It's so much more than that, but there's no way anyone else could convince you. You have to want it for yourself.

Abby10 Nailed It.
 

We are all very fortunate that I am at the beach, and have spent the day down by the pool getting some sun and fresh air, and visiting with people.

We are fortunate because in my absence Abby10 has given a better response to the question that I ever could have in post #117. :thumbup: . :highfive: .:clap2:

I would have written of Election, Free Will, Faith being a Gift from God, and how these concepts are inter-related. It gets quite complex. Abby10's answer cuts to the how of it rather than writing about it.

I would only add that if a person is genuinely seeking Faith, a good course of action would be to attend some services at an Evangelical church. Evangelical churches are churches that stress the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, personal conversion experiences, Scripture as the sole basis for faith, and active evangelism (the winning of personal commitments to Christ). Most Baptist churches meet this definition. In The Villages I have found Emmanuel Baptist Church to be such a church.

I would make it a point to identify myself as a visitor, get to know some people, and at some point seek a private meeting with the pastor to let him know that I was a "Seeker." And, see where it goes from there.

Carl in Tampa


.

Aww, thanks, Carl. I only had housework to catch up on today so it was my pleasure to put that off as long as possible. :D

"Chapters 18 and 20 of Leviticus form part of the Holiness code and list prohibited forms of intercourse, including the following verses:

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Chapter 18 verse 22

"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Chapter 20 verse 13"

"Romans 1:26-27
“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."

I don't think God approves...

If your God does not approve, then don't do it, but don't tell others that they have to abide by your rules.

How are you at following these rules? Or do you just pick and choose the ones that work for you?

Leviticus 11:7

And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

Deuteronomy 14:8

And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.


COPUFF......OUT WEST IN THE MILE HIGH STATE!

Again He is the alpha and omega . He has provided mankind with free will and it is within those decisions that each of us is defined.

You pose questions about homosexuals and by your tone with pre-conceived notions.

Did God create homosexuality? Well allow me to present one recent finding

The New Atlantis
Journal of Technology & Society
Special Report
Sexuality & Gender
Findings From The Biological
Psychological, Social Sciences
Fall 2016
Lawrence S. Mayer MB MS PhD
Paul R. Mc Hugh, MD

"The understanding sexual orientation as an innate biological fixed property of human beings- the idea that people are born that way is not supported by scientific evidence"

So based on this long and intensive study homosexuality is a choice. And, since God provide man with free will, it is a free choice.

Those who claim people are born that way do so because it creates legitimacy and validation for such a lifestyle and do so with all the political ramifications.

I am of the belief of Jesus teachings and so I do not accept the sin but forgive the sinner. Hate is wrong. I do believe in live and let live.

My objection to this homosexual contingent is that they have become radicalized and have moved from acceptance to encouragement and I do not believe it is morally right to subject young minds to the belief that this is an acceptable/alternative lifestyle.

Personally I am offended over the fact that movies all seem to range from soft porn to hardcore porn. I liked the filters of old it made for better movie making. so now we moved from an overindulge of heterosexual sex to homosexual sex and not for story content but for profit. they use to put pornographers in jail, now they are celebrated .

If one change the channel they will find the same thing.

We need to return to the word of God. We need to return to the church of our choice. we need to pray for guidance. We need to love one another

Personal Best Regards:

I preferred the "old gay". You suspected someone was gay, but they never said they were...
The "new gay" has to tell you they are gay...
yuck!

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Teump hater
 

Words from another Trump hater IGNORE these socialists

You're agreeing with me...99% of "Christians" are relativists who pick and choose what "laws" they'll follow. THAT is why there are 5,000 sects.

Someone asked if God approved of gay behavior...I posted the answer.

I'm a "free person" not encumbered by dogma and silly rules.

Where did you find these idiots paper? They certainly ARE born that way...IF they are a TRUE homosexual...and not just horny. Many men. I believe. "become gay" for the sex. Something they couldn't get from women. Horny men with other horny men who can't get a woman. "Gay" for convenience. It's why many "gays" say they're bi-sexual...they'll take anyone who will have them.

