Teachinghearts	Church Doctrines "Explore the Word. Change the World"	Statistics: Time: 60 minutes Print: 12 pages

Most doctrines are discussed in individual lessons. Here we discuss a few other issues.

Prayer '... the one who comes to Me I will certainly not throw out.' John 6: 37

As I study about you, help me to see the big picture and help me to be more patient as I begin to grasp the enormity of the problem and then to realize that even though my problems are so insignificant in comparison, that moment by moment you care about the small things in my life. Thank you for being the best parent one can imagine.

The Actions of God in the Old Testament
Many times people talk about the vicious God in the Old testament. The beauty of the Bible is that is does not cover up what happened. It simply reports what took place, and because an incident occurred does not mean that God approved. And because God made laws it does not mean that He approved.
God made laws to reveal his will and to show what was good, he also made laws to protect the innocent.

Temporary Compromise. It is also clear that in some instances God seemed to compromise, the truth is that He was waiting for a solution in time. He did not change His law, but He had to find another way to teach goodness. He was willing to ignore the less than ideal situation until he could teach His people the better way. This often happened with practices that were widespread in all areas and deeply entrenched. This is what happened in the case of multiple wives.

One of God's ways of bringing justice in this situation was to pass laws to protect the victim. The inherent injustice in the system would eventually cause it to collapse, because more laws are not the solution to an unjust situation. But with time, maybe the righteous could see life through the eyes of the victims.
This strategy of God is clearly demonstrated with divorce.

Open Disobedience. Also, remember that Israel was under a theocracy, direct rulership by God. This means that they had direct knowledge or evidence that God existed. Therefore, whereas you and I can say we are not sure and we default to common sense or common good arguments, they could not. So consequently, God's reaction to the Israelites could be more swift. Because it was clear that they were more willfully disobedient. But even then, as you will see God was extraordinarily patient.

God and Divorce
God says 'I hate divorce'. Yet he allowed it. Jesus Christ explained that God's ideal was that all unions would remain permanent. But because people were unwilling to do the right thing and because the sin itself created another set of families it was more complicated to untangle. You could restore a stolen donkey or repair broken things. But another wife and child you could not undo. In addition, the suffering of poor women and children led them to prostitution. There were no other opportunities. They could not own property. Husbands found any excuse to divorce their wives for the young woman down the street. So God instituted laws that would make it illegal to divorce and discard a wife for burning the eggs. But this situation was not what he wanted. Jesus said that because they were stubborn, God made laws to lessen the damage as much as possible.

God at War
At war God preferred no violence. He usually waited hundreds of years to drive a people out of the land. In war, God used fear, bees, choirs, trumpets, a sling and a pebble, light and noise. In fact, in every war that the Israelites allowed God to fight for them, His strategy was to demonstrate that the war was totally His. He used a tiny army and the most ridiculous weapons. His army did not have to lift a sword.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong. and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. (1 Corinthians 1: 27-29)

• Bees. Instead of conquering by force, God used wild animals and bees to drive the people off the land over many years. (Joshua 24: 12)
• Trumpet. God conquered 300,000 of his enemies with 500 men holding a light and a trumpet. Fear caused the enemies to destroy themselves in the dark. He used the trumpet call again to demolish the walls of Jericho.
• Pebble and a Sling. God conquered his heavily armed enemies with a small boy, five stones and a sling.
• Jawbone of an Ass. God conquered his enemies with one man and the jawbone of an ass.
• Shepherd's Rod. God sent Moses to Egypt with a rod to deliver His people.
• Dirty Water. God asked Naaman to dip himself seven times in the muddy Jordan river to be healed of his leprosy.
• A Virgin. In a society that frowns on any immoral behavior, especially among women. God chose to be born to a virgin with a story that no one would believe. God was not politically correct. In fact it seemed foolish.
• Born in a Barn. The creator of the world chose to enter the world in the weakest, most helpless form, to a poor family, labeled as the bastard child of an immoral woman, in a smelly barn among the animals.
• A Feast for an Invading Army. But there are also stories of kindness to His enemies. An invading army was fed and sent home. (2 Kings 6: 14-23)

Yes, there are stories of Israel killing men, women and children at God's command. But if you looked at every one of those nations, they had been evil for centuries and would not turn back to God. They were equally determined to destroy Israel. It was their final judgment.

God and Sodom and Gomorrah
God showed patience in Sodom and Gomorrah. In His conversation with Abraham, God showed that he would be willing to save the city if there were only 10 righteous people. He is not about killing. The city had sunk low. Criminal behavior was practically the law of the land. If you did not behave in certain criminal ways you were the abnormal. Rape was legal. Heterosexual and homosexual rape, and no one stopped it. It was expected. The closest modern cities that even compare to this are Thailand and some countries in the old Soviet Union, where the police are actually helping criminals to kidnap and hold victims for prostitution. There is no help from the law or the government, because they are all profiting. This is why I believe that if the second coming or goodness does not stop this, then surely a tidal wave or an earthquake will.

