How much did Adam (the first man) actually, know?

As we know, this magnificent angel – the greatest creature God had created up to that time – disobeyed God and fell into apostasy, and in so doing brought one third of the other angels with him.  The angels who thought to themselves, “we would rather be wrong with Lucifer than right without him”, got their wish and became demons, while those who remained faithful to God, in spite of the apostasy of their divinely appointed leader, were immediately confirmed in grace and now reign with God in heaven.

After the fall of the bad angels, God created man.  He endowed the first man with the preternatural gifts of integrity, bodily immortality, impassibility, and infused knowledge, which perfected him according to nature, as well as the supernatural gift of grace, which elevated his soul to the supernatural level, thereby making him a “partaker of the Divine Nature” (2 Peter 1:4).   By the gift of infused knowledge, Adam knew all that he had a natural aptitude to know (2), including knowledge of the physical universe, both material and spiritual, the moral law, the Divine Attributes of God, and man’s relationship to his creator” (3), as well as the supernatural knowledge necessary to guide him and his descendants to their supernatural end. (4)  All of the gifts Adam received would have been passed down to his posterity, with the exception of infused knowledge.

The reason his descendants would not have received this gift, according to St. Thomas, is because Adam was to be the teacher of all other men. (5) As father of the human race, he was to instruct and govern mankind, just as Lucifer was to govern and enlighten the lower angels. As we know, Adam, the father of the human race and divinely appointed teacher of all men, disobeyed God and fell into sin, thereby causing the Fall of the entire human race.  But unlike the angels who fell, God did not abandon man, but instead promised to send a Redeemer.

Read more

QUESTION: Christians, If god didn’t sacrifice himself to himself to bypass a rule he made, then what did he do exactly? (REPOST)

ANSWER:

Jesus resolved a “structural” problem that occurred as a result of Adam being swindled out of his God given earthly dominion by Satan, the devil.

As a result of Adam’s fall from grace, Satan managed to enslave Adam and all of his offspring under an evil dominion, based on the power of death.

God permitted such a thing because Adam was properly and completely educated (warned in advance) by God and should have known better. Once Adam lost everything to Satan, there was no (natural) way of reversing (restoring) things. Hence, God stepped up to right the wrong.

True God and true man, Jesus is the sinless, fully authorized and fully qualified “kinsman redeemer” – the only one who has the supernatural power, as well as the “natural right” to step in and redeem mankind from perpetual slavery to Satan, sin and death. But it would not be easy and it would not be accomplished the way most would expect.

Because Jesus is God – and because Jesus is also a sinless man, Satan had absolutely no power (the power of death or otherwise) over Jesus – so Satan and his minions (the corrupt Jews and the pagan Romans of the time) had absolutely no authority to put Jesus to death.

They went ahead and crucified him anyway, even though they should have known better. They had been warned, all the way back in Genesis 3:15.

Jesus permitted it to happen, since when Jesus died on the cross, Satan’s evil dominion over mankind and the earth was forfeit and mankind now had a (perfect and sinless) new leader – the resurrected Jesus Christ, the Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords – the one who Satan had absolutely no power over.

Now, all power on earth and in heaven (as well as everywhere else) was awarded to the New Adam – the resurrected Jesus Christ – fully God and fully man – who had effectively “crushed the head of the serpent” – freeing mankind from the power of perpetual death and hell – just as he promised, so long ago – and who, by his glorious resurrection, proved all that I claim here and more.

God the Father was pleased, freely bestowing grace, peace, divine adoption, protection from eternal death and much, much more, on all who choose to swear faithful allegiance to his divine son, Jesus – something that is typically accomplished through water baptism, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as through faithful membership and regular, consistent participation in the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the only Church that Jesus Christ ever personally founded, authorized, empowered and perpetually guaranteed, for the purpose of our salvation – the Holy Catholic Church.

Asked and answered on Yahoo Answers

How Does Jesus’ Death, at the hands of men, pay a debt men owe to God?

