Tackling the Tough Issues-Homosexuality

Homosexuality is a big issue in the country today, Gay man and lesbians are pushing for rights they feel they deserve, The right to adopt children, to be married, to be treated with dignity, and respect. Major hot topic issues, that should be dealt with with grace and tact. I live in a community where homosexuality is prominent. I have had gay and lesbian friends, even had a lesbian room mate for a few. They have always been friendly and courteous to me. I have never had an issue with any of them.

So it really grieves me when I see blanket condemnation of Gays and lesbians, from certain of those who are of the faith. Beating them in the head with the Bible, having a total disregard for the love of Christ, and driving them further from the opportunity to experience the saving Grace of God.
On the other hand, there are those who claim to be of the faith, who seek to embrace them in their lost condition, Showing them an acceptance of their lifestyle, in the love of God, and not warning them what the Bible actually says. They openly say that the Bible is not clear, or what the Bible does say is buried in a historical context of the given passages... They fail to deal with the gays and lesbians honestly, tickling their ears' and depriving them of the true message of love and grace that God offers them.
What does the Bible say about the issue of homosexuality? I am a christian, and although it has not been asked of me yet, This question will eventually have to be answered, especially in light of the fact that homosexuality is becoming more prevalent in our culture at a very fast rate.
I am Conservative in my faith. I believe the Bible is the Spiritual and moral standard, which with, to the best of my ability, I am to govern my life... So as Martin Luther once said, "My mind is constrained by the Word of God." In all issues of life it is my Duty to seek the mind of God, by careful study and application of His Holy Word. Please hear me out as I hopefully, with Grace and love, show what the Bible says concerning this issue of homosexuality. This is sparse overview, and for the sake of space and sanity, I omitted some references that did not have to do with the subject at hand.
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Beginning with Creation of man.
When God created Adam, He looked down on him and said "It is not good that man should dwell alone, I will make a helper for him" (Genesis 2)
The helper, was called woman. God established this relationship from the beginning, a relationship that consists of one man, and one woman. Adam and Eve. this was a relationship blessed by God, and He set the man and the woman on a course that would continue throughout the generations.
"Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1). In this relationship God also established the covenant of marriage. "Therefore man shall leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh"(Genesis 2).
So we see here from the beginning, God has established his plan for the covenant of marriage, and the purpose for sexual union, in which procreation is the end result. (remember this we will refer back to it.)
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The Fall
I do not feel I need to go in to detail about the fall of man, lets just say that That Adam and Eve biffed it. As a result The generations that followed, all spiritually separated from God, proceed to do that which was right in their own eyes, "Do as God says" changed to "Do what thou wilt." Man spread throughout all the earth, Erected great cities, Worshiped Idols created by their own hands or in their own minds. They totally abandoned their creator. The Apostle Paul commented on this in his epistle to the Romans.
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Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1: 21-32)

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Now, before you start to cry that this is ripped out of it's historical or cultural context, let me say this.
Paul is not just talking about the culture of the Roman Empire. He said that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ALL unrighteousness and ungodliness of men. (Romans 1:18)
The historical context is established in this verse. ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
Looking at the text we see that because they refused to acknowledge their creator, He gave them up to uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies. Vile affections, Where women and men changed the natural use to that which is against nature. The Bible says there is a natural use for your body, that natural use was established in the beginning, before the fall of man. It is one woman one man, in the covenant of marriage with the end result of the possibility of procreation. anything we do that violates God's original plan, is considered against nature...but we will deal with that more later
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Sodom and Gomorrah
The unrighteousness of Sodom and Gomorrah was so rotten that God chose to destroy the cities and the people therein. (Genesis 13:13) Two angels made the journey to Sodom where they met Lot, who brought them in to his house to protect them from the corruption of the people of the city.
Then all the men and boys of the city surrounded the house and demanded that Lot send the ANGLES out that they may know them.... and you know the rest of the story, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and years later. the word "Sodomy" came to mean the sexual act.which is preferred by those of a alternate sexual orientation...(Genesis 19)
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God chooses a people
Out of all the nations and kindreds and tongues God Chose Abraham and his linage through Issac and Jacob to set apart unto himself a people from which the Messiah would eventually come. These people, known as Hebrews, migrated to Egypt, endured years of servitude, took part in an
Exodus and wandered in the Wilderness of Sinai for forty years. During this time God gave his prophet Moses a series of commandments to keep. First there was only ten, and, guess what, The Hebrews Biffed it..Next Moses, received of God numerous other commandments to give to the people. These are recorded throughout the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. among those commandments, concerning our subject God told his people.

