Did God punish all women with painful and even fatal childbirth because of Eve’s sin? In Genesis 3:16 most English translations say the woman will have painful childbirth as a result of Eve’s sin, however, the Hebrew words used don’t exactly match that.
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Praying in the Spirit (in Tongues)
What is speaking in tongues? Is it demonic? What does it look like? What is its purpose? Some people are against it because they don’t understand it but it is in the bible and listed as one of the gifts of the spirit. There is a debate about whether or not it is just a supernatural translation of foreign languages or a purely spiritual language that must be interpreted by the spirit for an assembly when spoken in public. One question is, why would there be a separate gift of interpretation if it was just the ability to speak any language?
Continue readingStoning in the New Testament
Are people supposed to be getting stoned to death in the new covenant? The Moral laws of the old testament, still apply because they preexisted in the Sinaitic covenant (law of Moses). Adultery, murder, stealing, etc, were sins in Genesis, so rather than being specific to Israel, these laws apply to all people, through the Adamic (Adam’s) and Noahide (Noah’s) covenant. However, under the new covenant judgment for moral laws is saved until final judgment (Matt 13:24-30). This is why Jesus didn’t engage in immediate judgment (like calling fire from heaven) when Samaritans rejected him in the first century, even though James and John suggested it (Luke 9:51-56). Christians don’t stone people in the new covenant because Jesus will judge them at the end, until then they have time to repent and get saved by receiving the holy spirit.
Continue readingSins of the Parents and their Children
Does God punish children for the sins of their parents? What about punishing parents for their children’s sins? There seems to be conflicting scripture on this but I believe there is a simple explanation.
Continue readingPersecution vs Punishment
Peter makes a very clear distinction between persecution and punishment. When bad things happen and people mistreat Christians, they must ask themselves, “do I deserve this”? If we did something to another we must apologize, but if they are just haters then we rejoice as James 1:2-4 says so that our faith can grow, and we are to love on and pray for our enemies as Jesus says in Matt 5:43-48, Paul echoes this in Romans 12:9-21. We must always remember that God is our avenger and we must not retaliate against people who harm us (Deut 32:35). Let’s look at some of Peter’s writing on the subject.
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