The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross at Calvary forms the basis for what I like to call “The Peculiar Theology of Redemption”.

And there’s no doubt that the theology behind our redemption IS peculiar, because it had to be … in order to give Satan the devil just enough “rope” to hang himself. 

Here’s how it works:

The first sin had to be a very serious matter, Adam also had to fully understand that it was indeed very serious, and the sin also had to be committed with the full consent of Adam’s will.

Finally, the consequences of that first sin had to be such that a simple apology, a pledge of repentance, and God’s subsequent forgiveness, would still not be sufficient to make all things whole again.

Based on all of the above, we know that the first sin resulted in Adam’s total rejection of God, and his “throwing in” with Satan, against God.

Adam even went so far as to transfer dominion of the whole earth, which God had earlier given him, over to Satan.

And since Adam enjoyed free will, God permitted him to make these choices, and to suffer the eternal consequences.

Once all this was done, Satan turned on Adam, and made a slave of him and his descendents, because, as everyone knows, all the offspring of a slave automatically belong to the master.

This presented a serious problem, because man had no ability to overcome the supernatural dominion that Satan now exercised over him.

Furthermore, God was under no obligation to provide his supernatural graces to his enemies.

Deprived of God’s grace, Eden soon disappeared, Adam and Eve began to age, suffer, and die, and the world became an increasingly more hostile and forbidding place.

Mankind lived under constant threat from Satan, who was given the power of death over them, according to their free will choice, and according to God’s perfect justice.

But this is not what God had in mind when he created man, so God promised to eventually send a redeemer to destroy Satan’s evil dominion, forgive sins, defeat death, and restore all things.

That is exactly what Jesus did.

And the only reason Jesus could do it, when no other human ever could, was because Jesus was never “stained” by sin … and Satan had no power at all, over one without sin.

Under God’s most basic law, one without sin is not liable to die. (This was the flip-side of the same law that Adam broke, when he sinned.)

Jesus permitted Satan and his minions, the Jews and the Romans, to unjustly put him to death, knowing full well that this was the only way Satan’s evil dominion could be legally destroyed, as no one, not even the devil, had the authority to take the life of a sinless man, let alone the only son of God.

Once Jesus died, Satan was judged for his great sin, stripped of all that he had earlier gained from Adam’s fall, and left destitute.

Jesus was raised from the dead and appointed the new head of all mankind. God was now more than willing to forgive man’s sins, and our redemption was truly at hand.

Now, anyone who rejects Satan and swears faithful allegiance to Jesus (typically through baptism) is able to have their sins forgiven, become a living temple of the Holy Spirit, and among other things, also become a member of God’s own family.

The Church carries on Christ’s great work of redemption in the world today, and it will continue to do so, until the end of time.

We have Christ’s word on it.

The reason for our joy: Christmas is proof that God always keeps his promises

by Doug Lawrence

The first thing God did after Adam fell from grace was call a meeting. (That probably explains why meetings have always seemed like a form of punishment, to many of us.)

The Old Testament Bible Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 15, duly records the promise God made to Adam at that meeting … the promise of a redeemer … who would one day come to repair the damage that had been done … something that Adam could never hope to accomplish on his own.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

Until that day, all of mankind would remain enslaved to Satan, sin, and death … except for the Virgin Mary, who was, by special privilege of God, conceived without sin, in order to make it possible for her to become the mother of our holy Savior, Jesus Christ. (That’s also why the above Bible verse has both a decidedly masculine as well as feminine “sense” to it.)

When Almighty God sets out to fulfill a promise, there’s nothing in the universe that can stop him … hence the joyous and absolutely confident proclamation of the angels, on that first Christmas:

Luke 2:10-14 And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people: For, this day is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.

As we all know, within the space of some thirty-three short years, that mild babe in the manger went on to perfectly fulfill all the prophecies and promises that God had ever made, concerning him … destroying Satan’s evil dominion, reconciling sinful mankind, opening the gates of Heaven, and permanently establishing the Kingdom of God, on the Earth.