God in Egypt
Egypt is another place where God showed patience. His people were being held under brutal slavery. Through a series of ten miracles, God demonstrated that He wanted the Egyptians to release His people, but they would not. Cheap labor was hard to give up.

God and Slavery
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, many used the examples of slavery in the Old Testament to morally justify the slave trade. First of all, there were different types of slavery:

• Indentured Servants. People sold themselves into slavery for a period of time to pay off debts. They were paid for their labor and they chose to use this method to get out of debt more quickly. The system may have been set up to encourage this type of cheap labor, but the bottom line is that the workers chose to do this and they got into trouble because of their own actions. And eventually, they were free.
• Debt bondage and Inherited Family debts. Many generations, even today, are living under this system. In this system, there is the possibility of buying your freedom by working to pay off your debts. If the debt was not paid, the liability would fall on the children. What eventually happened was that families could not escape because of the economic system imposed by their owners. The owners owned all the businesses and homes and set the prices in all trades. Often, the price of food, clothes and lodging were so outrageous that there was nothing left to pay off the debt even for the most prudent families. They never bought back their freedom. And the slavery continued for generations. Countries like Pakistan and India are currently guilty of this.
• Company Towns. The same type of system was done in company towns when the workers of industrial barons were isolated in a town where the general store and housing were owned by the company. Prices were high since there was no competition. People could move if they found jobs else where, they had their freedom but their paychecks essentially belonged to the company due to the high price of goods and services.
• Forced Slavery. This is slavery by kidnapping the victim. Under this kind of system, there was no way out. The slave and all their children were owned for life and they could not buy back their freedom. They were strictly used for labor. They had no wages or rights, they only had the minimum food, clothing and shelter required to keep them alive, healthy and working. Families were often separated as slaves were sold from one owner to the other. In the period before the nineteenth century, such workers were used to supply cheap labor for the agricultural community. It is forbidden in the Bible. (Exodus 21: 6; 24:7)
  
  In the late 1990's a new wave of kidnappings of young women and children from poor countries are being used to supply the criminal prostitution and child pornography businesses.

Jubilee. In the old testament, the slavery that God condoned was the type similar to indentured servants. It was a crime punishable by death to kidnap a person. But God did more than that. The longest period of servitude was forty nine years. He also built a system in which no person would amass wealth for generations at the expense of others. Every family owned land. If a family got in debt, they could sell their land or themselves into slavery, but only for a maximum of forty nine years. In the jubilee year, the first year of the next forty nine years, the year of release every slave was set free and all land returned to their original owners. So that even within the life of the person who went into debt, there was a chance to make a good life or to start over.

What was remarkable about the Jubilee, was that it was a scheduled time. A slave could only sell himself into slavery not for 49 years, but until the next jubilee. So, if he sold himself two years before the jubilee, he must be released in two years. God also forbid people from withholding help just because the jubilee was near.

This system of God's is far better than any system of slavery or any current economic system of debt that we have today. Even now many people are trapped into slavery in the modern world.

Purgatory
This is not a biblical doctrine. It cannot be found in the Protestant Canon. It is a teaching from tradition taught by the council of Lyons II (1274), confirmed in 1439 at the Council of Florence and the Council of Trent (1545-1563) and has its origin in pagan doctrine.

The Council of Trent and the cathecism says the following:

We believe ... that the souls, by the purifying compensation are purged after death.
Council of Lyons

"I hold without wavering that there is a Purgatory, and that souls there detained are aided by the suffrages of the faithful."
Council of Trent

"There is a Purgatorial fire, in which the souls of the pious are tormented for a certain time, and cleansed, in order that an entrance may lie open to them into their eternal home, into which nothing defiled enters."
Cathecism

These texts are supposed to teach this doctrine but I cannot see the connection so that I could make a response. In fact Hebrews 10 seems to disagree with the teaching of the Eucharist.
When Jesus received the vinegar he said "it is finished" and bowed His head and gave up the Spirit. (John 19: 30)
Every priest daily offers the same sacrifices time after time that can never take away sins. But He, having offered one sacrifice for sin for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10: 11, 12)
... People will be forgiven any sin , but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Matthew 12: 31)

At least these texts seem to talk about fire. To analyze them, you must read the entire context. I am looking for information that says the following:

1. There is a place where the saved dead are conscious and suffering.
2. They are suffering fiery trials as punishment for their sins.
3. We can reduce their time there by our works here.

If any man's work is burned up he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:15)
The previous verses talks about the quality and results of our work on this earth. We build on the foundation of Jesus Christ with what we have, precious stones or straw. Some people's work will be destroyed on the day of judgment, but the person will be saved whether or not the quality of his work will survive.

so that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:7)
This is a praise of the power of faith. The verse says that even gold is perishable, but our inheritance from God will not perish (verse 4) . Although we go through hard trials, our faith helps us to rejoice and so our faith is more precious than gold which melts in the fire, but our faith will not waver in hard times.
in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison. (1 Peter 3:19)
This is about the work of the Holy Spirit among the living who are prisoners on this planet of death. This text is explored in detail here.

