DOES GOD LOVE EVERYONE?

First let us define what we are saying when we use the word love. The definition that we all use for love is “An intense emotional attachment”, but the Greeks had more than one word that we translate as love and they have different meanings.

God does not break His own laws and He tells us to love our enemies, so He also must love His enemies. But does He mean that we must have an intense emotional attachment for them as we think of love?

The answer that seems right to me as I study the Bible is “No He does not mean love as we understand love”.

The Greek word used when we are told to love our enemies is “agapao” which means to love in a social or moral sense. In other words, or my words, it means to “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. That is the basis of the God’s law for dealing with other humans. It is not the same as an intense emotional attachment.

Again I ask “Does God love everyone?” and the Bible answers that question very clearly. (Mal 1:2-3 NIV)  “I have loved you,” says the LORD. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the LORD says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” In other words God did not, or does not have an intense emotional attachment to Esau.

God honored the second royal law when He blessed Esau with earthly things when Esau was physically alive on this earth. And God will only grant the wish of those who did not want to live with Him when He judges them at the end of this age.

I would say “Do not make the statement ‘Love the sinner, but hate the sin’, because in our language it does not convey the correct meaning. Just stick with what the Bible says and say “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. That is the formula for world peace and it is found in no other place, but the Word of God.

LIES THAT WE ACCEPT AS TRUTH!!!!!!

It amazes me when I realize that I have been accepting a lie as the truth and didn’t see it.

It happens because I do not stop to reason out whether it is true or not. I see this in others as well as myself, and I, as well as others, have built complicated understandings on very simple lies: which, of course are very flawed understandings.

Here is one of the best lies Satan has perpetrated on Americans, “This Country was founded on Christian principles”!

The truth is this Country was founded in rebellion to God by those who would not pay taxes!

Romans 13:1&2 (NIV) Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

The Colonies had a governing authority and they rebelled against it. The motto was “Taxation with out representation”, but Romans 13:6 says Christians should pay taxes.

The colonist would not pay taxes and they rebelled against England. These are the reasons the colonist formed this government and these are not Christian principles!

This leads me to realize the second greatest lie about this government and that is “We are free!” Free from what? We certainly are not free from unjust rule. And that leads us to the third greatest lie, “Those who hold office are servants to the people”!

You can throw rocks at me later, but right now stop and reason out what I am saying. When you vote for a candidate you are in effect saying that you want that man to rule over you. I know that Satan has you believing that you are choosing that person to serve you and your fellow man, but in reality you are giving him or her power to govern you. You are not choosing a servant you are choosing a master! It is true that the people have the power to choose another later, but for the term of that office that person is your master.

What ever those who hold office do to the people are not undone when they leave office. Taxes that are imposed stay imposed. The abortion that was legalized stays legalized. Jobs that were given to Mexico and China are not taken back. You may get rid of the master that you have chosen, but only by choosing another: who will tack on even more abuse for and to you.

Imagine how God feels when we choose a man to rule us when it is apparent that God should and even wants to be our master. The dangerous thing about God is that He will usually give us what we want. I believe that He has allowed this government to be established and exist as long as it has to demonstrate, or prove to mankind that it will not work.

Those who hold office know that it is not the people that elected them. They were put in office by money. It was money that enabled them to sway the people and that makes the people only pawns to be used. Why would a politician really have any respect for the people when they can be swayed with money? Doesn’t their loyalty really lie with the party that supplied the money to sway the people? If they do not toe the party line will they receive finances to run in the next election?

I always hear others say ‘Well I didn’t vote for him’, but if they participate in the system aren’t they guilty of what the system does? If someone drives the getaway car aren’t they guilty of the robbery? And if someone is murdered because of the robbery then aren’t they guilty of murder?

If you believe in this system or any system of government where a man governs another man then stop and reason it out and maybe you will reach the same conclusion that I have. Maybe you will not, but if a man must lie to get elected and he surly must, then why do we believe he will stop when he begins the work of that office?