Thanks to Christ, the state of war that had existed between Satan dominated, sinful mankind and God, was over. From that day forward, God’s grace would trump sin and death, while Satan, the former slave master and undisputed “Prince of this World” would remain a tragic, desperate, fugitive on earth, waiting for his sentence to be ultimately carried out, much like the late Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein, who spent his last days cowering in an underground “spider hole”, until justice finally caught up with him.

Now (and forever) Jesus reigns
as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Merry Christmas!

 

Today’s question: Who is Satan?

Today’s question: Who is Satan?

Answer: He’s a fallen angel, who attempted to usurp God’s throne; the leader of a multitude of other angels, who “fell” along with him.

He’s the Tree of Knowledge, in the Garden of Eden, who manifested as the talking Serpent.

Satan is the failed, persecutor and torturer of God’s faithful servant, Job.

He’s the false, wannabe, “Morning Star” (Lucifer) described in the Book of Isaiah.

In the Gospel, he’s the Tempter of Jesus, whose willing minions include the pagan Romans, as well as the corrupt Temple officials, who crucified our Holy Lord, Jesus Christ.

He’s the “Dragon”, in the Book of Revelation, who gives his power to Antichrist, in order to deceive the whole world.

Satan gained dominion over the entire earth and perpetually enslaved all of humanity under the curse of sin and death, by convincing (actually, seducing) Adam into betraying God and joining Satan’s rebellion, against God. Satan is the Father of Lies and a Murderer, from the beginning.

Satan’s evil dominion of death and hell was destroyed by the crucified and risen Jesus.

Satan has but a short time remaining, on the earth. He is known to be, at the present time, “prowling about the world, seeking the ruin of souls”.

Asked and answered today, on Yahoo! Answers. Edited for clarity and content.

More bad news: Trump, as well as Corona Virus, might each constitute a form of divine chastisement.

Our only health is the disease
If we obey the dying nurse
Whose constant care is not to please
But to remind of our, and Adam’s curse

And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse

Read the complete article at Life Site News

QUESTION: Christians, If god didn’t sacrifice himself to himself to bypass a rule he made, then what did he do exactly?

ANSWER:

Jesus resolved a “structural” problem that occurred as a result of Adam being swindled out of his God given earthly dominion by Satan, the devil.

As a result of Adam’s fall from grace, Satan managed to enslave Adam and all of his offspring under an evil dominion, based on the power of death.

God permitted such a thing because Adam was properly and completely educated (warned in advance) by God and should have known better. Once Adam lost everything to Satan, there was no (natural) way of reversing (restoring) things. Hence, God stepped up to right the wrong.

True God and true man, Jesus is the sinless, fully authorized and fully qualified “kinsman redeemer” – the only one who has the supernatural power, as well as the “natural right” to step in and redeem mankind from perpetual slavery to Satan, sin and death. But it would not be easy and it would not be accomplished the way most would expect.

Because Jesus is God – and because Jesus is also a sinless man, Satan had absolutely no power (the power of death or otherwise) over Jesus – so Satan and his minions (the corrupt Jews and the pagan Romans of the time) had absolutely no authority to put Jesus to death.

They went ahead and crucified him anyway, even though they should have known better. They had been warned, all the way back in Genesis 3:15.

Jesus permitted it to happen, since when Jesus died on the cross, Satan’s evil dominion over mankind and the earth was forfeit and mankind now had a (perfect and sinless) new leader – the resurrected Jesus Christ, the Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords – the one who Satan had absolutely no power over.

Now, all power on earth and in heaven (as well as everywhere else) was awarded to the New Adam – the resurrected Jesus Christ – fully God and fully man – who had effectively “crushed the head of the serpent” – freeing mankind from the power of perpetual death and hell – just as he promised, so long ago – and who, by his glorious resurrection, proved all that I claim here and more.

