Robert wrote:
"From being a nation, Israel shall not disappear from the earth, just as so many others perish in the course of ages, for Israel is His chosen people, the apple of His eyes. Israel can never be destroyed!"
Please Christians, pick up your bibles and read, the nation of Israel has been destroyed,and punished many times for their Idolatry, and their utter wickedness.
Read the History of the Jewish nation and people,it is rich with the wrath of God.
Will God destroy them again?
Have they repented?
Christians should not unreservedly support any nation which treats the blood of Christ as an unholy thing.
We should be concerned about justice and equity, for both Jew and Muslim, but most of all for Christians, the true holy nation the church.

You are right. That little nation in the Middle East is not the "Israel" of God. The true church universal of believers is the Israel of God. It is comprised of both Jews and Gentile believers as it is written in Eph. 2 and Romans 11.
We must remember "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching THE ELECTION, they are beloved for the Father's sake."

Mike wrote:
No disagreement there, Dr Phil. And if we were willing to look at control freak governments, dictatorships, etc., we'd see that there are only two classes, neither of them middle. What there is, is the "equal" and the more "equal." Do you remember "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. ..."?

"The Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; but in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of the future of that movement. In France, the Communists ally with the Social Democrats* against the conservative and radical bourgeoisie, reserving, however, the right to take up a critical position in regard to phases and illusions traditionally handed down from the Great Revolution.

Mike wrote:
The middle class IS the working class. The poor can add little to their/the economy, and the rich keep their riches one way or another. The middle class does the work, is the tax base, keeps the system running, and carries all the others along with them.

bernie wrote:
We certainly do not have to patronize this fast food chain, this is a growing trend of big corporations that tolerate and support homosexuality. . . .We cannot hibernate in our homes, we must proclaim the truth to a very dark world. We have work to do, and with wickedness increasing everywhere, it's apparent time is short. Let's not take on a 'holier than thou' attitude; this is a call to equip ourselves with our most effective weapon, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. View this as an opportunity to proclaim God's truth, as the Spirit leads, and not as a reason to barricade ourselves in our homes. If we hold to that view, very soon we will not be able to leave for any reason. Poke some holes in the darkness, . . .

Wayne wrote:
Dear Dr. Phil:
Lastly, I STRONGLY suggest that you go on youtube and hear Mr. Wright in the "full" context of his words and you will perhaps hear something different from the 30 seconds snippet!

Believe me, I heard the whole thing, and the context does nothing to soften or change the meaning of Rev. Wright's objectives. I strongly suggest that you read Professor Jones' write up on "Black Theology". He is a professor at Florida State University in the Dept. of Religion. From this you can clearly read the connection between Marxist's liberal doctrine on power and the "important supplement that it is to Black ontology". It is this mindset that drives men like Rev. Wright.

Lance Eccles wrote:
We cannot justify ourselves. We are justified only through Christ's sacrifice.
But it is through works that we show ourselves willing to accept that sacrifice and take part in it.
Merely saying "I believe" is not enough.

Wayne wrote:
Dear JP:
You make absolutely no sense! Also, you are very badly misinformed about the Black church's involvement with the societal ills, both in the past and in the present day!
The White church was busy making sure that they were "Theologically" correct and "Doctrinally" sound, but could not make their theology reconcile with how they treated their neighbors, which is something our Lord clearly taught.
Furthermore, I can assure you that the Black church's involvement with the problems in Africa are noted world wide! However, you still did not answer the questions I posed to you concerning the mysterious whereabouts of the White church when people of color were being treated like crap!

Jim Lincoln wrote:
Dr. Phil, there is another Phil you may be familiar with, Phillip Johnson, really no friend to the Anabaptist, since he is very gung-ho Reformed/Presbyterian type, but you will see from this article on Anabaptism
http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/anabapt.htm
Separation of Church and State was a blessing from the Baptists and Anabaptists. You'll never find Calvin supporting the idea of separation of Church and State.