- "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination"-Leviticus 18:22
and
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."- Leviticus 20:13

Now lets look at the cultural context. This is what God required of the Israelites, (Hebrews). they were Chosen by Him to be set apart and holy. The rest of humanity continued in the path described by Paul in Romans 1. This continued until the time of Christ.
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Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate in human flesh.
As we examine the four gospels we find that Jesus Christ is strangely silent concerning the issue of homosexuality, However, Jesus did say that more mercy would be shown the city of Sodom, (as grievous as their sin was), than the cities that reject Him or His disciples. but as for the act of homosexuality itself, he is silent.
In It's Cultural context, the Jews were still under the Old Testament covenant, and the issue of homosexuality among the people was still a capitol offense. Jesus originally was sent only to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," So homosexuality was not an issue among the people. He was not sent to deal with the Gentiles, where homosexuality was prominent in the Roman and Greek culture. God was still dealing with his chosen people, hence the curious silence of Jesus on the subject.
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The Church.
During The ministry of Jesus Christ he proclaimed that there were other sheep, not of this fold (The Jews) that would hear His voice and and follow him, (John 10:16) this was accomplished in the formation of the church. In Acts chapter two The Holy Spirit came into the upper room and the followers of Christ were filled with the the Power of God, and they spoke in other tongues.. Later the Apostle Paul was called as an apostle to the Gentiles. (Acts 9:15). Paul would be dealing with people, who unlike the Jews, were well familiar with homosexuality in their culture.. This is reflected in the epistles that Paul wrote to the churches
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God"- (I Corinthians 6:9) and Romans 1: 21-32 (previously sited,)
He also committed this to Timothy, Leader of the church of Ephesus. (I Timothy 1:9-10). It can be logically assumed that if it was not appropriate in these churches, that God's disapproval of homosexuality is universal. If you were to be one of God's chosen, practicing homosexuality, or any other sexual sin was defiantly on the "don't list."
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In Conclusion
The Bible is more than clear regarding the issue of homosexuality, It was not part of God's plan for covenant or sexual union from the beginning, nor does he approve of it among His chosen people in either the Old or New testament. It is, according to the Bible, an abomination and a sin.
If this is offensive I apologize, but it is God's word, and it would be unloving of me not to tell you the truth. To the best of my ability I did not fail to give you the whole council of God concerning this issue, and in my next blog I will deal with those Christians who: 1. have no right to judge you, and 2. Those who are outright lying to you in the name of Christian love and finally my opinion not only on homosexuality, but my opinion on sexual immorality in general... until then..Chao!

"MARTINLUTHERY"

Last night I had the opportunity to view a You Tube video by Rob Bell, on the subject "Everything is spiritual. " Now I have questioned a lot of his teachings, and I personally believe he wrong on many issues concerning spirituality, but I never really read his books, or viewed any of his videos, in depth, so I kept my comments to myself. Especially since a minister friend of mine sometimes quotes him on his blog.


As I was listening I suddenly heard him make the statement that "to label one area as spiritual is to label other areas not spiritual... It's absolutely foreign to the world of the scriptures, it's absolutely foreign to the worldview of Jesus." (this is an exact quote)... this did not seem right to me, because the Bible states that there is the "spiritual", and there is the "carnal"... two distinct and opposite categories where life issues are concerned . Sooooo, I posted this comment, (copied and pasted below from the site.)

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Soldier7of7Christ (12 hours ago) Show Hide
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Sorry Rob, The bible makes distinctions between that which is Spiritual and that which is CARNAL...
Romans Chapter 8 says that there are those who walk after the flesh, and there are those who walk after the Spirit. Galatians 5:19-23 differentiates between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. There is more, but the point is...Everything is NOT Spiritual...

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As I re-read my post, and re-listened to the video, Looking at Mr. Bell with his giant dry erase board passionately expounding upon his topic in front of his more-than-likely very large gathering, I wondered if anyone caught his error, or is everyone hanging on every word he said. I thought about how everyone in that room was being exposed to something false and unbiblical, and his emphatic statement that, to call something not spiritual is foreign to scripture, and how deceiving a statement such as that is. Soooooo, I wrote another post. (After removing a re-post of the first post)....uh..yeah....
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"The sad part is that he makes such emphatic statements that, young people, who would rather get their theology from "Velvet Elvis" than the Holy Bible, soak it up like a sponge soaks up urine."
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As I looked at the words I just finished typing I wondered if I was too harsh. Maybe I should use the word "water" instead of urine... I knew that I was not only equating Rob Bell's teaching as urine, I was Implying that his congregation was absorbing it like a sponge... Then, in the spirit of Martin Luther, I pressed the post button.
I woke up this morning, and having nothing better to do, I went to the You Tube video where I left the post, half expecting to not only be flamed by "Rob Bell- idol worshipers", but reproved by fellow brothers for my poor choice of metaphors. I found however, that although my first post was still there, my second one was removed... I looked to the information window to see who posted the video and found that it was a site created by Zondervan Book Publishers, so I could hardly blame them for removing my post. Rob Bell being one of it's best selling authors...I was grateful that they did not remove the first post (at least not as I am writing this) and I have no intention of reposing it on their site or any other...