Belief is an odd thing. We believe what we want to believe and if someone says something that doesn’t coincide with what we want to believe we will not accept it. We will usually refuse to consider an opposing view. Facts and common sense are oppressed in our minds and the opposing points are only targets to be destroyed. If that is how you view what I have said and you believe that the Bible is the Word of God then where does it say that man should rule himself? Remember the motto of this country is ‘Of the people, by the people, and for the people’.

AS CHRISTIANS WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENT?

If you have read anything I have said about this country you know I have little respect for the system of government that we have. In case you haven’t just let me say this, “This Country was formed in rebellion to God”.

I didn’t always have this view, but I read Romans 13:1&2 and applied it to the formation of this Government and it changed my understanding of democracy. I have since repented and no longer believe in this Democracy. It came down to who do I really put my trust in and I realized that first my loyalty must rest in God and anything and everything else must agree with that loyalty. You can see that anything else would be a sin.

As I said, I have repented. Since I understand that this Nation was formed in rebellion to God I have not participated in politics at all. I am no longer a registered voter and do not endorse any candidate or political party. I believe God when He says He appoints the authorities and I believe that is the only way it should be.

The problem stems from our sin. God does not stop sin and when our forefathers decided the people could do a better job of appointing authorities He did not stop them. Nor does He stop us as we try to elect a man.

I know that if every Christian does as I have that there is no hope for our country. I do not want this as it can only result in Satan winning this part of the battle. So I have devoted some thought to the problem, or I should say I have wrestled with God over an answer to our plight. As you know I am only a student and I don’t always understand what the Spirit is trying to teach me so I am going to post what seems right to me and maybe someone who understands more clearly can straighten me out and maybe we can begin to work toward a real solution to our problem.

First even though the system is basically flawed we must work within it. We can not rebel. Even though it was not God’s idea that we should choose authorities He has appointed the authorities that we wanted. To rebel against those authorities is to rebel against God as Romans 13:1&2 make clear.

The first thing that we must do is we must all repent. (2 Chr 7:14 NIV) “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

We must humble ourselves and admit it is wrong to attempt to choose our own authorities. We must ask God to honor His word and again choose authorities for us. That is the way it should be, because we do not know what is in another man’s heart and we do not know what someone will do in the future, but God knows both.

Perhaps we should form another political party: the Christian political party. The other two parties have already determined which candidates will do as they want and if they do not then the next time they will not receive money for their campaign. This action would result in every church that participated losing its tax exempt status, but we can really serve only one master and money is not the one we should be serving.

You may say that this is only my idea, but Scripture clearly states the way we can extract ourselves from this mess (2 Chr 7:14). It should be clear that we can not govern ourselves. We need God for that task and only God. We have sinned by not accepting God’s word that He will choose our authorities and attempting to do it ourselves. We need to heed our own words and really put our trust in God.

Will this come about? No! I don’t believe most of my brothers and sisters have the faith that is required for the cure!

I FEEL LIKE AN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET.

Many times many prophets in the Old Testament would tell God’s people their Country was corrupt to the core and the people would say, “This is God’s country. We have nothing to fear: God will protect us.”

It is the same today! This Country is corrupt to the core and you say, “This is a Christian Country and we have nothing to fear: God will protect us.”   Really?!!!!

Does no one understand that every time we vote we are rebelling against God? God says that He appoints the authorities, but we are saying that we do! By our actions every time we vote we are saying “God is incompetent and a liar!” We claim to know more than God and we should choose who will rule over us. You may think that you do not say “God is incompetent and a liar” but your actions speak louder than your words.

Is God too weak to choose the authorities? Is that why He needs our help? We either put our trust in God to do as He said, or we put our trust in ourselves to choose our own leaders.

We have swallowed the lies of Satan and put our trust in ourselves! We say ask God who we should vote for, but it is like asking God which bank to rob! The action is wrong and there can be no answer from God, because there is no answer to which sin should I commit. The only proper answer is “Commit no sin”.

Wake up Christians! Stop celebrating the Fourth of July. Don’t you understand that you are celebrating rebellion against God? Put your trust in the one that is qualified to choose leaders. He has already appointed a King to rule us! Obey the real authority and let the world do as it pleases. Recognize the power of God, not the power of the people.

