This will be a work in progress - long - probably preachy and on the dry side. I am a Conservative, Right Wing, Christian.
Don't feel obligated to read this or believe what I do - God gave you the right to choose for yourself. But, I believe He also gave me the obligation to share my belief with you - then you can take it or leave it - it is your choice.
Somebody challenged me to write out 100 things that I believe .... This may take a long time to finish.
1. I believe in the Bible. The whole Bible. Only the Bible. I believe that the Bible is the inspired TRUE scripture of God. I believe you can spend a lifetime studying the Bible and still find new things. It is historical, scientific, inspirational, judgmental, loving, full of hope, and TRUE. I believe it is the very heart and breath of God. I believe the Bible is TRUTH and TRUE from the first word to the very last word.
2 Timothy 3:16 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: .... or a loose paraphrase - All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
2. I believe in the HOLY GOD. The I AM. He is triune, he is everlasting, he has no beginning and no end, he transcends time and space. He is always Good, always loving, and completely JUST. I do not have to completely understand God to trust him - He has always proved himself faithful in that trust.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
3. I believe God is ONE God and projects as Three. This makes God a Trinity, consisting as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each part is fully God and fully part of the other two parts.
4. I believe the Jesus is the Word of God made into Flesh. He is fully God and knows and always knew the mind of God. He has always been the the "human" part of God when he visited with Mankind. This is the part of God that knew from the beginning that man could never live up to his own righteousness, and chose to become one of us, be born, to grow up, to live as a man ... and then pay the price for our entrance into heaven.
5. God the Father is the Godhead. He is just, faithful, true, honorable, and unbending. He forever was, Is, and forever will be. All power is His. All things are His and created by Him and For Him. Nothing happens unless he either makes it happen or allows it to happen. God is as far above us as we are above the common germ, and we have about as much right telling God how to run His world, as a germ has to tell a human what to do.
6. The third part of God is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps understood as the Will of God, the Heart of God, the Power of God. This is the part that went out and created the world, and transforms the germs that are humanity into Sons of God. He is the power of Creation and the power that transform sinners through the Blood of Jesus.
7. God CREATED the world. And he did it in 6 days. I could spend pages on this one ... but if you want arguments - go debate it with Answers in Genesis or Creation Science Institute. The world was PERFECT and had no bad weather, bad insects, death, destruction, evil thoughts, or anything else we consider bad or evil .... and God walked and talked with Adam and Eve every single day.
8. There is a real devil and he took 1/3 of the angels with him. .... And while God has prepared a place for Satan and the demons .... at present they are not bound to this place, and are being allowed to "compete" with God for the souls of mankind. Satan, Lucifer, Prince of the Power of the Air, Ruler of the Earth, Father of Lies .... are just some of the devil's names. He was once the foremost angel of light until he decided that he was more important and could rule better than God. There was a great war in heaven. Satan was stripped of his position ... but not his power or his beauty ---- he claims that given a choice, any created being will always choose to scorn and turn their back on God.
9. There WAS a real Garden of Eden. It was protected by an angel with a flaming sword until the Garden was destroyed during the World Wide Flood. I believe this garden crept into some of our most ancient mythology. Think of all the quests for the golden fruit to heal in mythology protected by snakes and dragons .... I think most of those myths came forward with at least one of the wives that were on the ark from the truth of the Pre-Flood era.
10. The Adam that God created was from DIRT. As such, Adam was probably dark skinned, maybe not quite African dark, but at least the dark of the typical Indian and tropical societies along the equator. He probably was dark skinned, dark eyed, and dark haired. Eve came from his side, and she was quite likely as dark as Adam. Inside their genes resided a perfect pairing of every dominant and recessive gene pair - allowing their offspring to "breed" to be darker or lighter, changing hair color, eye color, shapes of bodies and faces and eyes. They were probably created in their early 20's or late teens in appearance, perfect for starting a family - and yet they were designed to never age, and their environment was created to protect them forever - you might think of this as a "baby proofed" world - nothing could hurt them. God's perfect couple most certainly were not blonde haired, blue eyed, pale white beauties.