I have been told by preachers that I have the grace of a buzz saw,
when it comes to making my opinions known. But it provokes me in the spirit that someone who has the intelligence and passion for teaching as Rob Bell can make such direct statements to his people, knowing that they will take him at his word, without even cracking open their Bible to see if he is right...This was also common among cult leaders such as Herbert (and Garner Ted) Armstrong, The Watchtower Bible and Tract society, and many others
I know enough about Mr. Bell from his videos and what is in his books, that his teachings, for the most part. are unbiblical. and any purchase of his literature will go in my pseudo-christian and cult section of my library. But what really bothers me is, considering his views on hell, original sin, and the inspiration of the Scriptures, that anyone who claims to be a Christian book publisher, would promote his writings. or that a Christian book seller would sell them....But, I guess the almighty dollar is the bottom line...
If you are a follower of Rob Bell's teachings and I have offended you, I am truly sorry, but my opinion, if you believe or promote the DOCTRINE he teaches. and have ever slammed the door on a Jehovah's witness of a Mormon...you need to find them...and apologize...
As for me, I do not Regret the post, and I guess my Statement was kinda "Martin-Luthery", (There's a new buzzword for you emergent types...) but I still hold to the belief. that error should be exposed. As well as those who promote it... The eternal destiny of many souls are at stake. and that is something a Christian should be passionate about...

Assurance....

"These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; That ye may know that ye have eternal life,
and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
I John 5:13 (KJV)
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Assurance of Salvation, The one thing that separates Christianity from every other religion in the world today. The knowledge that, if we are trusting in Christ as our Savior, we have eternal life. No other religion can offer that, not Islam, Not Buddhism, not Hinduism. No other religion or philosophy can offer the rest that is found in the simple saving faith of The Lord Jesus Christ. And I would not give a plug nickel to any minister who could, (or would) not teach this blessed promise.
Yet as I learn of the ministries of many who name the name of Christ, I see that they are sorrowfully lacking in the ability to communicate this promise.
I read a blog from one such ministry, where a young man, a Christian, was worried about whether he was going to heaven. What was worse, the person writing the blog, couldn't give him an answer he had confidence in either. That is sad... There are thousands of believers, dear and genuine followers of Christ, who really wonder if they have any hope of seeing eternal life. And we are failing to give them the answers they so desperately need. Yet the assurance of salvation is clearly taught in The Bible.

"These things I have written"

The Holy spirit inspired John to write this epistle so that believers would have a record of God's salvation, and man's assurance. It was a written declaration of assurance for every believer. So to say there is no such thing as assurance of salvation is to deny the promise God has given us, through the Apostle John.

That ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life"

Knowledge is not a question you ask, it is a fact that you can accept. Assurance of salvation starts with knowledge. You can know that you have eternal life. It is a Bible promise. All through the Gospel of John and the writings of Paul, assurance is clear. If you are a minister, and can not give your flock assurance that they are saved, or you outright refuse to believe in this precious promise, you are ignorant of God's Word, and have no business shepherding a flock of believers... Is It that important? Yes it is. Here's why...

Your average Mormon or Jehovah's Witness believes that Jesus died for their sins. They get baptised, They read and study their bible, They are faithful to their church, they tithe,
and fulfill their version of the great commission, better than most Christians, and they have no assurance of salvation. Or, what little assurance they do have, is based on maintaining faithfulness to God, through service to their particular organization.

You say their gospel is a different gospel. That is true enough...yet I ask you this. If you have no assurance of salvation, no guarantee you will go to heaven, What is the difference between the gospel you believe, and theirs? And if your only assurance of salvation is the fact that you maintain faithfulness to God through good works, are you any different from those above named religions? The Bible says you are saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) If your assurance of salvation is based on your works, are YOU not believing a different gospel than what the bible teaches?

Think about it....

