Christos

I voted "no". I have never needed proof. Scholasticism, which was greatly taught by Thomas Aquinas brought much heresy and destruction to the church . Scholasticism is the attempt to explain everything. Some things can't be explained. I think this speaks for itself.Jesus was basically saying that Thomas had the advantage in belief in that he saw the death and resurrection with his eyes. Modern man however, does not see the death and resurrection with his eyes but rather with his faith, which gives great vision.

1. How/why did you become a believer of Mormonism? I'm not . Though I did spend about 4 months in the church. 2. What is your main attraction to your faith? Beauty, age and a firm foundation on doctrine. 3. What do you think that Evangelicals believe about Christianity? (God/Jesus/Salvation/Bible) I would rather not judge other persons. I do however believe that since finding Orthodoxy I have found a "fullness" of Christianity which was never filled with either Protestant, LDS or the Roman churches. 4. What do you think are the serious differences between Mormonism and Christianity? Why? The LDS do not accept the basic statement of faith which was settled in 385AD and first conceived in 325AD. The Nicene Creed. Their ideas about a three tiered heaven which is a strange interpretation of a quite explicit depiction by Paul on the difference between the saints. Their trinitarian views. Their view that the word is more than just bible. Eternal Marriage. They accept Joseph Smith as a prophet and believe that they will face Jesus, Father and Him at Judgement. That the LDS believe that the Father has a physical being . 5. Briefly, what are your views regarding: a)Highest Source/Authority (writings, leaders, etc), b)God, c)Jesus, d)Spirits, e)Humans, f)Salvation, g)Church/God's People, h)Future/Afterlife a) There is no authority but God. B) God is one, universal. God is three co-existant essences. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All parts of the trinity are of one essence, consubstantial. c) Jesus is God incarnate. He was born of the ever virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies, and to save mankind through his perfect, immaculate sacrafice. d) Spirits? Dangerous word! If you are referring to the Heavenly Host, that is too big to discuss. e) Humans are fallen beings. Created in the image of God, this means, perfect, not, big white beard and pink nightgown as Michelangelo depicted him (I wonder if Michelangelo realised how much trouble he would cause with that painting ). Marriage is between a man and a woman but it is written that there shall be no marriage in heaven. When man is resurrected at the last judgement, the church (the communium of the saints) shall become the "bride of Christ". f) Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by the mercy of God. g) Woah! Huge subject! The church is the communium of the saints. That is, anyone who is baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. However, baptism is not necessary for salvation, the mercy of God is. As I said, huge topic. h) Heaven. Revelations paints a nice picture . (again, huge topic, I am too tired to write my usual 4000 word essays this morning ) 6. Do you now, or have you ever had any doubts about Mormonism? If so, what are those doubts, and why? I don't believe it is good for me to answer that. When I found the Orthodox church I knew "this is home". 7. Do you have assurance of salvation? This is the same as saying "are you saved". To which I use the continous present, "I trust that by the grace of God I am being saved". It is possible to fall away. Daily prayers and bible reading help keeps me focused on God and thus on salvation. Saying that, I haven't said my morning prayers yet . I'll be back in about an hour

I thought it was good Lindy.

Decibels are a measure of volume, frequency is a measure of pitch. I can still hear 19000hz but if you wanted to keep me out of your grounds, set it to 17000, it sounds like am having a migraine! Horrible! BTW, do any of you get high pitch sounds when you get migraines? This applies to headaches as well. The lowest I can hear is 68, but it is more of a vibration than a sound. Arghhh! 17000 is really digging into me now. It isn't instant, it takes a while for it to affect you. It is like a dentist drill. I can even smell the sound, so sterile and metallic.

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso. 17. When The Money Comes Out of the ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

I believe that the most dangerous of emotions or mindsets is Pride. It can lead to so many bad things and is usually the root of the evil. (K.J.V. of 1611) Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction: and an hautie spirit before a fall. Pro 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, then to diuide the spoile with the proud. (K.J.V. as we know it ) Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Pro 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Gotta love the Early Modern English spelling

On one of my trips to Turkey, I went to Marmaris and sampled their Turkish Delight. It was so much nicer than the stuff we get imported. I prefer the clear jelly stuff to the stuff with coconut sprinkles on it and rolled up. Of course, it is extremely fattening.

I must agree. The Youth board isn't as busy as it ought to be. But the main forums are usually quite busy.

The purpose of life is to serve God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To keep the commandments and to give pleasure to God.

Heres one of my favourite pictures of the Lake District which I took. The lake is Lake Windemere, the most well known lake. Nearby is the home of William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter (the creator of the Peter Rabbit books) And here is one of my favourite pictures I took of Snowdonia (my favourite place to go for hiking) Yes, the weather was pretty awful, it was Spring so the weather was even more unpredictable than normal. And here is a picture of approaching the summit of Mount Snowdon.

Strictly speaking there are no mountains in England. They don't surpass the 1000 metre mark. But they are increadibly impressive, especcially the crags. The hills were carved by ice in this area of England during the melting of the glaciers. Wales has a mountain, mount Snowdon which I have climbed.....okay, I caught the steam train to the top . It was freezing at the top and it is strange to be stood above the cloud. You could climb to the absolute summit but it was dangerous because of the high winds and the clouds which momentarily blind you as they fly past. Scotland has plenty of Mountains. I love the lake district and will be going camping there in a few weeks. I love tent camping but the friends I am going with want to hire a chalet instead, so it isn't really camping but more like renting a chalet. Personally, I love to camp. But I haven't for so long. . It is costing us hundreds of pounds to hire the chalet when we could just camp for a small fee.

I already have my perfect trip sorted out. Start off on Mount Athos in Greece. Move on to Constantinople (otherwise known as Istanbul ) Take a boat down to Lesvos (a Greek Island) Cruise down the Turkish coast down to the Dodecanese, a series of Islands I have fallen in love with through many vacations there. Spend a few days in Crete. Move on to Crete. Take a ferry to the Holy land. See the Sea of Galilee Go to Iraq to see the remains of the Babylonian empire (hopefully without being blown up in the process) See Sinai and Alexandria (Egypt). If I could only choose one place, it would be, Mount Athos.

Straight away I too thought of that strange poem by William Wordsworth, made famous by the music set to it by Hubert Parry. And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green And was the Holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen Bring me my bow of burning gold Bring me my arrows of desire Bring me my spear - O clouds unfold Bring me my chariot of fire I will not cease from mental fight Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand 'Til we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land Here are some problems with this text (sorry Mr Wordsworth, you are a great poet) England does not have any mountains England did not exist till much after Christ's time. (the land may have but the name "England" certainly didn't) Wordsworth (in my interpretation) is writing about how the church has always seemed to have existed in England. And indeed it has. The church has existed in England well before the famous crossing by St Augustine. There is evidence of Christianity upon these islands from the first century. BTW, there are some texts which were recently found which talk about Jesus living with Buddhists in India (or Hindustan as it was known). I consider this far more likely, though (as you may guess) extremely dodgy.

Actually, I find the mystery quite sexy . I do like the italian humour in the opening post. If there is one thing the Italians are good at, it is sarcastic humour.

The Lenten season in the Orthodox church is not a small amount of time. It must have taken up a good fifth of the year. Myself, I like vegetables and rarely eat ready made meals. I love cooking and bake my own bread and make my own meals. Generally if I want a meat, I might have salmon, trout or chicken. I am more of a fish person than I am for heavy red meats. My family has a strong Arthritis gene and I am trying to keep up on Omega 3 and the oils to lubricate my joints even when I am young. I play piano often as well to stop the fingers and wrists from stiffening up. Yesterday people said they heard me crack when I got out of a chair . I grow a few fruits in our garden and there is nothing better than fresh fruit. As for vegetables, we do try to get it from local farms. Humans are omnivores, not carnivores. Though we should lean more towards the Herbivore. The refrigeration point was very true. I don't know if you have heard of the amazing poet William Wordsworth but he lived near me and his house was built over a brook. The room which was directly over the brook was the refrigeration room. Obviously not everyone could have their own cool brook. Also people had to preserve their meats in ways we don't need to now, like salting, pickling, smoking and soaking it in brandy or another strong alcohol. Yes alcohol does serve a purpose as a preservative. Lord Nelson was preserved in Brandy when his corpse was shipped back to land after the battle of Trafalgar.