Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : "I STILL own the ban button, buddy" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: average joe who wrote (849)	11/30/2012 1:14:41 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2133

He just does not understand. There are so many "gospels". There were so many destroyed. Men wrote these things with whatever tools were to hand. No gods and no monkeys--just men. You would think that having watched new "gospels" being written within two centuries by Smith and his nits, that he would get a clue. sacred-texts.com The Acts of Paul and Thecla is a good read. Here is an excerpt! sacred-texts.com THEN Thecla was taken out of the hand of Trifina, stripped naked, had a girdle put on, and thrown into the place appointed for fighting with the beasts: and the lions and the bears were let loose upon her. 2 But a she-lion, which was of all the most fierce, ran to Thecla, and fell down at her feet. Upon which the multitude of women shouted aloud. 3 Then a she-bear ran fiercely towards her; but the she-lion met the bear, and tore it to pieces. 4 Again, a he-lion, who had been wont to devour men, and which belonged to Alexander, ran towards her; but the she-lion encountered the he-lion, and they killed each other. 5 Then the women were under a greater concern, because the she-lion, which had helped Thecla, was dead. 6 Afterwards they brought out many other wild beasts; but Thecla stood with her hands stretched towards heaven, and prayed; and when she had done praying, she turned about, and saw a pit of water, and said, Now it is a proper time for me to be baptized. 7 Accordingly she threw herself into the water, and said, In thy name, O my Lord Jesus Christ, I am this last day baptized. The women and the people seeing this, cried out, and said, Do not throw yourself into the water. And the governor himself cried out, to think that the fish (sea-calves) were like to devour so much beauty. 8 ¶ Notwithstanding all this, Thecla threw herself into the water, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But the fish (sea-calves,) when they saw the lighting and fire, were killed, and swam dead upon the surface of the water, and a cloud of fire surrounded p. 108 [paragraph continues] Thecla, so that as the beasts could not come near her, so the people could not see her nakedness. 10 Yet they turned other wild beasts upon her; upon which they made a very mournful outcry; and some of them scattered spikenard, others cassia, others amomus (a sort of spikenard, or the herb of Jerusalem, or ladies-rose) others ointment; so that the quantity of ointment was large, in proportion to the number of people; and upon this all the beasts lay as though they had been fast asleep, and did not touch Thecla. 11 Whereupon Alexander said to the Governor, I have some very terrible bulls; let us bind her to them. To which the governor, with concern, replied, You may do what you think fit. 12 Then they put a cord round Thecla's waist, which bound also her feet, and with it tied her to the bulls, to whose privy-parts they applied red-hot irons, that so they being the more tormented, might more violently drag Thecla about, till they had killed her. 13 The bulls accordingly tore about, making a most hideous noise; but the flame which was about Thecla, burnt off the cords which were fastened to the members of the bulls, and she stood in the middle of the stage, as unconcerned as if she had not been bound. (LOL!!) 14 But in the mean time Trifina, who sat upon one of the benches, fainted away and died; upon which the whole city was under a very great concern. 15 And Alexander himself was afraid, and desired the governor, saying: I entreat you, take compassion on me and the city, and release this woman, who has fought with the beasts; lest, both you and I, and the whole city be destroyed 16 For if Cæsar should have any account of what has passed now, he will certainly immediately destroy the city, because Trifina, a person of royal extract, and a relation of his, is dead upon her seat. 17 Upon this the governor called Thecla from among the beasts to him, and said to her, Who art thou? and what are thy circumstances, that not one of the beasts will touch thee? 18 Thecla replied to him; I am a servant of the living God; and as to my state, I am a believer on Jesus Christ his Son, in whom God is well pleased; and for that reason none of the beasts could touch me. 19 He alone is the way to eternal salvation, and the foundation of eternal life. He is a refuge to those who are in distress; a support to the afflicted, hope and defence to those who are hopeless; and, in a word, all those who do not believe on him, shall not live, but suffer eternal death. 20 When the govern or heard these things, he ordered her clothes to be brought, and said to her put on your clothes. 21 Thecla replied: May that God who clothed me when I was naked among the beasts, in the day of judgment clothe your soul with the robe of salvation. Then she took her clothes, and put them on; and the governor immediately published an order in these words; I release to you Thecla the servant of God. 22 Upon which the women cried out together with a loud voice, and with one accord gave praise unto God, and said; There is but one God, who is the God p. 109 of Thecla; the one God who delivered Thecla.