11. God gave Adam a job. His job was to care for the plants and animals - to protect, cultivate, prune, and use from them wisely. He was the first farmer and zoo keeper. This was a very easy job, as the Garden was perfect, there were no "bad bugs" or "weeds" or "thorns". Food was easily available, and you didn't have to wash your fruit and vegetables before you ate them. In the evenings, Adam and Eve went to school - and God was their teacher. He taught them and answered all of their questions about life and the world around them. .... This is why my family is adamant about recycling, reducing, and reusing. We want to be good stewards because that is the job God gave to mankind - not to destroy, hunt out of existence, mutate, destroy, or poison - but to protect and keep the world healthy.
12. A perfect family .... God brought a woman to Adam, and only ONE. Adam had no choice in who he chose for a mate. God knew what a perfect couple would look like and he did the choosing for Adam. There was no dating, and the Bible doesn't mention marriage either. Though it is evident that God intended for Adam and Eve to be faithful companions for the rest of their life. It was never God's intention for a man and woman to have multiple partners or marriages.
13. For the most part, Adam and Eve were as innocent as newborn babies. Their world was a safe place without any temptations or anything to harm them. God could have kept Adam and Eve just like that - like babies in a crib - never allowing them any choices or freedom, never allowing them to grow up. God could have kept Adam and Eve like pets, or babies, or robots.
But he didn't. He wanted man to choose for himself - even though that meant that his most perfect and treasured creation could cause him the most hurt. God does give us a glimpse of this desire. How many parents gaze at their newborn with a sigh, "If ONLY they could stay like this forever!" ... and once in a while, God grants this ... a child who doesn't grow physically or mentally like their peers.
The child may be very enjoyable, but by evidence of the 80% aborted Down's babies each year, obviously nobody would actually Choose a baby that they knew for sure would never really grow up.
But neither do we want our children to grow up to be "bad people". But part of allowing them to grow up, is to make their own decisions, and allow them to suffer the consequences of those decisions. And so God gave them ONE rule ... don't eat the fruit of that tree. It is highly unlikely that we have anything even similar to this tree on earth today. There were actually 2 trees - the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life.
14. Many many myths and legends borrow from the two trees of the Garden of Eden.
How many stories can you recall that send somebody in search of a fruit or berry to heal somebody from a sickness the is certain to lead to death. Sometimes it is a flower, or a leaf that needs to be harvested. Sometimes it is a sap or a fountain that will deliver eternal life or eternal youth. Stories giving a nod back to the Tree of Life.
How many stories can you recall that have the hero approach a tree from which springs all knowledge and all paths to the gods. When I teach mythology (Jr. High and up) we look for clues that show historical and spiritual trends ... so many are just copies and twists of the people in power before them.
15. I do believe that the sons of God that produced the giants with the daughters of men, were in fact, demons/fallen angels. They did not marry - they just took - like the stories of the gods of mythology taking a human partner and creating children such as Hercules.
16. Adam and Eve had far more than just 3 sons - they could easily have had 500 or more children over their nearly 1000 year lifespan. It appears as if men often did not marry until they were 50 or older, so Cain and Seth would have had many sisters and nieces that they could choose for wives. Just how many people were there when the flood happened? Probably over a million easily and possibly the number could have been in the half a billion stage. Remember people were VERY healthy, children would not have died so easily, women were highly fertile, and it is likely that twins and even triplets could have been quite normal. Most people lived over 800 years, and it is likely that they could produce children for at least half of their life.
