As Christians celebrate Good Friday, Dr. Brown will be live answering your questions, including: Is there a biblical case for sola Scriptura? And, Is the Holy Spirit in any sense female? Listen live here 2-4 pm EST, and call into the show at (866) 348 7884 with your questions and comments.
Hour 1:
Dr. Brown’s Bottom Line: As many are wondering about a tribulation and an antichrist and end time prophecy, this is what we know: lift up Jesus and be faithful. You can never go wrong.
Hour 2:
Dr. Brown’s Bottom Line: As Christians around the world celebrate Good Friday, let’s remember many of them could pay with their lives this weekend in the midst of persecution. May Jesus be exalted; may they be strengthened.
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Today Dr. Brown opened the show talking about the supposed dangers of marijuana. Then he started talking about some people who like to celebrate Easter [a truly pagan holiday that honors the virgin birth of the dying and resurrecting godman Adonis to the queen of heaven] by having themselves nailed to crosses. Excuse me but I think that’s just a little bit more insane than smoking some weed is. I think the dangers of believing in Jesus are well documented and the dangers of pot smoking not so well documented. Yikes. Pretty entertaining Dr. Brown. Funny.
Van,
You have not answered some important posts on this thread: http://www.lineoffireradio.com/2014/04/09/lets-debate-the-issues/comment-page-1/#comment-761646
You seem always to evade pertinent facts when you come face to face with them. Will you please click on the link above and answer truthfully and without rhetoric?
Evolution will never get a man to heaven.
I believe a Christian employer ought to have the right to fire an employee if he finds out that he is married to another man, even though some of our state laws may say otherwise.
As concerning what an employer may fire someone for, state workers told me that in the construction industry, they may fire somebody for any reason. This is what I was told when I asked about employers who do not pay overtime pay. They told me that if I wanted to report my employer for such a thing that I should first find another job.
Why should being married to someone of the same sex be something that is protected by anyone, as far as not being a reason to terminate someone’s employment?
If an employer wants to keep someone like that on, I believe that should be up to him, but I don’t think it’s right to have state laws that protect such things.
It seems to me that whatever gets rewarded we will tend to see more of in the future.
Isn’t that one reason the Bible taught about consequences for certain crimes and commanded punishments for certain things?
Van,
You are so silent when you have been shown to be in error (maybe even caught in purposeful deceit or in placing blind faith in propaganda produced by false intellectuals)…hoping it will blow over and no one will see through your disguise, probably. It is very difficult for a self proclaimed god to admit he was wrong…isn’t it?
Oh, Vaaaaannnnn! Where are you? Where is your integrity and honesty? Come out, come out wherever you are.
Van, it’s true that there are dangers in this world a Christian will face because of his faith in Christ, yet such danger is nothing in comparison to what danger awaits for those who will not believe in him. So don’t be afraid to believe in Christ. Don’t let fear stop you. Have faith if you want to be saved.
As far as those who have had their feet and hands nailed to crosses, and have had this done many times, I wonder if their hands pulled through the nails or not.
Some people say the nails would pull through the flesh of the palms of the hands. I disagree, though much would depend on the size of the head of the nail.
It seems to me that those who were accustomed to nailing people to crosses and leaving them to die of exposure knew what kind of nails to use, but this is just one carpenter’s opinion.
I trust there may be much to be gained from experiencing just a bit of the Lord’s suffering, but if one thinks in some way that one’s own suffering on a cross can some how atone for anything he’s done, he’s deceived himself, and lost whatever true wisdom he might have gained through such an experience.
Such are the dangers of loosing faith in the gospel, and going about things some other way.
Van,
Please respond to the accusation that you misrepresented Schweitzer and give documentation for your assertion about Josephus. Put up or shut up.
“I believe a Christian employer ought to have the right to fire an employee if he finds out that he is married to another man, even though some of our state laws may say otherwise.”
> Then an atheist or gay employer should be able to fire a person if they find out they are a Christian.
