mmf, hello, i just read your thread and am so so sorry you are here
i also want you to know that i admire you standing behind your convictions, because after all they are your convictions....i am a true believer in trusting your gut and doing what you think is correct for your situation
Thank you, grr. I appreciate that. And I am sorry to see anyone have to be here but it is a good place to be, in the circumstances. A lot of caring people. And I mean everyone! You too Starsky! (I mean that)
Me:56, W:51 D:26,S:24,S:22 Married:18 Bomb 9/27/06 Separated 11/27/06 Divorced 10/6/08 Leaving it up to God
I believe the Bible to be inspired by God and written by man. I think the translations from Aramaic to other languages may have changed certain passages and even a change of a word can change a whole meaning.
We have different parameters today that that of when the Bible was originally inspired...and things like those written in Leviticus (like a woman casting her eyes upon a man and being stoned) are ridiculous
I believe that the inspiration given by God is very evident in the Bible however, I believe the Bible itself, as a book, has been used to justify far too many atrocities to be THE word of God. The WORD of God, to me, is clear...it does not open itself to interpretation and it is for US. God speaks to me daily. As I believe He does to everyone. Some days I can hear Him like a bell and some days He is muddled because I am distracted.
I am not suggesting that God is telling you to find another partner.
I am merely suggesting that sometimes people ARE told to find a different partner...God tells them...and if you are suggesting that the Bible says that can't be true then I call foul because we do not know the words God speaks to others...we only know what He speaks to us.
This is where I would caution instead of following words written down by a fallable man that have changed through multiple translations and interpretations, we instead receive our messages from the Savior instead of assuming what He would tell us to do.
That is all.
Hi back to you and yours... I am sorry to hear about the kids being distant...They are at that age, where they want to be older than they are...the time will come when they will dream of being taken care of and worried over again
@Braveheart, the challenge was that I want looking for a theological discussion. The attitude is not that there is a difference of opinion but that I am recommended to look outside of my faith, which is the literal interpretation of the bible. I have good reason to believe as I do. While I avoid staying that someone else may be mistaken with their interpretation, others have no issue "seeing me straight". I am not angry but would appreciate the same courtesy to myself and others to accept that we believe God is telling us to stand for our marriages.
@Figgy, I'm sure I haven't had the focused bible education that you have (I'm being sincere), however, I dont read just one version of the bible but numerous plus I even review scripture on a site that performs direct interpretation from the aramaic texts. The reason is my desire to learn as much as I can because I am very hesitant to believe what another person says. After hearing a pastor or some other apologetic scholar describe particular passes or opinions regarding topics, I search out other references and verify in scripture. It is for this reason, that my faith is what it is.
Regarding Leviticus, I know that a lot of the more questionable "laws" are the Mosaic Laws, which particular pieces were discussed by Jesus as in when asked about the allowance of "doing away with a spouse". His answer was that God allowed it because of the "hardness of your hearts". Obviously, God wasnt too happy with a lot of the things that happened during that time but Jesus was carefully answering the questions from those trying to "catch him" in defying and denying Jewish law. During Hosea's time, God used the challenges with Hoseas marriage to the "adulterous" actions of Gods people to Himself.
I would normally avoid a debate or discussion on this topic, especially here, but am providing myreason for my stance. I have to believe that the bible I'd true or that none of it can be trusted. God can supernaturally protect His word among many versions and show to those that belong to Him, false doctrine our scripture that has been perverted. My point is that if the scripture, including the oldest manuscripts are not legitimate, ie not of divine origin, then none of what is contained within the bible is accurate or can be trusted. It is a logical assumption, in this case, that Jesus and even God is a fictitious set of characters. Do I believe this? Absolutely not.
New Age faith has seriously corrupted many churches, including non-denominational groups. People call themselves Christians and state that there are other ways to the Father other than through Jesus alone. This is in complete contradiction to scripture, where Jesus said clearly, "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is no way to the Father but through Me" All of the accepted vetsions of the bible are in agreement.
