K C Sunbeam

                                      "These signs shall  [future tense] follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17-18 KJV.   These follow-ing signs were to confirm the Gospel word (Mark 16:20). Again, all future tense. Then the tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit, with His gifts, in Acts Chapter 2. Peter explained that this is that prophes-ied by Joel in Joel 2:28-30.    That is,   it was needed. Otherwise, the Way of Christ would likely be totally rejected as it was brand new and appeared to contradict the status quo.  There was another outpouring, on the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48) to show that they too were accepted, and to expand the Kingdo...

                                                                      1) Commonly Accepted Data:  Here's a rough estimate of common statistics on Earth's people who do or do not adhere to various religions:    Christianity 32%,  Islam 25%, Hinduism 15%, Buddhism 5%, Nonreligious 19%, and Other 4%.  I see myself in the other category.  Some break it down further between Protestants and Catholics, Shia and Sunni Muslims, Judaism, Chinese folk religions, Zen, tribal, liberals and conservatives, and so forth. Regardless, it only indicates what TRADITION one does or does not likely adhere to, NOT the full person or their convictions.   2) Definitions:  A  religion does NOT require  belief in or worship of a God or gods. It does not even require belief in the superna...

                                         Heresy, originally defined, was a religious doctrine contrary to dogma established by the Church, or which implied denial of revealed truth. That is, heterodoxy. A heretic would be one who dissents from established Church dogma or deliberately and obstinately disavows a revealed truth. That is, a deviationist. Principles of avoiding heresy and condemning it are indeed scriptural.  But it also came to mean departure from a dominant doctrine, practice, or theory in any field.  That is, innovation. A heretic came to mean anyone who dissents from an accepted doctrine, opinion, or theory of any kind, or who opposes generally accepted beliefs.  That is, a nonconformist. In other words, don't you dare defy popular opinion.   For lauders of popular opinion to be logically consistent, they should allow ant colonies to take over...

                                          Dear Pastor Lee, To start with splendid harmony, I appreciate your excellent preaching.  Namely, boldness in using strong volume, secondly, your great enthusiasm, thirdly, fine personal testimony, fourthly, your willingness to call out sin, and fifthly, the depth of knowledge you have for someone your age. And a bonus, covering one of my more favorite books, that of Jonah.  Yet there's a problem! Actually several. First, you persist in binding divine literalism. Now whale is a mistranslation, its great fish. And whales aren't fish, they're mammals. No giant fish could ever swallow a man without killing him. And Jonah never went to Ninevah, let alone converting the Assyrians.  The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal was established in the 7th century BC, over 30,000 cuneiform tablets. And we have the Assyrian National Library, biggest...

                                     Knowing whether or not you can lose your soul after having been saved should be of top importance.  Ideally, this should be settled by Scripture. Now an elderly church leader relayed that when he was young, him and his grandmother took opposite sides on this issue. His grandmother compiled a list of scriptures supporting her stance and he compiled a list supporting his. Nothing ever changed. I did likewise, and others claimed to see absolutely nothing from it.  Also, I was convinced that their use of select scriptures completely distorted the texts.  So, to avoid wasting time and energy, I exclude it here.  First, since both sides claim it is crystal clear that their position is right and the other wrong, one side has to be very dishonest.  And oftentimes, both sides cannot agree to disagree, rightfully so.  So, this excludes a...