All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes.

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Glad this thread sparked such feedback. I know the message was hard to hear for some,
however I hope it brought enlightenment. The message was not intended to hurt but it
was intended to help, with that being said; I think it is time to move on to new topics. May
the good Lord grant all of us today a time of peace and happiness as we endeavor to continue
on with an affliction we did not choose for ourselves.

 

[Danny Boy]

Glad this thread sparked such feedback. I know the message was hard to hear for some,
however I hope it brought enlightenment. The message was not intended to hurt but it
was intended to help, with that being said; I think it is time to move on to new topics. May
the good Lord grant all of us today a time of peace and happiness as we endeavor to continue
on with an affliction we did not choose for ourselves.

To be honest, you really do quote a lot of bible stuff..Can't you speak normally? I can't follow half of the stuff you say, I'm afraid to say.

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Hello all,
I like anyone else in their right mind would love to have a world full of peace and joy; however being a realist I understand that is not the world that we live in. The world of today is full of hardship and trouble even in the greatest of countries. Many go to bed hungry at night, fortunate if they were able to have one meal that day. With all are medical advances incurable diseases daily take the lives of many. With all of our worldly wisdom millions of innocent babies are aborted annually. Religious fanatics are beheading innocent people and terrorizing the world. Pornography and sexual promiscuity has elevated the divorce rate in the USA to 53%. There are so many VOICES in the world trying to lead us, and many of these are leading multitudes astray. America's national debt is 16.3 trillion dollars which will wreak havoc for our children. In spite of all these troubles we unfortunately are dealing with the affliction of tinnitus. Talk about a sinking ship, whats a soul to do with such incredible challenges set before them. This is not the first time in history the world's inhabitants faced great challenges. Those that don't put their HOPE in a faithful Creator, I personally don't know how they continue on facing such opposition. We can read in scripture the testimonies of the faithfulness of God to people who served Him. God delivered Lot from the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah before He had them destroyed in (Gen. 19). God also delivered Noah from the great flood that destroyed the sinful society of his day in (Gen. 7). Three young men were delivered from a fiery furnace in (Dan. 3). Daniel the prophet himself was delivered from a lion's den in (Dan.6). Moses an the children of Israel were delivered from Pharaoh and his army when the Red sea was on one side and the army on the other side in (Ex.14). Over and over again God has helped His people face great opposition. For the bible skeptics I will give you a modern day testimony in my own life. I was personally diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma tumor in January 2013, and in March of that year had it surgically removed. The head of Neurology at Yale New Haven Hospital told me following the surgery that it did not get any better than what I received and that I set a new standard. This came from the lips of a man that had been doing operations on peoples heads for decades and had done I assume thousands of surgeries. I ask you, out of all those people and all those surgeries, Why me? Why did I set a new standard, and it did not get any better? Following my diagnosis before I received the surgery, I asked many fellow believers to pray for God's intervention in my behalf. When the people of God unify with corporate believing prayer anything can happen. As far as the tinnitus, I had it going in to the surgery and I still have it as a reminder of the faithfulness of God. Because of the tinnitus I found out that I had the tumor, without it I never would have known. So for me even though at times I am still afflicted with it, it really was a blessing in disguise to save my life. I wrote this thread to encourage all to not quit in spite of the odds against you. Put your life in the hands of a Faithful God and He will not let you down. Tinnitus may stay through this life but very soon God promises a place of no more tears, pain sorrow, or death to His faithful followers; and besides that in their new home with God the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dumb will speak, and cripples will walk again. There is Hope even in the darkest hour.

 

[Teri]

I think it's amazing you have faith. I really wish I could, but sadly, I can't and it's very hard to believe.

I agree, Danny. I will myself everyday to have faith. This is why. I have observed those with and without a belief in a higher power throughout my life. Those who have dealt with unbelievable hardships but have a faith, are folks I love to associate with because they have such a peaceful aura. They inspire me to live better and model to me ways to overcome obstacles. The antithesis is those who do not believe in a higher power seem to, in my view, give off a negative vibe about life. I want to live inspired and at peace. If continually humbling myself is what it is going to take, then I am willing to do it in hopes I will get a morsel of what I sense others are gaining.

I realize my view is narrow. Perhaps others with have an opposite view of mine.

Side note: I read a book recently by Mother Teresa (that little 80 year old woman who spent her life in the gutters of the worst poverty imaginable) and she stated poverty among those who are wealthy is worse, because they have a poverty of the spirit. She lived a good portion of her life in what she called a "darkness", but emulated peace and joy to those she encountered. I want that!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Brianna]

I'm a simple agnostic with my own beliefs. To the OP: The purpose in life is whatever we choose it to be under the law. I control my own destiny whether good or bad. I believe the beginning of "our" life began with one-celled amoebas.

