Posted on 01/11/2005 6:18:33 PM PST by malakhi
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. |
After a nine month hiatus, The Neverending Story, the granddaddy of daily threads, has returned to Free Republic. Originally begun on March 24, 2001, as a religious discussion thread, the NES evolved over time into a daily thread spanning a wide variety of topics. The new and improved Neverending Story will feature conversation on religion, politics, culture, current events, business, sports, family, hobbies, general fellowship and more. We welcome you to hang your hat in our little corner of FR. We ask you to abide by the FR posting rules and, even in the midst of serious debate, to keep the discussion friendly and respectful. Those who wish to "duke it out" are asked to take it over to the Smoky Backroom. I placed this thread in "General/Chat" for a reason, so play nice and have fun! :o)
No, you understand it as you interpret it. Just like everyone else does.
Once again, Dave, we are talking about praying TO DEAD PEOPLE and having DEAD people pray for you.
Again, if this happens al lthe time, show ne one verse where we are instructed to pray TO DEAD PEOPLE and show me one verse where we are instructed to ASK DEAD PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR US.
You could pray FOR dead people but that is different than praying TO dead people.
Since you did NOT post any verses supporting praying TO dead people or any verses supporting DEAD people praying for us, the last time I asked, I take it you still have not found any.
Yeah, but without that capital "M" it's a differnet thing. ;-)
SD
Slam dunk! I sometimes think they turned in the 'trinity' for a 'quartet'. Or maybe its 'globism' since they pray to anyone, living or dead seeking intercession.
Of course, God invented whiskey to prevent the Irish from ruling the world. It's already enough that we have the wit and the eloquence.
SD
You must admit that making an attempt to follow the writing in context is superior to simply taking a phrase out of context.
Go ahead and read Acts 2 for yourself.
SD
Hey, Mal, I have a question for you, though you may not know the answer. Have you ever noticed that cats are not ever mentioned in the bible?
I'll admit that when you do, since taking phrases out of context forms the bulk of Christian exegesis of the Hebrew scriptures.
Lions are mentioned, and they're just big cats.
Show the verses where the context explicitly instructs us to pray to familiar spirits and dead people asking them to intercede for us with YHWH on our behalf.
Yeah. but I mean domesticated cats. Dogs are mentioned and so are wolves. I just thought it was kind of odd since domesticated cats have been around since ancient Egypt, or roughly 3500 BCE. It isn't important, I just found it curious.
Maybe their prominence in Egypt had something to do with it.
SD
Dogs are mentioned, but never in a positive context. People living in biblical times would never understand our modern fetish for pets. Pets are a luxury when resources are scarce.
So cats not being mentioned could be explained both by their association to Egypt and the fact that, as unclean, they wouldn't want them hanging around.
What did they use for guarding grain? I always thought it was elementary sociology that as mankind learned agriculture they domesticated cats to keep vermin at bay.
SD
Or, it could be that cats just never rated mention. :o)
Maybe, but then you'd think there might be admonishments or something. I don't know, just thought it odd.
I thought I read somewhere that the Pharaoh's would use cats as food tester's. My son said he thought that probably came about later.
Well, that is what struck me as odd because what with the Exodus you'd think that at some point cats would have been mentioned. Egyptians venerated them, ie Bastet godess of the home. Plus they mummified them so that they would have them after their resurrection into the next world.
Pigs are mentioned and they are unclean and associated with pagans/heathens.
What did they use for guarding grain? I always thought it was elementary sociology that as mankind learned agriculture they domesticated cats to keep vermin at bay.
That is the understanding my son has of events as well.
Dave, I'd like to ask you another off topic question. I'd like your gut instinct on something.
You strike me as being a devout catholic, which is why I want your impression or git feeling on this.
When we went to my godson's first communion we took one of my cousins and her two boys with us.
A little background. My grandmother had 12 kids. 3 boys and 9 girls. I don't know where to start. Two of the boys left the chuch when they married, and their wives come into play later.
Back about 1980 one of my Aunt's died from brain cancer. My grandmother was still alive and quite healthy and she was the godmother to one of this Aunt's daughters.
My grandmother was always quite devout so I find it odd that she would do what we were told that she did. First off, when my Aunt died she was in her later 30's and still have 3 kids at home, two in high school and one that had just turned 5. This was the first of her kids to die. She was in Florida at the time and didn't return for the funderal. Ok. A few years later one the boy's/my Uncle died.
One of my other Aunt's told this cousin's sister, that my grandmother disinherited the families of my Aunt that died and the Uncle that died. We also found out that the wives of the two Uncles that left the church when they married, those wives went in and cleaned out everything of value that our grandmother had. They also didn't contact the other relatives for a reading of the will in which my mother was supposed to receive money as were my sister and I.
What I find most disturbing is that the Aunt that died's family was supposed to have been disinherited, yet she was the godmother of one of this Aunt's daughters. My grandmother could be mean BUT, I find it hard to believe that she would disinherit her grandkids, just because one of their parents died prior to her and I find it extremely odd that a 'devout catholic' would disinherit her own goddaughter, since she took all matters of the church so seriously.
I do know that after my Aunt/her daughter died, my grandmother never had any contact with this Aunt's children, nor with the children from her son/my Uncle that passed away.
I can't help but wonder if someone (the two Aunt's that cleaned up after Grandma's death) talked her into changing her will? Also, why didn't the lawyer contact all family members about the reading of the will? Anyway, I wondering if you thought someone that took their religion so seriously could or would disinherit their godchild, for no good reason?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.