I realise this may get me into hot water with a few perhaps ………

i am doing my prac in a school atm and had to sit in on the RE (religious education) lesson.

although I did not hear any doctrinal teaching that i was adverse to, as in, incorrect from my understanding, i was disturbed that he had to give an explanation for a question that a student and another teacher had for him, when, as you listened to his answer, he really had no flippin idea what he was saying. Why can’t pentecostal/charismatic pastors (he was a pastor) simply say “I DON’T KNOW!” sometimes????????

well i think there are a couple of motivations behind such ….

1. they are too proud to admit they do not know

2. if they do not know in their mind they are discrediting their faith

and with that, if they did such (admit they do not know, it opens up discussion from people that may disagree with their point of view/bias etc

and few like to be questioned/disagreed with/challenged.

I had a particular reputation at bible college for always asking ‘hairy’ questions. I did not do it as a smart …. thing but as a curious/i am not happy with going along with the status quo of thinking. Even on non sexuality questions/issues i would find/come up with, particularly with referring back to original language i was often pulled aside after class or as time went on, before class and warned not to ask questions. I did anyway.

It seems to me in my experience in christendom anyway that they want all to think they have the answers for everything and their teaching is true, correct and accurate and final.

Isn’t that just what the catholics thought hundreds of years ago when martin luther had the rev that ‘we are justified by faith’, and when the catholics, lutherans and others damned the baptists for the evil of ‘baptising by full immersion’ and all of the above mentioned shunned the fresh ‘outpouring of the Holy Spirit’ at Azuza St which birthed the modern day pentecostal churches?

How is such attitude any different to this church history?

its a culture of answers…..its all there in the bible…..every answer you need for life…..God is not a mystery we can know HIM.

….and therein lies the seeds for all sorts of unhealthy things.

I was chatting to a friend the other day about this. He was saying that a visiting preacher at his church began his keynote speech at a men’s conference (I think…. lets just hope it wasn’t an ordinary church service!!) with the question: “Did Jesus masturbate?”.

Of course, everyone was in shock!!! His point, however, was not to be radical and free thinking, far from it! In fact his conclusion was that if we’re replused by that idea, then we shouldn’t masturbate either! A new dimension to the WWJD!! lol!

Personally, I kinda agree with everything everyone else has already said on this. Where the problem lies I think is not in the mechanical action necessarily – but the mental and visual stimulus which may go ‘hand in hand’ (sorry!! lol!) with this.

You have to ask – how does Jesus’ statements about looking = adultery come into play here? And also, what about the moral issues surrounding pornography (softcore, hardcore and everything in between!)? To what extent does the stimulus sometimes required (without being too detailed) mean that we in essence find ourselves objectifying other human beings ‘created in the image of God’. 😕

So for me, I haven’t really been comfortable with it from a moral perspective, because of these (often) intrinsic considerations. But I guess that this is really different for every one.

A new dimension to the WWJD!! lol!

now thats funny LOL 😆 😆

Does it really matter if he did? 🙄 😉 Im sure he had morning glories and such, he was after all human in body even if divine by nature.

I agree it would to him come down to what drives you and whats happening in your thoughts, going by what he teaches….I know its possible to feel “horny” LOL 😳 without anyone necessarily being the cause of that feeling and is easily “dealt” with 😆