These laws are made to protect everybody. You are about as narrow minded and bigoted as you could possibly be. And true to form for A Bible believer you can never see all the sides to an issue. Religious blinders do that to a person.
I don;t know how many time Bo has insulted me and told me to shut up. But I do know that whoever is moderating this blog has a completely unfair double standard they use in deciding what is permitted to be posted and what isn’t. A Christians can be as rude as they want and nothing will happen to them. If I told someone to shut up I would surely be banned from posting. This is a great example of Christian fairness, another thing that doesn’t exist.
Van,
I did not tell you to shut up. I said it is time for you to put up or shut up. It is an idiom…a figure of speech. Why do you not answer the posts that show you to be deceitful or terribly misinformed? You made claims that you are unable to substantiate. Either substantiate them or stop flaunting deceit and false statements. In other words. Put up or shut up.
Van,
I am calling your bluff on a baldfaced lie or two or three, etc. Please give us documentation or retract your assertions. In other words…put up or shut up.
Van,
In other words…post proof or confess your intellectual dishonesty.
Van wrote:
‘“There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the life of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give his work its final consecration, never had any existence.” – Albert Scweitzer (1875-1965)
You just accused Albert Schweitzer of being classless, unqualified, and simple minded. Par for the course for people who have no respect for intelligence and education.
Many scholars have tried to find evidence from outside the Bible that Jesus really existed. They came up with nothing, absolutely nothing as Dr. Schweitzer said.
You people have bought into all the lies of religion and then you repeat these lies without any hint of a conscience. Calling me a liar when all I do is speak the truth just shows how backward your evil religion really is.
Sheila responded:
”
Van,
Well, it’s a classic move by you to rip a quotation out of context. Who is it you’re listening to? It makes no sense for you to drop what you think is a bombshell when all you’ve done now is make yourself look more foolish because you never considered that Google just might have Schweitzer’s book on line.
Anyone who cares to can read further down the chapter and see that Schweitzer was referring to the historic Jesus as He was portrayed by the modern theological historians of his own time. His thought was that “That” Jesus never existed… His point was that we end up molding Him according to our modern way of thinking categorically. We essentially risk minimizing the astonishing profundity of His teachings.
This link begins with the quote you gave us and then explains exactly what Schweitzer was getting at. The man made the cross he wanted on his own grave, for Pete’s sake.
http://books.google.com/books?id=uzRXxvPsylkC&pg=PA478#v=onepage&q&f=false ”
Van, are you sticking to your assertion or not?
Anyone agree with me? Is this out to lunch?
Yes I am a Reaganite through and through.
I support the Pot bill much like Clinton did, I support the choice for it and do not inhale.
These liberal democrats get everything they want all the time. They want pro choice, but they will take away your choice for owning a gun, an suv,school choice, you name it they will ban it. They will let the people have a choice today for pot, but are immediately taxing heavily and now starting to reign it in. You can not even smoke a cigarette anymore with out getting a fine. These Dems get it both ways- Pro choice for killing babies, but watch the tax on you coke or cheese burger.
we need to say if you want pro choice then we are going to carry a gun and eat a taco at the same time. Enough, no more one way street for you Dems ! If you insist on my daughter getting an abortion and not telling the parents, then I get pro choice for more liberty like smoking tobacco, eating what I want, driving what I want. If you take my choice away, we will take away PRO CHOICE!!!
Your position is playing right into the democrat hand book. You will always live with pro choice period, but they will restrict you on every level of your life. It is time to fight back! take away their most prized possession in trade for one of ours. They do not even have to worry about us at all. The Dems have a freeway for a one way street, and you are carrying the water for them on Pot, they just have not quite gotten to restrictions and penalties for pot smoking yet. Dump the water and go for their prized baby. Give me my choice, or I take yours Pro choice away! They will scatter and protect murder as their own sort of little baby. I want to fight these liberals and start winning. I am sick of it! they want choice they get choice on all levels.
Anyone disagree comment on why this is right or wrong.
“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
― Werner Heisenberg
He is Risen!
Easter Greetings to everyone! I hope you all had a meaningful Eastern weekend.
Ray,
>>state workers told me that in the construction industry, they may fire somebody for any reason. This is what I was told when I asked about employers who do not pay overtime pay. They told me that if I wanted to report my employer for such a thing that I should first find another job.
A state worker really told you an employer can fire people who ask for state and federal laws enforced?
You might want to move to a state where they respect the law! Or at least join a union who will go to bat for you, if your employer is stealing your wages.
Van,
>>Easter [a truly pagan holiday that honors the virgin birth of the dying and resurrecting godman Adonis to the queen of heaven] by having themselves nailed to crosses.
Celebrating the risen Jesus Christs seems pretty Christian to me!
I would venture to guess that 99% of Christians have not even heard of what you are talking about. So, it seems extremely dubious, to the point of silliness, to claim that this is what they are really celebrating.
But, if you are saying that as Christianity spread, some of pre-Christian symbols can be entered into our holidays, that surely be a true statement.
But who cares? Not most Christians, obviously. We aren’t denying Jesus when we color an egg. And we don’t confuse Jesus with the Easter bunny. We do it because it’s a fun thing to do with kids.
(And, this pagan-Christian cross-pollination goes both ways, which hardly ever gets mentioned. I attended a pagan wedding, not long ago, and could seen Christian influences all through it.)
jon,
>>These liberal democrats get everything they want all the time.
You honestly think that?
This “liberal Democrat” is still waiting for the end of dumb wars, racial equality, and decently funded schools!
For anyone who may be disturbed by Van’s claim that Christianity found its roots in pagan sources, this has all been addressed in detail in “The Gospel and the Greeks”, by Ronald Nash. The mistake people of Van’s ilk (more recently Muslim apologists) make is that they do not check original sources, but go to secondary sources which often get the whole thing wrong and interject Christian terminology into myths where the parallels are tenuous at best.
The other mistake they make is not looking at the dates of the original sources. For example the “resurrection” of Adonis date to between the 2nd and 4th century A.D. (A.C.E of you prefer). Well say that would be after Christianity was founded. So who borrowed from who? Often time the alleged borrowing was FROM Christianity not BY Christianity.
Of course when you want to attack a belief system, it is inconvenient to do the work to check out the real facts, but rather is more appealing to troll the internet until you find what you want to find to support your case. Anyone seeing a pattern here in terms of lazy intellectual dishonesty?
There is nothing that ruins a beautiful theory like a brutal gang of facts.
Anyone can see where the gospel stories came from all by themselves. Almost all ancient mythology is solar mythology. Get out Mark’s gospel and a zodiac chart. Follow Jesus as he travels through all twelve signs of the zodiac. Jesus begins his journey through time and space by visiting John the water bearer in Aquarius. Then he moves over to pisces and picks up the two fishermen. You can go right through the story and what this story really is will be as plain as the nose on your own face. Go ahead give it a shot and you will see what I mean. Jesus is the sun. Moses, whose face shown like the sun, is a Jewish sun god. So is Joshua and the gospels are just mystery dramas about Joshua the sun god. Welcome to the godless 21rst Century.
Welcome back Greg I wondered where you went. I saw your post about Lent and you went off the board for 45 days. I will watch with interest as you take on miniVan and his most flamboyant post I have ever seen.
S. Johnson,
I’ll have to use that one occasionally! “There is nothing that ruins a beautiful theory like a brutal gang of facts.”
I read a couple of good books on the story of redemption as told in the Zodiac. It’s interesting that all civilizations pretty much call the signs by the same names. It goes back really far in human history.
Dr. Michael Heiser did a short Youtube video on the birth of Jesus as interpreted from the book of Revelation. It’s similar to the one in “The Star of Bethlehem” video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O44nNzRa81Q
jon,
Thanks!
Yeah, I did give up radio for Lent, so that’s why I haven’t been posting.
