As a Bible College graduate, why can't you see that Homosexuality is a sin?

One of my blog buddies Scott, left an interesting comment on my "Ellen DeGeneres Calls State Representative Sally Kern" post.

Here is part of his comment-

"I'm sorry, but I disagree. Maybe the Representative went a little far, but I fully believe the essence of what she was saying. The Bible is VERY clear that homosexuality is a sin. I am confused how you DON'T see it that way if you've been to Bible College. Of course I don't think it is any worse of a sin than anything else that God considers sin. I was a drunk for 6 years; I believe that when I was sinning in that manner, it was just as offensive to God as if I had been gay. Personally, I don't see why it is a sin, but I am going to go with the Bible on this. It is not MY place to judge, but if the Bible is the inspired Word of God, how can we overlook the passages that say being gay is detestable in the Lord's eyes?"
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Well Scott, you got my synapses firing with that comment. I don't know how long you have been a Christian, or what denomination you are. But I will try to answer you in what I believe is the best way for you, and for anyone who may be reading this.

The Bible might be written in black and white, but it is difficult to interpret. The Bible is 66 books written by about 40 authors over a period about 1500 years. It was written in a different time, county, language, and very different customs. Studying the Bible, and being familiar with these differences are imperative to the understanding of it.

Years ago, I made a serious study of homosexuality. I had been listening to much to others, which confused me because I heard dogmatic teaching both pro, and con. Ministers seemed to vehemently believe that they were correct, and determined to prove others wrong. I was searching for the truth, and was getting no where. So I decided to make a study for myself. I knew that it would be tedious work, numerous hours, but took on the task.

First I wrote down the main scriptures that I thought had to do with homosexuality. It was awhile back. I used books not a computer. I read each passage, chapter, and became familiar with them. I read the main verses in 6 different Bible versions writing them all down. That was interesting in itself. For example. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 the Greek word Malakos is translated- effeminate (KJV), male prostitute (NIV), is a pervert (Promise) and homosexuals (Living Bible). So which one was it?

I had to find out what was meant by going back to the original language of the Bible, Old Testament Hebrew, New Testament Greek. I'm not a Greek, or Hebrew scholar so need to use some very good study books. I used The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of Bible, W.E. Vine Expository Dictionary both Old and New Testament, and Nelsons Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament by Unger, and White. What I found was fascinating. For example the word Sodomite in my American dictionary means male homosexual, but the definition in the original language is very different.

During a study of the history, I realized that in some cases the main theme was prostitutes who worshiped idols by having sex, (including homosexual sex). This is sometimes refereed to as shrine prostitution, or religious prostitution. Excerpt from Today's Handbook of Bible Times and Customs by William L. Coleman - "The pagan religious that surrounded and contaminated Israel's history frequently practiced some form of cult prostitution, usually centered on the theme of fertility. . . One means of pleasing the fertility gods was to engage in sex with the female or male prostitutes available at the temple. As bizarre as this may sound, the practice was common; it endured into New Testament times and frequently was assimilated into the worship of Jehovah "

The key in understanding the Bible is to make a serious study for yourself, trying to keep an open mind, open heart, and with prayer.

I have several books on how to study the Bible. Unfortunately I don't have one very good book. Therefore, I will compare them, and show you several recommends. The majority of these recommendations are widely accepted. You may be able to find many of these books over the internet.

The study books emphasis that before you study a book of the Bible, read a summery about it. (Bible study guides). You should know 1. Who- Who is writing the book, and who is it being written to. 2. Location. 3. Main Events 4. Major Ideas 5. When it was written.

BIBLE STUDY TOOLS-

It's good to have at least one in each category. You can fine may of these tools listed in the "On-line Bible Study Tools" section below. (If this section seems overwhelming go to the bottom and read the "Shortcut Version of Bible Study Tools.")

Study Bibles

Scofield Reference Bible, Ryrie Study Bible, NIV Study Bible, Life Application Bible.

Bible Handbooks

Eerdmans, plus Bruce & Stan's Guide to the Bible, are my personal favorites. Halley's, Unger's.

Concordance

Strong's Concordance, Young's Concordance, Cruden's Concordance.

Bible Dictionary

New Compact Bible Dictionary by Bryant, New Bible Dictionary by Douglas, Unger's Bible Dictionary.

