Brotherlawrence

Some right now might consider me a heretic and want to stone me for even asking such a question. However there are those within the gay community who would insist they were (lovers), and this can be proven from the Bible. So who's right?

There are only five scriptures that speak of any special love between Jesus and the Apostle John. They are as follows:

"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved." (John 13:23 NKJV)

"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!'" (John 19:26)

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When it comes to eunuchs many of us have been taught that it refers to a castrated male i.e. one who has had his testicles cut off. However I believe, scripturally speaking, that is only one of the definitions for a eunuch. The scriptures give three different types of eunuchs, as taught by Jesus.

"For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."
(Matthew 19:12 NKJV)

Jesus here describes three classes of eunuchs.

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In recent days there has been much discussion on what it means to be "Born Again".

Some would say it just a confession of faith and giving ones heart to the Lord. Others would insist that one must be baptized, speak in tongues, dress a certain way, subscribe to a certain doctrine, or belong to a particular church/denomination if they wish to be saved.

In the following I will try and explain what I believe the Bible teaches and what would be its answer on being born again.

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Brother Lawrence Damien  Cos (Community of Solitude) was born in Maine in 1948, started teaching/preaching in 1966, and was ordained to the ministry in 1970.

I was raised in the Congregational faith and later became Church of Christ, then Pentecostal, then Episcopal then Independent Catholic. which I still am today.

I was educated at Melodyland School of the Bible 1968-1970 Anaheim  California , San Jose Bible college one semester in 1972, and then Bethesda Bible College in San Jacinto, CA from 1999-2002. Also spent a year in 2003 at St. Michael Seminary in San Clemente California

I have served as Bible Teacher, Deacon, Elder and Pastor.

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After our recent meeting a friend of mine and I had a discussion on hell and whether or not it was a place of eternal suffering without end. Many of our Evangelical brothers would believe that it is a place of eternal suffering. However other Christians would say that all who are cast into hell will be consumed and cease to exist. Still others would insist that hell is a purifying process after which a person going through it would then be made pure to enter heaven. They would believe that in the end all men will be saved. So who is right? What does the Bible actually teach? The following is a study I have put together on the subject after prayer, research, thinking, and meditating.

OLD TESTAMENT THOUGHTS ON HELL

The first place where we encounter the idea of hell is in the Old Testament. It is called Sheol and is mentioned over 60 times. However it was not seen as a place of punishment. Instead it was seen as the common grave of all mankind. It didn't matter whether you were rich, poor, good, evil, master or slave you still went to Sheol. Job speaks of this idea when he says

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At a recent retreat I was at, the topic of forgiveness was discussed and various aspects of it. As I pondered more on what I heard and learned there I began to wonder what would true forgiveness look like? How could we recognize it. Is it simply a matter of saying "I'm sorry, please forgive me" and then forget about it or is there more too it? The following are some of my initial thoughts on this.

Chapter 1

What Does It Mean To Forgive?

To understand what it means to forgive we need to understand what justice is from a biblical perspective as well as what true peace is.

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.--Psalm 34:14 NRSV

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Session 1
Length of Time: 30
Opening Prayer

Hindu Peace Prayer

I desire neither earthly kingdom, nor paradise; not even freedom from birth and death.

I desire only the deliverance from grief of those afflicted by misery.

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A while back some of our people went into the "Mature Chat Room" on Christian Gays to discuss the idea of masturbation and "cumming". Dad Larry found out about it, which started him thinking about a series of studies, of which this is the first one. With that in mind, what does the Bible say about masturbation? Does it condemn it, as many of us have been taught? Originally the church viewed sex for one purpose only - that of procreation. Any other reason was therefore morally suspect and wrong. It was also seen as wasting seed that was intended to produce life. Thus the condemnation of masturbation, and any sex outside of marriage, defined as between a man and a woman. However, is that a correct Biblical interpretation, or is there another view?

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Within the straight and gay communities there are people who practice BDSM (Bondage, Discipline or Domination, Sadism and Masochism. This is a form of role play involving "slaves" and "masters".

I have no intention of either defending or endorsing, or condemning the practice. However there are principles within these activities, which are applicable to our lives as servants/slaves of God. I would like to look at those principles to see what we can glean from them in our walk with God, and becoming more Christ-like.

In the Bible there are two types of slavery mentioned.

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