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Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
Leviticus is part of the Old Testament law which only applied to Israel several thousand years ago. It does not apply to Christians and never did. The only things that apply to Christianity are things like the the ten commandments that are valid through all time and restated in other parts of the Bible or New Testament. This is not really a debate about abortion but since you ask, "24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;" Isaiah 44:24 KJB This verse and other similar verse show God considers the unborn as persons and therefore they fall under the command "thou shalt not kill". Exodus 20:13 KJB -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
I won't try to answer all of your points now because of time required. But will answer this one and leave the rest for later. If you are speaking about religious folks, you are correct. There are many different religions in the world. The so-called Christians that committed war crimes and started wars were not Bible-believing Christians. Romanism is not Biblical Christianity. Hitler and his henchmen were Roman Catholics. So if you are judging by all the false religion in the world, of course you could say they started a lot of religious wars. But my comments were specifically referring to the teachings of the Bible which forbid unjust killing and aggression. Bible believers don't oppress women and gays. That is another fallacy you have fallen for. The Bible teaches men are to love their wives as themselves (Ephesians). Bible believers don't believe in homosexuality and don't believe it is the proper way to live, but they don't oppress them or bother them. I was specifically referring in my comments to the Bible as a guide, not various religions and people. They are not a guide. Communist revolutions has resulted in at least 100 million deaths in the 20th century. The world wars killed more people in the 20th century that any other wars all through the history. They were not exactly religious wars. Jesus taught to love thy neighbour as thyself. I can't see how you can fault true Biblical Christianity for that. Missionaries who are following the Bible do not "oppress the savages" as you claim. They teach them the true gospel and try to help them live a civilized life in accordance with Bible teaching. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
The problem with anyone using his own reasoning as the ultimate guide of truth and error is that it has proven to be a failure throughout history and is not a reliable or trustworthy guide. We don't need to look far in history to realize that. The Communists, the Naziis both thought there own reasoning or ideology was the best there was. It resulted in 100 million deaths in the 20th century and unimaginable suffering and continues to cause that. The prisons are full of people who thought their own way was the right way. Society is full of people who think their own way is the best way. Sometimes, they are fortunate that it works out for them in business or their personal life. Often it does not work out. The Bible on the other hand reveals why our own way is the wrong way. It teaches how there is a far larger dimension to life and the world than the visible material universe. It teaches us that the material universe will not bring genuine lasting happiness. It teaches us that our own way may be disastrous and will not lead us down the best path. It teaches us that there is a God who created us and created everything for his own glory. It tells us that God loves us and that we are primarily accountable to him. It teaches us that there is a purpose for our lives and that human life is a gift from God and it is sacred, that is, that only God has the right to end it. Even though there is often suffering in life, we need to look to him and his word for understanding of how to deal with it. There is a reason for everything even though we may not fully understand it. We need to trust in him. But before one can trust in him, there must be a complete transformation. In the Bible, that is called the new birth. The gospel of John speaks about that. It can't be just a desire to change one's ways and try to be a good person or do good deeds. That is not what the transformation is. It requires a new birth as spoken in the first chapters of the gospel of John. One must be delivered from this present evil world and transformed into the kingdom of God's Son. One then becomes a child of God. It can happen instantly when one turns or is converted to Christ. It is not done by good works. It is accomplished by God's grace through faith. Ephesians ch2: 8, 9 Anything short of that will not do it. This faith is a gift from God and it comes through study of the word of God. "17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17 KJB -
I don't know where you get your statistics, but most of the gun crime is not in smaller towns or rural areas. It is in places like Toronto and is committed mostly by black people whose folks came from places like Haiti or Africa. Most shootings by young men associated with gangs. If they could take the guns away from these people, there would be a lot less shootings. But then the police would be accused of racism for searching black neighbourhoods. and residences. Also most shooting are not done with so-called assault weapons or long guns. Criminals don't use those kind of guns. They use hand guns that they can easily hide. Law-abiding guns collectors and target shooters are not the ones doing the crimes. You don't reduce the number of killings unless you go after the right people and the right guns.
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The problem with "the fewer guns, ...the better" idea is the law-abiding gun owners like hunters and target shooters are not he ones killing people. It is the criminals with illegal guns that are doing most of the killing. Most of these killers are in the major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, etc. If the government really wanted to reduce gun crime and killing with guns it would eliminate all the illegal guns in these cities. They would be searching every suspected place where there might be guns. But they don't do that probably because of charter rights advocates and they would be accused of racism. You know who does most of the shooting in Toronto. We already have armed security guards for some things, like Loomis and Guardia, that handle the money being shipped in and out of banks. Why not allow someone to be trained as an armed security guard to protect the staff and businesses that are the target of criminals? Don't have to give a handgun to everyone. But there are certain businesses in areas of cities that are targets of criminals. They need armed security. Are they allowed now to hire armed security guards? Why prevent these businesses from protecting themselves?
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Liberals are changing the laws now to give lighter sentences for visible minorities and abolish minimum mandatory sentences.
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The Liberals are bringing in new laws to change the criminal justice system (allegedly to tackle racism). So I guess this means visible minorities will get much lighter sentences than those terrible old stock Canadians. Visible minorities, whose crimes are not considered that serious, will not be subject to minimum mandatory sentences and may be sentenced to house arrest instead. This all fits in to the Liberal ideology of turning a blind eye to evil and hate for law-abiding citizens.
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BCTV news reported tonight a huge number of store robberies in Vancouver in the last month or so done by criminals with knives, a gun, baseball bat, and just sheer physical force. These tough guys just push the store clerk or owner aside and take what they want. Showed them on security cameras. Bet that doesn't happen in the states where the store owners can own a gun for protection of himself and his staff and goods. Not allowed in Canada. If the police even catch them, the punishment will be a slap on the wrist. Not much deterrent. Many states also have capital punishment for criminals who kill somebody. They don't mess around with a slap on the wrist like Canada.
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The real issue is all this confiscation of guns from law-abiding citizens will not stop all the shootings which are done mainly by gang members and people who seem to easily get illegal handguns. This will do nothing to reduce the shootings by the criminals with illegal hand guns. Secondly, minister Blair says there is no right in Canada to own a gun. He says it is a privilege. Why doesn't he tell that to all the criminals who have illegal handguns? Who is protecting the law-abiding citizens from the criminals with the guns?
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Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
The "sign off on any request for death" is wrong from the start. Such a law or practice is evil in itself. As I have said repeatedly, killing is forbidden in God's written revelation to man, the Bible. On top of that, "will be screened out" is not necessarily true. A man in Chilliwack, BC, who was not really old, suffered from depression and had mental issues, but he was given assisted death against the wishes of his relatives. The question of why God allowed wars, famines, murder, rape, torture, etc. is a common question. According to Biblical theology or teaching, it is because man rebelled against God when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. They were tempted by the serpent (Satan) and fell for it. This was commonly called the fall of man. It immediately meant all their descendants were born with a corrupt, fallen nature and the world became a corrupt evil place with wars, diseases, crime, etc. God is sovereign and man who was created by God should not question or argue with God as to why these things happen. The Bible does answer a lot of these questions. I am not a theologian and can only give or find some basic answers about some things. Many answers are also available to Google. God still is in control of this world and life. He gave man free will also, but with man's fallen nature, man on his own chooses evil continually. God allows this for his greater purposes and glory. But he also sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Savior for those who believe in him. That is what the Bible is mainly about. Yes there is forgiveness, but only for those who accept and believe on his Son Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Bible makes it clear there is no forgiveness apart from one becoming a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
I'm glad if your brother is not suffering. That is a big plus. Hopefully the pain medication will continue to work for him. I am not Roman Catholic. My only rule of faith is the King James Bible. But I agree with the ten points listed on page 2 why MAID must be opposed. I disagree with Roman Catholic religious theology for the most part. But I agree with them on these subjects. If it is in the Bible, we can only agree. This is a question of taking someone's life, which is condemned in the Bible. There are only few exceptions when human life may be taken, such as defense in war, defense in police work, and capital punishment for murderers. Aside from that, there is no allowance in the Bible for taking life because one thinks it will reduce suffering. At what point would a line be drawn. Leaving it up to the individual also does not make it right. MAID opens a pandora's box. It was first legalized in 2016 with a certain number of restrictions but that put Canada on the slippery slope and now the new legislation is proposing to make it even easier to get MAID. It will put many people at increased risk, especially handicapped people, older people who might not be able to think clearly, people with mental issues and even young people and others. Many people suffer depression at different times in their life and many might think this is an easy way out. I don't see opposition to MAID as authoritarian or oppressive. Human life is sacred and must be protected at all stages from conception to natural death. The reason as I have said is because God condemns killing humans. The Bible says in Genesis God created man in his own image and gave a special place in the world. He place a soul and spirit in man and even though we must face death, our soul does not die but returns to God who gave it. We will be held accountable for our lives on earth after death. So it is not my personal opinion and it is not my wish that anyone suffer, but I must follow my Creator who alone creates life and ends it. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
The Bible has many predictions about the future that came to pass. Like Isaiah ch53 predicted 700 years before it came to pass. Hardly something mere men could predict. Proof that it originated from God. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
You wanted some proof about God and the Bible. There is proof in the Bible. If you knew that a book made numerous predictions about the future and then these predictions came to pass, would that mean anything to you? There are a number of such predictions or prophecies in the Bible that came to pass. One of the important ones is written by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53. This was written 700 years before Christ, but describes what happened to Christ very well. Isaiah is part of the Old Testament or Jewish Bible. Yet this chapter predicts what happened to Christ 700 years before it happened. Such an accurate prediction could not be invented by man and had to be the work of God. A one hour video explaining this prophecy would be worth watching. This is very strong proof that the Old Testament was written by men inspired by God. youtube.com/watch?v=E97P-wTAzfc Or go to youtube and search for John MacArthur: For the Authority of Scripture -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
"THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE Richard L. Mayhue Senior Vice President and Dean Professor of Theology and Pastoral Ministries After a brief look at the general concept of “authority,” this essay continues with an introductory discussion concerning the authority of God. It is developed in terms of (1) the declarations of Scripture; (2) the displays in God’s names, nature, and prerogatives; and (3) Satan’s denial. Then, God’s authority is discussed as it is invested in Scripture in the sense that the Bible is the voice of God and therefore speaks with His full authority. God’s authority in Scripture can thus be described as original, unalterable, exclusive, permanent, ultimate, obligatory, and consequential. Scripture is to be authoritatively preached and submissively obeyed since the Author of and the authority within will reward righteous obedience and condemn those who disregard and disobey His authority in Scripture. * * * * * The concept of authority is thoroughly woven into the fabric of Scripture. It is unmistakably obvious from Gen 1:1 (“In the beginning God created …” 1 ) to Rev 22:20 (“Yes, I am coming quickly.”) and everywhere between. This idea of “ultimate right” is inextricably linked with God’s sovereignty (Rom 11:36). Just how important is the authority of Scripture? Listen carefully to one of the preeminent Reformers when he spoke to this very question at the Diet of Worms in April, 1521. Martin Luther, under intense pressure to recant regarding “justification by faith” and other recently embraced truths from the Bible, responded to Meister Eck in this fashion: Since then Your Majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen. What is truly known about authority did not originate outside of Scripture, but rather within. Thus, it is not a secular concept that has been co-opted by religion. On the contrary, it is a sacred element of the very Person of God. What Scripture properly teaches about authority has actually been shamefully distorted by this world’s system and wrongfully employed by all world religions. This essay intends to explore what Scripture itself teaches about authority, especially its own. AUTHORITY The rightful idea of authority has fallen on hard times at the start of the twenty-first century. Illegitimate forms and expressions of authority range from the illegal and abusive exercise of authoritarianism/totalitarianism to individual authority which emerges from a postmodern mindset of selfishness. The appropriate approach to the discussion commences with a working definition of authority in general, especially legitimate authority exercised in a proper fashion. A representative dictionary definition records that authority is the “Power or right to enforce obedience; moral or legal supremacy; right to command or give a final decision.” 3 Bernard Ramm suggests, Authority itself means that right or power to command action or compliance, or to determine belief or custom, expecting obedience from those under authority, and in turn giving responsible account for the claim to right or power.4 The NT noun (102 times) most commonly translated “authority” is ¦>@LF\" (exousia). A representative lexical definition reads, “The power exercised by rulers or others in high position by virtue of their office.” 5 There are many approaches to authority in a secular worldview, e.g., 1. oligarchical – authority exercised by a powerful few. 2. democratic – authority exercised by the people. 3. hereditary – authority exercised by those in a particular family. 4. despotic – authority exercised by one or more in an evil fashion. 5. personal – authority exercised by one person. However, with a biblical worldview, original authority and ultimate authority reside with God and God alone. God did not inherit His authority—there was no one to bequeath it to Him. God did not receive His authority—there was no one to bestow it on Him. God’s authority did not come by way of an election—there was no one to vote for Him. God did not seize His authority—there was no one to steal it from. God did not earn His authority—it was already His. God inherentl yembodies authority because He is the great “I AM” (Exod 3:14; John 8:58) -tms.edu Notice the article says God will reward righteous obedience to Scripture and condemn those who disregard and disobey His authority in Scripture. The fact that there is a God who revealed himself in his creation and communicated his revelation to man in the Holy Scripture means we are accountable to Him. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
"19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Romans 1:19, 20 So you see, the proof of God is all around you in the creation, but you can't see it. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
There is proof the Bible came from God. Google authority of the Bible and read some of the article. One is at bible.org -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
There is proof in the Bible that it did come from God. “Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me, who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, ‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire,’ who summons an eagle from the east, from a distant land, one who carries out my plan. Yes, I have decreed, yes, I will bring it to pass; I have formulated a plan, yes, I will carry it out” (Isaiah 46:9-11). These verses clearly teach that the fact of inspiration and the facts of history when taken together will prove whether or not a prophet had written the words of God. One unique feature of the Bible is the vast amount of prophecy or prediction concerning future events it contains. God challenges men to examine these, prophecies to see whether or not they have been fulfilled! For a prediction to be fulfilled in the way and in the time foretold by the prophet is proof that God spoke through the prophet. We will study this in detail in later lessons. This test can be applied to thousands of predictions in the Bible leading to the conclusion that God has spoken. The Bible’s claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit is the only possible answer to the amazing mystery of the foretelling of the future in accurate detail." - bible.org -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
The Bible says God created us in his own image and he loves us. He does care what happens to us. He has ordained that no one should kill another. Once that command is violated, a pandora's box is opened and there is no limit to what man can think he can do. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
I thought I answered you. What specifically was your question? I don't agree with anybody denying homosexuals their rights. They should not be persecuted or harassed. Everyone should have the same human rights. I think they have the same rights as everyone else. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
I believe complexity of life does negate the accident theory. Yes bad things happened in history. That was partly because the Holy Roman Empire controlled the western world and even controlled kings, rulers, and everyone. That was a false religion not based on the Bible. It was tyrannical. Fortunately many western countries had the Reformation and broke free from it. Still bad things happened in countries that were still under it's influence or control, like Hitler and the Nazis. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
Hopefully your life won't end that way, but the health care system does have many kinds of pain medications they use for people who have a lot of pain. You sound like you are willing to give up right away and call for the death needle. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
Yes, I know there are theories, like Darwins Theory of Evolution. This has been debunked by many scientists. I have a little book called "Refuting Evolution" by Jonathan Sarfati, Ph.D. You may want to read that too. The website creation.com also has articles. The faulty theory of evolution has had terrible consequences for the world. The book carefully refutes evolution theory on a number of basis. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
Western civilization is built on Judeo-Christian principles that recognize the rights and dignity of the individual. Eastern civilization does not. The complexity of the creation is evident in millions of ways that should demonstrate that the idea of an accident is nonsensical. gene: In biology, a gene (from Greek, meaning generation) is a basic unit of heredity and a sequence of nucleotides in DNA or RNA that encodes the synthesis of a gene product, either RNA or protein. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
No, not really. It is far more rational to believe the complex universe required an intelligent designer (God) to design and create it than to say it happened by itself, which makes no sense at all. Some of the greatest scientists that ever lived will tell you that. -
Suffering is not a justification for assisted suicide
blackbird replied to blackbird's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
The accident theory has been dismissed by many famous scientists because it provides no explanation for the complexity of creation and life for example. The claim of some kind of cosmic accident explains nothing really. It doesn't even explain how the atomic particles and the laws of physics that govern their motions and actions came into existence. The existence of a Creator who designed and created everything seems far more logical than to say it all came about by accident. Even microscopic things like the genes are so complex that it is unimaginable that they just happened by accident.