17. The pre-flood world was likely very highly advanced - far more advanced than we give them credit for. But the rules of science might not have been quite the same either - as there is plenty of evidence for a much higher oxygen content and a very even weather system, among other things. They could have invented devices that would boggle our minds. Consider a man like DaVinci or Michelangelo or Isaac Newton or Galileo ... or any of the great science minds of our past. Most of these lived a mere 70 years ... suppose they could have studied and compared notes for 700 years? What would they have accomplished? Sir Isaac Newton lived a mere 300 years ago ... suppose he were still alive, having not even lived half of his life? Quite frankly, I think Noah had a much easier time of building that ark that we give that era credit for .... and he likely spent a great deal of time preaching and running a business and farm to support his family. It is entirely possible that Noah had refrigeration and electricity on the ark as well. It is quite possible, and even quite likely, that the pre-flood world was far more advanced than ours is today ... but not in the same way ... and that Noah brought much of this knowledge with him onto the ark.
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3. I believe God is ONE God and projects as Three. This makes God a Trinity, consisting as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each part is fully God and fully part of the other two parts.
4. I believe the Jesus is the Word of God made into Flesh. He is fully God and knows and always knew the mind of God. He has always been the the "human" part of God when he visited with Mankind. This is the part of God that knew from the beginning that man could never live up to his own righteousness, and chose to become one of us, be born, to grow up, to live as a man ... and then pay the price for our entrance into heaven.
5. God the Father is the Godhead. He is just, faithful, true, honorable, and unbending. He forever was, Is, and forever will be. All power is His. All things are His and created by Him and For Him. Nothing happens unless he either makes it happen or allows it to happen. God is as far above us as we are above the common germ, and we have about as much right telling God how to run His world, as a germ has to tell a human what to do.
6. The third part of God is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps understood as the Will of God, the Heart of God, the Power of God. This is the part that went out and created the world, and transforms the germs that are humanity into Sons of God. He is the power of Creation and the power that transform sinners through the Blood of Jesus.
7. God CREATED the world. And he did it in 6 days. I could spend pages on this one ... but if you want arguments - go debate it with Answers in Genesis or Creation Science Institute. The world was PERFECT and had no bad weather, bad insects, death, destruction, evil thoughts, or anything else we consider bad or evil .... and God walked and talked with Adam and Eve every single day.
8. There is a real devil and he took 1/3 of the angels with him. .... And while God has prepared a place for Satan and the demons .... at present they are not bound to this place, and are being allowed to "compete" with God for the souls of mankind. Satan, Lucifer, Prince of the Power of the Air, Ruler of the Earth, Father of Lies .... are just some of the devil's names. He was once the foremost angel of light until he decided that he was more important and could rule better than God. There was a great war in heaven. Satan was stripped of his position ... but not his power or his beauty ---- he claims that given a choice, any created being will always choose to scorn and turn their back on God.
9. There WAS a real Garden of Eden. It was protected by an angel with a flaming sword until the Garden was destroyed during the World Wide Flood. I believe this garden crept into some of our most ancient mythology. Think of all the quests for the golden fruit to heal in mythology protected by snakes and dragons .... I think most of those myths came forward with at least one of the wives that were on the ark from the truth of the Pre-Flood era.
10. The Adam that God created was from DIRT. As such, Adam was probably dark skinned, maybe not quite African dark, but at least the dark of the typical Indian and tropical societies along the equator. He probably was dark skinned, dark eyed, and dark haired. Eve came from his side, and she was quite likely as dark as Adam. Inside their genes resided a perfect pairing of every dominant and recessive gene pair - allowing their offspring to "breed" to be darker or lighter, changing hair color, eye color, shapes of bodies and faces and eyes. They were probably created in their early 20's or late teens in appearance, perfect for starting a family - and yet they were designed to never age, and their environment was created to protect them forever - you might think of this as a "baby proofed" world - nothing could hurt them. God's perfect couple most certainly were not blonde haired, blue eyed, pale white beauties.
11. God gave Adam a job. His job was to care for the plants and animals - to protect, cultivate, prune, and use from them wisely. He was the first farmer and zoo keeper. This was a very easy job, as the Garden was perfect, there were no "bad bugs" or "weeds" or "thorns". Food was easily available, and you didn't have to wash your fruit and vegetables before you ate them. In the evenings, Adam and Eve went to school - and God was their teacher. He taught them and answered all of their questions about life and the world around them. .... This is why my family is adamant about recycling, reducing, and reusing. We want to be good stewards because that is the job God gave to mankind - not to destroy, hunt out of existence, mutate, destroy, or poison - but to protect and keep the world healthy.