God the Father was pleased, freely bestowing grace, peace, divine adoption, protection from eternal death and much, much more, on all who choose to swear faithful allegiance to his divine son, Jesus – something that is typically accomplished through water baptism, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as through faithful membership and regular, consistent participation in the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the only Church that Jesus Christ ever personally founded, authorized, empowered and perpetually guaranteed, for the purpose of our salvation – the Holy Catholic Church.

Asked and answered on Yahoo Answers

How much did Adam (the first man) know?

As we know, this magnificent angel – the greatest creature God had created up to that time – disobeyed God and fell into apostasy, and in so doing brought one third of the other angels with him.  The angels who thought to themselves, “we would rather be wrong with Lucifer than right without him”, got their wish and became demons, while those who remained faithful to God, in spite of the apostasy of their divinely appointed leader, were immediately confirmed in grace and now reign with God in heaven.

After the fall of the bad angels, God created man.  He endowed the first man with the preternatural gifts of integrity, bodily immortality, impassibility, and infused knowledge, which perfected him according to nature, as well as the supernatural gift of grace, which elevated his soul to the supernatural level, thereby making him a “partaker of the Divine Nature” (2 Peter 1:4).   By the gift of infused knowledge, Adam knew all that he had a natural aptitude to know (2), including knowledge of the physical universe, both material and spiritual, the moral law, the Divine Attributes of God, and man’s relationship to his creator” (3), as well as the supernatural knowledge necessary to guide him and his descendants to their supernatural end. (4)  All of the gifts Adam received would have been passed down to his posterity, with the exception of infused knowledge.

The reason his descendants would not have received this gift, according to St. Thomas, is because Adam was to be the teacher of all other men. (5) As father of the human race, he was to instruct and govern mankind, just as Lucifer was to govern and enlighten the lower angels. As we know, Adam, the father of the human race and divinely appointed teacher of all men, disobeyed God and fell into sin, thereby causing the Fall of the entire human race.  But unlike the angels who fell, God did not abandon man, but instead promised to send a Redeemer.

Read more

Science once again confirms what faithful Catholics already know

Almost every man alive can trace his origins to one man who lived about 135,000 years ago, new research suggests. And that ancient man likely shared the planet with the mother of all women.

The findings, detailed today (Aug. 1) in the journal Science, come from the most complete analysis of the male sex chromosome, or the Y chromosome, to date. The results overturn earlier research, which suggested that men’s most recent common ancestor lived just 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.

Link

Editor’s note: The dating is still largely up for grabs – as are many of their other conclusions. Mitochondrial DNA long ago proved that one woman is the mother of all the living. Now they claim to have chromosomal evidence for the man – Adam.

The little known Divine Law that predates all others is also the key to our salvation in Christ.

(Click on graphic to enlarge)

From the Catechism:

407 The doctrine of original sin, closely connected with that of redemption by Christ, provides lucid discernment of man’s situation and activity in the world. By our first parents’ sin, the devil has acquired a certain domination over man, even though man remains free. Original sin entails “captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil”. Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social and morals.

So it was that Satan gained control over the whole world and certain dominion over man. The entire process was, in a technical sense, legal but it certainly wasn’t right. God wasn’t pleased, either. Here, we learn of Satan’s destiny:

Genesis 3:14 – 15 And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

The most important part (for us, at least) is the last line, where God speaks of a woman; the seed (offspring) of the woman and the head of the serpent being crushed by the woman’s heel (many texts translate this verse as HE shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for HIS heel). Either way, the Catholic Church has always interpreted this verse to be God’s first promise of a Redeemer or Messiah. One who would come and restore all things; forgive sins, heal the rift between God and man, reinstate man’s dominion over the world and finally, put Satan in his place (hell) forever.

For a number of reasons, sending a Redeemer would not be easy, even for God. In fact, thousands of years would elapse before the exact time, place, and circumstances for Messiah would come. Complicating matters still further, only one person in the entire universe was qualified for the job.