Figgy, I am not telling you what to believe. I am sharing with you what I believe and that my studies have led me to not only believe this but feel it with every fiber of my being. I hope I haven't offended you or anyone else because I care about you. Also thank you for what you said about my kids. I loved them very much and I believe everything will be fine someday.
Me:56, W:51 D:26,S:24,S:22 Married:18 Bomb 9/27/06 Separated 11/27/06 Divorced 10/6/08 Leaving it up to God
Figgi - I am so glad you said that God speaks to you daily. So, what would you do if you clearly heard God telling you that this whole journey that your spouse is on is for his salvation and that He (God) would restore everything to you? Wouldn't you do what God told you to do how ever long it took? Or - until God told you to do something else?
MMF - I understand your frustration and I am glad that you let it out. As hard as it was I think it cleared the air for so many answering here. For instance - I am starting to see the compassion in BH that I didn't see before. I always felt anger but now I feel compassion.
Starsky - my kids/stepkid are 20 and older. When this started with my husband my stepson told me that he guessed he would have to wait until he started his own family before he would ever have a family. It broke my heart. My oldest daughter was the one who figured out that my husband was in his MLC. (This is her stepdad.) Her comment to me was that we (our family) would just have to wait it out and hopefully things would be better in the end this time. (We went through this some 20 years ago with her Dad and we didn't give it enough time and we all moved on with our lives.) My youngest daughter who is 24 doesn't tell me much. She and my husband were really close and this whole experience has hurt her. To this day every once in a while she can cry for hours because of her pain. Yet, if she needs him or calls him to help her with something he will go to her and do whatever she needs. (She also cries about her dad too and he is just now apologizing to his daughters for what he put the family throuhg.) She supports my standing/waiting too.
Starsky - my stand is more than just what I believe the Bible says. I am doing what God has told me to do. Verbally told me to do. The scriptures just reinforce what I believe.
Also, I want everyone to know that I am well aware that not every marriage will be saved. I do believe that every marriage CAN be saved. I believe that God can change people (note what I said - God can change people) and then the marriage can be saved. I know how hard it is to wait and I don't condemn anyone who can't wait it out. (I gave up with my first marriage after waiting for 4 years.) You can't wait/stand without a GREAT support group and I can't do it without God helping me. BUT I don't want anyone telling me that my stand is wrong when I am listening to God. When you are listening to God you have to be very careful who/what you listen to as advice in the world. It's very hard. I have well meaning friends who say they are Christian tell me how to handle situations that just don't feel right to me. I have to pray about it and do what I feel/know is right. They are just now (after 4 1/2 years respecting me for my decision/s). And Satan will try and trick you to believe his voice is the voice of God and get you to do things that are contrary to scripture. It's a hard journey but it is worth it.
DBing is the same. Let go of the other person (let go and let God), change what needs to be changed in you (let God change/direct you), and give it time. Changing (DBing) is a life time process.
Oh...no offense taken...I find discussions like this strength building actually...
I would absolutely do what God told me to do until He told me to do something differently (or at least I would like to think that I would...)
That is, in fact, exactly what I was saying
I think we need to listen to what God is telling us to do instead of trying to figure it out on our own
sometimes we, humans I mean...not just us on MMF's thread tend to get a little to cerebral and into our own thoughts
we verify everything we do check and double check
faith is more about the listening the letting go
I explained faith to my kids when they were younger using Nemo
when Dori and Marlin are hanging on the whale's mouth and everything that Marlin knows tells him to hang on, Dori had faith...she let go...because she KNEW...not from everything she read or thought she knew because she didn't really KNOW KNOW...she just knew...
faith is the letting go and the trusting it will be OK
if God told me to hang out I would hang out
When God told me to pack up I packed up
I am learning not to question God...it's tough because I want to know the whys so I have back up for later but really there are no whys except because he is the Savior
I apologize for all of the mistakes in my last post. I was typing on my Evo 4G, and while it is a really good phone, the Swype technology can make replacements for similar words. I hadnt noticed so a number of words were replaced, making some of the sentences less clear.