12. A perfect family .... God brought a woman to Adam, and only ONE. Adam had no choice in who he chose for a mate. God knew what a perfect couple would look like and he did the choosing for Adam. There was no dating, and the Bible doesn't mention marriage either. Though it is evident that God intended for Adam and Eve to be faithful companions for the rest of their life. It was never God's intention for a man and woman to have multiple partners or marriages.
13. For the most part, Adam and Eve were as innocent as newborn babies. Their world was a safe place without any temptations or anything to harm them. God could have kept Adam and Eve just like that - like babies in a crib - never allowing them any choices or freedom, never allowing them to grow up. God could have kept Adam and Eve like pets, or babies, or robots.
But he didn't. He wanted man to choose for himself - even though that meant that his most perfect and treasured creation could cause him the most hurt. God does give us a glimpse of this desire. How many parents gaze at their newborn with a sigh, "If ONLY they could stay like this forever!" ... and once in a while, God grants this ... a child who doesn't grow physically or mentally like their peers.
The child may be very enjoyable, but by evidence of the 80% aborted Down's babies each year, obviously nobody would actually Choose a baby that they knew for sure would never really grow up.
But neither do we want our children to grow up to be "bad people". But part of allowing them to grow up, is to make their own decisions, and allow them to suffer the consequences of those decisions. And so God gave them ONE rule ... don't eat the fruit of that tree. It is highly unlikely that we have anything even similar to this tree on earth today. There were actually 2 trees - the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life.
14. Many many myths and legends borrow from the two trees of the Garden of Eden.
How many stories can you recall that send somebody in search of a fruit or berry to heal somebody from a sickness the is certain to lead to death. Sometimes it is a flower, or a leaf that needs to be harvested. Sometimes it is a sap or a fountain that will deliver eternal life or eternal youth. Stories giving a nod back to the Tree of Life.
How many stories can you recall that have the hero approach a tree from which springs all knowledge and all paths to the gods. When I teach mythology (Jr. High and up) we look for clues that show historical and spiritual trends ... so many are just copies and twists of the people in power before them.
15. I do believe that the sons of God that produced the giants with the daughters of men, were in fact, demons/fallen angels. They did not marry - they just took - like the stories of the gods of mythology taking a human partner and creating children such as Hercules.
16. Adam and Eve had far more than just 3 sons - they could easily have had 500 or more children over their nearly 1000 year lifespan. It appears as if men often did not marry until they were 50 or older, so Cain and Seth would have had many sisters and nieces that they could choose for wives. Just how many people were there when the flood happened? Probably over a million easily and possibly the number could have been in the half a billion stage. Remember people were VERY healthy, children would not have died so easily, women were highly fertile, and it is likely that twins and even triplets could have been quite normal. Most people lived over 800 years, and it is likely that they could produce children for at least half of their life.
17. The pre-flood world was likely very highly advanced - far more advanced than we give them credit for. But the rules of science might not have been quite the same either - as there is plenty of evidence for a much higher oxygen content and a very even weather system, among other things. They could have invented devices that would boggle our minds. Consider a man like DaVinci or Michelangelo or Isaac Newton or Galileo ... or any of the great science minds of our past. Most of these lived a mere 70 years ... suppose they could have studied and compared notes for 700 years? What would they have accomplished? Sir Isaac Newton lived a mere 300 years ago ... suppose he were still alive, having not even lived half of his life? Quite frankly, I think Noah had a much easier time of building that ark that we give that era credit for .... and he likely spent a great deal of time preaching and running a business and farm to support his family. It is entirely possible that Noah had refrigeration and electricity on the ark as well. It is quite possible, and even quite likely, that the pre-flood world was far more advanced than ours is today ... but not in the same way ... and that Noah brought much of this knowledge with him onto the ark.
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