According to Catholic theology, purgatory is the place where all go when they die. It is a place of torture by fire, between heaven and hell. Purgatory is necessary for all to suffer the punishment for sin. It is an indefinite period of time where those who are saved are cleansed of sin as they suffer their punishment. The actions of those who are alive can shorten this time. But no one knows how much your total time is or if you have been released, therefore you must continue to purchase indulgences and masses forever.
On All Saints Day, we have an opportunity to pray and pay for all the dead to escape purgatory.

According to Catholicism, the death of Jesus cannot save you from the punishment for sin. The sacrifice of Christ paid only for the guilt of sin, not the penalty. Therefore we must all go to purgatory, but our loved ones can help to shorten our vacation in purgatory. And only the Catholic church has the power to do this because the pope holds the triple keys to heaven, hell and purgatory. There are a few exceptions who go immediately to heaven:

• Jesus
• Mary
• Those who have been granted a special indulgence by the Pope. This has been used to recruit armies to fight heretics.
• Those who have an excess of good works.

The Cord Societies
Members of these societies wear a cord or cincture in honor of a saint, to keep in mind some special grace or favor which they hope to obtain through his intercession. Some of these societies are:

Cord Fraternity	Special Graces
St. Francis	A rough cord with three knots. The ordinary requirements necessary for the gaining of all plenary and partial Indulgences, the wearing of the cord and enrollment in the records of the archconfraternity are the only conditions imposed on the members.
St. Joseph	Worn to to obtain the grace of purity through his intercession plus special favors and indulgences. The members are obliged to wear a cord having seven knots, and are exhorted to recite daily seven Glorias in honour of St. Joseph.
St. Thomas	The members are required to have their names enrolled, to wear a cord with fifteen knots, and to recite daily fifteen Ave Marias in honour of St. Thomas.
St. Monica, St. Augustine, St. Nicholas, Our Lady of Consolation	Has several indulgences and privileges. The members are obliged to wear a black leather belt, to recite daily thirteen Pater Nosters and Ave Marias and the Salve Regina, and to fast on the vigil of the feast of St. Augustine.

The Brown Scapular
The scapular is about two inches square, made of wool, with the promise embroidered on one side and it may have the image of a saint on the other side. The cord may have a crucifix and the medal of St. Benedict on it. This is the promise to those who wear the scapular.

Whoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. It shall be a sign of peace and a safeguard in times of danger.

The Sacred Heart
Promises for those who promote devotion to the sacred heart or who pray on the first Friday of nine consecutive months.

I promise you in the excessive Mercy of My Divine Heart, that It's all powerful will grant the grace of final repentance to all who communicate on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, that they shall not die under Its displeasure nor without receiving the sacraments, for My Divine Heart will become their secure refuge at that last moment.

Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart never to be blotted out.

Purgatorian Societies
Masses are said in proportion to the amount of money paid, so the poor form Purgatorian Societies in which they pay a certain amount weekly to secure the offering up of Masses for the dead.

Purgatory is a lie that dishonors the loving nature of God and rapes the sacrifice of Christ. Indulgences are useless and they do not exist and the church does not have the power to give them for any reason.

Homosexuality
This is some of what the Bible says on the subject.

If a man also lie with a man as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. (Leviticus 20: 13)

Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6: 9-10)

Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man slayers, for whores, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. (1 Timothy 1: 9-10)

Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication (extreme immorality), and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 7)

But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the son of man is revealed. (Luke 17. 29-30)

Deliberately Disobedient and Resistant to God
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Homosexuality
For this reason 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. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

Other Sins
being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1: 18-32)

Birth Control
Any method used to prevent a pregnancy or stop the birth of a child.

• Prevent Contact. Any separation method used to prevent the close contact of male and female.
• Prevent Production. Any method used to prevent the formation and release of healthy sperm or egg.
• Prevent Fertilization. Any separation method used to prevent healthy sperm from reaching the egg.
• Prevent Implantation. Any method that prevents the merged cells from implanting into the uterus.
• Prevent Gestation. Any method that prevents the implanted cells from growing.
• Prevent Birth (Abortion). Methods used to remove a growing child from the womb. The legality of the procedure depends on whether or not the child can survive outside the womb.
  • Before Implantation. Before the growing ball of cells attaches itself to the uterus. Some birth control methods work at this stage.
  • Early Term. In the first three months of pregnancy. The D&C procedure (Dilation and Cutterage) is sometimes used to hide an abortion at the early stages. Suction-aspiration is the official abortion method. Chemical abortion is also used between seven and nine weeks.
  • Middle Term. In the middle three months of pregnancy. Dilation and evacuation is one abortion method.
  • Late Term. In the last three months of pregnancy. Most criminal abortion laws are aimed at preventing abortions in this late stage. Prostaglandins are used to induce premature delivery in later stages.

Ovulation. Cyclical production and release of an egg every 28 days.
Fertilization (Conception). When the egg and sperm fuse to create a cell that grows into a human.
Implantation. When the fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterus and feeds from the mother.
It takes three to seven days after fertilization to travel down the fallopian tube and implant the cells by the tenth day.