I also believe we all have a right to believe what we want but I don't believe in being exclusionary. If a person has a need to believe in god or the like, so be it. It's an easier way to exist (assuming there is no hypocrisy mixed in with it and that I have seen too much). As such it allows people to have faith tinnitus will be cured for them if it's the will of god (either way, the rationale for having or not having tinnitus is on god rather than the person or environment or medical field).

I'm all for faith and belief. I just don't believe it myself.

In peace.

 

[Chelles]

@Joe P. Tamborra keep the good posts coming

 

[Danny Boy]

Hello all,
I like anyone else in their right mind would love to have a world full of peace and joy; however being a realist I understand that is not the world that we live in. The world of today is full of hardship and trouble even in the greatest of countries. Many go to bed hungry at night, fortunate if they were able to have one meal that day. With all are medical advances incurable diseases daily take the lives of many. With all of our worldly wisdom millions of innocent babies are aborted annually. Religious fanatics are beheading innocent people and terrorizing the world. Pornography and sexual promiscuity has elevated the divorce rate in the USA to 53%. There are so many VOICES in the world trying to lead us, and many of these are leading multitudes astray. America's national debt is 16.3 trillion dollars which will wreak havoc for our children. In spite of all these troubles we unfortunately are dealing with the affliction of tinnitus. Talk about a sinking ship, whats a soul to do with such incredible challenges set before them. This is not the first time in history the world's inhabitants faced great challenges. Those that don't put their HOPE in a faithful Creator, I personally don't know how they continue on facing such opposition. We can read in scripture the testimonies of the faithfulness of God to people who served Him. God delivered Lot from the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah before He had them destroyed in (Gen. 19). God also delivered Noah from the great flood that destroyed the sinful society of his day in (Gen. 7). Three young men were delivered from a fiery furnace in (Dan. 3). Daniel the prophet himself was delivered from a lion's den in (Dan.6). Moses an the children of Israel were delivered from Pharaoh and his army when the Red sea was on one side and the army on the other side in (Ex.14). Over and over again God has helped His people face great opposition. For the bible skeptics I will give you a modern day testimony in my own life. I was personally diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma tumor in January 2013, and in March of that year had it surgically removed. The head of Neurology at Yale New Haven Hospital told me following the surgery that it did not get any better than what I received and that I set a new standard. This came from the lips of a man that had been doing operations on peoples heads for decades and had done I assume thousands of surgeries. I ask you, out of all those people and all those surgeries, Why me? Why did I set a new standard, and it did not get any better? Following my diagnosis before I received the surgery, I asked many fellow believers to pray for God's intervention in my behalf. When the people of God unify with corporate believing prayer anything can happen. As far as the tinnitus, I had it going in to the surgery and I still have it as a reminder of the faithfulness of God. Because of the tinnitus I found out that I had the tumor, without it I never would have known. So for me even though at times I am still afflicted with it, it really was a blessing in disguise to save my life. I wrote this thread to encourage all to not quit in spite of the odds against you. Put your life in the hands of a Faithful God and He will not let you down. Tinnitus may stay through this life but very soon God promises a place of no more tears, pain sorrow, or death to His faithful followers; and besides that in their new home with God the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dumb will speak, and cripples will walk again. There is Hope even in the darkest hour.

Tinnitus will be treated, not by god, but by men. End of.

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

hey Brianna, thanks for the post. Well to find faith can be a journey if one was not reared in a household of faith.
As time goes on God has a way of making Himself real even to the most skeptical. Many still continue to deny His
existence so they can do there own thing.

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Danny, medical science has made many advances, but there are so many things that
humans go through that have no known medical cure. God leaves it this way so mankind
might learn to depend upon Him, not are their own limited resources. We are finite, but God is
infinite.

 

[Danny Boy]

hey Brianna, thanks for the post. Well to find faith can be a journey if one was not reared in a household of faith.
As time goes on God has a way of making Himself real even to the most skeptical. Many still continue to deny His
existence so they can do there own thing.

There's no proof aliens exists, but do they? Who knows? All I know is, I enjoy watching the X-files.

"Third Man: Are you familiar with an agent named Fox Mulder?
Scully Yes, I am.
Third Man: How so?
Scully: By reputation. He's an Oxford educated psychologist, who wrote a monograph on serial killers and the occult, that helped to catch Monty Props in 1988. Generally thought of as the best analyst in the violent crimes section. He had a nickname at the academy... Spooky Mulder.
Section Chief Blevins: Are you familiar with the so-called X-Files?
Scully: I believe they have to do with unexplained phenomena.
Section Chief Blevins: More or less. The reason you're here, Agent Scully, is we want you to assist Mulder on these X-Files. You'll write field reports on your activities along with your observations on the validity of the work.
Scully: Am I to understand that you want me to debunk the X-Files Project, sir?
Section Chief Blevins: Agent Scully, we trust you'll make the proper scientific analysis."

