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New YouTube channel set up. I'll be doing more videos on topics than writing for a while because it's easier to watch than to read necessarily. Leave comments and tell me what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/user/COSM5000

Mormons and Hot Liquids

By: Brandon James Scott Scholl

The other day I had my local Mormon missionaries over for dinner and a discussion.

I finally asked what the whole deal was about not having coffee. So, they directed me to Doctrines and Covenants 89. What is interesting to me is the only thing that has anything to do with Hot drink is verse 9.

"And again, hot drinks are not for the body or the belly"

D&C 89:9

Now, the context of this verse is saying that alcohol and tobacco are not to be used because it's not healthy for the body. The verse that mentions hot drinks is just thrown in there as a side not in a way. When I asked about the history of this verse, they gave me an interesting back story.

At the time, all the men were chewing and spitting tobacco and it was disgusting. So, Smith's wife asked him to ask God about it. So, Joseph Smith got the revelation for this chapter. Now, that's all fine such, but I don't believe in the purity of Joseph Smith in any way, shape or form.

One of the missionaries that was talking to me about this has chronic migraines like I do, and he also takes caffeine as well as I do. So, things like coffee aren't bad because of the caffeine in it at all. However, with the caffeine, what is coffee? Black water?

There's another story I've heard, and although I can't prove it, I like to think of it as quite a plausible theory. It says that Smith's wife asked him to have a revelation to get rid of the tobacco, so he had a revelation. Well, as retaliation, the women in the area stopped inviting Mrs. Smith to their tea parties. So, again, Mrs. Smith asked her husband to have a revelation getting rid of hot liquids.

Something to think about.

The Bible is Reality

By: Brandon James Scott Scholl

Something to think about. If you think about the Bible as truth, you must accept it as a reality. It's not something with a plot you can pick apart. It's a very literal history book. Something that is hard to even put into perspective with that though is Creation. It talks about nothing being around and God hovering. Then, as it goes on explaining creation, these amazing things happen. I mean, we read about land and water coming out of nothingness. Then, we have animals come out of nowhere.

Take it one step further. Between the four Gospels we get an in-depth explanation of the Crucifixion and the ressurection. The simple thought of someone resurrecting and ascending into the air is simply inconceivable. But, when you realize that the Bible is a historical document, even the parts of faith are truth.

Here's the best part, some of it hasn't happened yet. Revelations and the Book of Isaiah talks about the future and the 7 year tribulation with the Anti-Christ. Something along those lines would only be seen in an apocalyptic movie. But, those movies only scrath the surface of what the tribulation and end-times will be like.

So, here's the question that you really want to mull over: Do you really believe what you believe to be real?

Homosexuality, Bi-Sexuality, Trans-Gender Vs. The Bible, Christianity

~Brandon James Scott Scholl

This is going to be quite a touchy subject because homosexuality, bi-sexuality, and trans-gender are becoming more and more abundant in today's society. One of the places in particular that now scares me is within areas of the Christian church or other religious organizations that once claimed to be against such things. So, let's look at it.

Homosexuality, also known as Sodomy in the Bible (Genesis 19), is being attracted to or being sexual with a member of the same gender. Now, Bi-Sexuality is along the same lines. However, a Bi-Sexual is attracted to both their gender as well as the opposite gender. Basically, a Homosexual as well.

So, let's see what the Bible says about it.

"You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."

~Leviticus 18:22 NASB

"Or do you now know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be decieved; neither fornicators, nor idolitars, nor adulterers, nor effeminates, nor homosexuals."

~ 1 Corinthians 6:9 NASB

So, both the Old Testament and the New Testament explain that it's not only an abomination, but also keeps you from inheriting the Kingdom of God. In fact, Leviticus 20:13 says that if someone is caught in homosexuality, they were to be punished by death.

This same basic thought goes for Bi-Sexuals as well. They may be attracted to the opposite gender, but claiming to be Bi-Sexual also means that you're attracted to the same gender. To put it basic, that's homosexuality as well.

Now, what about Trans-Genders? Is it wrong to have your gender changed? Maybe you believe that you were even born in the wrong body. So, the real question you have to ask then is whether or not God makes mistakes. The only way you were born in the wrong body is simply by God screwing up creating you. Let's see if that works or not.

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned."

~Romans 5:12

Now, I only posted one scripture here because I believe that Trans-Gender people fall under the same category as Homosexuals. See, when Sin came into the world through Adam, it cut us off. Being confused about whether or not we're the correct gender is the equivalent of slapping God in the face. Like a mug telling the potter that they screwed them up and don't know what they're doing.

