The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as THEMESSAGE//REMIX: PAUSE: A DAILY READING BIBLE ( THE MESSAGE ).  Ephesians 5:29 reads as follows:

"No one abuses his own body, does he?  No, he feeds and pampers it.  That's how Christ treats us, the church."

From this passage in the Holy Bible, we can see that smoking, for example, is a sin ( see 1 John 3:4, for example ), since it is a means of abusing one's body.  An increased risk of lung cancer, for example, has been linked to cigarette smoking ( see note below ), for example, and this is just some of the evidence which indicates that smokers abuse their own bodies.

     Moreover, smoking electronic cigarettes is also sinful.  The phrase "throat hit" is defined as follows ( as found on the website: http://ecigone.com/e-cigarette-basics/throat-hit/ ):

"Throat hit refers to the feeling you get when you inhale nicotine. While most people find this sensation fulfilling and expected when they smoke, it’s actually a form of mild irritation."

Thus, whether inhaling nicotine from a regular or electronic cigarette, such an act is the abuse of one's body. In the situation whereby an e-liquid with zero nicotine is used ( with regard to smoking an electronic cigarette ), the act is still sinful. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 reads as follows: "Throw out anything tainted with evil."  The act of smoking an electronic cigarette, in this situation, is "tainted with evil": the act itself is associated with negative implications.  Worded similarly, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 ( KJV; with center-column references, for example ) reads as follows:  "Abstain from all appearance of evil."  Therefore, God has commanded ( see Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, for example ) that we, as Christians ( see Psalm 50:5 and Acts 11:26, for example ), abstain from even the appearance of evil.  See also Psalm 22:22, 25; 40:9, 10; 119:13, 65-73, 142, 151, Matthew 28:18, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:17, Romans 1:16; 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), Colossians 2:8, 9, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ( especially verses 7 through 10, for example ), Titus 1:1, 2, 1 John 5:6-8, and Revelation 2:10, for example.  Please study the Holy Bible ( see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

NOTE:  Please visit the American Cancer Society website ( www.cancer.org ) and click on the appropriate links, for example.

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as THEMESSAGE//REMIX:PAUSE: A DAILY READING BIBLE ( THE MESSAGE ).  The following two quotations are taken from this version of the Holy Bible:

". . . the Bible you hold in your hand is arranged by days.  Every day you will read selections from both the Old and New Testaments.  The 312 daily selections will take you through the Bible in one year.  Every seventh day is a time for reflection with no assigned reading.  If that pace feels too quick, look for pause marks within every selection . . . that effectively divide each reading in half."  [  See THEMESSAGE//REMIX:PAUSE: A DAILY READING BIBLE, PETERSON, EUGENE H., NAVPRESS, THE MESSAGE//REMIX: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Copyright 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson, p. 5.  ]

The second quotation is as follows:

"The Message is a reading Bible.  It is not intended to replace the excellent study Bibles that are available.  My intent here . . . is simply to get people reading it who don't know that the Bible is read-able [ sic ] at all, at least by them, and to get people who long ago lost interest in the Bible to read it again.  But I haven't tried to make it easy-there is much in the Bible that is hard to understand.  So at some point along the way, soon or late, it will be important to get a standard study Bible to facilitate further study."  [  Ibid., p. 9.  ]

     Hebrews 4:12 reads as follows:

"God means what he says.  What he says goes.  His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey."

God's powerful word is able to lay us open, so to speak, with regard to our doubts or defenses.  The wording in Hebrews 4:12 ( THE MESSAGE ) is similar, but brief, in comparison to Hebrews 4:12 ( KJV; with center-column references ), which reads as follows:

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  Please study the Holy Bible ( see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ).  Ephesians 4:25 reads as follows:

"Therefore, stripping off falsehood, let everyone speak truth with his neighbor, because we are intimately related to each other as parts of a body."

God has commanded ( see KOHELET ( ECCLESIASTES ) 12:13 and 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, for example ) that we, as Christians ( see TEHILLIM ( PSALMS ) 50:5 and Acts 11:26, for example ), speak truth with our neighbor.