Just like Pilate was given the power to condemn Jesus we have the power to choose leaders because God has granted it. However because God will grant our wish it doesn’t make the wish right. God gave Israel a king to rule them, because they wanted one and God lets us choose our own leaders, because that is what we want, but it is a great sin.

I feel like an Old Testament prophet, because I am treated the same way. I have the same message today as the prophets in the Old Testament and the answer from those who claim to be God’s people is the same: “We don’t want to hear that. You are a false prophet”.

We read what the prophets of the Old Testament said and we say to ourselves, “If I were living in that time I wouldn’t be like them”. Well we don’t live in that time period, but we are just as faithless as them.

REPENT AND BEG FOR FORGIVNESS WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Don’t you see that God has given us enough rope to hang ourselves and we have already tied it around our own necks and jumped?

IF I WERE A CALVINIST

In some of my posts I have tried to explain why I think man has free will to either accept salvation or reject it and I have been verbally assaulted for my efforts. That doesn’t bother me until it becomes the goal of those who do so. If that is their goal then Bible study is not. No man can honestly defend himself from slander because all men sin. I am somewhat guilty of anything said about me, so if that is your goal I concede.

Those who believe Calvin seem to forget Christ. By that I mean they do not obey the second greatest commandment. (Mat 22:39 NIV)  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Which is accomplished when you (Luke 6:31 NIV) Do to others as you would have them do to you. I am quite sure you do not want to be called the things that I have been called and it would help the study if everyone refrained from name calling.

Perhaps not all Calvinist forget the second commandment, but it seems as though all who have commented on my posts have. I even had to explain to one that he was not welcome on my blog. I don’t know if that bothered him, but it really bothered me and it still does.

If there are any Calvinist out there that would like to present their views without a condescending attitude I have a few questions that if I take a Calvinist view I either have no answer or do not like the answer that I come up with.

First and foremost is that if I believe Calvin then, “How would or could I be sure of my own salvation”?

Perhaps someone that believes in a Calvinist type of doctrine could tell me how.

DID GOD SAY, “YOU MUST DESTROY ALL THE PEOPLE THE LORD YOUR GOD GIVES OVER TO YOU”?

Well, no I don’t think that He did! He didn’t say that in Exodus. I would print the verses here, but it would only make this post long, so read Exodus 23:20 to 32.

These are the words of God and He does not say kill anyone. He also does not say destroy the cities. The only thing God said destroy were the gods of the people that lived in the land, His land, which He gave to Israel. If I were to interject my feelings into this command it would be that the gods made by man should be destroyed by man. They are too defiled for me to ask God to destroy.

Anyway, no one had to die! The closest God said about destroying the people was when He said, “I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you”, but even then He did not say slay them, only drive them out. No women or children had to die, they didn’t even have to suffer stings from the hornets, because when the men left they would have gone with them.

Now when we read Deuteronomy 7:16 Moses said, “You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you”, but God did not say that. If Moses had remembered what God had said or if he believed God then he would not have said that.

It seems to me just another case of God being blamed for what man does. If God wanted to destroy men to protect Israel He is quite capable of the deed Himself. He demonstrated that when He destroyed the army of Pharaoh.

Israel, just like the people of today, had to take things into their own hands and defile what God planed for them.

I am purposely not going to study any farther on this subject now. If you see some place in the Bible where God told Israel to destroy the people and or the cities please write a comment. This is supposed to be a Bible study, so if you really want to study I think this is a worthy subject. The more I learn about God the more awesome, fair, and wonderful He is shown!

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE COUNTRY FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE.

As I understand our current problems it seems only a natural or worldly process. We have been a democracy for over two hundred years. For all of this time we have been choosing other men to serve as our masters. Think about that: servants that are masters of those who they are supposed to be servants of!

This is a dichotomy that is only one when viewed from a detached or spiritual position. Citizens who are voting for the man of their choice never think that they are making a man their master. But they are granting that man the power to make decisions that will not only greatly affect their own lives, but as we can see now, greatly affect the lives of their children as well.