Commentaries

Unger's, Jameson Faucett Brown, Matthew Henry, Wycliffe

Bible Manors and Customs

Eerdman's Family Encyclopedia, Haper's Encyclopedia of Bible Life, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands.

Meaning of Words, (no knowledge of Greek or Hebrew necessary.)

As stated before in my study - Strong's and Nelson's. Vine's (old and new testament). Vine died before he could finish his book on the Old Testament, it's excellent, but incomplete. That's why I bought Nelson's, to supplement. Nelson's is a gem, my favorite. It's best to use all these books, or the equivalent because this study is heavy on original language. If I had to choose only one I would chose Strong's. It's complete. It has both Old and New Testament, and is wildly accepted. However, I find having a second set, with the authors comments, improves my understanding.

METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY

How to study the Bible - A good comprehensive teaching. An excellent website!

The Eight Rules of Bible Interpretation - Good practical tips to always keep in mind.


ONLINE BIBLE STUDY TOOLS

Top 4 On-line Bible Search

Bible Toolbox

Bible.org

The Unbound Bible

crosswalk.com

Bonus- rbc Ministries - Good devotionals

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SHORTCUT VERSION OF BIBLE STUDY TOOLS
(Bible Study, a less comprehensive method.)

It's good to read "The Eight Rules of Bible Interpretation" and keep them in mind when studying. Go to crosswalk.com . Use the search tools to find the scriptures that you want to study. Read several Bible translations. You can read various references like dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, etc. BiBlos.com may be a better site for a word study.

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If you want to make a lighter, or everyday, Bible study about something, then you don't need as many Bible study tools. (See link- How to study the Bible, second paragraph) But if you want to really dig into the meat of the word, especially difficult portions of scripture, then I would advise using more Bible study tools, as I have listed. I had a pastor who used to repeatedly say, "In order to understand the Bible you need to know the 1.) Context, and keep it in context 2.) History 3) Original Language." He didn't mean that you need to be fluent in Greek, and Hebrew, but have the study tools to find out what actually was being said. If you look at the link "The Eight Rules of Bible Interpretation", it has those three elements included, and are good rules to keep in mind.

THE FINAL WORD by Rev. Dr. Kathlyn James
"The only way we will arrive at a consensus on how this question should be answered is by taking time, over the coming year, to examine ourselves, study the Bible, think, read, pray, listen, and share our diverse life experiences with each other, asking together what God is calling this congregation to do and be."

Some Bible study material was from- How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It by skip Heitzig, How to Study The Bible For Yourself by Tim LaHaye, and Guide To Understanding Your Bible by Josh McDowell. Mr. McDowell has a huge list of Bible study book helps in the back of his book. Many that I was not able to mention. The list that I gave was basic, not comprehensive.

Disclaimer: Even though I have posted many online links, and mentioned many books that does not mean that I agree with everything said in those books, or links.


Related Post: What I believe about Homosexuality and the Bible

I have Evidence!

(Betsy walked into Linda's office with several office memos tucked under her arm.) You know I don't like a lot of office memos. I asked you not to send so many, but you did. I have EVIDENCE! (She yelled as she slammed the memos down on her coworkers desk).

(Linda looked stunned. It was obvious she didn't see this coming. She knew that Betsy had a problem with the volume of memo's, and thought that she had cut back on them to Betsy's satisfaction.)

(Betsy unloaded on Linda. Pointing to the office memos) Look! This is from 1/20, 1/19, 1/15, 1/14 etc. EVIDENCE! You are being disrespectful to me!

(Linda thumbed though the office memos with a bewildered look on her face. She never expected this outburst of anger. And Betsy had said nothing since Linda cut down on the memo's to her. Linda thought that things were fine between them.)

Just a moment Betsy. (Linda said, as she sifted though the responses to the office memos that Betsy sent to her.)

Ah, here it is. Here is your letter that you sent to me requesting that I cut down on office memos to you. Your letter states that I should send you office memos "once or twice a week, or less frequently." Later, you sent me a reminder letter that was very vague. It states. Send me memos "sometimes, off and on". I know that I cut down, (Linda explained.) I didn't actually count the memos at the time, (Linda picked up, and looked at the memos), but it looks like on average it was twice a week. I thought I was doing well in that area for you. You are the only one here that has a problem with my memos, but I cut down on the ones that I send to you, at your request. I have several people that I send memos to on a more frequent basis, they seem to enjoy them. I get a good response. Besides that, I have keep the memos to you shorter, and of a less personal nature. Keeping things light.