     When we refuse to admit that we have made a mistake, for example, we are failing to speak truth with our neighbor.  Failure is not admitting one has made a mistake: it is refusing to admit one has made a mistake.  MATTITYAHU ( MATTHEW ) 7:21-23 read as follows:  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants.  On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord!  Didn't we prophesy in your name?  Didn't we expel demons in your name?  Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?'  Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you!  Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!'"  The heavenly Father ( see MATTITYAHU ( MATTHEW ) 5:9, 16; 6:9, 14, for example ) wants us to speak truth with our neighbor, by admitting when we make a mistake, for example.  Failure to do what He wants is working lawlessness.  Please study the Holy Bible ( see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).  See also TEHILLIM ( PSALMS ) 22:22, 25; 40:9, 10; 119:13, 65-73, 142, 151, MATTITYAHU ( MATTHEW ) 28:18, YOCHANAN ( JOHN ) 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:1, 17 ( especially verse 17, for example ), ROMANS 1:16; 1:20 ( See ROMANS 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), COLOSSIANS 2:8, 9, TITUS 1:1, 2, YA'AKOV ( JAMES ) 4:7, 1 YOCHANAN ( 1 JOHN ) 5:6-8, and REVELATION 2:10, for example.

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

NOTE1:  The format for defining Hebrew words, as described in the previous weblog posting, is used here:

"mitzvah*, pl. mitzvot-literally: 'command,' 'commandment'; more broadly: general principle for living, good deed.  Mt 5:19+."  [  See COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE: An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B'rit Hadashah (New Testament), Stern, David H., JEWISH NEW TESTAMENT PUBLICATIONS, INC., Clarksville, Maryland USA, Jerusalem, Israel, Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern, p. 1583.  ]

"Torah*-literally, 'teaching,' but usually translated 'Law' because Greek uses nomos ('law') to render Hebrew Torah.  (1) The Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), called the Written Torah.  Mt 5:17.  (2) That plus the Nevi'im (Prophets) and K'tuvim (Writings), i.e., the whole Tanakh.  Yn 10:34.  (3) That plus additional material (the Oral Torah) considered in varying degree authoritative in Judaism.  Ga 5:3.  (4) Uncapitalized, torah can be understood generically as 'law' or 'principle' Ro 7:21-8:2."  [  Ibid., p. 1596.  ]

NOTE2:  "Dots separate syllables unless hyphens or apostrophes do the job already.  Accented syllables are printed in boldface.  Except where an asterisk (*) follows the word, the pronunciation shown for Hebrew and Aramaic is that used in Israel, where at least 90% of all words are accented on the last syllable; many of the exceptions, in which the next-to-last syllable is accented, end with 'ch,' with a vowel followed by 'a,' or with 'e' in the last syllable.  Ashkenazic (German and eastern European) pronunciations common in English-speaking countries often shift 'a' sounds towards 'o,' turn some '"t's"' into '"s's"' and accent the next-to-last syllable where the Israelis accent the last, e.g., Shab-bos instead of Shab-bat."  [  Ibid., p. 1556.  ]

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ).  The following quotation is taken from this version of the Holy Bible:

". . . I set out in 1977 to write a Messianic Jewish commentary on the New Testament; I wanted to produce a single book that would deal with all the 'Jewish issues' I could think of in connection with the New Testament-questions Jews have about Yeshua, the New Testament, and Christianity; questions Christians have about Judaism and the Jewish roots of their own faith; and questions we Messianic Jews have about our own identity and role in the light of two thousand years of separation and conflict between the Church and the Jews.  But I quickly discovered that much of what I was writing consisted of arguments with the translator of the English version I was using; they took the form, 'Our English version says such-and-such, but what it really means is so-and-so.'  The idea came to me to attempt my own translation of the New Testament from the ancient Greek original; then, obviously, I would have a version I agreed with, so I could focus exclusively on the subject matter.  I did a sample and was pleased with it.  Thus was born the Jewish New Testament (JNT), which was published in 1989.

