RZehr wrote: ↑Wed Aug 25, 2021 11:51 am
Today “witchcraft” means witchcraft. “Pharmacy” means pharmacy.
To say that they are the same thing today, based on the “pharmakeia” is like saying olives and engine oil are the same thing.
Yet a lot of people seek life and healing in the pharmacy, when they would be better off seeking Christ as the source of life.
I’m not anti-drug, but I found my life got a lot better when I decided to try to minimise drugs I was taking. Now I’m down to nothing taken regularly and feel a lot better. Too much of modern medicine involves going to a doctor and getting prescribed a pill, when other changes are needed.
Some drugs seem very much dedicated to immorality such as PREP, a drug designed for HIV positive people to engage in carnal relations without spreading HIV. I feel that slips dangerously close to “pharmakeia”. The same goes for highly addictive drugs like opiates which have ruined so many lives.
Ultimately the Bible does say not to trust in the cutting of roots and plants and herbs (which would also apply to more natural methods of medicine).
I agree that it seems Americans - and some Mennonites -, turn to drugs too fast.
But I also see people off the other deep end (like one of my sisters) who are way to fearful of any sort of drug, and would much prefer to rub ointments on her skin for her ailments.
As a whole, I think Americans turning to drugs too fast are a bigger problem than taking them to slowly. However for Plain People, I view gullibility for natural products to be a big problem too.
RZehr wrote: ↑Wed Aug 25, 2021 2:31 pm
I agree that it seems Americans - and some Mennonites -, turn to drugs too fast.
But I also see people off the other deep end (like one of my sisters) who are way to fearful of any sort of drug, and would much prefer to rub ointments on her skin for her ailments.
As a whole, I think Americans turning to drugs too fast are a bigger problem than taking them to slowly. However for Plain People, I view gullibility for natural products to be a big problem too.
I think both extremes are real problems.
I would argue that seeking healing in salves, herbs, special tinctures that are “natural” is very similar to getting a pill from a doctor. Just two different sides of the same coin.
I know others disagree with me most times, so this is just my personal thoughts.... I'm usually in the very small minority....
I would never take the shot just because they were saying that we wouldn't be able to go in businesses, etc. without it... (too reminiscent of the Mark of the Beast).... I do not trust The Pharmaceutical Industry....
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Rev.13:16-18 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
..... as far as herbs and vitamins, etc.... I feel like if we were eating the wonderful food God intended us to eat, we'd not be lacking so many vitamins and minerals.... What God has provided for us is what is best for us....so I think anything natural (God made) is better than anything (Man made)...
Ernie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:06 am
So what do you do with the 75% of medications that are "God-made substances"? Are you more open to them as compared to the other 25%?
What is a "God-made" substance?
Is penicillin "God-made?" It is grown in laboratory cultures of mold and then isolated and purified.
Is it different/better than amoxicillin which is essentially synthetic penicillin that is synthesized in the lab using chemical reactions (which are natural) rather than grown in mold cultures?
0 x
A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
Ernie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:06 am
So what do you do with the 75% of medications that are "God-made substances"? Are you more open to them as compared to the other 25%?
What is a "God-made" substance?
Is penicillin "God-made?" It is grown in laboratory cultures of mold and then isolated and purified.
Is it different/better than amoxicillin which is essentially synthetic penicillin that is synthesized in the lab using chemical reactions (which are natural) rather than grown in mold cultures?
My grandma used to eat moldy pies when she got sick, I wouldn't call that a laboratory.
mennonitemom1 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 28, 2021 8:27 pm
I know others disagree with me most times, so this is just my personal thoughts.... I'm usually in the very small minority....
That's fine - if we all had the same opinion, we would only need one person to post.
mennonitemom1 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 28, 2021 8:27 pmI would never take the shot just because they were saying that we wouldn't be able to go in businesses, etc. without it... (too reminiscent of the Mark of the Beast).... I do not trust The Pharmaceutical Industry....
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Rev.13:16-18 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
I completely agree that we should not have anything to do with the Mark of the Beast, but I don't see how a vaccination can be that. The Mark of the Beast is a visible mark that involves a conscious choice of loyalty and worship. This article is useful:
Why? Because the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16-18) is a mark that is closely tied to the worship of the beast (13:12, 15; cf. 19:20; 20:4). Thus, the mark of the beast is a mark of loyalty and devotion to the beast.
Moreover, when you compare those passages where the mark of the beast is discussed with passages like Rev. 7 and 14, it is plausible to think that the mark of the beast is most likely a sign that identifies you as something you already are—namely wicked and evil, a person of the dragon. I say this because when you read Rev. 7:1-8 and 14:1 (where the mark of the Lamb is discussed), you’ll notice it is a mark given to God’s people, God’s servants, in order to identify them as such and, of course, to protect them. They get the mark of the Lamb because they are already united with the Lamb.
It seems pretty evident that all of this is the case because these two marks—the mark of the beast and the mark of the Lamb—are meant to be seen as two polar realities, two opposite signs, marking out as it were two different types of people, namely, the wicked on the one hand and the righteous on the other.
What all this means is that the “mark of the beast” is most likely a spiritual, non-visible mark; it’s a mark of loyalty and worship and is not, therefore, something you could accidentally accept.
So you don’t need to fear getting the beast’s mark by taking a vaccine—unless, of course, you plan to treat the vaccine as a sort of symbolic expression or “unholy sacrament” (sorry for the oxymoron!) of your wilful and public rejection of the Christian faith that you despise. If that’s you and if that’s your plan, then it’s not the vaccine that’s the problem.