Another thing to consider is that when people generally change their gender, they believe it's okay to take on that role. Men who believe they're supposed to be woman will wear wigs, makeup, and clothing to look female. I believe that's called Cross-Dressing last time I checked.

"A woman shall not wear man's clothing, nor shall a man up on a woman's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 22:5 NASB

The problem we run into now is that culture and society has bombarded and attacked the Christian community simply because we want to hold onto what we believe in. So, we're retaliated on. The truly sad part of all that is when the Christian churches and groups decide to conform to the view that Homosexuality, Bi-Sexuality, and Trans-gender is okay.

BUT, are we supposed to persecute them? Are we supposed to be evil or mean to them? Absolutely not. We're supposed to love them and witness to them regardless. But, we shouldn't agree with them or tell them it's okay that they are the way they are. Real love is firm as well as comforting.

Bottom line, it's wrong and unbiblical, but we should still love them like Christ loves them, firmly and passionately. This isn't just simply MY view and opinion, but the Bible's view.

Do we have Free Will?

~Brandon James Scott Scholl

So, I've thought over this idea time and time again. Do humans have free will?

Now, I'm not going to right out say yes and no. Mainly because if I do, then people are going to go nuts OR they'll even perhaps stop doing things like witnessing and such as the Great Commission commands us.

Now, before I get into my explanation, let's look at some scripture real quick.

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

~Joshua 24:15 NASB

"Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Acts 2:38 NASB

Now, let's break it down for a second.

The first scripture even specifically says "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve." So, we have the ability to decide our salvation, right? The second verse, as with many other verses, say that if we just simply repent, then we'll be saved. So, if we do XYZ, then ABC will happen. We have the ability to choose then, right?

Now, let's look at two scriptures from the other side of the fence.

"Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love."

~Ephesians 1:4 NASB

"For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

~Ephesians 8:29-31 NASB

So, the first scripture is saying that before the Earth was created, God had chosen the ones that would be seen as perfect. The second explains that those He chose were justified, sanctified, and so on.

So, we've got two sides. One says that we are the ones who claim we make our own decisions also including our salvation. The other claims that we don't have a choice and God is the one who decides who will follow Him and who will turn away from Him.

Now, here's the way I see it. The Bible can't contradict itself. So, one of these sides must explain both of them.

First, if we're the ones that repent and choose to become saved, then why did Christ die on the cross? He was the one that unlocked the ability for us to be saved because Christ was the atoning work. If we didn't need to have something to cover our sins, then Christ was an action that was unnecessary.

Secondly, we can't see past every decision we make. We don't know if tomorrow we'll get in our cars and we'll have a serious accident, save someone's life, or nothing happen at all. From our perspective, we have the ability to choose whatever we want. We may have an idea of the long term either by having goals for ourselves or other various reasons, but that doesn't mean we're mindless robots.

One last thing I wanted to point out. The defense I've heard from everything being predestined is "We'd be mindless robots because we wouldn't have the ability to choose to love God. So, we wouldn't really love him in the first place." My response is simple. When I met my girlfriend, Heather, she already had strong feelings for me. When I told her I loved her for the first time, she knew I was serious about it and honest. However, I also do things and get things for her as another way to express how much I love her. Not because I have to, but because I want to. Through my actions, words, and lifestyle, I show her how much I love her and she falls in love with me more and more. So, am I "making" her love me? Yes. Does that make her a mindless robot with no choice? Nope.

What do you think?

The Pope Vs. Matthew 16:18

~Brandon James Scott Scholl

Matthew 16:18 is one of the most highly debated scriptures about Roman Catholicism. I’ve heard people time and time again claim that it’s the scripture that proves that all popes are successors of the apostle Peter. However, I’ve done my own research and study and I believe I understand it.

First, let’s look at a few scriptures before verse 18 and then the one after it.

“13(Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." 15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."17And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." ~Matthew 16:13-19 NASB

Okay, now let’s see if we can break this down a little bit.

So, Jesus is talking to the disciples and asking them questions about who people think the Messiah is. All of them explained that people thought all sorts of different people were the Messiah. Then, Christ asked them who they thought it was and Simon Peter explained that He was the Christ. At which point He explained that it wasn’t man that showed Peter this truth, but it was God.

That gives us enough context to now dive into a bit of controversy.

One of the biggest things, as I mentioned before, is the Catholic church believing that this scripture says that Christ’s church will be built upon Peter. This, to them, means that the church will be built upon the leader of all the believers and they believe that to be the pope. However, that’s not what is supported as we dig deeper into this scripture.

Now, some people would start getting upset about now because of how I differentiated “petra” and “Petros”. However, here’s an interesting fact, the same rock that Christ says He’ll build His church on is mentioned the exact same Greek word “Petra” in a few other scriptures that might help you understand what rock He was exactly referring to.