Day 0		Day 1-5	Day 6-13	Day 14	Day 15-28			40 Weeks
Process		Menstruation	Follicle matures	Ovulation	Endometrium grows			Pregnancy
Hormone	FSH, LH		Estrogen, LH	LH	LH, progesterone			HCG
	Low estrogen, progesterone		Estrogen	High levels of estrogen and progesterone
Fertility	Least Fertile			Most Fertile		Implant		Infertile
Purity	Unclean			Clean				-

General Methods.
The methods target the function of these structures. Kill the egg. Block the delivery tubes. Make the uterus inhospitable. Trap the sperm. Separate the egg from the sperm.

Ovary	Fallopian Tube	Uterus	Cervix	Vagina	-	Penis	Vas Deferens	Testes
Egg	Delivery Tube	Baby chamber		Sex Organs			Delivery Tube	Sperm

• Natural. Use of behavior and natural cycles to take advantage of the periods when fertility is low.
• Barrier. Place a physical block between the egg and the sperm so that they do not meet.
• Implants. Short term inserts in the uterus or vagina that release hormones or spermicides.
• Plugs. Long term implants into the fallopian tube or vas deferens to block the path of the egg or sperm.
• Biochemical. Use of the body's chemistry to create a hostile environment, change behavior or to trick the egg and sperm.
• Spermicide. Kill the sperm or egg so that if they do meet they cannot fuse.
• Hormones. Adjusting the natural hormonal cycles to prevent egg production or implantation.
  • Progesterone (Progestin). Stops ovulation. Prepares uterus for implantation.
  • Estrogen and Progesterone. Stops ovulation by preventing release of FSH and LH.
• Surgical. Removing or blocking a physical structure that is necessary for pregnancy.

Female	Ovulation		Emergency contraception		Gestation								-
	Egg				Blood	Heart beat	Limb	Move	Brain	Face	Smile, hear, see	Grow
Contact	Fertilization		x	Implantation	Blastocyst		Embryo			Fetus
Male	Day 1			Day 10	Day 18	Week 3	5	7	8	10	Week 14-27	28-40
	Sperm		First Trimester							Second Trimester		Third

Method	Class	How it Works	Prevents
Abstinence (100%) Celibacy	Natural and Ancient Methods	Avoiding any sexual contact. This is the only method that is 100% effective in preventing STD and pregnancy	Contact
Social Barriers		Separate facilities for boys and girls (school, recreation)	Contact
Chastity Belt		A locked, metal underwear worn by the woman or man	Contact
Diet and Foods		Some foods are a natural source of hormones e.g. Wild yam, neem oil, pomegranate, queen Anne's lace seeds, smartweed leaves, apricot kernel, Vitamin C, rue, cotton root bark, rutin, tofu	Production Implantation
Lactation		May be infertile up to six months of daily breast feeding	Production
Rhythm (75%)		Having contact when the egg has not been released	Fertilization
Douche, sitting		Removing the sperm by washing or by gravity. Ineffective	Fertilization
Withdrawal (73%) "Coitus Interruptus"		Removing the penis before the majority of the sperm enters the vagina	Fertilization
"Coitus Reservatus"		Squeezing the base of the penis to stop ejaculation	Fertilization
Female	Supernatural	» Turn a spinning wheel backward at midnight. » Walk over the graves of dead female ancestors. » Throw corn kernels, apples, or nails into a well or spring at a magical hour every month.	Huh?
Masturbation, oral sex, dry sex (frottage)	Outercourse (Unnatural)	Sexual pleasure without inserting the penis into the vagina. Pregnancy is still possible with dry sex	Fertilization
Internet Sex, pictures, phone sex, massage		Sexual pleasure by sight, sounds, words, teasing, promises. This is the sin of lust	Contact
Injected Plugs	Barrier (Implants)	Liquid injected then hardens and blocks the flow of sperm in the vas deferens	Fertilization
Intra Vas Device (IVD)		Silicone implants that blocks the flow of sperm in the vas deferens	Fertilization
RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance)	Barrier and Spermicide (85%)	The compound blocks the vas deferens and breaks the cell wall of sperm that pass by, making the man infertile	Fertilization
Condom (89%)		Stops the exchange of sperm and body fluids. Only latex condoms can reduce the spread of STD	Fertilization
Female condom (79%)		Stops the exchange of sperm and body fluids	Fertilization
Diaphragm (83%)		Stops the sperm from entering the uterus	Fertilization
Cervical cap (77-83%)		Stops the sperm from entering the uterus	Fertilization
Male Sheath		Oiled linen, goat bladders, animal intestines, blowfish intestines, horn, tortoise shell, leather, and vulcanized rubber	Fertilization
Female Suppository		Crocodile dung, oiled paper, olive oil, honey, beeswax, sea sponges or cloth soaked in vinegar or lemon juice, quinine, rock salt and alum	Fertilization
Gel, foam, cream, sponge, suppository, or film	Spermicide (50-80%)	Chemical spermicide, kills the sperm. They are often used in combination with other methods to increase the chance of success.	Fertilization
Tight Underwear (Suspensories)		Thermal spermicide. Body heat causes low sperm count	Fertilization
External Heat		Heat kills the sperm. It is applied by sauna, ultrasound, hot water, incandescent light bulb	Fertilization
IUD (Intra Uterine Device) "The Coil"	Intrauterine Implant (99%)	Prevents implantation by irritating the lining of the uterus. Copper is a spermicide	Implantation Fertilization
IUS (Intra Uterine System)		Contains Progestin hormone	Production
Ancient IUD		Pebbles, glass, metal, gut and silver wire (1920's)	Implantation
("The Pill") Oral Contraceptives	Hormones (Estrogen and Progestin) (99%)	A combination of hormones that prevent ovulation (the formation and release of an egg)	Production
The Patch		Medicine given every week by a patch on the skin	Production
The Ring		A ring inserted into the vagina every month has drugs	Production
Potions		Mercury, urine, animal parts, and copper sulphate. Don't laugh! Horse urine is used to make "The Pill".	Production
Male contraceptive	Testosterone	Prevents sperm production	Production
Glycoprotein	Enzyme	Prevents sperm from recognizing and binding to the egg by mimicing a glycoprotein in the cell wall of the egg	Fertilization
Plan-B ("Morning After Pill") Emergency Contraceptive	Hormones (Progestin Only) (99%)	Used within 72 hours after sex. Releases high doses of progesterone which tells the body not to ovulate	Production
		If ovulation has occurred it prevents fertilization and makes the egg wall difficult to penetrate by the sperm.	Fertilization
		If sperm and egg have joined it prevents the cells from attaching to the wall of the uterus	Implantation
Norplant		Time release capsules implanted under the skin and gives long term suppression of ovulation	Production
Depo-Provera		An injection of Progestin every three months	Implantation
RU-486 ("Abortion Pill")		Reduces progesterone and causes menstruation and the loss of pregnancy	Implantation Gestation
Tubal Ligation	Surgical (99%)	Stops the egg from travelling down the fallopian tube	Fertilization
Tubal Implant		Scar tissue forms around a metal coil inserted into the fallopian tube and blocks the tube	Fertilization
Hysterectomy		Removal of the uterus	Fertilization
Vasectomy		Stops the sperm from travelling down the vas defrens	Fertilization
Castration		The testicles and sometimes the penis removed	Contact
"Sub-incision"		Cut a small hole in the male urethra at the base of the penis. During ejaculation semen leaks out of the hole	Fertilization
Menstrual Extraction		Contents of uterus sucked out when period is due	Gestation
D&C		Opening the cervix and scraping the lining of the uterus	Gestation
Abortion (Surgical)		Killing an unborn baby	Birth
Abortion (Herbal)	Hormones, pH	Inducing abortion with herbs. Evening Primrose, black cohosh, blue cohosh, angelica, parsley, pennyroyal, tansy, pineapple, vitamin C	Implantation Gestation
Threat, violence	Mental	Psychological pressure to have an abortion	Birth