You say that they believe in a different Jesus. That is true too. But God promises that "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5), and Jesus says "I will be with you always even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). If you have no assurance of salvation, is not your view of Jesus Christ different from the Bible? Are you not also believing in a different Jesus?

If God will never leave you, and Jesus will always be with you, how can you have no assurance?

The assurance of salvation is essential to a proper understanding of the Gospel of Christ. And yes, it is tied up in the security of the believer, because if you are not secure in your faith, you can have no assurance...but that is another blog... Suffice it to say that God's promises are true, and God's Promise... is your assurance...
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"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them Eternal life; and they shall NEVER PERISH"
John 10v 27-28a
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Thank you Lord Jesus...Amen.

My Confession of Faith

I love creeds. They are Affirmations of faith that let everyone know where you stand concerning the issues of doctrine and belief. I personally think that Christian Assemblies ought to go back to the Apostles and Nicene creeds, as a basis for teaching and memorization. Yet It seems to me that both of those creeds are sparse in areas that are at least important to me, so I have developed my own Confession of Faith. It is far from an original piece, borrowing heavily from The Nicene Creed, but it conveys my doctrinal beliefs quite nicely

So here it is.

THE CONFESSION OF
DORIAN ANTHONY JONES
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I believe in one God, The Father, Almighty and Eternal, The Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible.
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I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, The only begotten Son of God,
Begotten of The Father before all worlds
God Of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God
Begotten not made, being one in substance with The Father
Through whom all things were made, and by whom all thing consist.
Who, for the salvation of man, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by The Holy Ghost through the Virgin Mary, And being in the form of man was tempted at all points, yet without sin.
Who under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was crucified
Who yielding his life willingly, died, and rose again in three days according to The Scriptures.
Who ascending into heaven, now is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
From there He shall return to judge the quick and the dead. and establish a Kingdom which will have no end
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I believe in The Holy Spirit, The Lord God, one with and proceeding from The Father and The Son.
Creator, Indweller, Life Giver, Protector, Healer, Teacher, and Comforter.
The Ernest of our inheritance until our redemption in glory.
Who with The Father and The Son is worthy of worship and glory.
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I believe in one Holy Christian Church, The Communion of Saints, and the Ordinance of Baptism, The inerrancy of God"s Word, The Holy Bible, The Security of the Believer, The Blood Atonement, the Resurrection of the Dead, and Life Eternal in the world to come. Amen.

Dumpster diving

I never cease to be amazed at the things you find on the Internet, claiming to be "Christian." The availability of information on the web ranges from good fundamental teaching to a wash of absolute garbage. I liken it to the fond childhood memory of dumpster diving. In the effort of climbing into a smelly, greasy metal box, you hope to find something "cool" and, more often than not, you find something better left to rot...Much like today, some things on the net are sound and edifying, and other stink of the rottenness of false teaching. Weather digging through garbage to find "treasure," or surfing the web for pearls of wisdom, the key is to know the difference. True followers of Christ must be able to discern the truth from error, and therein lies the major problem with the Church. The pitiful lack of sound bible teaching has opened the Church to grevious error that undermines the faith of believers, and fails miserably to bring the gospel message to lost souls. A series of best selling books and a message which is considered "relevant to the postmodern culture of today", does not make the Author a Christian. being the son of a famous preacher and having a huge congregation at your stadium sized church does not make one a minister of the gospel. A twenty pound leather bible, a three piece suit, and a ministry that proudly displays your name does not cut it either... When Jesus was preaching what we call the "Sermon on the Mount," (Matthew 7: 15-20) he warned us of false prophets who come in sheep's clothing, but who were ravening wolves inwardly. Then He went on to make a very direct and revealing statement. "Ye shall know them by their fruits." What exactly did Jesus mean by fruits? lifestyle? Good works? Remember what he said earlier, They WEAR SHEEP'S CLOTHING! The outer appearance was that of righteous men, they looked and acted the part... So in my opinion, The fruits Christ spoke of had, in this case, nothing to do with lifestyle or appearance. It is my humble belief that the fruits Jesus was referring to were the fruit of their doctrine. In II Corinthians 11, Paul said that those who preach a different Jesus, Gospel and Holy Spirit than that which he preached were, false apostles deceitful workers, TRANSFORMING THEMSELVES into Apostles of Christ just as Satan transforms himself into an angel of light...(II Corinthians 11: 13-15) We can safely say that concerning spiritual leaders, looks can be deceiving... It is what they teach that counts. Even when Paul preached the gospel, the people of Berea received his word, and "STUDIED THE SCRIPTURES whether those things were so." (Acts 17:10-11) If the Apostle Paul's preaching was subject to the test of Holy Scripture, How much more so these who shower us with books and videos that boost the self esteem and tickle the ear? The Bible is not subject to the interpretation of the teacher, the teachers interpretation is subject to The Bible. remember this, and search the scriptures daily whether those things are so...