Galatians 4:4 – 5 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law: That he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Can Catholics (Licitly and/or Faithfully) Accept the Theory of Evolution?

This is a great, two-part series by Monsignor Charles Pope, of the Archdiocese of Washington, who is a constant teacher of the authentic faith of the one, holy, apostolic, and Catholic church.

The reader comments tend to be almost as interesting and informative as the article’s content.

Read part one here

Read part two here

Ushering In The Kingdom Of God

People often confuse the Kingdom of Heaven with the Kingdom of God. The terms sound similar and are often used interchangeably, but they’re different.

The “Kingdom of Heaven” is the place where God dwells with His angels and saints. Not everyone can live there. God decides. Only He is the judge. Once admitted, heavenly “citizenship” (as far as we know) is eternally guaranteed.

Existence there is said to be “glorious”.

Romans 8:16 – 18 For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.

The “Kingdom of God” is a state of being which exists any time the Holy Spirit accepts an invitation to take up residence in a human soul.

From Adam until the time of Christ, the Kingdom of God was manifest on the earth only when God Himself chose to make an appearance, to dwell with us over the Ark of the Covenant, or to abide with us in the Jerusalem Temple. But this was far from the ideal, for our Creator is a personal God, not one who chooses to live in tents or in man made structures.

In the fullness of time, Mary, “full of grace” became the first “living temple” of the Holy Spirit since Adam’s fall. The Kingdom had come!

Luke 17:20 – 21 And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answering them and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the kingdom of God is within you.

With the birth of Jesus, the Eternal Word made flesh; God’s Anointed One; the Kingdom of God became the most powerful force on earth.

So it was first Mary, and then Jesus who perfectly accomplished the will of God on earth, just as it is routinely done in heaven.

Read more

Living in sin

From Adam’s “fall” to Jesus’ death, all of mankind (except for John the Baptist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary) “lived in sin”.

Today, ignoring the dire consequences, untold millions continue to choose sinful life styles, never stopping to consider how that choice might affect their death style.

One only needs to look around to see that every evil in the world is the result of sin. Despite 21st century advances in science, medicine and technology, sin remains as mankind’s “public enemy number one”.

So that you, through Christ, may truly overcome evil and so doing, overcome the world, here’s the “straight dope” on sin:

Most people would agree that the term, “living in sin” has always referred to heterosexual (male/female) couples living together (and being sexually active with each other) without benefit of the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Homosexual couples that live together (and routinely have sex with each other) are also “living in sin”. But sacramental Matrimony/Marriage can never be any part of the equation, in that case.

Broadening the definition somewhat, anyone guilty of a serious, intentional, unconfessed, unrepented and/or unforgiven offense against God or man is also likely to be “living in sin”.

Read more

Do you go to hell if you don’t believe in God?

Q: Do you go to hell if you don’t believe in God?

I find it hard to believe that God is so touchy that he sends a perfectly good person to hell for all eternity if they don’t believe in him when they are alive.

A: It’s important to understand exactly how these things work.

Due to the first man’s original sin, all of his (Adam’s) descendants (us) are born in a pre-exisiting state of sin, already “pledged” to Satan, the devil.

The only one with the power to break that domination and save someone from eternal slavery to Satan, sin, and death is Jesus Christ.

The work of salvation is typically accomplished through the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church that Jesus personally founded, for that express purpose.

The sacrament of Baptism provides an authentic and extremely powerful opportunity for an individual to reject Satan and all his works, in favor of Jesus Christ, God and savior.

Once a person has sworn faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ in this way, he is no longer a slave to Satan, but a child of God, a citizen of Heaven, a temple of the Holy Spirit, a member of the church and a co-heir with Jesus Christ. Also necessarily included in this divinely mandated system of things is a provision for the forgiveness of sins.