The politician never thinks of himself as a servant, but as a master. It is politically correct to claim to be a servant, but politicians serve themselves first and when they absolutely have too they may do something for the people.

As time goes on those things that are done against the people as a result of what is done by the politicians for themselves add together until there is nothing left for the people to give. The taxes that are piled on our backs are never taken off. If a tax has a set time to end it will be put on the ballot again and if it doesn’t pass there will be a special election, time after time, until it does pass.

Christians know that all men are bound over to disobedience (Rom 11:32 NIV) and yet we choose one to lead us! Actually we choose many masters. And we even tell each other that we should all choose (vote)! Doesn’t anyone realize that to choose a man to reign over us is to reject God?

We can see that Israel made a mistake by wanting a king to lead them because we are detached from the situation, but we are in the middle of this democracy and we can not see the trees for the forest.

After much thought on the matter I have reached a conclusion. Government is a matter of faith. If I believed in democracy I would have to believe in the goodness of man and I do not. God has let us have this democracy to show us beyond a doubt that we are not qualified to lead or reign over ourselves. If you do not understand this yet just wait a little while, because I believe everyone will understand before God ends or lets this mess end.

If you do not understand then read 1 Sam 8:7-22 and when the word king is used substitute the word authority for it. That is if you are reading the NIV. There is no real need to substitute if you read the KJV, because it makes clear that it is the one who reigns that is the difference: man or God.

We chose a man to reign over us. Actually we chose and choose many men when you consider all of the legislators and they do worse things to us than the king that God chose for Israel. God said the king would take ten percent for himself, but this government takes half and gives it to whomever they choose. The truth is that by borrowing from other countries they have taken everything we have and everything our children could have had and given it to those who are not even citizens of this Country.

Those who defend this type of government by saying we can vote this man out of office and replace him with a man that will govern fairly do not yet understand. The man that we vote into office does even worse things than the man we voted out and we are still left with the taxes, restrictions, and debts that the first man obligated us to.

The truth as I see it is only God could save us and He might, but He told Israel that he would not help them. (1 Sam 8:18 NIV)  When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.” If He wouldn’t answer Israel will He answer us?

I am sorry if I sound so negative, but we have and are sinning greatly and no one seems to understand. Can we ask God to rescue us when we do not even admit that it is our actions that got us here?

IS MONEY THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL?

(1 Tim 6:10 KJV)  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(1 Tim 6:10 NIV)  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

There is a slight difference of 1 Tim 6:10 in the King James Version and the New International Version of God’s word. Though there is a difference I view them both as correct however it does make one ask the question, ‘is the love of money the root of “all” evil or only “all kinds” of evil’?

While exchanging comments with me someone said that if the love of money was the root of all evil then David would have committed adultery for money! The claim was slightly off because the verse says money is the “root” not the “cause”, but still it does make one think.

If David was not rich then he would not have had a palace with a high roof where he could have seen Bathsheba bathing. The love of money was not the cause, but it made the very beginning of adultery possible.

Do not defend the rich by saying some of them only have money, but they do not love money. It is not necessary to totally love money to have some love for money. Anyone can sell everything they have and give the money to the poor and then follow Jesus. No one “has” to be wealthy.

Very few examples are repeated in all four Gospels, but the idea that in order to be perfect one must sell everything and give the money to the poor is repeated in all of the Gospels.

I have to admit that I struggled with this. It is the lack of faith and the fear of a hard life that kept me from it. That is not to say that I have wealth, because I do not, so it should be easer for me to attempt to be perfect than for someone with wealth.

Two of the verses say sell “everything” and as I pondered the act I realized that I own the clothes that I am wearing and I would be guilty of indecent exposure if I sold everything. Well, maybe I was looking for a way out! I am not a salesman and I am sure I could not interest anyone in the clothes that I am wearing anyway.

Well, after thinking about it for a while I have to admit that I do not believe that I could stay perfect. I am only a man and not Jesus. I do believe that God could keep me perfect, but I do not understand why He would. He has already kept one man perfect and that was for His plan of salvation. Anything that I could do would not be as important as that and if God were to make and keep anyone, other than Jesus, perfect it would only distract from His plan.