     I spent the next three years finishing up the Jewish New Testament Commentary.  Meanwhile, the JNT had been well received by Messianic Jews and by Christians open to experiencing the Jewishness of their faith.  Bible translation may not be known as a glamorous profession, but I have fans.  My fans, who said that they appreciated my re-introduction of Jewishness into the New Testament and that they enjoyed my 'informal yet respectful' style of writing, kept asking me, 'When are you going to do the Old Testament?'  They wanted to have a single book containing the entire Bible that they could bring to their congregational meetings, instead of having to carry the Jewish New Testament plus a second book containing the Tanakh."  [  See COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE: An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B'rit Hadashah (New Testament), Stern, David H., JEWISH NEW TESTAMENT PUBLICATIONS, INC., Clarksville, Maryland USA, Jerusalem, Israel, Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern, p. xiii.  ]

Acts 4:8-12 read as follows:

"Then Kefa, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, said to them, 'Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being examined today about a good deed done for a disabled person, if you want to know how he was restored to health, then let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel that it is in the name of the Messiah, Yeshua from Natzeret, whom you had executed on a stake as a criminal but whom God has raised from the dead, that this man stands before you perfectly healed.  This Yeshua is the stone rejected by you builders which has become the cornerstone.  There is salvation in no one else!  For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whom we must be saved!"  [  NOTE1:  Words and phrases are defined using the following format:

"All terms are Hebrew except where [A] indicates Aramaic, [Y] Yiddish, and [O] some other language.  Usual English renderings are shown in parentheses, unless the usual ones are the same as the CJB ones or differ only by reason of apostrophes.  The definition or explanation, if there is one, follows a dash.  In the case of B'rit Hadashah names and terms, there is given at the end of each entry the book, chapter and verse of the B'rit Hadashah where the name or term first appears (see abbreviations below [ see '*' ] ); a '+' means it appears in at least one subsequent verse; 'f,' or 'ff,' means it appears again only in the verse or verses immediately following.  Tanakh names and terms are generally not explained, although translations are given where needed."  {  Ibid., p. 1556.  }:

"Kefa (Cephas, Peter)-name given by Yeshua to Shim'on Bar-Yochanan; it means 'rock' in Aramaic, as does the Greek equivalent, petros.  Mt 4:18+."  {  Ibid., p. 1576.  }

"Ruach HaKodesh-the Holy Spirit, referred to four times in the Tanakh as such, and many times as the Spirit of God.  Mt 1:18+."  {  Ibid., p. 1589.  }

"Yeshua (Jesus)-Variant of 'Y'hoshua' (Joshua; see below).  In the Tanakh nine persons and a city have the name Yeshua, usually transliterated as 'Jeshua' or 'Jeshuah.'  In the Septuagint and the New Testament the name was brought over into Greek as Iesous and thence into English as 'Jesus.'  It means 'Y-H-V-H saves' (Mt 1:21) and is also the masculine form of yeshu'ah ('salvation').  (1)The Messiah of Israel, Yeshua from Natzeret.  In modern Hebrew Yeshua's name is pronounced and written 'Yeshu,' which may have been the ancient pronunciation in the Galil.  However, reflecting two thousand years of conflict between the Church and the Synagogue, it is also an acronym for Yimach sh'mo v'zikhrono ('May his name and memory be blotted out' ).  However, the late Yosef Vactor, a Messianic Jewish Holocaust survivor, took it as an acronym for Yigdal sh'mo umalkhuto ('May his name and kingdom grow').  Mt 1:1+, (2) A Messianic Jew in Rome, 'Yeshua, the one called Justus.' Co 4:11."  {  Ibid., pp. 1600, 1601.  }

"Natzeret (Nazareth)-town in the Galil where Yeshua grew up and lived most of his life.  Mt 2:23+."  {  Ibid., p. 1584.  }

"Galil, the (Galilee)-the Galil is the portion of Eretz-Yisra'el west of Lake Kinneret and north of the Yizre'el (Jezreel) Valley.  Mt 2:22+."  {  Ibid., p. 1570.  }

"Shim'on (Simon, Simeon)-(1) Tribe of Israel descended from the second son of Ya'akov.  Rv 7:7. (2) Old man who blessed Yeshua in the Temple. Lk 2:25ff. (3) Ancestor of Yeshua the Messiah. Lk 3:30. (4) Shim'on Bar-Yochanan (Simon, son of John; Simon Barjona)-Shim'on Kefa (see below). (5) Another of Yeshua's talmidim, known as Shim'on the Zealot, i.e., a member of the party set on revolt against the Roman conquerors. Mt 10:4+.  (6) Brother of Yeshua. Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3.  (7) Person in Beit-Anyah who had had a skin disease.  Mt 26:6+.  (8) Cyrenian compelled to carry Yeshua's execution-stake.  Mt 27:32+.  (9) Parush in whose house Yeshua ate.  Lk 7:40ff.  (10) Father of Y'hudah from K'riot.  Yn 6:71+.  (11) Sorcerer in Shomron.  Ac 8:9ff.  (12) Tanner in Yafo with whom Kefa lodged.  Ac 9:43+.  (13) Follower of Yeshua and prophet in Antioch, called 'the Black.'  Ac 13:1."  {  Ibid., p. 1592.  }