To: average joe who wrote (849)	11/30/2012 4:17:26 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2133

Judging by his overt projections, I think it is fair to surmise (especially considering his fanatical devotion to superstition), that he follows the biblical injunction of Paul to the letter! But then Paul also supported slavery and believed completely that Jesus was coming in his lifetime (he expected him moment to moment)! 1 Corinthians 7 King James Version (KJV) 7 "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman." What a bunch of NITS! -g-

To: average joe who wrote (849)	12/1/2012 1:43:32 AM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2133

YUCK YUCK!! It seems more and more likely that the entire Christian movement was sold to the poiticians ( whom were very stupid and susceptible to superstition)...by a bunch of QUEERS! Note: nothing against Gays. I support the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "Suggest that Paul was a gay man, and often the response will range from pure dismissal to outright anger. The idea that a writer of the Scriptures, which are considered to be the direct Word of God in much of Christianity, could be gay is startling to say the least. But such a suggestion obviously requires a great amount of evidence. After all, a basic understanding of the Scriptures would be challenged by such an assertion. So it is to the evidence that we now turn… Paul was a dramatic man, deeply convicted and emotional. In fact, his overly emotional nature should elicit immediate pause as he lived in a society that did not look kindly upon such emotional display. But this in and of itself could simply be a unique trait possessed by Paul, not necessarily representative of his orientation. However, his stark emotionality leaves him more vulnerable to the probing of a textual critic, making our exploration a bit simpler. Let us start by turning to the pinnacle of the Pauline corpus, his “last will and testament” so-to-speak. This work would be the letter to the Romans, Paul’s last before his (presumable) execution. In this letter, he gives us a slight clue to the battle going on within him. Allow me to quote an English translation of his words: “…I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7:23 NASB). As the much-respected retired Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong delicately pointed out, this passage reveals more than we might first notice upon a cursory reading. Paul speaks in the larger context of this chapter about a constant war. He claims sin dwells in his “members,” or his bodily parts. However, he attempts to control these members with the “law of his mind” that seems to be often failing him. Many would claim this to be merely a passage referring to the human struggle with sin, but bringing in other elements of the Pauline Corpus, this interpretation becomes a bit lacking. By looking at an earlier work attributed to Paul, the second letter to the Corinthians, we see yet another clue in this intriguing puzzle. Paul says that, “there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7 NASB). It has been suggested that this was either epilepsy or a problem regarding eyesight, although, such an ailment would hardly represent a messenger of Satan as these ailments do not act as agents of temptation. But, I will not thoroughly dismiss these interpretations as epilepsy does appear to be often mistaken for demonic possession in the era of Paul’s writing. However, once again, it becomes necessary to put this passage in a larger context. In the opening chapter of Romans, Paul describes those he sees as the enemies of God as being confused sexually as a punishment for their sins. In his letter, he says that “God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (Romans 1:26-27 NASB). This seems a bit odd as Jesus is not seen as discussing sexual orientation, a subject one would believe he would preach during his discussions regarding sexual indiscretion, assuming that he considered the actions or state of gay individuals as being sinful. It is important to remember that Paul views himself as a representative of Jesus, so this contrast should cause a pause in the reader. This is not the only time Paul is seen displaying tendencies that can only be described as homophobic. He makes what appear to be negative statements toward gay individuals in his first letter to the Corinthians. It is, however, worth noting that the concept of sexual orientation had not yet developed, so such verses refer to lust and sex as standalone sins, not in any way connected with a concept of sexual orientation. Keep this in mind as we continue to examine the issues at hand. Aside from the homophobia displayed in the Pauline corpus, another often-overlooked trend becomes noticeable upon careful reading. Paul seems to take a negative view of women and marriage. He writes to his male readers, “it is good for a man not to touch a woman” (1 Corinthians 7:1 NASB). Paul was not married as he directly states when he gives these instructions to the unmarried and widows: “But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I” (1 Corinthians 1:8 NASB). Marriage is seen by Paul as a last resort for weak individuals in the next passage, “But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 1:9 NASB). One is probably now wondering why Paul would feel the need to create such a defensive web of misogyny and anti-marriage bias if Jesus did not seem to have an issue with gay individuals. Often forgotten is the fact that Paul was an educated Jewish man, and to commit sexual actions outside of traditional heterosexual married relationships was against Jewish law. So while Paul is responsible for the propagation of Christianity, he was writing with the perspective of a convert who was previously an extremely dedicated and educated traditional Jew. To indulge his passions, were he gay, would have been a grave sin. Now that we have considered this array of clues from Paul’s writings, it becomes important to finish addressing the passage with which we began our study. We return to the “war” in Paul’s “members.” This war in his members may have even been connected to the “thorn in his flesh” that served as a “messenger of Satan.” Whether or not these concepts are connected, the question still remains… What part of the body will not obey the “law of the mind”? Without being crude, the answer is a somewhat obvious one when considering the anatomy of a male. Arms, legs, and the like can be controlled by the mind. But, there remains a member that often is not so easily controlled by the mind. It is to this member that I believe Paul was referring. And considering the other segments we have examined, I also believe that Paul was in fact a repressed gay individual. While this cannot be proven, it does seem one of the few answers that properly fits the questions raised by the evidence. If Paul was a gay man, a drastic rereading of Scripture would be demanded in light of such a discovery. (I wish to thank John Shelby Spong for first bringing this idea to my attention in a compelling and challenging way.)" Read more: relijournal.com

To: average joe who wrote (849)	12/1/2012 1:59:31 AM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2133

"His little mind working at the local tackle shop does not capture the bigger picture." Of course his mind is little. He is only peripheral to this thread or to any real discussion. I feel sorry for the boy. You cannot defend incest (Lot and his daughters)--and stupidity--(Adam named all the animals in a few hours--and the first rainbow was AFTER THE FLOOD!!)...without acknowledging what a mental midget and emotional defect the kid must be. I wish I could help him.