”The Rock! (Petra) His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.” ~Deuteronomy 32:4 NASB


”Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock? (Petra)
I know of none.” ~Isaiah 44:8 NASB

There are other scriptures that are the same way. 2 Samuel 22:2-3, Psalms 18:31, Romans 9:33. When Rock is mentioned in all of these scriptures, it’s referring to God. Meaning that God is the foundation of what Jesus’ church is built on.

Now, let’s debunk a quick little response from the Catholic Church. Numerous websites that I looked over and the different things that I read from other Catholics explain that the Gospels were actually written in Aramaic originally. They claim that in the Aramaic it can be proven that Peter was meant to be the first pope and start that line. However, to this day, there was never a copy of the Gospels recovered in Aramaic. The farthest back it’s been found is Greek.

Bottom line, the scripture doesn’t support the Catholic church having a pope or using them as a leader of the church that makes decisions. The Catholic church hasn’t used proper exegesis on this section to understand what it says. So, they aren’t listening to what God is telling them to do within their church, they’re listening to a man. When that’s the setup, it’s not Christian or anything like it. And, if my memory serves me right about the Ten Commandments, we aren’t to have idols or anything else before God. If the Catholic church is using the pope as the lead, I believe that would be someone replacing God.

The Christian life & Who's in Charge?

~Brandon James Scott Scholl.

"I didn't say it was going to be easy, I said it was going to be worth it."

That's a quote from a picture that hung in my dad's office with Jesus on it. Of course Jesus never said it but I used to sit and just stare at it and wonder what that meant. At the time I was about 7 and had no idea what it was even referring to. Now, however, I completely understand what it means.

" And you will be hated by all men because of my name: but he who is strong to the end will have salvation."
~Matthew 10:22 BBE

That scripture could not be any truer. When you follow Christ through your calling, life certainly isn't going to be easy. The enemy does whatever he can to destroy us and there are many times that we do get beat down. Yet, thank God for His grace.

For myself, I'm currently going through a rather painful but humbling experience. Since June of 2009 I've had severe muscle spasms and pain in my lower back. After numerous tests I was diagnosed with a bi-lateral broad-based disk bulge between L5-S1 (lower back) that December. After a little while, the pain was manageable and I walked with a cane because of the nerves affecting my left leg. I was prescribed a strong dose of Norco to deal with the pain if necessary. Ever since, my pain is usually a 7 out of 10. This has affected my education, my job, and all other areas of my life.

Earlier this year, I was hit in the lower back and ever since, I have been using a cane again and the Norco is a nightly thing. I went back to my neurosurgeon recently and had an MRI done. The results were that I not only inherited her quite high opiate tolerance, but I also back degeneration for the rest of my life.

A surgery was scheduled for November 15 and I was preparing to handle four months of recover with two months of physical therapy. Earlier this week, however, I received a letter from my insurance saying that my surgery was denied because it was seen as "medically unnecessary".

As of right now we are appealing their decision and resubmitting everything. When I first got that letter and read it, my family was asleep and it was three in the morning. After reading it, the first thing I did was walk around the house and grasp what it meant. More pain, more problems, and the one thing that is the most important through all of this, more time and focus on God.

This morning in church my pastor talked about how sometimes the only way God can get our attention and we run to Him is by simply putting us through trials.

" For the Lord sends punishment on his loved ones; everyone whom he takes as his son has experience of his rod.
It is for your training that you undergo these things; God is acting to you as a father does to his sons; for what son does not have punishment from his father?"
Hebrews 12:6-7 BBE

How else do we learn things except to go through the hard stuff? On the Sunday following September 11, there were hoards of people that went to church because of how devastating the attacks on the World Trade Centers were. Yet, now we want to take God out of EVERYTHING.

When parents have a child hanging in between life and death, you can bet they’re praying. Something big happens in our lives and that’s when we want to think religiously.

God is in control of everything. He’s the one that created everything. The reason why we go through things isn’t simply just because the enemy is always attacking us and we’re having to defend ourselves or ask God for His help. If you look at the story of Job, it wasn’t that the enemy was attacking him because he was doing something he was supposed to, it was because God allowed the enemy to do it. Through the trials and attacks that Job went through, he realized things as well.

What we have to remember is that things aren’t going to be easy when we’re Christians. Life is going to be tough and it’s going to be quite bumpy. Whether it’s problems with friends and family or your surgery was denied by your insurance, God is on the throne and in charge. When you are saved, you don’t get a life that’s going to be simple or become easier just, you get a big bullseye on your back. But even though it’s there, nothing’s going after it unless God allows it. He never gives us more than we can handle, even if the circumstances or events seem otherwise.