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Paul the Apostle: The Original "I" Connoisseur

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I magine for a moment scrolling through your favorite social media feed, only to find that every post is a selfie—with a divine twist. That’s Paul the Apostle for you. His letters, replete with the singularly majestic "I," might just qualify him as the original poster obsessed with himself, albeit with heavenly credentials. The Many, Many “I’s” If Paul were alive today, his Instagram bio might read, “I, me, and I—delivering divine revelations one letter at a time.” A quick glance at his epistles reveals an unabashed love affair with the first-person singular. In a literary world where collaborative spirit is often celebrated, Paul’s incessant “I received,” “I saw,” and “I declare” almost reads like the ancient equivalent of a Twitter feed completely dominated by his own thoughts. Is it narcissism, or is it just really, really, really confident storytelling? One might joke that if self-absorption were a sport, Paul would have been the undefeated champion of the apostolic ga...

A Socratic discussion between an Evangelical and Skeptical Former Evangelical

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R ecently a Christian believer contacted me with the following request: "I received an assignment for a Christian Apologetics course. We were asked to ask someone who is not a Christian to present their worldview. Would you be willing to help me? I would be very grateful." To make the exercise a bit more interesting and perhaps thought provoking, I decided to answer the posed questions here as if we were having an actual discussion. Using the Socratic method, I answer the questions, and ask my own questions in return.  Sometimes my questions go unanswered.  Evangelical: Let's begin our discussion with a fundamental question: What do you think happens after we die? Skeptical Former Evangelical: That's a profound question. But before I answer, may I ask—what assumptions do you make about the nature of the soul and afterlife? Evangelical: I see life as having an eternal dimension—a continuation with God. How do you view the possibility of an afterlife? Skeptica...

Suffering For The Will Of god

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By TheRedneckProfessor ~ I magine, if you will, a seedy hotel room in the dirty part of town.    In the corner there is a small table, the drawer of which contains a Gideon bible.    A garishly ornate lamp casts a pool of dingy yellow light upon the wall behind it, covered in peeling wallpaper, the fading floral pattern now more a study in browns after decades of dust and cigarette haze.    In this room we have a 10-year-old girl: a singular expression of innocence and unfettered hope.    Beside her, on the bed, is a 39-year-old pedophile rapist: the epitome of sociopathic sadism, a monster.    He is neither her father, nor her uncle.    He is, in fact, no one with whom this little girl should be alone.   We know what is going to happen in this room; there is no need to provide further detail.   This is the essence of meaningless, purposeless, gratuitous suffering inflicted upon innocence, examples of which can be s...

Does God have Free Will?

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By Webmdave ~ A short discussion with a Christian believer Question: What do you mean when you say “free will.” Christian Believer Answer: Free will is the ability to make choices without external constraints. Q: Does God possess free will? CBA: God has the capacity to make choices, does not answer to any authority, is not limited by any external constraints, and cannot be coerced. God is unconstrained by all natural laws; He in fact established those laws and is sovereign over them. God most certainly possesses free will. Q: Then, In the same way, is God also unconstrained by moral laws? Since he established those laws, then he must hold sovereignty over them as well, right? CBA: There are certain things that God is incapable of doing because His perfect and holy nature disallows it. For instance, Titus 1:2 says that God “cannot lie.” God’s perfection prevents Him from lying and identifies an intrinsic property of God’s own character. God cannot be unfaithful to Himself; H...

Screwed Up, Beyond Belief-Chapter 12

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Chapter 12 - Beginnings By Ex-Pastor Dan ~ Then Sings my Soul, my Savior God, to Thee... How Great Thou Art... How Great Thou Art! Then Sings my Soul... My Savior God, to Thee... HOW GREAT THOU ART.... HOW GREAT - THOU - ART!!! T he entire congregation was on its feet. Many with hands raised - most with tears streaming down their cheeks. Joyce and I stood with our backs to the thunderous choir behind us and lifted our voices in the final refrain, "HOW GREAT - THOU - ART!" I had instructed Brother Mac to have the entire congregation of wedding-goers join their voices with ours in singing one of my favorite hymns, and all 300 guests had enthusiastically agreed to serenade us with this slightly unusual (yet very moving and emotional) wedding song. My emphasis was this; God was and always would be at the very center of this marriage - Amen, Hallelujah! I don't recall much else about the ceremony. There was the typical vows that were admonished by Bro. Mac, and ...

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