Homosexuality is caused during fetal development when the brain is undergoing "sexual specialization". Men's and Women's brains develop differently, hormone releases are what "wire" it as it develops. These hormone releases do not occur properly in a "gay" brain. It's NOT their fault but it's NOT normal and shouldn't be "normalized".

REAL gays ARE born that way...but so are psychopaths, pedophiles, and many others who behavior we find disgusting.

What about all the other CRAP we subject children to? Religion, equality...ALL bullsh!t too.

They used to put lots of people in jail that is now celebrated.

Churches let gays in now... Loving everyone...accepting everyone...is what put us in this f@cked up situation. Loving blacks/Hispanics/gays is bringing America to it's knees.

What we NEED to do is say...enough is enough...we tried being nice and it's destroying us. Losers are losers and they SHOULDN'T be put in charge of anything. We need to go back to "winners" running things...the BEST running things. No more lowered standards or quotas...either you qualify or you don't. No more placing the #15 finisher on the podium as third place because they have black skin...and NO other qualifications...only to fill a quota.

God won't save us...acting/thinking RATIONALLY will.

ABSOLUTELY. Cherry pick your Bible all you want, but don't cram it down our throats. When was the last time you wore cotton & polyester, sold a house, or trimmed your beard, which is also "forbidden by God"? The arrogance of claiming to speak for God. We know less about God than an ant knows about nuclear fusion. There are 60 billion stars in the observable universe, and trillions of earth-like planets. Since our star is in a remote corner of the universe, it's possible God placed us there because we are the greediest and most destructive of all the creatures ever created. So claiming to know what God thinks is laughable. http://www.basicknowledge101.com/pho...-of-galaxy.png

People like you are what's wrong with the USA today. Note I didn't say America, as you did, since Mexico is part of America. Stupidity like yours is what will bring us to our knees, if it continues but thankfully there are fewer and fewer of xenophobics like you.

Not arguing...just showing that you were conservative...

"How many stars are there in our galaxy?
100 billion stars
In one calculation, the Milky Way has a mass of about 100 billion solar masses, so it is easiest to translate that to 100 billion stars. This accounts for the stars that would be bigger or smaller than our sun, and averages them out. Other mass estimates bring the number up to 400 billion.May 21, 2014"

"Kornreich used a very rough estimate of 10 trillion galaxies in the universe. Multiplying that by the Milky Way's estimated 100 billion stars results in a large number indeed: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, or a "1" with 24 zeros after it.May 17, 2017"

That's a LOT of stars...a pretty big waste of space if we're the ONLY planet with life...IF making life is the purpose and it's not just random.

Maybe our universe is a "science lab" and all the "God" students (a STEM major for sure) have to create a self sustaining "terrarium" (planet) to pass the course and move on. Like when you made hydrogen and oxygen in chemistry lab. Part of "Getting your "God" degree".

I have another question for the "believers". Why is it...God did a whole lot of communicating with people way back when...giving them stuff, talking to them, giving them orders...but has been completely silent ever since Jesus over 2,000 years ago. How come God doesn't "do anything" any more? No plagues, no destroyed cities, no burning bushes, nobody becoming salt. I'm just curious if you've thought about that at all. Jesus was SUPPOSED to have returned with his kingdom...even before Paul started his campaign to spread "Christianity". What happened? What's the official word on the delay? Mechanical? Weather?

Hi Mell in Central Florida - Can you explain how Mexico is part of America?

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AMERICA...we're in NORTH America...Mexico is in CENTRAL America.

He's lumping us all together because we're on the same continent.

He's forgetting the natives, indians, what MOST Mexicans are...are far removed from white Europeans genetically. You could easily call them a different species too. NOT as far removed as the negros...but differentiated enough to be a different species.

xeno"phobia" is what allows a "people" to survive. Otherwise you end up with a generic mutt. If we continue to breed whites with the other "races" we will lose blonds, redheads, we will lose blue, green, and hazel eyes. And MOST importantly...we will lose that drive, the intelligence, the ambition that only the white race possesses. Asians didn't make western civilization, the America Indians didn't do it. And certainly the negros didn't do it. White people built the world you live in. White people invented the technology you love.