Anyway I no longer feel as guilty of not trying to be perfect as I once did. It helps when I realized that I do not own anything. Everything belongs to God so I really have nothing to sell, although that does not release me from my obligation to help the poor.

Sorry, I kind of got off the question of “all” or “all kinds”, didn’t I?

As I think about money it becomes clear that money is an idol and therefore against God. It is not like most idols, because it actually has power. The whole world believes in the power of money. Even those who claim there is no God worship money.

Without money there would be no way to convert wealth into satisfying evil desires. It may not be the cause of evil, but it certainly is the vehicle by which it is committed.

So, what do you think? Is money the root of all evil or just all kinds of evil? As for me, I have a propensity towards “all” evil, so if I do not agree with some of your comments please be patient with me. I am only a student and I answer from my understanding and that is not to claim that I am any better student than you. Students sometimes sound like teachers, but this student is no teacher.

Well, I do have a big mouth and I do not know when to keep it shut: well maybe I just don’t keep it shut!

I think the NIV is a good example of the root of all evil. It is copyrighted! Think about that! Man has found a way to copy write the Word of God! You don’t pay, you don’t play! I don’t see anything wrong with covering the cost of making the translation, but I do not understand why the cost continues.

MORE ABOUT THE TWO WITTNESSES.

I have been reading Genesis lately because I have been trying to find a better way of explaining the sin of eating from the tree in the middle of the garden. As I study, the Spirit that God has given me will sometimes point out something that I was not even considering. The teacher chooses the subject not the student.

When I read Gen 2:9 (NIV) “And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground–trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” I suddenly realized that the two trees were symbols of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit! They are the two witnesses and they are identified in the very first part of the first book in the Bible!

Jesus is the tree of life. There is no other way for man to acquire eternal life with God accept through Jesus. (John 14:6 NIV)  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the Holy Spirit.

(John 14:26 NIV)  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

A teacher that is qualified to teach all things would have to know all things. Mankind had to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before we could even know we are evil.

The two witnesses are symbolized as two olive trees in Zechariah. When God told Zechariah what they were He said, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit”. That is the identity of the two witnesses hidden in the description, not by might nor by power is Jesus, the first witnesses and but by my Spirit is the second witnesses, the Holy Spirit.

(Gen 3:24 NIV)  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

That sword is the Word of God and it will take the life of anyone who wants to eat from the tree of life. After that person admits that they deserve death for their deeds they are indeed slain, buried with Jesus, and raised a new being that can go in and out, past the sword. And then they can eat from the tree of life! Pity the one who will not plead guilty and admit they deserve death.

I have learned that the entire Bible fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it would result in their death: not because it was a sin to eat from the tree!

(Gen 2:16 NIV)  And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

If they were free to eat from any tree in the garden then they were free to eat from both trees in the middle of the garden. Though it resulted in the death of all mankind it was not a sin against God to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

I’VE GOT TO CHANGE MY WAYS!!!!

This has been an enlightening experiment for me, but it is time to change. I thought a blog would be a good format with which to learn more about Scripture, but it hasn’t worked very well for me.

Not long after I came to my senses and asked Jesus to save me I began to study the Bible. I read that Solomon was given great wisdom because he asked God for it. So I also asked God for wisdom. I knew I could never have as much wisdom as Solomon, because God said there had never been any like Solomon nor would there ever be. But I wanted all wisdom that God would give me. I have to admit that unlike Solomon’s request mine was selfish. I wanted it for myself. Even though I knew enough to understand I was not going to receive all wisdom, I asked for all of it anyway.

If anyone wants to know wisdom they should read and contemplate what the Bible says in Proverbs about it. Basically it says that if you want it then search for it: so I did. The second chapter of Proverbs is a guarantee that wisdom is there for the taking. It is a personal offer from God to anyone that wants it. No man can obtain it and then give it to someone else. If that were possible Proverbs would not be perfectly true; and it is. Proverbs says the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov 2:6 NIV) It is plain that man does not give knowledge and understanding.