 

[RichL]

but there are so many things that
humans go through that have no known medical cure. God leaves it this way so mankind
might learn to depend upon Him,

Really???????

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

you like that insight Rich?

 

[RichL]

you like that insight Rich?

I was wondering weather those words were from the bible or did you make them up yourself?

Because I don't think hes a very nice God if he's up there choosing what diseases and afflictions we will find a cure for and what ones will always beat us!

Do you?

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Rich, Hes the Creator, His knowledge and understanding far surpasses our finite minds. Give Him credit to take care of things. He gives you the air you breath and the food you eat.

 

[RichL]

Rich, Hes the Creator, His knowledge and understanding far surpasses our finite minds. Give Him credit to take care of things. He gives you the air you breath and the food you eat.

Well, looking at this world we live in, I would say he's failed miserably in taking care of things!

And You didn't answer my question!

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

In Deut. 28 the bible speaks of many sicknesses that come upon those who break God's
commandments. Some of my writing was biblical and some came from my God given
inspiration. I don't think it is fair to blame God for man's shortcomings.

 

[RichL]

Some of my writing was biblical and some came from my God given
inspiration.

In other words you make stuff up!

I don't think it is fair to blame God for man's shortcomings.

You said that God will take care of things, so in that sense you are saying God is responsible for everything because he will take care of things,(everything)!

I don't blame any God for mans shortcomings, it seems it is religious people like yourself that do all the blaming.

 

[RichL]

Deuteronomy 28

However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

16. You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (even going to curse an innocent baby and innocent animals!)
19. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (to not believe in him is evil!)
21. The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.
22. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.(That's horrible!)

This verse is probably the most horrid and need I say more?

30. You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.

And it goes on for another 30 verses of unspeakable violence and mayhem just for not believing!

Believe in me or I will kill you in the most painful way possible!

That's giving us free will?

I suppose that is saying that it is Gods fault for all our suffering then!

 

[Danny Boy]

Danny, medical science has made many advances, but there are so many things that
humans go through that have no known medical cure. God leaves it this way so mankind
might learn to depend upon Him, not are their own limited resources. We are finite, but God is
infinite.

Trust me, medical science is a tad more intricate vs the bible...The bible is

Deuteronomy 28

However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

16. You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (even going to curse an innocent baby and innocent animals!)
19. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (to not believe in him is evil!)
21. The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.
22. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.(That's horrible!)

This verse is probably the most horrid and need I say more?

30. You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.

And it goes on for another 30 verses of unspeakable violence and mayhem just for not believing!

Believe in me or I will kill you in the most painful way possible!

That's giving us free will?

I suppose that is saying that it is Gods fault for all our suffering then!

That's seriously messed up.

 

[undecided]

22. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.(That's horrible!)

HA! You can take some ibuprofen for that.
Oh wait, that's ototoxic. God wins again.

 

[jimH]

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Rich, I am intrigued by your unbelieving pessimistic attitude toward God. I do not make stuff up
for one thing, God has called me to be a messenger of His word. If you do not like what the book says
you need to take that up with the author (God). I am in everyday language just relaying a message.
God is the Creator, and He makes the rules, We all have free will to obey or disobey. I choose to obey, because I am concerned about my eternal destiny. If you wish to continue to blaspheme and disrespect the only source of salvation that is your own choice to make. But as for me and my household we will serve God.

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Undecided, God never wins when men die in disobedience. God gave us doctors and medicine to help;
however healing belongs to Him. Just because a doctor recommends a certain medicine does not make it
appropriate for us. It is up to us the patient to educate ourselves on the benefits and risks associated with
the medical advice we receive. This is why smart patients get second and third opinions on life changing
surgeries. I myself faced a major operation and received two different options, and I prayed about them
and choose the one I felt God leading me into.

 

[Danny Boy]

Undecided, God never wins when men die in disobedience. God gave us doctors and medicine to help;
however healing belongs to Him. Just because a doctor recommends a certain medicine does not make it
appropriate for us. It is up to us the patient to educate ourselves on the benefits and risks associated with
the medical advice we receive. This is why smart patients get second and third opinions on life changing
surgeries. I myself faced a major operation and received two different options, and I prayed about them
and choose the one I felt God leading me into.

Well, why did god give us the dinosaurs?

 

[Chelles]

View attachment 6243

So much drama and all I have to say is how cute is this emoji!! Lol

But seriously I think as adults we can put our differences aside and respect each other's point of view.

 

[cullenbohannon]

I just want to say i respect peoples beliefs but we have to be very careful what we present as fact on these forums. Im not gonna get in on this debate but i want to add, that its very possible to find meaning and beauty in life with out religion.

Not believing in religion does not make you a bad person, Bill Gates is not a religious person but his foundation has done more for people then most of us ever will.

I will add that there are moral aspects of religion which can be useful in life, but other parts I don't know how anyone can be ok with.

Anyway i just wanted to share some of my thoughts.

These posts below are not to pick on you Joe, they are just points i wanted to address.

Pornography and sexual promiscuity has elevated the divorce rate in the USA to 53%.

The divorce rate is closer to the 20 to 25% range, the 50% is a myth,

. America's national debt is 16.3 trillion dollars which will wreak havoc for our children.

Not actually a huge deal as it it something like 3% of our GDP.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

Not actually a huge deal as it it something like 3% of our GDP.

Such information is actually easily available. As can be seen below, the United States owes a full year's GDP to its lenders (i.e. currently at roughly 100%, not 3%). The all time high figure of about 120% of debt-to-GDP occurred in the slipstream of The Great Depression (1930s). The Great Recession (late 2010s) is therefore not far away in comparison and a real (continuing) worry. As can be seen from the chart below, there has been a roughly 40%-point increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio over just four years. That expenditure is essentially what the government of the USA has spent in order to quell the (unpopular) unemployment rate (in national economics you pay "something" to get "something else", loosely speaking). In politics, it is easy to get away with national expenditure because "all the public cares about is jobs" but when you view things from a financial angle (as people like I do), you can see the high price that has been paid to achieve the goal (= job security). Ultimately, the USA government will have no choice but to raise taxes (citizen and/or corporation) in order to address its debt. Having high debt is also (very) inefficient to the functioning of the economy due to the added interest rate that must be paid (as a "penalty" on top of the loan installments). President Obama has - in my opinion - addressed the problem intelligently by raising taxes for the richest part of the population (taxes are already very low in the US and hence the increase is really non-impactful, financially speaking - i.e. compare it with income tax rates of some 60% within the EU for maximum earners). However, the proposal was not exactly popular with the Republicans if I remember correctly. From a European, and hence an unbiased point-of-view, the failure to accept the proposal shows the plain simple stupidity of those in power who represent the American population (= people need to understand that problems have to be addressed and cannot swept under the carpet).

On slight side-note: in any economy, there are smart ways of addressing economic problems. An example of that could be the number of tinnitus sufferers not contributing to the GDP due to their inability to work (about 2 million in the USA suffer from severe debilitating tinnitus and may well be part of that statistic). Suppose that proportion of the population was suddenly to join the workforce (provided there is enough "demand"), then "supply" would be able to boost the GDP in a new equilibrium on the S-D Curve (more GDP = more taxes without raising the tax rate = good news for the average citizen!). The same applies to other patient groups, for instance. Debilitating and impacting sicknesses is therefore an important factor to address for non-rare diseases and any government should have a self-interest in looking into it (i.e. attempt to cure the underlying problem).

The divorce rate is closer to the 20 to 25% range, the 50% is a myth,

I have no clue about divorce rates (and I cannot be bothered to look it up either). What I will say is that the original argument by @Joe P. Tamborra is difficult to prove i.e. that pornography is the reason for higher divorce rates, for instance. How does anyone prove that correlation? In statistics there is something called spurious relationships. Perhaps the increased rate of divorces is in fact due to the number of foreclosures or... perhaps it is related to (more) online dating via mobile apps! You never know...

attheedgeofscience
27/APR/2015.

 

[cullenbohannon]

I had a major brain fart there, @attheedgeofscience Thanks for catching that. So what i thought i said was that for the 2014 year the deficit we built up was around 3% of GDP for that year alone. Not the total deficit to GDP. Also I should not have said its not a huge deal, but the 3% number is down from double digits from just five years earlier. SO i think its a step in the right direction.

Also i am glad that happened as i said in my above post to be very careful of what we post as facts, this is precisely the type of thing i don't want happening. If you hadn't caught that some people may have taken what was posted by me as fact.

I dont care much about the divorce rates either, but there people who do and most researchers in that field say the number is much less than 50%, although im sure it is different among different demographics.

Thanks for the analysis as well ATEOS, i would comment on it but i dont want to get the track off topic too much.

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Atthee, Thank you for the updated financial lecture. Do not misunderstand my statement about the national debt.
My point was that with such a high debt that our country as incurred, it leaves the citizens of this country in a very
vulnerable financial crisis. Also with this debt so high as you said the government will have no choice but to raise taxes further, causing the American people more hardship.

 

[Joe P. Tamborra]

Cullen, I consider it to be a very foolish assessment of our financial crisis here in America, with
your statement of it, "not actually a huge deal". To me living decades in debt is an extremely huge
deal, just saying...... As far as the divorce rate, I believe my figure to be much more accurate than
yours; besides even if you were correct with your figures of one out of 4 or 5 marriages ending in
divorce the figure is STILL staggering. My point was many relationships are in a sad state of affairs....