AND THE LACK THEREOF*

*we put the "mmm" in communism

about

This is the personal blog of Tim. Here, Tim writes on anything he has enough inspiration to finish a post on. That usually ends up being matters of science, pop culture, technology, religion, and philosophy.

This blog is around nine years old, which is over a third of Tim's current age. Back in 2003, it was called "Of Tim: Tim's life - or lack thereof", and it was as bad as you might expect the blog of a freshman in high school to be. Tim hopes that his writing is a little better, these days.

Tim welcomes any input that you, the dear reader, might have. Comments are very much appreciated, especially if you have a dissenting opinion. If you'd like to learn more about Tim, you might want to see his facebook or google+.

Also: Tim is a very avid consumer of various sorts of music. You may be interested in his playlists!

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You want answers? (2, 3) You got answers.

8: Is it okay to drink alcohol?

Rom.14:21
"It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."

Gal.5:21
"Drunkenness ... and such like ... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Eph.5:18
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess."

There are dozens there, but I chose these three, because they sum up what the Bible says. As with most things, the Bible warns against excess - some alcohol is okay, but drinking to be drunk is wrong. It's common knowledge that your judgment is impaired while drunk, and that can easily lead you down the "garden parth" (as Mrs. Teukolsky would say).


Jg.9:13
"Wine, which cheereth God and man."

Ps.104:15
"Wine that maketh glad the heart of man."

Pr.31:6-9
"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."

Again, it's not that it's wrong, only in excess. Proverbs is a book of true sayings, basically quotes that sound pretty and are true. Proverbs isn't a guide for life, it's just stating fact.

9: Does God want some to go to Hell?

1 Tim.2:3-4
"God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved."

2 Pet.3:9
"The Lord is ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

This, my friends, is the hardest question of Christianity, although poorly phrased. Here's a short explanation. God loves everyone, but he cannot ignore our impurities. We're all equally sinful before his eyes. We all deserve Hell. We don't all get it. Any person that believes in Jesus won't go there. In more basic terms, the question is asking if God decides who believes in Jesus or not. Short answer: kind of. God made us unique, knowing what choices we would make. He knew what choice we would make when it came to Him. Take with that what you will; this question has no comforting answer. The Lord COULD make everyone go to Heaven, but many of us would not do so willingly, it would be forced. God wants willing hearts. He wants all of us to believe in Him, but He is not going to force us all to believe. This is a paradox - He wants us to choose Him, and yet our destiny is chosen for us. I have not found a satisfactory answer yet.

Rom.9:18
"Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."

This sums it all up; it's all up to Him.

10: How long does God's anger last?

Mic.7:18
"He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy."

This pretty much sums up the other 2. This goes back to Romans 9:18, which is just above. He has mercy on those of which He will have mercy on. He's never said His anger is not everlasting. Most of these verses are just contextual - in some cases, it is temporary.

Ps.30:5
"For his anger endureth but a moment."

These are the Psalms - they're like a diary of his walk with God. He's cursed the Lord in some Psalms, in others, he is delighting in Him. It is his experience.


Jer.17:4
"Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever."

The other three actually aren't relevant - punishment is not anger. You may deserve everlasting punishment, but that doesn't mean His anger is punishment. He deems that some deserve His everlasting anger. That's as best an answer as I can give.

Many to go.
posted by MC Froehlich at

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