Philip, I will attempt to answer your points/questions below, in blue: Phillip Stott <pstott@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Martin, I usually find little fault with your posts. However I have serious objections to your translation:- "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Now the Greek for your "one and only" is "monogenes", which could be translated in modern idiom as "one genetic", and which in the Authorised is "only begotten". I do not see how it can be translated "one and only" and if it were, then surely there is a problem with the earlier promise in the same book that He gives the power to become sons of God to all who believe in Him. Now if Jesus is the only begotten Son there is no contradiction, with one and only there is a problem. Neville, It appears that you reject the Old Testament, and particularly Moses' contributions to it. I completely and utterly reject most of the Old Testament, yes. I do this for three reasons: First (and foremost) I reject them since, far from being a "fool of [my] imagination," the God that I acknowledge is goodness and truth. The God that created things with such a depth of love and consideration that it is literally beyond our comprehension, is not a god of vengence, hate and bloodlust. The god of the Old Testament, on the other hand, is a god of hatred and vengence. A liar (in Numbers, for instance, this god states that he has forgiven some Israelites and then, in the same verse (!) goes on to state that he is going to strike them dead with a plague). This god is the Devil. Hence the Jews (Hebrews/Khazars) who stitched together the Old Testament from various pagan sources, are of their father, the Devil, just as Christ said that they were (John 8). I see it as my duty to defend the God that I have tried my best to come to know. The only thing which prevents you from doing the same is that you believe that the scriptures are "god-breathed" because they themselves declare this.* Secondly, the stories of the Old Testament are without doubt from the mystic nonsense of (primarily) India. There is plenty of quality research on this which proves it. Even the "virgin birth," "wise men" and "Trinity" are from this same source. And thirdly, I now see that certain people are quite literally of the Devil. This race has twisted and contorted facts throughout history. They have used their "lying pens" in the scriptures. Do you accept the New Testament? Some of it. In particular, I accept most of John's writings (Gospel, 1st letter and some of Revelation). In particular do you accept the Gospels? Most of Matthew, Mark and Luke I reject. I also reject the writings of Saul of Tarsus. If so, then how do you answer Jesus' warning that those who do not believe Moses' writings will not believe Him either? Put in there by those who wanted us to believe that, even though they apparently killed their "Messiah," yet "salvation is of the Jews." This is the addition that I want to make to the point marked with an * above. Now I am fully aware that there are "Higher Critics" who claim that Moses wrote nothing - some claim that writing was not even invented till well after his era. But it is clear that the five books of Moses were part of the Hebrew scriptures in Jesus' lifetime, that Jesus accepted them, and believed them to be written by Moses. This is only "clear" if you accept all that is written about Christ as it is written. If you question the authenticity of these writings then it is far from clear. Blessings Philip Stott Similarly, Neville. PS Some of the recent posts have reminded me of a statement by a man of God who I respect greatly. "Show me the God who acts the way you think He should, and I will show you the fool of your imagination Show me a man who accepts the scriptures as God-breathed and I'll show you a man who is destined to spend the rest of his life in slavery and disharmony. Blessings Philip Stott --------------------------------- New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes.