[Msoto]

ATLian you have raised many points and my persepective is one that I hold might be considered tenancious but I think its deductic.

The bible says that even the devil can take excerpts from the bible and twist them to further their own end. I am not in a position to judge what sins can or cannot be forgiven, neither am I in a position to question which sins should or should not be forgiven.

The bible was written by human beings...within it is the message of God but one must be aware that also within it is the theological mindset of the time within which it was written. Thus viewpoints that were held then may not be the current viewpoints held today, i.e. the viewpoints undergo some altercation due to time and a change in thinking.

I think to understand the bible, to understand and believe God, requires one to have a humble perspective. Things are simple yet not so simple. For example it is erroneous to say that Jesus suffered less than Amy..why because you assume that Jesus and Amy are the same. That in itself is a fallacy. The comparison sample you are using isnt the same. If another baby was then crucified and underwent the same torture as Jesus did and there was a way of measuring the pain intensities before death then you can make your CAUSAL statements. The causal statement that AMY underwent more suffering than JESUS. See this statement that you stated is simply an opinion with no factual or experimental evidence.

It is wrong to simply pick one passage from the bible...to remove it out of context in which it was written and then correlate it to life's current challenges. Didn't the devil tempt Jesus in the same way? I don't know what is forgiveable or not forgiveable....I am not the one that makes that decision. That decision is made by God..i believe in him..and suffice to say...if i believe that i have honestly repented...then i can also believe that i will be forgiven. Again that is not to say that i will go around sinning because i know i will be forgiven...but rather that life is a challenge and with its challenges i should not loose faith, when i slip or sin but rather maintain a positive and religious attitude in my daily life.