On the other hand, if you study the Baptist form of church government, you will see a very close resemblance to Rome. The pastor of every Baptist assemby is like a mini-pope. The idea of multiple eldership which opposes a one man rule is foreign to the Baptist mind. Baptists get around it by saying that Deacons rule, but that is not Biblical either. Elders (plural) rule by teaching, not by lording it over the flock.

Jim Lincoln wrote:
Dr. Phil, do I like or think the idea of Mohammedan homeschooling is a good one! Not only would many have already implemented the curriculum you have mentioned, but it is teaching a false ideology, q.v., there is an [URL=http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Barton/11.htm]]]Inadequacy of Islam[/URL], just like there is in Communism. It is much like Marxist/Leninist homeschooling in my opinion. Now, you see why Germany treats homeschooling by --anyone-- the way it does.

Wayne wrote:
Dr. Phil, your comment about affirmative action causes me to doubt that you are worthy of the title "Dr." Why do we have affirmative action? Because the White establishment has a loooooong record of discrimination and bigoty! When she begins to see all people as equals, then there won't be a need for affirmative action!

Thinking Christian wrote:
Election is neither conditional or unconditional. In fact, it has nothing whatsoever to do with a persons choice, or lack of it, in salvation. . . .When a person gets saved they become part of God's elect or 'chosen generation'. . .
By the way I have read Ep 1 and can't find that verse saying 'the almighty has predestined the elect to salvation,

Your answers are equivocal. First you say that election is unconditional and then you say that a person "becomes elect" . . . WHEN A PERSON GETS SAVED. This makes the election that you define conditional. The condition is "when a person GETS SAVED".

Regarding Eph. 1 and the elect being predestined, consider v.4 says "as he hath CHOSEN us in him BEFORE the foundation of the world". . .

That is election (but perhaps you think the word chosen is not the same as election)

Then, in v. 11, this same election is the "we" of "in whom we have obtained an inheritance being PREDESTINATED according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."

If this is not obvious to you, then perhaps you are not predestined to receive it.

Thinking Christian wrote:
A few thoughts to throw in the mix.
we are thinking about election in the wrong way.
. . . Obviously not to obtain salvation as being born into Israel did not make you a believer any more than it does today, thus the need for the law and faith.
Christians/The church are the elect. Not elect to obtain salvation, but once a person has believed and repented they then become a part of God's elect or chosen ones. They are elect or predestined to fulfill Gods purposes and to obtain an inheritance. An unbeliever is never called elect, it is a name given to those ' in Christ'
Give it some thought. Turn to the election passages with an open mind and take the verses in their context and you will see what I mean.

Jim Lincoln wrote:
This idea that Muslims would start home-schooling should be expected. It is something we will have to tolerate,
Matthew 7:12
12. Therefore all things whatever ye desire that men should do to you, thus do *ye* also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
This makes it even more imperative that Christian home schoolers make sure their children get not only a quality Christian education, but a quality secular education as well.
[URL=http://www.nchea.org/]]]Encouraging and supporting Christian families who educate their children at home.[/URL]

I wonder what the Muslim Home School curriculum will be like:

Jim Lincoln wrote:
Neil, it does seem that those of the Theonomy strain, do come from the Reformed background. [URL=http://www.ihcc.org/article_print.php?art_id=aNP9Pwe9ahuIDw4p6s8QKMudn]]]Becoming A Student Of The Word Of God[/URL] doesn't mean ignoring metaphors, etc. It does mean avoiding using [URL=http://cf.blueletterbible.org/isbe/isbe.cfm?id=394]]]Allegory[/URL] in interpretation.

Mike wrote:
What has the WCC to do with Christianity, that it should make comment in the first place?

Jim Lincoln wrote:
Dr. Phil, you are right the only faith that is of true importance to anyone is the Christian faith, but there are other faiths.

[URL=http://www.icr.org/home/resources/resources_tracts_scientificcaseagainstevolution/]]]The Scientific Case Against Evolution[/URL]