A different view of John 3:16...O.K...

As I was skimming through the Internet, (You Tube to be precise) I saw a posted comment that recommended a website called "The Ooze". Always interested in Christian websites, and seeking to get a greater knowledge of what the "Emergent Church" movement is about, I "Googled The Ooze" to see what's up. After browsing the site for a bit, I happened to come on to a post titled, "John :316- Is It Focused on Just People, or Something Bigger?" by a man who simply called himself Jonathon. It was a critique of the "traditional interpretation" of the verse, And while not denying the traditional interpretation, he made a statement that I found particularly disturbing...

"Basically we read and form theology INTO the verse or this particular verse"

Why do I find this disturbing? Because he states that theology (Which is in this case the the traditional interpretation) Is read into the verse... (italics mine) This struck me as odd ...and a question popped into my mind...

Is he implying that the Traditional view of the verse, (That God gave his son so that those who believe shall have eternal life) is a preconceived notion , which we have READ INTO the verse itself?

It strikes me as odd because I was under the impression that the theology was formed on the basis of what the verse said, in context with the entire narrative...

I continued to read, about how although the traditional interpretation is "good and valid according to theology" He went on to say that:

1. "It is not good in how we appreciate the biblical narrative and theology based on the whole bible"....O.K....

2. That it promote a belief that God cares for people only, and brushes the rest of His Creation aside...

3. "It sort of shrinks our theology giving us a "malnutrition version" of God's plan....WHAT?!?

He than proceeds to give what he perceives to be a more "Holistic/nourished approach of theology based on John 3:16 that is faithful to the biblical message." He did this By using a sparse overview of the Old Testament, and two passages from the New Testament, (Collosians 1: 15-20 and Romans 8: 18-23) to show that God not only seeks to reconcile humans to himself, but creation as a whole... By doing this he sought to show "a more holistic view of the mission of God and theology for understanding John 3:16."

WOW... I never thought John 3:16 meant all that.... and you know what... It Doesn't.

Jesus was not giving a geology lesson to Nicodemus. No where is that implied in the context of the chapter, He was stating the need of a Spiritual rebirth of man which is necessary for salvation.

Jonathon said that we read and form theology into this verse.... and he did the exact same thing...not on the basis of the narrative as a whole, but on the basis of one word... world.

The difference is that the traditional theology is based on the immediate context of the passage, and is consistent with God's plan of redemption throughout the Bible as a whole...

So is it wrong to see that God has a plan to redeem his creation? The Bible says that God will create a NEW heaven and earth wherein dwelleth righteousness....but that is another topic, for a later time.

My first official Blog...woohoo!

Wow... This is totally new to me, so here we go... It has been my intention to start a blog for some time now, but I never got a " 'round tuit." (had a bunch of square tuits and a few triangle tuits, but no round 'uns). Be that as it may, I finally got a 'round tuit, so here I am....
I have been wanting to start a Blog to voice my opinion on whatever issue pops up in my thick skull, chiefly of a religious or philosophical nature. So at the start let me make a few points clear.

1. I am a Christian by faith, A Baptist by preference, and Reformed in my theology. I believe in the Five fundamentals of the Christian Faith, and make no apology for what has been passed down to me by God, through faithful and learned men. I love the Holy Bible, and the Lord Jesus Christ and will defend the faith to the best of my ability.

2. My spelling is lousey (Did I spell lousey right?) and sometimes I am to lazy to use a spell checker, My grammar is not to hot either, so please forgive me for any errors.

3. As a Fundamental Christian, many of my posts will seem intolerant, That comes with the territory. I do not believe in sacrificing Long-established Biblical truth on the alter of inclusivity with those who do not share my faith. I do believe that people are free to believe worship as they see fit, and live as they choose. Loving your neighbor is one of the two pillars of the Christian Faith, (Loving God is the other) so if you disagree, feel free to disagree agreeably.

4. Although I have no problems with Course name calling...(Buzzard Bait, yard bird, dipstick pinhead, dog meat, ect... all in fun) I will not tolerate filthy language in this space. It is my hope that people here will realize that I am a Christian, and respect my wishes in this area. All responses containing such language will be removed..

So... this is my first post. Many will follow, so feel free to read and respond accordingly!
Love and CHAO!
Dorian of the Cross