A Question with no Requirement for Yes/No answers (but they are welcome)

Colin Maxwell (goodnightsafehome) and Antonio were having an interesting discussion in the comments of the previous post. (Kev and KC got in on the action too)

It regards eternity. I admit I have never given this particular DARK and DREARY aspect of eternity much study or thought. I find it to be a very heavy contemplation. Colin had brought it up in the past to me, albeit from a different angle, and I fled the consideration back then. I didn't really want to spend too much energy thinking about such a black propostition. I have decided that it is worth a broader discussion. I hope people will get involved.

I am going to frame it this way:

Will sin go on throughout eternity?

What do you think? Do you have any scriptural reasons for your thoughts? If not, that is fine - your "scriptural sense" is OK to voice too - even if you don't have a proof-text.

I confess, I sense the answer is NO, but I have not studied it out. Colin holds that the answer is YES and he is not a dummy, so it seems like a challenging question to me.

Yes or No Answer!!!! More Thoughts.

Last night I was thinking about a question that requires something more than a yes or no answer. For those of you who follow the same political news sources that I do, please bear with me as I explain… and correct me if I get any of the details wrong. (My “following” of these things is choppy sometimes.)

Here is a question. Yes or No answer.

Do you hope the new president will succeed?

If that question was answered NO by myself, without my being allowed to explain, then that could make me sound like a bitter angry Republican, at best… or un-American, un-patriotic or even treasonous, at worst.

Many conservatives have been expressing that they “hope the new president will succeed.” That sounds fitting and appropriate, and seems like what should be said at a time like this. However, Rush Limbaugh went against the crowd and said that he doesn’t hope that the new president will succeed. Mr. Limbaugh was berated for saying such. I, who love Rush Limbaugh, who finds great comfort in listening to his program on the spotty occasions that I can, just KNEW that there was a good explanation for him saying that.

Last night on the Sean Hannity program (which I only watch about once a month anymore, but I knew he was interviewing RL, so I made a point to tune in) Rush Limbaugh explained. He said that if President Obama succeeds in implementing liberal policies, for example, socialized, government–run healthcare, then that would NOT be a success for our country – it would be the end of things as we know them. Our country would become something completely different than what we have known it to be. So Rush explained that in that sense, he does NOT want the new president to succeed. On the other hand, Mr. Limbaugh also explained that if Mr. Obama decides to take the country in a direction that embraces some of the policies of, say, Ronald Reagan, then Rush would consider that a true success (as he, RL defines it) and he would want Mr. Obama to succeed in such a way.

So, in many venues, including religious and political, TERMS are defined differently and can affect the other people’s understanding of what we mean by what we say. In these cases, yes and no just doesn’t cut it.

A Potpourri of Thoughts

If there is no God, then why does an atheist have a problem with the phrase "so help me God?"

What is so threatening about a boy having a pocketknife?

Maybe by the time my van dies, electric cars will be affordable.

If blue and yellow make green, what is that color that black and yellow make?

Does anybody ever use the word "unalienable"?

I wonder how many more years I will get out of that van of mine.

Why does a patch of snow in the dark provide a better footing than what looks like a bare sidewalk?

It's cool how the shadows in snow look bluish when the sun is out. Complements in the shadows. Color theory 101.

January is a very bleak, dark and cold month in Ohio.

What would ever motivate someone to "capture" a blogger page?

Who invented YakTrax? That man needs an award!

Or woman.

The sun is rising one minute sooner every day now.

Tomorrow's Post

I will be posting something tomorrow.

'Yes' or 'No' Answer!!!

Some of the theological debating I have witnessed in these last few years -in which people demand an absolute 'yes' or 'no' answer to a complex question- reminds me of something. I heard about a man trying to trick a financial advisor. The man asked the advisor:

Is it an option for people to use bankruptcy to save money on life's expenses?

If he answered yes (because it is an option that some people actually do use, to their shame) he would sound as if he were saying that it was OK to do this, that it was acceptable. If he said no (because that 'option' was never what the bankruptcy laws were intended for) it would seem that he was denying that people could do this, which is not being truthful or realistic about what some people actually do within the bounds of the law.

I have seen questions like that a lot in the FG interior debates and the LS/FG debates. If one does answer certain issues with such simple answers, they are set up for being misunderstood. Don't you think certain questions cannot be appropriately answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer? Please answer 'yes' or 'no'. (just kidding)

A Great Quote

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

A Questionable Quote

I got this quote stuck in my mind the other day.
It was at the bottom an email. It had no name attached to it so I don't know who wrote it. (Maybe I will do my homework after I post this and see who said it. It must be someone noteworthy. I am certain of that.)

I don't like this quote. I think it is just false.

"The only Scripture I believe is the one that I obey"

If I were to guess about the motivation behind the quote, I would say it is to try and persuade Christians into obeying God by questioning the sincerity of their faith if they do not obey. I disagree with that approach. I think Christians are better encouraged to obey God via the motivation of thankfulness, which is the opposite of guilt, in this case. IOW, if I know that God loves me and accpets me no matter what I do, I am oh so thankful for that. This is a good motivation for living for Him, much more powerful than guilt.

Furthermore, I know there are Scriptures that I believe but that I don't obey.

I could be wrong about the intent of the quote, though.

A 2 Minute Wonder!

Women in Art by Eggman913

This is really worth watching!