And you counted the days! I guess I did the 40 days of Lent with some padding for good measure.
As for Van, he’s using the standard argument about the Christian holidays secretly being pagan.
I have never understood the exact point of this argument.
Are the atheists suggesting that Christianity would have had to completely wipe out the pre-existing culture to be legitimate now?
As I think you know, I’ve been a missionary. I’ve seen this issue wrestled-with real time. When you start a church, how much and which parts of the pre-existing culture should remain?
As for European paganism, I have a vague memory of reading some letters of the early Christian missionaries talking about this issue. Was it enough to end child sacrifice or did they have to get rid of the bunnies too?
As for me — if it is harmless, I am not going to work up a sweat about it. And, I think the Easter Bunny is pretty harmless.
Van said,
>>Welcome to the godless 21rst Century.
Good luck with that one!
God made it through the first twenty centuries fine, (and a lot before that) I predict he’ll make through this one as well.
Your arguments pitting paganism against Christianity strike me as weak.
The pagans don’t own the sun the moon, light and dark or the solstices! Or even eggs and bunnies. (We Christians like fertility too 😉 Or water or fire or blood or bread or… whatever.
So, if you find that imagery in pre- or non-Christian traditions, I ask, “So what?”
I don’t assume, for a second, that Christianity just popped up out of nowhere, with completely unique symbolism and culture. So what if we share, or even inherited, some of that with other religions?
And, it is a HUGE LEAP of logic to somehow claim that all of this will lead to a godless 21st Century. In your dreams, maybe!
Van still refuses to recant of his misrepresentation or produce documentation…dishonesty to the max. Intellectual dishonesty to be sure. Come on Van, be a man and own up to your mistakes…or are they really mistakes…maybe purposeful misrepresentation. Does your quote from Scweitzer really support your ideology or were you hoping that no one would call you on your deceit?
“troll
One who posts a deliberately provocative message…with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.”- http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll
Below is one of many examples of Van’s deception technique. He has been asked repeatedly to either admit that he has posted false testimony or to produce verification of his assertion. After being called on the carpet, he conveniently ignores all rebuttals and continues to regurgitate deception mixed with a huge amount of rhetoric, vitriol and insult. He is not to be taken seriously as scholar or a commentator. He is a troll, and nothing more.
Van wrote:
“’There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the life of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give his work its final consecration, never had any existence.’ – Albert Scweitzer (1875-1965)
You just accused Albert Schweitzer of being classless, unqualified, and simple minded. Par for the course for people who have no respect for intelligence and education.
Many scholars have tried to find evidence from outside the Bible that Jesus really existed. They came up with nothing, absolutely nothing as Dr. Schweitzer said.
You people have bought into all the lies of religion and then you repeat these lies without any hint of a conscience. Calling me a liar when all I do is speak the truth just shows how backward your evil religion really is.”
Sheila responded:
“Well, it’s a classic move by you to rip a quotation out of context. Who is it you’re listening to? It makes no sense for you to drop what you think is a bombshell when all you’ve done now is make yourself look more foolish because you never considered that Google just might have Schweitzer’s book on line.
Anyone who cares to can read further down the chapter and see that Schweitzer was referring to the historic Jesus as He was portrayed by the modern theological historians of his own time. His thought was that “That” Jesus never existed… His point was that we end up molding Him according to our modern way of thinking categorically. We essentially risk minimizing the astonishing profundity of His teachings.
This link begins with the quote you gave us and then explains exactly what Schweitzer was getting at. The man made the cross he wanted on his own grave, for Pete’s sake.
http://books.google.com/books?id=uzRXxvPsylkC&pg=PA478#v=onepage&q&f=false ”
To date, Van still ignores the proof of his irrelevancy. He continues to persecute in the only way he as power to do. That power, in this instance, being the grace of Dr. Brown. Be sure to thank YHWH that Van is not in any governmental position where his bigotry and prejudice can do more harm.
2 Timothy 3
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works