God has a plan. An observation and a question.

[grahamg]

I bit of an update in regard to my studies


Matt 10:28 says
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
and Rev 20 says "fire came down and devoured them" .
Ezek 28 says even Satan himself is "reduced to ashes" and "will be no more forever".

Sure seems the torment forever thing isn't holding up, scripture wise.
I'm still studying, however.

You're way ahead of me in the bible studies stakes, though I can boast to having been a star pupil as a teenagers during confirmation classes!

 

[grahamg]

The bible as a source of stories has some really interesting tales. I wonder though why Jesus was never associated with female companionship. Always with men & not military men.

If you are three things in one, (human being, god, and holy spirit), you've surely covered all the ground there is to cover in this world and the next, and I believe modern scholars of the bible/Christianity say there was great assertiveness shown, turning over the tables of the money lenders and the like!

 

[Michael Z]

I believe God has a plan for my life. But when I make my own choices, sometimes bad ones, God has a plan for that route as well. I believe that God knows every possible choice I can make and the result of that choice as well. So God is always in control even though I have free will.

 

[Em in Ohio]

The feminine seeming personage in The Last Supper is John, "the “disciple Jesus loved” (John 13:23)". Leonardo was gay and I believe he was suggesting Jesus was too. His artistic interpretation is based on his need to suggest if Jesus is gay then nothing wrong with it.

Not knowing anything of da Vinci's sex life (nor that of Jesus), I'd be fine with that, though I expect you may get a lot of backlash. I often wondered if it was Mary Magdalen. Either way, it's artistic license, eh?

 

[Pepper]

Not knowing anything of da Vinci's sex life (nor that of Jesus), I'd be fine with that, though I expect you may get a lot of backlash. I often wondered if it was Mary Magdalen. Either way, it's artistic license, eh?

Didn't mean to say Jesus was gay, how do I know, but Leonardo was and was taking artistic license.

 

[Knight]

This is another debate - Mary Magdalene's role in his life.

https://www.history.com/news/mary-magdalene-jesus-wife-prostitute-saint#:~:text=Mary Magdalene as Jesus's wife&text=One of these texts, known,more than the other disciples.

Let us know your conclusion.

My conclusion is pretty much what was in the article. Like bible stories it's people trying to describe the unknown.

Quote
"The prostitute and the wife theories may have been around for centuries, but they are legends and traditions that grew up long after the fact, he emphasizes: “Neither of them [is] rooted in the Bible itself.”

It's interesting how Just Jeff was angry & Grahamg went in a different direction completely.

Just Jeff was angry why?

Grahamg pointed out assertiveness why?

As a female Mary Magdalene may have been a cover for what was considered taboo back then. That taboo was in place for centuries due to interpretation from what was a story in the bible.

Not until recently was that taboo lifted, or at least for most. There are still some Christians that don't quite get it that people are people.

 

[Pepper]

The normal state of men & women in those days was to be married. Not being married would cause more comment than being married, which would require none. Not speaking of his marital state is more of an indication he was probably married.

There is no clear reason to suggest MM was a prostitute. That was another woman, not MM.

 

[Mizmo]

All these different interpretations of the bible and it stories of life are so intriguing...makes me wonder how you all can believe in them
...but, to each his own.

 

[Em in Ohio]

Violence in the New Testament: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/passages/related-articles/violence-in-the-new-testament

"While Revelation is often treated as an outlier, it is better to understand this book as fully at home within New Testament apocalyptic longing for God’s violent judgment against non-believers. Paul imagines Christ at the end of time, handing over the kingdom to God, but only after “he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power” (1Cor 15:24)."

"2Thess 1:5-10 promises a final judgement with Jesus revealed “in flaming fire,” and inflicting the “punishment of eternal destruction.” Luke’s parable of the nobleman’s return, likely meant to represent Jesus’s second coming, calls for his enemies to be brought forward and slaughtered in his presence (Luke 19:27)."