"Shim'on Kefa (Simon Peter)-one of the twelve emissaries of Yeshua (see Kefa).  Mt 4:18+."  {  Ibid.  }

*-The above-referenced abbreviations in this note have not been included here.  ]

     Ephesians 4:5 reads as follows:  "And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion."  This same passage, in the REVISED STANDARD VERSION ( RSV ) of the Holy Bible, reads as follows:  "one Lord, one faith, one baptism."  Thus, the wording of Ephesians 4:5 in the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ) is very similar to that of the REVISED STANDARD VERSION ( RSV ), for example.

     Moreover, it can be shown from the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ) that there is one true religion, Christianity, since Judaism became obsolete when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary ( see MATTITYAHU ( MATTHEW ) 16:16, LUKE 23:26-49 ( especially verse 33 - see Luke 23:33 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Calvary" ), YOCHANAN ( JOHN ) 14:6, ACTS 2:38; 8:26-40 ( especially verses 36-39, for example ), Romans 6:1-4 ( especially verses 3 and 4, for example ), COLOSSIANS 2:8-15 ( especially verse 14, for example ), MESSIANIC JEWS ( HEBREWS ), chapter 8 ( especially verses 7 and 13 ( see Hebrews 8:13; NKJV, for example ), for example ); chapter 9 ( especially verses 12-18, for example ); chapter 10 ( especially verses 4, 8-10, and 22, for example ), 1 KEFA ( 1 PETER ) 1:1, 2, and REVELATION 1:4-6 ( especially verses 5 and 6, for example ), for example.  See also TEHILLIM ( PSALMS ) 22:22, 25; 40:9, 10; 119:65-73, 142, 151, MATTITYAHU ( MATTHEW ) 28:18, YOCHANAN ( JOHN ) 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 17:17, Romans 1:16; 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), TITUS 1:1, 2, 1 YOCHANAN ( 1 JOHN ) 5:6-8, and REVELATION 2:10, for example.

     Finally, Acts 4:8-12 ( RSV ) read as follows:

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.  This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner.  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.'"

To you, the reader, the message is the same whether you read the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ) or the REVISED STANDARD VERSION ( RSV ), for example.  Salvation is only in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: it is not in the name of anyone else.

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

NOTE2:  The Greek word ( Greek [ 4716 ] ), for the word "cross" in the KING JAMES VERSION ( KJV ) of the New Testament, is defined as follows:

"a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (spec.) a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment). . . ."  [  See ABINGDON'S STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, STRONG, JAMES, S.T.D., LL.D., ABINGDON PRESS, NASHVILLE, Copyright, 1890, by JAMES STRONG, MADISON, N.J., ( A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek/New Testament with their Renderings in the King James Version, p. 89. ).  ]

Thus, with the above-given definition of Greek word ( Greek [ 4716 ] ) in mind, the use of the word "stake," for example ( for the word "cross" ), in the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ), is acceptable.

NOTE3:  One day relatively recently, I made the mistake of placing my copy of the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ), as pictured above, on the top surface of the bed of my truck.  After closing the driver's-side door, my copy of the CJB fell from the truck bed onto the concrete driveway below.  That is why the bottom edge of its front cover is scuffed up a bit.  Sometimes lessons have to be learned the hard way.  It is better to have a book bag to carry more than one version of the Holy Bible at one time ( see Philippians 2:4, for example ).

NOTE4:  Please study the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE ( CJB ), or any other version of the Holy Bible ( see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as THE LIVING BIBLE ( TLB ).  The following quotation is taken from this version of the Holy Bible:

"This book is a paraphrase of the Old and New Testaments.  Its purpose is to say as exactly as possible what the writers of the Scriptures meant, and to say it simply, expanding where necessary for a clear understanding by the modern reader.