Comstock Law, "Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles for Immoral Use".
This law which was enacted on March 3, 1873 banned "dirty books", birth control devices and information on such devices, abortion, and information on sexuality and on sexually transmitted diseases. In a 1938 case involving Margaret Sanger, Judge August Hand lifted the federal ban on birth control. It ended the use of the Comstock Law to target birth control information and devices.
Abstinence is the only method that is 100% effective against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Latex Condoms are the only birth control method that has any effect on STDs and it is not 100% effective.

Definition of Ritual Purity.
We have defined "unclean" as realiies that will not exist in heaven. In the case of uncleanliness because of the menstrual cycle notice the following.

• Unclean. A woman is unclean during menstruation and seven days after. Notice that these are the days that she is least fertile. She is unclean because she cannot be fruitful and multiply at will.
• Clean. A woman is clean during the time that she is most fertile. She could be the mother of the Messiah, the desire of all women.

Definition of Fornication.
Fornication is any sexual contact before marriage or sexual contact after marriage with any person other than your spouse of a biblically sanctioned union. This includes any of the alternate sexual methods.
Technical Virgins. So there are Christian girls involved in highly risky sexual behavior who think they are still virgins because they have an intact hymen. In fact, although they cannot get pregnant they can get a sexually transmitted disease. They are guilty of fornication and confusion.
Sexual Abomination. Having an unnatural sexual contact within your species.
Confusion. Having an unnatural sexual contact whether or not you are married, within or outside your species. Using a body part, object or creature for a purpose for which they were not designed. (Leviticus 18: 22-23).

Abortion and the Definition of Human Life.
The debate about birth control, abortion and murder centers around your definition of when life begins.

• Before Fertilization. There is no life that can exist if it is placed in any friendly environment.
• After Fertilization (1 day). Conservative groups define life as beginning at conception (fertilization), ten days before implantation.
• At Implantation (10 days). Life begins when the embryo is implanted.
• After Implantation (12 days). Some secular sources define abortion as any removal of the growing cells on day twelve or two days after implantation.
• After Blood Flow (18 days). From the definition of life in the bible, life is not present unless there is blood. This is eight days after implantation. The heart and major blood vessels develop on day 16 to 17. Heart beats on day 20. Blood cells on day 21.
  For the life of the flesh is in the blood ... (Leviticus 17: 11)
• After Heart Beat (20 days). Since death was normally confirmed when the heart stopped beating, emotionally it seems that life is indicated when the heart starts beating. The heart beat begins by the third week.
• After The First Trimester (91 days). Others would define it as removal of life after the fetus can live on its own. This distinction is dependent on the current level of technology and is the basis of the definition of a legal abortion.

So, under the strict definition that a life begins at fertilization, any method that prevents implantation, gestation or birth is murder.
Birth Control. So there is no moral biblical basis, other than health concerns, for condemning the use of any method that prevents production, contact or fertilization by partners in a moral relationship that is allowed in the Bible.
If birth control is immoral, then under the same arguments so is celibacy. After all, God did command us to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1: 28). Celibacy is even worse because it could cause genocide in one generation and the end of humanity. So if you can pick and choose who should be celibate, then you should be able to pick and choose when to get pregnant.

Birth Control and the Bible.
The bible does not solve the problem of murder and the age of the unborn child. What is the relative value of a living human being, an unborn child and an unfertilized egg? Common sense and decency tells us that there is something wrong with killing a child in late term pregnancy or who can survive outside the womb.

• Murder. Exodus 20: 13. The sixth commandment prevents the deliberate taking of a life.
• Loss of a Pregnancy by Violence. Exodus 21: 22-25. The law on hurting a pregnant woman seems to place a lesser value on the life of the unborn child. If the woman dies, then the penalty for murder applies, but if the child dies then only a fine is paid. That fine is determined by the father. It is this law that seems to suggest that the death of an unborn child by violence that cannot survive on its own is not murder.
  Jewish Tradition. One tradition says that a child is not a person until it is half way out of the birth canal. The emphasis on life seems to depend on whether or not the human can breathe on its own. This act of drawing breath directly from God seems to be an important transition point, just as Bar Mitzvah is the point at which a person is responsible for the laws.
• Withdrawal ("Spilling the Seed"). Genesis 38: 9. Onan sinned by not giving a child to the wife of his dead brother. He was killed. He was from the tribe of Judah which had the privilege of being the ancestors of the Messiah. When he did this, he was potentially preventing the birth of the Messiah. He showed that He despised the birthright of the Messiah just as Esau did.
  This story might show the importance of the covenant or that even the unfertilized sperm was important. But the sexual reproduction design already wastes millions of sperm and menstruation wastes an egg so that could not be the complete answer. So it must be the connection to the Messiah for the descendants of Judah and not the act of withdrawal. Every seed of Judah was important because the Messiah was important.
  If killing an unfertilized egg or sperm was murder, then God could have designed them to be released at will during contact to guarantee a pregnancy. Some animals have the ability to hold a fertilized egg and implant it later! But the statistical design depends on the waste of millions of sperms.
• Valued Before Birth. There are many bible texts that suggest that you are valued before you are born. Jeremiah 1: 5 (The valued prophet). Psalm 139: 13-18 (The valued king).

Unfertilized Seed		Unborn Child			Living Human
Egg	Sperm	Embryo	Second Trimester	Third Trimester	Person
Birth Control		Legal Abortion		Illegal Abortion	Murder

The value of a pregnancy is based on the value set by the father. God is our Father. Since God died for all, then all people are valued. Looking at the case of withdrawal and the case of the unborn seems to suggest that when you know that life is valued by God then taking or preventing that life is murder.

The biblical position is not a contradiction. The evidence seems to support the fact that when a seed or the potential of a seed has high value then God communicates that information to the parents, otherwise the value is set by the human father. Therefore, it is murder for them to take the life or prevent the life that God values. Jesus was the only high value potential unfertilized seed from the tribe of Judah. His seed was so valuable that it was protected by law and announced for hundreds of years. John the Baptist was a high value unfertilized seed from the tribe of Levi. His father was notified within a month of the potential high value child. Jeremiah and David were a few of the valued fertilized seed. Perhaps the future prophet is a seed that is also valued. Your unborn child could not be the Messiah but perhaps your child could be a prophet or king or person who does a great work for God.
Abortion kills about 1.3 million children annually in the United States since it was legalized in 1973.

The Status of Women and Men
As with all puzzles, the status of men and women can be understood by looking at the covenant.

• Before Sin. It takes both a male and female to model the image of God. Neither one fully represents the characteristics of God alone. Neither do they represent him as two separate beings. But together in a faithful marriage they model God in totality.
  God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them. (Genesis 1: 27)
  Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him". (Genesis 2: 18)
  In our marriage to Christ, the Holy Spirit is our helper and constant companion.

  The Trickle Down Theory of Submission The concept of submission has been elevated to such an extent that it has become the natural relationship between man and wife in the Christian home. The argument says that when wives and children submit, then this relieves the stress on the husband and makes him happier and he can in turn make their lives more pleasant because he will be happier and will do better at his job and goals. The reality is that it now takes two incomes for most families to have even a modest home and the stress of home making and income earning has fallen more on women than men. The purpose of God is for us to learn to have respect and love for each other, not to set up a permanent male hierarchy that remains in one position perpetually.