I reached a point where I knew that God had given me understanding and I began to feel like the lepers in Second Kings chapter seven. When they found great treasure they realized it was not right to keep it to themselves and not tell others about it. They didn’t go tell the people that they were special and they knew the way to riches. They just told it as it was. It was up to the people to find out for themselves if what the lepers said was true.

So, like the lepers, I would like to tell you about real treasure, but you must go outside the gate yourself to get it. Wisdom does not come from my mouth and I can not give you any of what God has given me. There is no need for me to give you any of mine. There is more than a man can handle for anyone that wants it enough to search for it and the truth is that it is not hard to find. I am not the way to understanding I am only telling you where I found it and that you can and may find it also.

ALL TRUTH AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT GOD IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE.

Look at wisdom as a jewel and I am showing you the jewel that God has guided me to and let me find. If you want a jewel like it you will have to find your own.

The Bible says that we are not to be called teacher, because we have only one Teacher, so I correctly refer to myself as a student. I have asked everyone that if they see error in what I say to comment on it. This has led to much confusion rather than clarity.

When I answer a comment that disagrees with me it seems to them as though I think I know everything. I am sure that I do not, but it must seem that way, because I have been accused of it. There seems a double standard. Others are free to say I am wrong, but I am not free to say otherwise and if I argue then I am accused of teaching and being a know-it-all.

Truth is I do not have much trouble speaking with fellow students, but “some” of those who call themselves teachers are a different story. It seems to me that there are two important things that cause strife between us: pride and money. If someone thinks of themselves as a teacher of those who have already turned to God and it were possible, then wisdom would come from their mouth as well as God’s, but the Bible says wisdom comes from the mouth of God. It does not say from the mouth of man. Those who think of themselves as teachers and have taught something that I say is not true would have to humble themselves if they were to agree with me. I have found very little of this.

Then there is money. If a man accepts money for teaching and then a mere student points out something that they should have already understood others might question their competence and that does little their job security. Truth is if the Bible says we are not to be called teacher and if anyone accepts that title then they are wrong from the “git-go”.

I am not saying that we should not teach the Gospel. We must teach the unsaved that they are just that and that there is a way to be reconciled to God, but after someone admits they are a sinner and they let themselves be baptized, they are given the Mind of Christ to teach them all things. They have “The Teacher” to teach them all things. All they need are the questions.

If in your mind, you assign the position of teacher to anyone other than God you will receive the teaching of man; not God. Your teacher might use the Bible to add creditability to his words, but wisdom does not come from the mouth of man. Yes that includes my mouth. Check scripture to see if what I say is true and if you find it is, then do not think that I know because of my ability to figure out Scripture. Any understanding that I may have is a gift from God though I have done my part by searching for it. I do not even claim that I worked for it. For me it has been like an Easter egg hunt, pure pleasure with reward after reward.

Well, anyway, when I try to show others why and how I believe what I do, it only promotes arguments and unchristian conduct from both of us. It is as much my fault as it is anyone else’s. I have no desire to cause anyone to sin and that has been the result of some of our comments.

This has caused me to consider ceasing to post and erasing my entire blog site. But then I wonder who will say anything different than those who call themselves teachers. All men are imperfect and therefore no one man could teach perfectly. If I go away then who would be left to say some teacher is wrong?

In the past I have tried to answer all comments from my point of view. The first comments from others are usually civil, but if I do not agree with them the exchange becomes somewhat less than Christian and leads nowhere.

I am going to try a different approach. If I do not allow comments then arguments can not in sue. However I think an exchange of ideas is beneficial: that is why I started this site. So I will no longer continue to exchange comments with someone about a subject when it begins to sound unchristian.

Like a talk show, I have the button that stops anyone else from commenting any further. I hear callers to talk shows where the host hangs up on them and then proceeds to act like the caller is still there whereupon the host has his say and it seems like the caller has no answer. That is misleading and basically wrong. So if I hang up on you I will try to explain to everyone that we can not reach an agreement and it is becoming a shouting match which helps no one.

(Mat 23:10 NIV)  Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.

Beware of the teacher. “O” and the student also!