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I'm glad for Vatican II, in part because reclassifying me from "heretic" to "separated brethren" is quite an upgrade.

I don't see the New Testament worrying about this. In the resurrection we'll be "glorified" humans, whatever that entails. We won't be angels, and we won't be restored to pre-Fall existence. We'll be something else completely: we'll be like Christ, because we'll see him as he is. And he had...

I think I might be getting it now. And it's a more general question: are you concerned about us sinning in the next age, after the resurrection?

Jamdoc, I believe you're overthinking this. While I accept the angelic interpretation of Genesis 6, I think it was just an immorality that happened in the distant past, and those angels were punished for it, and their punishment was so severe that it hasn't been repeated. I don't see the New...

I read that Billy Graham was once asked this question, and his response was "idolatry". I didn't understand it at the time, but I now agree with it: What did the 1st commandment warn against? What sin did God say would get Israel kicked out of the promised land? What sin actually did get the...

If it's helpful, the translators of the NET, which reads "God", include a long footnote explaining their choice: The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ě74 A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co)...

Justin Martyr in the 2nd century describes a weekly service where "bread and wine and water" are brought out: “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long...

The text says they were given the grasses. And Isaiah 11:7 prophesies that present-day carnivores will be eating grasses in the future. I'll accept those texts as they are. I have no opinion on the sinfulness of animals. What I don't see is the text requiring animal immortality prior to the...

Yes, the Millenial Day Theory. This has a long history in the church and can be found as early as the Epistle of Barnabas. I can see the sense in it. And I think there's an interesting modern fact related to it: the end won't come until the gospel is preached to every nation, and according...

I'm inclined to agree with you. We had eternal life because we had access to the tree of life. But the animals ate the grasses. Also, Romans 5, and specifically Romans 5:12, state that death spread "to all men" because of Adam. It doesn't say "all life". I think that pre-Fall animal death...

Whoa, let's back up :) I didn't insert 21st century cosmology into the text, and I didn't claim Moses was a Darwinist. Please don't put words into my mouth that I haven't said. What I demonstrated, in my next post, is that in Jesus' time the word 'yom' wasn't always interpreted to be a...

According to the Eastern church, no one has original sin. Instead, we are born with ancestral sin, meaning that because we are descendants of Adam we are born mortal and will eventually die. The Western church's acceptance of original sin led to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. That...

That's certainly one way of looking at it. But the concept that Adam's life lasted just short of a thousand-year "day" existed among both Jews and the early church. For example, Adam's death is described in Jubilees 4:39-30: …he was the first to be buried in the ground. He lacked seventy...

Does "yom" always mean 24 hours? It's used in Genesis 2:17, "...for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.". But Adam didn't die that day. He lived until almost the 1,000-year mark. No antediluvian man reached it, although most came close. Is this what Peter was referring to...

I don't think the answer is either/or. We've been told that angels minister to us. And also that healing power flowed directly from Jesus, that is, from God. I think both kinds of events happen. And it's all good.

I'm a believer in the angelic interpretation of Genesis 6, because it was the church's first opinion of it, and because I see no theological problems with it.

In the case of microbiology, it's more than that. There are sound reasons we no longer believe in "spontaneous generation" like some early cultures did: we know enough about cellular mechanics, and mathematics, to know that new life doesn't arise from moldy books, or piles of rags, or...

Hello, I'm with Dad on this. Paul wrote in Romans 1:20: For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. I think he's saying that...

Hello! When I'm presented with conflicting translations of a passage, one of the resources I turn to is the NET bible, which has a wealth of translator's footnotes. In fact, the footnotes are larger than the text itself. This is helpful to me because even though I don't read Greek, I have...

No, because the experiences have been personal for me and for the brethren I'm closest to. I'll never expect you to believe me since I'm just another guy on a forum. I suggest going to the letters of Paul for unimpeachable guidance. He lays out the rules for public and private use of that...