I see a conflict between the view that Jesus advocated turning the other cheek and these passages. Apparently, different writers had different opinions and assessments on the nature and characteristics of Jesus.

Matthew 5:38-40
New International Version​

"38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a]
39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well."
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 5:38-40&version=NIV
​

 

[Em in Ohio]

The normal state of men & women in those days was to be married. Not being married would cause more comment than being married, which would require none. Not speaking of his marital state is more of an indication he was probably married.

There is no clear reason to suggest MM was a prostitute. That was another woman, not MM.

This explains the discrepancy: The version of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute held on for centuries after Pope Gregory the Great made it official in his sixth-century sermon, though neither Orthodoxy nor Protestantism adopted it when those faiths later split from the Catholic Church. Apr 2, 2021

I was raised Catholic.

Who Was Mary Magdalene: Wife, Prostitute or None of the ...​

https://www.history.com › news › mary-magdalene-jesus-...

 

[Gary O']

The version of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute held on for centuries after Pope Gregory the Great made it official in his sixth-century sermon, though neither Orthodoxy nor Protestantism adopted it when those faiths later split from the Catholic Church. Apr 2, 2021

It's quite possible Mary Magdaline was the woman in this text;

John 8:1-11

English Standard Version

​

8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

What He wrote in the sand is not known, but it stands to reason it was the personal sins of each of the accusers

 

[David777]

@Em in Ohio >>>Luke’s parable of the nobleman’s return, likely meant to represent Jesus’s second coming, calls for his enemies to be brought forward and slaughtered in his presence (Luke 19:27)."

"...calls for his enemies to be brought forward and slaughtered in his presence." Or more logically as a moral vehicle in some vague way, severely punished. To insist Jesus's situation must reflect the hypothetical moral story with that level of punishment detail, lacks logical gramatical intent.

The speculative Mary Magdalene theories without any Bible support actually show how desperate some Jesus haters have been from earliest periods to dirty his legacy trying to bring him down to the level of foul sinners they were. Jesus was rather clear he knew who he was at the Transfiguration and also by the end of all 4 gospels that he was the Son of God. If so, being married or having Earthly children, would matter little. Oh, but that's the point isn't it, to sew doubt in otherwise dominantly accepted scripture. The Gospel of Phillip is a 3rd Century AD Gnostic creation among a list of other phony books with obvious agendas. The fact they dishonestly used apostle names as authors tends to show the writers purposely were trying to manipulate their audience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Philip

There is much more where that creative Christianity book industry for the sake of various false dogmas came from. Much more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch

 

[Knight]

It's quite possible Mary Magdaline was the woman in this text;

John 8:1-11​

​

English Standard Version​

​

​

8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

What He wrote in the sand is not known, but it stands to reason it was the personal sins of each of the accusers

The version of this “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” I heard was.

WHAM a large stone struck the woman.

Jesus turned & said

Mother sometimes you make me so mad.

 

[Pepper]

It's quite possible Mary Magdaline was the woman in this text;

There is absolutely no evidence it was she and no real reason to think so.

​

 

[Gary O']

There is absolutely no evidence it was she and no real reason to think so.

No, there's nothing to substantiate that thought.
However, the reason would be the dedication of Mary's seems to reflect that of the woman's gratitude

But

yer right

No hard evidence

 

[Gary O']

I was raised Catholic

As a side note to this thread

There's an old joke that was fun to repeat;

A group of Catholics were walking thru heaven
and came to a wall

One asked St Peter what the wall was for

'Oh, yeah, on the other side of that wall are the protestants'
'They think they're the only ones here'

Anyway, in this study of The Word
I've discovered in as many walks of life there are on this planet, so it will be in the new earth

I do love that

 

[Geezer Garage]

I'm just glad somebody has a plan.

 

[grahamg]

I'm just glad somebody has a plan.

Baldrick said he had a plan just before his master Captain Blackadder and he went "over the top" but no one cared to hear it!