You see Betsy, I enjoy sending office memos to people, like you enjoy Blogging. Plus it is my main means of communication, but I cut down at your request. I thought that I was doing rather well, and was surprised to see you so angry when you entered my office. In the month that I cut down on office memos, you gave no indication whatsoever that you had a problem with my memos. This came out of the blue. I feel that I have bent backward to meet your request, but you did not appreciate my effort.

Related Post: Betsy and Linda (Office Talk)

10 Tips To Speed Up Your Metabolism and Lose Weight

"10 Tips To Speed Up Your Metabolism and Lose Weight". I did some research for my diet. I think these tips will help me, and I hope that they will help others too.

1) Eat a good breakfast. The word "breakfast" literally means break a fast. Your body has fasted all night, and needs energy. Your metabolism slows while you sleep, eating helps to rev it back up. It may be the most important meal of the day. A 300 to 400 calorie meal is recommended.

2) Exercise regularly. Aerobic exercise in particular is good. Experts differ a bit. Some say at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes minimum. Others say at least 4 times 30 minutes a day. Examples are jogging, biking, walking quickly, swimming, basketball.

3) Consume more protein. Protein can boost your metabolism, so you can burn an extra 150 to 200 calories a day. Some lean sources of protein are fish, chicken, yogurt, low-fat cheese, legumes, skinless chicken, lean meat.

4) Go for good Carbs. - Stay away from refined carbs such as bagels, white bread, potatoes, these can increase insulin promoting the storage of fat. Some good carbs are most vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

5) Load up on low-fat dairy. In one study done by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences Journal of Nutrition showed that women who ate more milk, yogurt, and cheese 3 to 4 times a day lost 70 percent more body fat then women who didn't.

6) Pump Iron. Weight training is a good way to crank up your metabolic rate. A pound of muscle burns up to 9 times the calories of a pound of fat. You can get great results with only two 15-minute lifting sessions a week. As long as they're performed to muscle fatigue.

7) Get some sleep. Studies show that lack of sleep can derail your metabolism. Schedule your workouts at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime.

8) Chill out. Long-term stress can increase stress hormones which stimulate fat cells, and encourage fat storage. The stress hormones increase appetite, making you likely to overeat. So allow yourself 10 to 15 minutes every day to enjoy a relaxing activity. Examples are, play with your dog, write in your journal, listen to classical music.

9) Drink green tea. There's evidence that it contains antioxidants that speed up metabolism.

10) Eat smaller, but more frequent meals. This helps to stabilize your insulin, and kick your metabolism in high gear. Some studies suggest eating 4 or 5 small meals a day. Other studies say to eat 3 small meals with 3 low cal snacks in-between.


Info in this post was based on...

WebMD

Weight loss resources co. UK

The Red Book Magazine

Blogging Tip: Deleting A Post

I recently deleted a post entitled, "An Immature Response". It was deleted from my blog, however, it is still on my RSS reader. I contacted RSS, and left them an e-mail concerning it. Hopefully they will tell me how to delete it from the reader. Live and learn.

I believe that I have figured out how to circumvent this problem in the future. Next time I want to delete a post, I will change the content first. First I would erase everything. Then I would key in "This post has been deleted", or something similar. Then I would wait until I saw the change in my RSS reader, (takes hours sometimes), THEN delete it.

Blogging is certainly a craft to be learned. And so much to learn! Networking in itself is an art of it's own. Also I am in the process of finding blogs to add to my blogroll. I have found a few, and should be adding them soon, but it's taking much more time then I thought it would.

I signed up for "Google Alerts" about 2 weeks ago, but have not received anything yet by e-mail. I signed up a second time listing more categories, but still nothing. So I go to Google Alerts, and do it manually. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Hopefully I will figure that out soon.

Book: The Temujin Loop, by Bruce Bennett

I am very proud of my cousin Bruce Bennett who is now a published author! He wrote "The Temujin Loop". The book is in hardcover as well as paperback, and can be purchased at Barns & Noble, Borders, Target, and other stores. This book is a must read for fiction, and adventure lovers. Read more below.

From Bookstore Xlibris