     The Bible writers often used idioms and patterns of thought that are hard for us to follow today.  Frequently the thought sequence is fast-moving, leaving gaps for the reader to understand and fill in, or the thought jumps ahead or backs up to something said before (as one would do in conversation) without clearly stating the antecedent reference.  Sometimes the result for us, with our present-day stress on careful sentence construction and sequential logic, is that we are left far behind.

     Then too, the writers often compressed enormous thoughts into single technical words that are full of meaning, but need expansion and amplification if we are to be sure of understanding what the author meant to include in such words as 'justification,' 'righteousness,' 'redemption,' 'baptism for the dead,' 'elect,' and 'saints.'  Such amplification is permitted in a paraphrase but exceeds the responsibilities of a strict translation.

     There are dangers in paraphrases, as well as values.  For whenever the author's exact words are not translated from the original languages, there is a possibility that the translator, however honest, may be giving the English reader something that the original writer did not mean to say. . . .

     If this paraphrase helps to simplify the deep and often complex thoughts of the Word of God, and if it makes the Bible easier to understand and follow, deepening the Christian lives of its readers and making it easier for them to follow their Lord, then the book has achieved its goal. . . ."  [  See THE LIVING BIBLE, TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC., Wheaton, Illinois, The Living Bible, Copyright 1971 owned by assignment by KNT Charitable Trust, p. v.  ]

James 2:1-7 read as follows:

"Dear brothers, how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people?  If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes, and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, 'You can stand over there if you like, or else sit on the floor' - well, judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives.  Listen to me, dear brothers: God has chosen poor people to be rich in faith, and the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, for that is the gift God has promised to all those who love him.  And yet, of the two strangers, you have despised the poor man.  Don't you realize that it is usually the rich men who pick on you and drag you into court?  And all too often they are the ones who laugh at Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear."

     As Christians ( see Acts 11:26 and James 1:1, for example ), we must not show favoritism: it is a sin ( it is against God's will - see 1 John 3:4, for example ) to do so.  We have been commanded by God ( see Psalm 22:22, 25; 40:9, 10; 119:13, 65-73, 142, 151, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Matthew 28:18, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:17, Romans 1:16; 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), Colossians 2:8, 9, 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Titus 1:1, 2, and 1 John 5:6-8, for example ) to "show respect for everyone" ( see 1 Peter 2:17, for example ).  Jesus ( see Matthew 22:37 ) said the following in Matthew 22:37-39:  "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  The second most important is similar: 'Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.'"  If we will do what Jesus said, we will not show favoritism.

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the New International Version ( NIV ).  Ephesians 5:11 reads as follows:  "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

The word "democracy" is defined as follows:

". . . n.   pl.  -cies   1  A theory of government which, in its purest form, holds that the state should be controlled by all the people, each sharing equally in privileges, duties, and responsibilities and each participating in person in the government, as in the city-states of ancient Greece.  In practice, control is vested in elective officers as representatives who may be upheld or removed by the people.   2  A government so conducted; a state so governed; the mass of the people.   3  Political, legal, or social equality. . . ."  [  See NEW ILLUSTRATED WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY Including THESAURUS of SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS, PMC Publishing Company, Inc., 118 EAST 28th STREET, NEW YORK, NY  10016, dictionary portion: pages 1-1150, Copyright 1992, by J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, p. 261.  ]

     Political, legal, and social equality become sinful ( see 1 John 3:4, for example ) in various situations.  For example, members of society must not elect a homosexual to any political position, since homosexuality is a sin ( see Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:24-27, for example ).  Secondly, legal equality is sinful when judges issue judgments which attempt to justify same-sex "marriages" ( see Genesis 2:21-25 ( especially verse 24, for example ) and Matthew 19:1-9 ( especially verse 5, for example ), for example ), for example.  Finally, social equality is sinful when members of society attempt to justify homosexuality, for example, as an individual's "right," when the heavenly Father ( see Matthew 5:9, 16; 6:9, 14, for example ) has clearly stated in the Holy Bible ( His word - see 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, for example ) that homosexuality is a sin.

     It is clear that democracy is a sinful theory of government under certain circumstances.  As Christians ( see Acts 11:26, for example ), we must not participate in any fruitless deeds allowed by a democracy, rather, we must expose them.  Please study the Holy Bible ( see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>