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One must remember that all the apostolic letters were written to deal with problems that had arisen in the churches and to counteract specific false teachings. Paul puts a lot of emphasis on grace because Gentile believers were being bullied into converting to Judaism. James is dealing with a...

Facing death (Numbers 20:22-29) Not long after the incident at Meribah (Numbers 20:1-13), Aaron is told that he is about to die, in fulfilment of God’s judgement. He will not enter Canaan, but will go straight to the final home of God’s people (verse 24). He is given due warning, so that he can...

I could say the same. Nevertheless, as soon as we join with other believers we are in a 'denomination' of some kind (even if it's the "non-denominational" denomination!). The denominations don't 'own' us, nor do they (in most cases) impose particular doctrines on us. I have changed denomination...

I thought we had established that Mary was at least 14?

Leadership yet again (Numbers 20:1-13) After about 35 years of wandering in circles, Israel again find themselves near Kadesh-Barnea. This time the water supply fails, provoking yet another volley of complaints - and the airing of all their old grievances. And as usual, the people ignore God’s...

My post states "the age at which most Jewish girls were married". I defer to your superior knowledge, obviously, but 14 isn't that unreasonable - it was legal to marry at that age in many Western countries until quite recently.

Marriage is for sex - but not only for sex. A 'sexless' marriage is risky if one of the partners feels deprived or cheated and is then tempted to commit adultery. But if both are happy with the situation, it's not sinful.

If marriage at 14 wasn't permitted at that time then Mary must have been older. There's no suggestion anywhere that she was "under-age", so why drag the possibility of paedophilia into it?

I Samuel

It's a reasonable assumption that Mary was in her teens, because that was the age at which most Jewish girls were married at that time. But it's only an assumption. We don't actually know - nor does it matter.

It is indeed possible - but the offspring resulting from parthenogenesis is always female.

Well of course the Holy Spirit had a part - there was no human father, so the other 23 must have been 'made' or 'supplied' supernaturally. But the full set of 46 there must have been, otherwise I don't think that we would be able to say that Jesus was truly human. The Gospels indicate that in...

And how do you "know" this? When the Bible was written, nobody knew about chromosomes. We have no 'sample' of Jesus' DNA to analyse. So your statement is 100% speculation. And it actually makes no sense. If Jesus had had only 23 chromosomes and they all came from Mary, He would not have been a...

Leadership again (Numbers 16 & 17) During the long years of aimless wandering, it is hardly surprising that some of the Israelites become frustrated and resentful. A group of high-ranking men, led by Korah, misunderstand God’s insistence on holiness for everyone and assume that it means all...

Holiness has two meanings: (1) Belonging to God (2) Being like God Don't confuse them. Holiness isn't the same as righteousness either. All Christians are already holy in the first sense. In the second sense, we have to become holy. Righteousness may be imputed, but not holiness in the second...

The title of this thread only says "children" Doesn't even specify young children, so it's perfectly reasonable to interpret it as including those above the age of responsibility. if you meant otherwise, just ignore the responses that are irrelevant. If not redeemed, our destiny is destruction...

Giving up (Numbers 13 & 14) After just a few weeks on the march, Israel reach the oasis of Kadesh-Barnea, on the border of Canaan, and are within sight of their destination! However, none of them know anything about Canaan; not even Moses has ever been there before. And there are no maps or...

I agree in principle with some of what you say, but I am well aware that those churches that 'baptise' babies also believe that they have Biblical support for what they do. I'm not going to defend them (because I don't agree with their conclusions), but I can at least understand why they do as...

NO - I'm saying that the battle isn't over yet! As far as my own life is concerned, it's still going on. If we don't have to do anything, why is the Bible (including the New Testament) so full of exhortations to "be holy"? For example: "Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you...

Were we talking only about children who are not yet responsible? The age of responsibility has not been defined, but is surely well below the age if 16. And whether responsible or not, only Jewish children are born inside any covenant. We all deserve annihilation because we all sin - and "the...