Bible Students??

When looking at the C/A debates...
I am reminded of a song....

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
http://bobdylan.com/songs/blowin.html

 

Yep...one of my favorites.



After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
there was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love

 

That's a good one, Tim. Remember this one?


The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

 

Here's another one I always liked.

One Tin Soldier

Listen children to a story that was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain, and the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing, come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after - one tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom: "With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing, come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after - one tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger, mount your horses, draw your sword!
And they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure on the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it -
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing, come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after - one tin soldier rides away.

 

Wow, when you put those in the context of C vs. A... they are powerful...

 

Man, I'm old. I loved that song.

Wasn't that song from the movie "Billy Jack"?

 

Yes it was. :thumbs:

 

'72?

 

You people absolutely crack me up!!! I have been laughing so hard at the song posts in this thread that my dogs came in here to see if I was okay!!! :laugh:

Oh, and MP--

It feels like I HAVE been "through a desert" with this drought--and it actually feels good to be IN the rain! :thumbs:

 

Hopeful, I am glad you are getting the wet stuff! Refreshing, ain't it?

 

Reminds me of the song, "Singin' in the Rain"....oh, but WAIT, I only know that one coz of my MOM--I'm not really THAT old!! :laugh:
Do y'all remember that commercial that played the "Singin' in the Rain" song with that little elephant laughing and splashing around in the puddles?? That's exactly what I wanted to do this evening--and it was lightening and thundering at the time!

(Oh yeah--and no wisecracks allowed about me comparing myself to an elephant, okay? :wavey: )

SERIOUSLY, though....I've actually been singing "SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS WE GOT" and praying for the safety of all the people in the path of the storms associated with this rain and frontal system. As I said in another thread--I think God was just showin' off tonite! The press can mock all they want about Gov Purdue praying for rain--but I think our gracious Father timed His rain JUST RIGHT!

 

I am left wondering if the "gaps" you mention are in your understanding of Calvinism, rather than in Calvinism itself. (I cannot speak for Seventh Day Adventists of course - you'd need to post on "Other Christian Denominations" to reach them with your question). As you know, I am calvinistic in my theology. However, I do have eschatological beliefs based upon what I read in the Scriptures. Also, all the reformed (calvinistic) statements of faith and catechisms to which I have easy access have sections on eschatology. Those include: The Belgic Confession of Faith (Article 27), The Westminster Confession of Faith (Articles 22 & 23), The Larger Catechism (Questions 87-90), The Shorter Catechism (Questions 36-38), The Savoy Declaration (Chapters 31 & 32), The First London Baptist Confession of Faith - 1646 (Chapter 52), The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith - 1689 (Chapters 31 & 32), The Children's Catechism (Questions 137-145). (I mention those simply to show that you are mistaken to say that calvinistic theology is silent on eschatology. I would not want you to misunderstand, and to think that I am relying on the "human spirit of men who have done the hard work of Bible study for me." )

I have never heard of any Christians saying that they have no eschatological beliefs. To say that would be to dismiss Christ's Second Coming, heaven, hell, judgment, and much of the Saviour's teaching. So can I ask you why you think that those who have calvinistic beliefs do not also have eschatological beliefs?

I suspect that similar things might be asked about your other example of a "gap", what you call "the mysteries", but I am not sure what you mean by that phrase. Do you mean what Matthew calls "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven", and Mark and Luke "the mystery (or mysteries) of the kingdom of God"? Or perhaps the "mysteries" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14.2 in relation to the matter of speaking in tongues.

I hope you were not making "Calvinistic theology doesn't agree with my (Skypair's) theology" mean the same as "Calvinistic theology must have gaps". :laugh: