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=> General Discussions => Topic started by: iamsaves on June 02, 2006, 11:33:18 PM
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Since this is my first time posting to this forum, or any other Christian forum for that matter, I’d like to thank Ray with all my heart for writing and posting his papers on www. bibletruths.com . I came across Ray’s writings a few months ago as a result of some Hebrew language and Biblical names research I was doing on google and after reading only a couple paragraphs I knew I’d never look back. After reading almost everything Ray had on his website (and including most of Mike’s papers as well), and then reading them a second and a third time I determined to give my eyes a break and instead listen to Ray’s words for a while. I emailed Ray and asked if he had any audios of his discussions or interviews but he basically said no, not yet. Anyway, I took some liberty and converted many the papers Ray had published on bibletruths.com to MP3 for my own edification.
I am blessed, I believe, to have a low paying job that offers me 10 to 12 hours per day of relatively boring office work. This means that I also have 8 to 10 hours per day of listening to Ray’s words on my (Nano) MP3 player while at work. Several of my fellow workers listen to music while they work either with headphones or with personal radios and so no one has yet asked me what kind of music I’m listening to.
The methods and technology that I used to generate these MP3 audio files cannot possibly generate perfect audio renditions of Ray's texts as published on his website. Because Ray employed numerous abbreviations, punctuations, and archaic languages like Greek, Hebrew, and Old English in his writings, much of his texts cannot be correctly interpreted by the inexpensive computer reader program that I employed. Errors in pronunciation, inflection, and cadence are occasionally obvious. So as to correct or ameliorate these errors I have two principle methods. First, I can use the pronunciation editor provided by AT&T for their reader voices (I am presently using only using the computer voice of “AT&T Mike�), and second, I can modify the text of Ray's words to facilitate a more natural and correct reading. Because of the volume of text that Ray has written it is most practical for me to employ global search and replace operations to make many of these corrections or modifications. It is likely, therefore, that I will thereby unintentionally, and unknowingly, introduce errors into the texts and audios that I generate. Some of these errors are simple to fix while others are considerably more challenging. I am constantly listening for these human errors and computer reader's errors and correcting them. I will continue to correct and improve these audio files as I listen to them and as time permits. However, I ultimately have no way of knowing the usefulness of these audios unless and until I can receive some feedback from others that may also have an interest in listening to Ray’s words.
I have sent daily emails to Ray for the last week hoping to receive his permission to share these audio files with others but I have as yet to hear back from him. So, I’m wondering what I should do. I wouldn’t want to make these available to anyone, save my wife, without Ray’s permission, and yet I don’t seem to be able to reach him via email to ask his permission.
Any thoughts?
Blessings of Peace and Grace be with you,
Timothy
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
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Freely recieved freely given. By all means, share them! :D
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Hi. and Welcome. At the bottom of Ray's home page he gives permission to copy etc. Refer back to that for assurance. Also at www.aionos.com they have things to listen and watch.
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Hi. and Welcome. At the bottom of Ray's home page he gives permission to copy etc. Refer back to that for assurance. Also at www.aionos.com they have things to listen and watch.
Yes, I had read the statement to which you refer...
"Everyone is welcome to copy the material on this site and freely distribute it to others. You do not need permission from us to do this. All we ask is that you do not in any way, CHANGE, PLAGIARIZE or SELL any material from bible-truths.com."
My concern about the statement above is that in converting the text of Ray's words to audio facsimiles of his words it is necessary for me to edit the text of his words to facilitate the automated computer reading of his words so that the reader can better understand them in the medium of the spoken word. If I were to take Ray at his word, I can only infer from his above statement that I CAN IN NO WAY CHANGE HIS MATERIAL. Not only am I spelling out his abbreviations, altering spellings, altering punctuation, converting Roman Numerals to algebraic numerals, altering the delineation of parenthetical and personal narratives, among many other things, but I am also changing his written word to spoken word. Another concern that I have is that the audios that I’m creating are in no way perfect and that occasional or even frequent errors, omissions, and intelligible utterances are inevitable.
I do appreciate your referral to the website that you mentioned, www.aionos.com , but when I attempted to take a look I found the following:
"Thank you for visiting http://www.aionos.com We are currently re-engineering our website to serve you better. We apologise for the temporary inconvenience"
I suppose that my principle reason in posting this thread in your forum is that I feel I have been tremendously blessed to listen, contemplate, and comprehend Ray’s words and I am hoping that I might share these audios with others that also appreciate Ray’s words.
I’ll be updating and improving these audios as time permits, and I’ll also be including my source text files and technical methods in case any of you get the prompting to help me correct problems in reading and pronunciation.
You’ll find the MP3 files at this website" http://iamsaves.com/
May our Savior's Peace and Grace be with you.
Timothy
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
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Cool stuff, Timothy (even though at times it is kind of like listening to a robot from the 70's!). I have been hoping to have Ray's material in audio format for over 2 years now, but he "seems" to be against the idea (??). This is just a thank you note to you for all of your labour. I will be putting these on my iPod to listen to as I work!
Cheers,
Jeremy
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What a wonderful way to fill up the "down time" we all experience in between doing our required work. I hope Ray approves.
Grace be with you.
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I do appreciate your referral to the website that you mentioned, www.aionos.com , but when I attempted to take a look I found the following:
"Thank you for visiting http://www.aionos.com We are currently re-engineering our website to serve you better. We apologise for the temporary inconvenience"
Hi Timothy,
Just to let you know.....
Someone spelled the website wrong!
Here is the link.......((it's Aionios and not Aionos))
http://www.aionios.com/
Check it out again. Enjoy :D
Alan
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My bad! :oops:
I am really sorry for spelling error. School is out and my brain is mush.
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Thanx 4 the audio's, man! I'm still just absorbing all the new info and audio is a great way. (I will certainly let you know if there are any errors that need fixin', brother!)
I haven't been to this forum for some time - been meditating on the teachings. ( and by meditate i dont mean the lotus position... :lol: )
I dunno bout u guyz, but the stuff is hard to wrap one's brain around...
The tuffest thing 4 me to understand, is how to accept the i have no free will, and yet the Word is FULL of instructions to change this or change that...
If God CAUSES every choice I make, then surely it's up to Him to CAUSE me to change from this into that... what strenght or power do I really have to change my own life!!??!?!?
(perhaps the wrong thread for this question, excuse me, I guess I just cant get this ??? outta my head!)
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hi e. I can't wrap my brain around that one either.
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If God CAUSES every choice I make, then surely it's up to Him to CAUSE me to change from this into that... what strenght or power do I really have to change my own life!!??!?!?)
Answer: You have whatever strength and power that our Heavenly Father gives you to change you life, or cast away your delusion of free will.
Our Heavenly Father has complete dominion over his creation, and, of course, His creation includes us, and our wills, and our choices. So, given that our Heavenly Father is sovereign over these things you might think that our choices are not ours to make, i.e. that we don’t own our choices. Not so. Our choices belong to us because our Heavenly Father both gives them to us and holds us accountable to them. Not fair you say? Why would our Heavenly Father cause us to choose to sin and do evil and then hold us accountable for our sinful and evil choices? If you have the feeling, or the thought, of unfairness in the disposition of your choices and your accountability to those choices then you are not as yet given to be free from your delusion of free will. Free will is a delusion, or an idol of the heart, given to us by our Heavenly Father for his plan and purpose. When we believe that our wills are free we knowingly, or unknowingly, believe that our wills and choices are sovereign over our Heavenly Father. So, why would our Heavenly Father want us to abide, if only for a time, in such a state of delusion and corruption? Again, we are given these things for His plan and purpose, not ours. If our Heavenly Father gives us the delusion of free will then he is also giving us the delusion of distance or separation from Him. When our Heavenly Father chooses to give us the truth of these things he takes away our delusions of separation and draws us to Him.
May our Savior's Peace and Grace be with you.
Timothy
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
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ok. Confession time. Here is what I am struggling with.
I do see it in scripture that God created Evil and Satan can do nothing that God doesn't direct him to do. First, correct me if I am wrong on this point.
I have a hard time telling people Hey God is Great and isn't sending anyone to hell!!! Yeaaaa. Oh, but He does give Susie cancer, and He did make Hitler kill 6 million, oh yes, he causes floods, plagues, divorces, pimples, child porn etc etc etc.......
Help me on this. I don't like thinking this way. I actually related to one of Longhorns post!!
I guess I don't get why God didn't just have us clay be good.
I have read and re read Ray and Mikes stuff (not that I remember it all or anything and can't certainly practice getting the beast off the throne) but I just can't get past this. It won't help for you to tell me Well, its not just my time to see. I agree with 100% of everything I have read here. |It has changed my life.
I just don't get this! Help! :?
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Gena,
I am very interested in an answer to your questions too. I have asked it this way -- I understand why we have to know evil to know good and choose good, BUT why does EVIL have to be quite so EVIL?
I also wonder about the huge difference in our fleshly existence...can I as a spoiled American even compare my trials and tribulations to those mothers and children in the Sudan...or a thousand other places.
Maybe someone with more wisdom will come along and help us on this.
Carol V
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http://bible-truths.com/lake2.html
Ray answers these questions in this article with loads of scripture.
God bless,
Gary
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Hi Gena, Carol,
Yes, this is one of my difficult thoughts too. Humanity is given an experience of evil to humble them by it ...but there's humbling, and then there's humbling. We are all made subject to vanity so that we can all be made subject to hope ~ but is our own experience of vanity the same as everyone elses? And will our own personal experience of hope be the same as everyone elses? I can only hope that those who've experienced such awful lives of unimaginable sufferings will find the manifestation of God's love within them all the more glorious. Along the same lines of these scriptures in relation to sin:
Luk 7:40 And Jesus answering said unto him, `Simon, I have something to say to thee;' and he saith, `Teacher, say on.'
Luk 7:41 `Two debtors were to a certain creditor; the one was owing five hundred denaries, and the other fifty;
Luk 7:42 and they not having wherewith to give back, he forgave both; which then of them, say thou, will love him more?'
Luk 7:43 And Simon answering said, `I suppose that to whom he forgave the more;' and he said to him, `Rightly thou didst judge.'
Just some thoughts ...
Exactly how many 'stripes' of judgment is someone like this little girl going to need?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1102191.stm
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:cry: OMG How can I complain or whine about anything?? Gill that was so terrible. That poor child. Now, thru tears, I am asking, Why did that beautiful child have to go thru that. I hope she is in the first resurrection.
I used to get over these things by thinking How evil Satan was and that people made all wrong choices and that this child is happy in heaven now. But now, God did this as part of His will and the child is just dead.
No wonder people don't want to hear our Good News! Gill, I hope she receives no stripes at all!
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Thanks Orion for the link. I had read it before but it was good to read it again. I know Ray lost a child so I am sure he probably wrestled with these things.
I know these things on an intellectual level-knowledge, but it still hurts.
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:cry: OMG How can I complain or whine about anything?? Gill that was so terrible. That poor child. Now, thru tears, I am asking, Why did that beautiful child have to go thru that. I hope she is in the first resurrection.
I used to get over these things by thinking How evil Satan was and that people made all wrong choices and that this child is happy in heaven now. But now, God did this as part of His will and the child is just dead.
No wonder people don't want to hear our Good News! Gill, I hope she receives no stripes at all!
Maybe she will yet need to forgive those who abused her, maybe not. I think that some people go through so much that they aren't even 'there' anymore ...they don't even seem to have any bitterness ~ they don't feel anything at all. May God give us peace that passes understanding. At least you know that she has hope; her being made subject to vanity wasn't in vain.
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Man, that poor girl, ""Father forgive THEM they know not what they did" is right. Would have been great for her to laugh a llittle whle she was here. I bet she saw very little of that. This is more then sad. At least she is relieved of them.
Daniel
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WOW! Gill; that story rips my heart out. :cry: :cry:
A few years ago I read a book called "A Child Called It". It was a true account of the worst child-abuse case seen in California or maybe even the U.S., at the time. I've since bought the book "The Lost Boy" (which is one of the sequels... “A Man Named Dave� is the third/last, I think). But I have yet to read it. I was a complete basket case reading the first book (which covers up to age 12 and the point when he was finally removed from the home of his abusive mother… ).
WOW!!! :cry:
I must be the only one here who never had a problem with the teaching on "free-will" (or lack thereof)?? I guess because I never believed we had it to begin with so it wasn't something that I needed to 'unlearn'. Not sure why I could see that in the scriptures at a very early age (pre-teen, but never truly got 'confirmation' until I came across BT's.... till then I just figures *I* was the one who was wrong).
But even though I have always believed in God's sovereignty, I still find that I have no 'real' answers (nothing in the way of 'comfort') to explain why SUCH evil exists to the extrent or extreme that it does. :cry: I guess I just never really 'questioned' it or God's sovereignty. All I know is that when my daughter died a few years ago.... all I could do to get through it and deal with the grief was to keep telling myself over and over again that "God meant it for good".... and then I allowed HIM to comfort me, as only HE could. And He DID!! (Even though it never goes away and the NEED for that comfort remains continually; He still provides.... and those he had brought into my life to give comfort as well. Praise Him and God Bless them!! My family and friends.)
Chrissie
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The horrible things people do to chilren can take your breath away.When I think of all the neglected, aborted, raped, beaten, starved and hurt children, I can't help but be ashamed for complaining about anything that goes wrong in my life. Oh how thankful I should be that my parents were good to me.
I too can't imagine God punishing these precious children for what? For being treated worse than any dog in our country is treated? For living a life of horror, terror, fear and darkness? They have been through their lake of fire already here on earth. They have suffered more than I ever have. Yes, there are times I just don't understand the ways of God. But, I must hang on to Him, because He is all I have and He is everything I need.
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Hard to comprehend how someone can do this to children. It is no wonder why many people after seeing things like this happen and the deceived in the church, wish not to believe. Just goes to show it takes God dragging us to His truth.
I think because we know in part to let the judgment from God take care of all things. His judgments are righteous and just. He knows the beginning from the end and all points inbetween. All things shall be made known, whether good or bad. As we all know there is no escaping His judgments.
One of the strangest things I've come to understand through God blinding and healing is that we humans are so easily deceived. Not only deception, but when we come to know something, the blinders go up and we have a tendency to block more knowledge and understanding.
We must rely of faith. When terrible things happen to us, loved ones, or such as this innocent child, faith in the righteous judgment from God will make things right in the end. This I have no doubt, these people who do such things can run but they can't hide from their Maker.
The faith God gave us runs much deeper than just the fact it causes us to believe in Him. I hope you can see this, not sure if it is worded properly. The many of our brothers and sisters who have given their lives through much suffering and painful deaths can only come from pure faith from God. Way past simple belief and into where the mind of Christ has full control. The carnal minded have belief, albeit wrong, yet still they are His. I am talking about faith that is stronger and truer than what we see or perceive in ourselves. It's way past our five senses to where the physical is foolishness and the spirit is righteous, true, just.
We must not doubt God. Love goes full circle and will make all things right. For all of to be where we are now, God has no doubt given each of us great witnesses by His Spirit to us. We must rely on that, never wavering. His righteousness will stand.
Hope these words are a comfort.
God bless,
Gary
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Gena, it makes me realise that believing the good news is a work of God's spirit. No amount of mental gymnastics can satisfy the carnal mind and convince it that God is just and loving.
There's only so far we can compare how we'd treat our own children in comparison to how God treats His (whole of creation). None of us would treat our own children badly so that they'd appreciate our love, kindness, wisdom etc. even more. That's when, to me, God's ways are higher than ours. I think Ray once said that it would be easy for God to create a cat that'd sit happily in your lap and purr. Its a far bigger task to create mankind into His own image! :lol:
Aye, Daniel ..thank God that one day the people who did this will be free from all of that hate and perversion.
Chrissie ...certain stories just stick with me, they always have. For me, trying to make sense of evil has been a big part of turning to God. People hear stories like these and either ignore them, curse those who're responsible and/or God (whoever they think he is), or question the existance/nature of God. But like you, i don't have any detailed answers to some of these struggles ~ just a sense of peace. So glad that you found (and are finding) comfort too :) .
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WOW! Thanx 4 all the input, guyz!
However, I dont think u understand my dilemma.
The QUESTION of free will itself, is not entirely the issue that haunts me. It is that the scritpure is FULL of INSTRUCTIONS to make CHANGES.
How can this be done if GOD HIMSELF does not INITIATE the process...
There is NO ONE (not even me) who seeks God, no NOT ONE! (Rom 3)
How can we as people, or the Scripture, CONTINUALLY INSIST to one another that we MUST CHANGE!! What i mean is: We encourage each other to deal with this situation like that, or to adjust our attitude about this person, or to change the way we think or see or understand a certain thing.
IS IT AT ALL POSSIBLE FOR ME TO DECIDE TO MAKE ANY OF THESE CHANGES? :!: :!: :!:
God is Sovereign. Okay, He is sovereign over my will, Okay. He determines the cause of every choice I make - from the smallest to the greatest, Okay - THEN WHY ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS TO BE DIFFERENT!!???
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I guess as I write this i realise that the INSTRUCTION (LAW) is a PART of the CAUSE that PRODUCES THE CHANGE!!!
:oops: :oops: :oops:
Well, I guess that if it were not for this forum - and you fine people - I would never have written this post, and consequently, would never have come to the understanding that I just came to... :D
In Him,
e.