<< You said we won't find a single verse anywhere in the Bible affirming that a
human being said, knew, or did anything prior to his physical conception. What
about "Michael and his angels?" >>
What makes you think Michael or his angels ever became human beings?
You wrote:
<< It's hinted in Acts 12:15 that an angel is a mortal's spirit. >>
At most, if this was the meaning expressed there, it would have been the belief
of some of the people gathered in the house--not a teaching endorsed by the
inspired writer (Luke). However, this is probably not what they meant. More
likely, they were expressing a popular folk belief of the time that after a
person died, his or her guardian angel "hung around" on the earth for a while
(in case the person revived?). Most commentators agree that the statement
reflects a popular belief at the time in guardian angels, NOT that the departed
spirit of a human is an angel. And in any case the text (once again!) tells us
nothing about this angel or spirit prior to the human being's mortal life.
You wrote:
<< This happened before Satan was cast out of heaven (Rev. 12: 7-9), which means
there were many angels in heaven before Satan tempted Eve. >>
Quite correct. But nothing in the Bible suggests that these angels later became
human beings.
You wrote:
<< What about Job 38:7, where all the sons of God shouted for joy? In that same
area, all the morning stars sang together. I think we can surmise, using other
scriptures (e.g., Rev. 12:4), that "stars" are spirits of people, or least
beings who can sing. I once treated this subject of stars, concluding that
biblical stars are spirits of humans. If you didn't see it, tell me and I'll see
if I can dig it up. >>
In Job, as in Genesis, the "sons of God" are spirits, heavenly beings,
distinguished from the human beings who live on the earth (Gen. 6:2, 4; Job 1:6;
2:1). No OT text uses this expression in reference to human beings. No biblical
text ever hints at the idea that human beings were formerly members of this
class of "sons of God."
You wrote:
<< Why would the Bible (Jere. 1:5) imply something false, then, something
arrived at through conventional experience and language? If Jeremiah didn't
exist before he was conceived, then it shouldn't have been worded in that way.
It could have said, "I, knowing the future, knew that you would serve me well,
so I chose you at your conception." >>
Your argument here assumes that Jeremiah was written to satisfy the linguistic
habits and conventions of Gentile believers reading the text in translation 25
or more centuries later. The statement did not confuse the Jews, who did not
interpret Jeremiah 1:5 to teach preexistence of souls. It also didn't confuse
most Gentile Christians, who historically also didn't understand it to teach
preexistence of souls. That some people in a sect originating in the
nineteenth-century would find the text supportive of their belief in
preexistence of souls is not the fault of the author or the text.
Sam, You wrote: << There are still a few concerns, one being over the words used: the words that refer to "the natural" and "the spiritual" both use "breath,"...
Sam, You wrote: << You said we won't find a single verse anywhere in the Bible affirming that a human being said, knew, or did anything prior to his physical...
Allen, You wrote: << In one of the scriptures on your list, it says Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world. >> Which one was that? You wrote: <<...
... It is my understanding that this is not speaking of the spirit world, but the difference between Jews and Gentiles. Jews were God's chosen people. Paul is...
I am going out of state tomorrow, so I will post this for now. At the risk of appearing to be part of a tag-team, I must commend you, Sam, for the excellent...
Allen, You wrote: << You asked which verse you had sent that I referred to about Jesus having been chosen before the foundation of the world. Surely you must...
Rob, In an earlier post you were quite emphatic that Jesus alone was not of this world and "proved" it with many biblical references. Later, you softened your...
Allen: Couldn't the same reasoning be used in Matt. 22:28, Mark 12:23, and Luke 20:33? If there was the belief among ALL Jews that there was to be NO ONE...
Linda, You are a deep thinker. Your logic and reasoning is impeccable. The Sadducees were very crafty and cunning, not blithering idiots. They had done their...
Allen, You wrote: << The Sadducees were very crafty and cunning, not blithering idiots. They had done their homework. They knew exactly what Jesus believed....
Mr. Bowman, you said "How a woman marrying two men in succession after the first dies is an example of polygamy (a man being married to more than one woman at...
Linda, I had written: "How a woman marrying two men in succession after the first dies is an example of polygamy (a man being married to more than one woman at...
The bottom line is, I think, where you said "...if LDS theology were true their question would be an especially appropriate one: "The question remains a good...
Allen, You wrote: << In an earlier post you were quite emphatic that Jesus alone was not of this world and "proved" it with many biblical references. Later,...
Allen, You wrote: << I gather that you were saying Jesus' disciples incorrectly believed a foetus could sin before birth. I hope you do not share such a...
Having problems with message search?
Fill out this form to ensure your group is one of the first to be migrated to the new message search system.
Offline 
Send Email