• After Sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, they not only received the death penalty they were also cursed. Adam was sentenced to hard labor, with the land producing thorns. Eve was given pain in childbirth and told to submit to her husband.
  To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and He will rule over you". (Genesis 3: 16)
  Therefore, submission to someone other than God is a curse. It is not the glorious state we try to make it to be. It is not the ideal and it is not the original plan. Because Eve did not submit to God, she could have been sentenced to submit to the enemy she chose, Satan. Since he is the ultimate evil, that would not be wise. Instead she must submit to her husband, one who still might do the will of God. However, they both submitted their rights as rulers of the earth to Satan with enmity or a state of war between them.
  
  Learning From A Curse. Although submission is a curse, several conditions came as a curse, but they are states of being from which we can actually learn and grow.
  • Hard Work. While our minds are occupied with noble endeavors we have less opportunity to sin and more opportunity to improve the world.
  • Sleep. While our minds are at rest, we stop sinning. With eight hours of sleep and eight hours of work, the disciplines of work and sleep actually reduce our time to sin by two thirds.
  • Submission. Submission, helps the one who submits to help the dominant other to whom we submit to not sin!
  Submission will no more exist in heaven than will painful childbirth, an unyielding earth, hard labor or the sleep of death. Submission is not an open ended virtue. Submission is not a husband's right, but the wife's priviledge and courtesy through which she can learn about the humility of Christ and he can learn about responsibility and giving up his own needs.
  When a man sees his wife voluntarily and happily submitting to him he is faced with the same choice that Adam had when he chose to voluntarily sin so that he could be with her. Do I indulge in my own physical and emotional needs or do I act responsibly? Do I rule and conquer or do I serve?

  A Husband Like Christ A husband who submits totally to Christ is a great asset to his wife and children and to the community as he models the virtues of Christ.

  
  When a woman submits to her husband she is left with a similar choice of Eve. Do I know to whom I am submitting? Is he a man after God's own heart? This is why marriage is so important. If you choose a tyrant and an ungodly man, you will be a slave of evil.
• After the Crucifixion. In Christ there is no hierarchy among humans. We submit to God.
  Leaders. It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2: 28-29)
  One in Christ. For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3: 26, 28)
  And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husband as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5: 21-25)
  This is not an unconditional surrender. You cannot submit to wrong doing. He must also pass the test of behaving like Christ did towards the church. You must only obey in the Lord and in the law. You cannot submit to a pedophile, a drug addict, a gambler or a man who uses this priviledge and his family to fulfill his own lusts and destroy the family. Women are also subject to Christ and their responsibilities to their children.
  The mercy of Christ gives you the added responsibility of appealing to such a husband and helping him. However, when your life and safety and family are at risk you must choose Christ as the tender, loving husband to whom you will submit.
  Submission is not about your husband and his ego or a belief in a natural leadership endowed by God. Submission is about learning about what it takes to be like Christ in the role of Lord and Master and in His role as a slave. As a marriage learns to work out the dynamics of these opposing forces, they begin to model God who can only be totally seen in the image of male and female.

  A Wife Like Christ A wife who submits totally to Christ and then voluntarily to her husband is a great model of the humility and sacrifice of Christ, the peace maker.

  
  Submitting to a husband who submits to Christ is the ideal. But what about the less than perfect situation? You can and should submit to an unkind, hard and domineering husband. You chose him. But you should not submit to evil. Within reason, we must submit here too because the model of Christ is the model of one who gave up his rights and priviledges to bear unjust suffering.
  
  Unjust Suffering. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. (1 Peter 2: 18)
  In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they obsserve your chaste and respectful behavior. (1 Peter 3: 1)
  In the context of unjust suffering, God asks the righteous person to submit for the purpose of possibly leading the one over you to Christ. We must understand that because Christ submitted to unjust suffering and waited patiently for deliverance, He was able to win back our lives.
  But remember that the one who submits is being asked to give up their rights to one who does not have the right to take it away! This is not God's ideal or permanent plan, but it is a temporary strategy in the Plan of Salvation.
• After The Second Coming. In heaven there will be no marriages and we will learn the good ways and unlearn old misconceptions.
• After The Third Coming. In the new earth everything will go back to the original plan. We will even get married and have children again. Here is the proof. Even while we are still living under the ravages of sin, the husband and wife who can begin to live under God's original plan are the ones who are the best examples of the covenant. When we go back to the conditions of paradise, we will be submissive to each other because our driving emotion will never be to get our own way, but to constantly find every way possible to do something to make others happy.

In Perspective, Our Priorities
I am always fascinated with the power of the media and the marketing gods. They can sell anything, and make you feel grateful in the process.

Safe and Secure You have everything covered

Is your future secure?

There is a new definition for "need". What you need is what I can convince you to buy. What we think we need severely distorts any true risk or danger.