So far as God being “touchy” … God’s perfect justice demands a certain amount of specificity and fidelity … balanced by a certain quality of divine mercy … something which is not at all unreasonable.

The bottom line is this:

Without faith in Jesus Christ and his church … something that’s typically declared through baptism … a person remains subject to Satan, sin, and eternal death. The only reasonably certain future for one such as this is an eternity in Hell, to which Satan and all his subjects will most certainly be consigned. It’s really that simple.

Since God is sovereign, all powerful, merciful and loving, there’s a chance that he might take pity on someone who has chosen to repeatedly reject him over the course of a lifetime, and choose to save that person’s soul and admit him to heaven, anyway. But that wouldn’t be the norm,  it wouldn’t be exactly fair to all of the other faithful, and it would be very problematic, in many other ways.

So … “good person” … knowing what you now know … why would you want to take that kind of a chance with your eternal destiny?

The reason for our joy: Christmas is proof that God always keeps his promises

by Doug Lawrence

The first thing God did after Adam fell from grace was call a meeting. (That probably explains why meetings have always seemed like a form of punishment, to many of us.)

The Old Testament Bible Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 15, duly records the promise God made to Adam at that meeting … the promise of a redeemer … who would one day come to repair the damage that had been done … something that Adam could never hope to accomplish on his own.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

Until that day, all of mankind would remain enslaved to Satan, sin, and death … except for the Virgin Mary, who was, by special privilege of God, conceived without sin, in order to make it possible for her to become the mother of our holy Savior, Jesus Christ. (That’s also why the above Bible verse has both a decidedly masculine as well as feminine “sense” to it.)

When Almighty God sets out to fulfill a promise, there’s nothing in the universe that can stop him … hence the joyous and absolutely confident proclamation of the angels, on that first Christmas.

Luke 2:10-14 And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people: For, this day is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.

As we all know, within the space of some thirty-three short years, that mild babe in the manger went on to perfectly fulfill all the prophecies and promises that God had ever made, concerning him … destroying Satan’s evil dominion, reconciling sinful mankind, opening the gates of Heaven, and permanently establishing the Kingdom of God, on the Earth.

Thanks to Christ, the state of war that had existed between Satan dominated sinful mankind and God was over. From that day forward, God’s grace would trump sin and death, while Satan, the former slave master and undisputed “Prince of this World” would remain a tragic, desperate fugitive on earth, (much like the late Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein, who spent his last days cowering in an underground “spider hole” until justice finally caught up with him.)

Now (and forever) Jesus reigns
as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Merry Christmas!

 

Q: If law is the ministration of condemnation and death, did Jesus condemn himself to death by fulfilling law?

Q: If  the law is the ministration of condemnation and death, did Jesus condemn himself to death by fulfilling law?

A: To the contrary … perfectly fulfilling the law while totally avoiding sin is the only way to escape death, since under God’s oldest and most essential law, the “Law of Sin and Death” ONLY one without sin is NOT liable to die.

That’s why Satan and his minions had no business doing what they did to the totally impeccable Jesus.  And that’s why Jesus’ death officially put Satan out of business, forever … since nobody … not even the devil … then, the acknowledged “Prince of this World” …  had the power or the authority to take the life of a sinless man … let alone the only begotten son of God.

As for the rest of us, no matter how hard we try, we’re stuck with our inherited sinfulness, due to Adam’s original fall from grace. So without faith in Jesus Christ and true allegiance to him, who is our God, our High Priest, our brother, and our holy Redeemer, and who is also the only “well spring” of God’s sanctifying grace, we typically remain slaves to Satan, sin and death, forever.

More on this here …

And here …

And here

Why did Jesus call himself “Son of Man” and at other times “Son of God”?

Q: Why did Jesus call himself “Son of Man” and at other times “Son of God”?

A: The name “Adam” means “The Man”.

In Genesis 3:15 God promises to eventually send a redeemer who will be the male offspring (son) of Adam … “Son of (the) Man“.