 

[Gary O']

Sure seems the torment forever thing isn't holding up, scripture wise.
I'm still studying, however.

Just now ran across a few more verses this morning


1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. Malachi 4:1

A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. Psalm 37:10

For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. Obadiah 16

 

[Patricia]

Baldrick said he had a plan just before his master Captain Blackadder and he went "over the top" but no one cared to hear it!

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that your speech pattern, writing, was different that than the others, regardless there are people from your area of the world on the forum. Just now when I noticed your post above Gary O, I realized the two of you both have an unusual language in wording style. Your threads the language is fluent and Gary more broken but ... Look on your earlier date threads, as the comment you made today doesn't so much reflect what I'm talking about that seemed consistent in your language writing earlier on. Are you two from the same area? What is the language difference from other people from the UK?

 

[Gary O']

and Gary more broken

I tend to break most the English grammar rules

But
That's jus' me

As for Grahammy?
He's his own bard
Of which, there's only one

 

[squatting dog]

Does God have a plan? Of course he does.

Me: Hey God.
God: Hello, my love.
Me: I'm falling apart. Can you put me back together?
God: I would rather not.
Me: Why?
God: Because you aren't a puzzle.
Me: What about all of the pieces of my life that are falling down onto the ground?
God: Let them stay there for a while. They fell off for a reason. Take some time and decide if you need any of those pieces back.
Me: You don't understand! I'm breaking down!
God: No - you don't understand. You are breaking through. What you are feeling are just growing pains. You are shedding the things and the people in your life that are holding you back. You aren't falling apart. You are falling into place. Relax. Take some deep breaths and allow those things you don't need anymore to fall off of you. Quit holding onto the pieces that don't fit you anymore. Let them fall off.
Let them go.
Me: Once I start doing that, what will be left of me?
God: Only the very best pieces of you.
Me: I'm scared of changing.
God: I keep telling you - YOU AREN'T CHANGING!! YOU ARE BECOMING!
Me: Becoming who?
God: Becoming who I created you to be! A person of light and love and charity and hope and courage and joy and mercy and grace and compassion. I made you for more than the shallow pieces you have decided adorn yourself with that you cling to with such greed and fear.
Let those things fall off of you. I love you! Don't change! Become! Become! Become! Become who I made you to be. I'm going to keep telling you this until you remember it.
Me: There goes another piece.
God: Yep. Let it be.
Me: So...I'm not broken?
God: No - but you are breaking like the dawn. It's a new day. Become!! Become!!

 

[Sunny]

Having "a plan" is something that humans do. The question is meaningless. There is absolutely no evidence that there is a human-like entity somewhere up there, making "plans," as if he's one of the guys.

The new Webb telescope gives us an even more astonishing perspective on the size and majesty of the universe. Every one of those bright spots is a galaxy, containing millions (or billions?) of stars. These entities are light years apart from each other. We live in a mid-size galaxy, on a small planet, probably one of trillions of other similar planets. And we are a strange form of animal life that has conjured up a fictitious being that we endow with all sorts of human characteristics, who is running this incredibly gigantic universe but somehow makes "plans," cares which football team wins the game, and so on. The people who believe this stuff do so because they have been taught to believe it, and in many cases have had fear instilled in them if they doubt any of it. It's a system of control of other people. But no one knows any more than you do about the ultimate meaning of the universe, even if they claim to.

If you want to see God's "plan," just google the James Webb telescope images.

 

[Mr. Ed]

God has a plan? Define god? Is God the Christian version of god or perhaps god is as Native Americans view god? Christian’s see the world differently as god has a plan. I don’t know enough about god to know god exists or does not exist.
I was raised on Christianity that was detrimental to my growth without knowledge of the harm it caused. Only when I rejected Christianity and the Bible I realized the weight I carried after it was gone.

 

[Geezer Garage]

All that I know, is that I don't know, but that is not a bad place to start from. I choose to follow my instincts on this matter, and they tell me there is something. What, I have no idea, but I speak to it daily, and it seems to work for me.