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I'm doing well--my computer--not so much! ;) I think an upgrade has mixed things up a bit, and slowed things down terribly. But I'll try to get through it. There are Scriptures that God dwelt with the people of Israel by virtue of His dwelling "within" the Temple structure. This indicated that...

Right from the start I must say I could have a problem with this. For me, the "Spirit of Christ" is not a reference to Christ's human spirit, but rather, to the Holy Spirit, which after the Cross was given to the Church. But I understand that you are dealing strictly with the Holy Spirit...

Yes, that's probably true. However, I'm not sure the question that the bread and the wine might get "transformed" was on the table either?? I don't suppose that anyone would've questioned that Jesus was "present" when he served up the Communion. And nobody would question whether his presence...

Nicely put. But to be clear, I'm not going to say that God does not, at some point, differentiate and esteem some days more important than other days. In a marriage, a couple would esteem their anniversary date more important than somebody else's anniversary date! ;) God may esteem the day you...

Yep. I wouldn't go so far as to say that public prayer has ulterior motives, trying to please men rather than God. Solomon prayed at the dedication of the Temple, and it was answered by God's approval. But generally yes, I agree. Much religion is done to please Man, to benefit from Man. It's...

My thought is that an "apostate" is a so-called Christian who turns against doctrines that are time-tested, biblical, and accepted generally in the Church as Christian doctrine, fundamental to the faith, or part of the creeds. When a Christian turns to immorality, or to ungodly behavior such as...

Yes, imagine how much work God put into giving an alligator a tough hide! That is how we came into the world, as seemingly helpless as a sheep, and yet with the capacity to put God's word into effect in our lives, harnessing the most potent force in the universe. We are not helpless, but we do...

Yes, I've long made the argument that Divine Law does not restrict itself to the Law of Moses. It has existed as long as God has existed, ie forever. The Law of Christ is the same. We live by the Divine Law that is apparent in Christ, whether it was during his earthly ministry, in the time of...

I'm not sure what "Law" you're talking about? Am I to guess what you're making reference to? I know the Bible quite well.

What purpose? I said this: The following statement implies that the Law was temporary. That it was a system of redemption/justification goes without saying. Heb 8.3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to...

I don't know what you base that on? Of course, looking back over a wide swath of history, and seeing repeated national failures we might say that Israel "regularly strayed." But that's not the same thing as saying Israel was a constant failure. We might even say of ourselves that we "regularly...

No, I just thought Ellicot provided a good confirmation of the way I was arguing. You can use whatever references help me to understand your position. Your argument is no better than stating a metaphor cannot be a metaphor if it *sounds* literal. For example, if I say, "You're a rock," I must...

:)

No, you're short-circuiting the idea. It is what is being remembered about Jesus that is being represented, and rehearsed to be remembered. Remember, Jesus had not yet died, and yet he wanted his disciples to know that his body and blood were the vehicles for their own Salvation in the future...

You're trying to apply English grammatical rules to idiomatic language used by another culture that defies rules that in our culture might want to disallow such a sense. Translated into English it still means the same thing. Jesus is saying his flesh is bread and his blood is drink, indicating...

I didn't say that the Eucharist's use as a symbol and as a memorial means it can be taken lightly. If we do it as like a vow, committing ourselves wholly to Christ and to live by his indwelling presence, then it is certainly something to be taken seriously. One should always take his commitment...

As I said, Hebrew literary figures can add to idiomatic expressions a dualism representing the association of the divine with the human, the heavenly with the earthly. To say that "God's word" is "bread" is like that. Matt 4.4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone...

I can't be more plain about the fact Jesus said "do this in memory of me." Luke 22.19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” How do we remember him? We remember that he died to give us the...

By "strong language" what you really mean is "language that is to be taken literally?" I would say, contrariwise, that Jesus very, very strongly indicated, by the obvious context, that his words were to be taken "figuratively!" ;) So, you see the use of superlatives, etc. don't really get the...

God even gives "visions" of a sort to children. 2 major impressions that have stuck with me lifelong. These were way back in the late 50s or early 60s. 1) My brother and I were church kids, and we were playing with a pagan kid in the basement of our parents' friends house. Then I caught a...