The Hebrews would have no doubt that Jesus, applying this term to himself, was most certainly declaring himself to be none other than the promised Messiah.

But the Jews (or the gentiles, for that matter) would probably not have expected the Messiah to also be the Son of God, since that detail wasn’t clearly defined, according to their limited understanding of the OT scriptures, which described God as “one”.

Jesus personally set that matter straight when he described himself as the Son of God … and that was enough to get him crucified … perfectly fulfilling God’s salvific plan.

Can you imagine God sitting on his throne in Heaven saying this?

Q: Can you imagine God sitting on his throne in Heaven saying this?

“As the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe, I shall write a book for my creation, and I shall call it The Bible. Let’s see, what shall I put in it??? Well, I want to be SURE to write about my absolute endorsement of slavery in both the Old and the New Testaments — slavery is very important to me and I want people buying and selling slaves for thousands of years. And I want to be CERTAIN that the book shows how much I hate women in both the Old and the New Testaments. And I can NOT forget the parts about animal and human sacrifice, because sacrifices are an essential element of every proper religion. I want people slaughtering animals, splattering their blood and then burning the carcasses on a stone altar because the aroma is pleasing to me. And I want to make human sacrifice the centerpiece of my worship. And I CERTAINLY need to include the juicy parts about child massacre in both the Old and the New Testaments. Baby killing is something that I will emphasize throughout this book because it is very important to me.”

A: Due to Adam’s sin, all of mankind was eternally enslaved to Satan, sin, and death.

God took on human flesh specifically to save us from that decrepit state.

And since Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world, it would be left up to the Church to eventually bring an end to human-on-human slavery.

The accounts in the Bible accurately reflect the people and the events of the various times in which it was written.

And for your information, God created the Blessed Virgin Mary … a woman … to be the “portal” between Heaven and Earth … who would bring salvation (Jesus) into the world. Mary remains eternally blessed, God’s number one success story, and the grace-empowered role model for every human who ever lived, or ever will live. 

Not bad for a God who, according to you, hates women.  

Until the protestant reformation, and for a number of very good reasons … nobody … not even Jesus Christ … ever dreamed of using the Bible as the sole authority for the Christian faith.

Jesus founded the Church … not the Bible … to lead all men to salvation in his grace, and the Bible constitutes only a portion of the Church’s sacred deposit of faith.

As for all the other stuff you wrote … you’re either being dishonest or you’re simply ignorant … because you’re certainly not funny.

Why would God need blood to atone for sins?

Q: Why would God need blood to atone for sins?

A: Until mankind was freed from slavery to satan, sin, and death there could be no forgiveness of sins.

Satan and the forces of evil had no right to take the life of the sinless Jesus.

When they spilled Christ’s innocent blood, they instantly forfeited the dominion over the earth that satan had received when he swindled Adam, some 6000 years earlier.

Jesus was subsequently resurrected and appointed the new and sinless head of all mankind, and under this new leadership God was more than willing to make peace with sinful mankind.

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/a-shor…

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/the-pa…

What biblical support is there for the idea that Adam had “powers” before he sinned?

Q: What biblical support is there for the idea that Adam had “powers” before he sinned?
Douglas W. Phillips, founder of Vision forum, claims that Adam had some kind of “powers” before he sinned that enabled him to do things that we couldn’t even come close to today. Does anyone know of any direct biblical support for this idea, as I know of none?

A: It’s clear that Adam was well educated by the Lord, in all things. Adam also possessed a near perfect human body (the Bible claims it was “very good”… not perfect.)

God would not have held Adam responsible for his sin, if he wasn’t fully capable of understanding God’s law, and keeping it.

Philips’ “take” on this might be a bit excessive, but it’s not totally wrong.

After the fall, Eden soon disappeared, and Adam did indeed steadily decline … in both body and soul … worn out by the harsh realities of his newly chosen circumstances … devoid of God’s grace … enslaved to Satan, sin, and death … until he eventually died.