much more mnemonically conducive than electronic devices.  While you can create mnemonic systems with electronic devices, physical books create a much stronger mnemonic connection because of the actual physical locations of the information.

Even things like the physical dimensions of a physical book can prime one's mind for the task to come.  When you sit down with a physical copy of a thick book, like the Bible or an old copy of Robinson Caruso, your brain knows to expect a lot of information and that it is going to be a certain amount of linear time before it is completed.  With an electronic book, your brain does not prepare in the same manner and does not process the informations in the same way.  There is no real backward or forward in an electronic reader; it's only a concept.  Additionally, you can hold a device that is displaying "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," and it is no different to your brain than if that same device were displaying the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Writing and typing are handled by the brain in the same way.  When you write something out by hand, with a physical writing utensil on paper, the brain remembers it much better and processes the information more efficiently than when you type using a keyboard or a typewriter and even better than physically writing with an electronic drawing pad.  This is another reason why video games are so dangerous and destructive to the human mind, but I digress.

If they stop printing physical Bibles, then I will either make my own press or I will hand write and bind my own.  Although I use one on my Mac, from which I to copy and paste into forums &c., I will never, in my life, rely upon an electronic Bible.  Unless I die in an unexpected way, I intend on dying while holding a physical copy of the King James Bible.

I'm going to be planting as many edible perennials as I can this year.  Does anyone have recommendations for good, high yield perennials?

This is what I am planning so far:

Asparagus

Jerusalem Artichoke (sunchoke)

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

By the way, I'm in Southeast Michigan (Zone 6a)

From what I have read so far, the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is the safest, tastiest and most common.

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10 minutes ago, Ukulelemike said:

I get you. I wasn't trying to lift them up in any way, just making the observation that if they can't get something simple from pop culture, the world, right, how can they hope to get something of the Spirit right?

I don't believe it's about them not being able to get it right.  I believe that they intentionally misrepresent biblical stories.  Since things like the Fantastic Four are fictional, there's nothing to "get right;" they're just manipulating fiction.  I think part of the goal is to create an environment where people no longer accept the concepts of facts or absolute truth.  

On 3/11/2017 at 5:36 AM, DaveW said:

If people are going to be critical they should at least get the right info.

The company behind this is not Disney, but Dreamworks

I stand corrected.  My apologies.  They are so similar that I get them confused.

21 minutes ago, Ukulelemike said:

Seriously, if Hollywood can't get something like the Fantastic Four right, how would we expect them to get anything biblical right? Although I think relatives of the Thing from Fantastic Four made an appearance on Noah, didn't they?

I have never been a fan of comics and the older I get, the more I not only don't care for them, but I believe them to be dangerous.

I have created another thread on this topic here: The Dangers of Superheroes and Fantasy.

I have never been a fan of comics and the older I get, the more I not only don't care for them, but I believe them to be dangerous.  

Here is a documentary called, "The Replacement Gods."  It is done by a group of Seventh Day Adventists, but I believe the points they make are very valid.

David Cloud also wrote a good article warning about fantasy called, "Fantasy Dangers."

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17 hours ago, RSS Robot said:

When People Say, “But The Shack is Just a Novel!”

The Last Temptation of Christ was "just a novel."

The Great Divorce is “just a novel.”

The DaVinci Code is “just a novel.”

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is “just a novel.”

The Exorcist is "jut a novel."

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3 hours ago, Salyan said:

What... no ancient Egyptian pantheon religious leaders?

Islam wasn't even around back then.

To be fair, neither was Christianity.

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11 hours ago, DaveW said:

HOMESTEADING???????

WHAT IS THIS HOMESTEADING THINGY??????

I thought this was a theological forum....

I was just thinking that some members or visitors might be asking this question seriously.  

Anyone who has done research on the subjects of gardening, hunting, beekeeping &c., has discovered the glut of hippy-dippy-new-age-evolutionist-mumbo-jumbo (often accompanied with foul language) that is very often attached to the information.  As a Christian, I get tired of having to wade through all of that sort of thing in order to get to the useful information.  I much prefer to learn about and discuss working with God's creation with others who are aware of the true origins and purposes of His creation. 

So, for me, it's a bit like having visited a butterfly house tour given by a group of evolutionist atheists and then discussing it with friends at church after service.

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Whenever any project is started, a workspace is required and supplies are needed.  This area of the forum will contain many discussions about many different aspects of what occurs on homesteads; from large, multi acre farms, to small, possibly suburban plots.  As we gather our supplies and begin our projects, let us first take a moment to consider the original and grandest of all homesteading projects ever undertaken.

(Genesis 1:1-31) "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. {2} And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. {3} And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. {4} And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. {5} And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

{6} ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. {7} And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. {8} And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

{9} ¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. {10} And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. {11} And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. {12} And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. {13} And the evening and the morning were the third day.

{14} ¶ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: {15} And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. {16} And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. {17} And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, {18} And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. {19} And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

{20} And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. {21} And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. {22} And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. {23} And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

{24} ¶ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. {25} And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

{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. {27} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. {28} And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

{29} ¶ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. {30} And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. {31} And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

(Genesis 2:1-3) "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. {2} And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. {3} And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

It is easy to be complacent and forget just how miraculous our lives are and how God has designed everything in them to work.  From our childhoods, we have all grown up seeing the miraculous constantly occur around us; so much that they become commonplace and often unimpressive to many.  Let us never take for granted the miracle of food emerging from the ground, the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, the development of a child within its mother or even the very breath breathed into our lungs from the lips of the Almighty Creator Himself.

Let us never forget that we are miracles working with miracles for the glorification of the one and only God of the universe.

Thank you so very much, brother.  I look forward to reading your input here.

2 hours ago, Orval said:

Not sure if this is what you were wanting brother if not let me know and I will try to help.

What great information!  it is encouraging to hear first hand accounts of techniques like this.  My back is also not what it used to be and I am thinking of the same things of which you spoke, regarding cost and efficiency.  Thank you.