We need cellular phones, just in case our cars tumble off the road and we are left dangling upside down in a ditch with no one to hear us. And, this is such a common occurrence that we just need to spend another $100 per month to save ourselves from this impending disaster.

We need a gun just in case a robber breaks in the house, captures the women and children and kicks the dog. Yes, we saw the television news story, where that very scenario happened. We all know someone who is a victim of a violent crime in the past twenty years. Right!

We need that sprinkler system in the house, what if lightning strikes and knocks out the electrical system, turning off the electrically operated smoke alarms that we just installed last week to supplement the battery-operated ones just in case the batteries don't work.

We need the burglar alarm that comes with a twenty four hour on duty police man and a wireless call back to the main office and the police department, just in case the burglar gets through the gated front entrance, poisons the dog, disables the motion detection flood lights and disables the landline phone system.
Soon we'll be selling sprinkler systems for cars, just in case of that ever-so-prevalent car fire.

We need that special car that needs an elevator to get in to just in case we have an accident with a 70 foot truck.

We need to be free of our fears! Sell me something ... please! If I am supposed to be afraid tell me and sell me something to fix it.

"Honey, I just heard that the scientists have invented this new laser guided, computer-controlled imaging system. The space agency intends to use it on the International Space station, it can detect distant galaxies 100 light years away and abnormalities less than the size of a pin tip.
Do you think it can find out what the spot on my neck is?
What if we were abducted by aliens, injected with that blue stuff I see on those television shows and I am carrying an alien baby!!!! I need that test, now!!!"

It could happen.

We spend countless hours worrying over possibilities that happen less that 0.1% of the time. We spend thousands of dollars for remedies to problems that we have hardly seen or experienced in our circles. We think we will experience such devastating guilt if the impossible happens and we were too cheap to prepare for it. We deliberately find reasons to buy. We do not find reasons not to act.

Yet when we contemplate eternal life we find reasons not to investigate. We refuse to spend one hour on our eternal life, one hour to listen to God, ten minutes to talk to God. Five minutes to contemplate "What if this God exists ... just in case the Bible is right".

The Love of God and His Grief over the Lost
The smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever...
This sounds like we are back to the old argument, will the wicked be tormented for ever? No, this is about the sorrow of God. It is God who lives in the fire and smoke. The wicked cannot live in it. They are annihilated by it. While God mercifully wipes away all our tears and sorrows. And time fades our memories. God never forgets.

He remembers the children He lost, the ones He pleaded with, the ones who rejected Him. He remembers their brief agony the moment they accept the truth. When they realize that all is lost. He knows that sorrow is just regret at what they might have missed. That there was no true love lost for Him. But His love was always faithful.

Once in a while, He will take out a faded photograph of you and remember what might have been. Yes, the torment that was their life, your life, will forever be played over and over in His mind and God will not forget.

Eternal love cannot forget.
"Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you." (Isaiah 49: 15)

Summary: A Comparison of Christian Beliefs

Religious Belief	Conservative			Mainline	Liberal
	Conservative	Pentecostal	Other	Mainline	Liberal
God	Trinity	Father only	Trinity variations	Trinity variations	Myth
Jesus Christ	Divine	Human	Human	Not God, Good man	Did not exist, good man
Virgin birth	Truth	Truth	Mixed	Myth	Myth
Holy Spirit	Divine	Force	Force	Force	Not real
Satan	Source of Evil	Source of Evil	Source of Evil	Not real	Nonexistent
Bible	Inerrant	Inerrant	Inerrant	Nice stories	False stories
Immortality	Innate	Innate	God only	Innate	Innate
Death	Go to heaven or hell		Sleep in the grave	Heaven	Reincarnation
Hell	Eternal Punishing		Burns until it stops	Not real	Not real
Gifts	Helpful	Tongues necessary	Helpful	Man's effort	False stories
Salvation	Faith	Faith and evidence	Faith and works	Works	Works
Second Chance	Yes and No	No	One chance	Yes	Universalism
Commandments	Required (except Sabbath)		Required	Change with the times	Man determines morals
Creation	7 Days	7 Days	Creation - Evolution	Evolution	Evolution
Age of the Earth	6000 Years	Both	Both	Evolution	Evolution
Baptism	Immersion	Immersion	other	Sprinkling	Not necessary
Resurrection	Real	Real	Myth	Myth	Myth
Second Coming	Soon	Soon	Soon	Insignificant	Myth
Rapture	Real	Real	Myth	Myth	Myth
Prophecy	Futurist	Futurist	Mixed, Historicist	Praetorist	Irrelevant

There are many Christian doctrines and a few ceremonies. None are as essential as believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins, once, and that this death is acceptable to God as a sacrifice for our sins.
It is also essential to believe that Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead and that he has the power to raise us again to a new life. If we have no hope of resurrection, then our faith only serves as a moral compass while we are alive. If this is the case, then we might as well make up our own rules.
When we believe in God and accept his gift by faith, then his Holy Spirit begins to do a work of transformation in us so that we keep the law of God, not to get to heaven, but because it is our nature to do so. Doing evil is contrary to our new nature.