Bibleshack. You've got questions, we've got answers!
[Last updated Jan 22nd, 4:10am]
Alright people, this is it. I have had it with people comming in hearing claims from others aginst the Bible, and thinking they know everything. I am going to set down a few facts about the Bible, I am going to show you in scripture where it's said and give you concrete facts that should stone any faith and denounce any lies you may have heard.
I will start off by saying I don't know everything myself. I am just a child in the eyes of God when it comes to my knowladge of the bible, but my faith is strong. That's why I'm doing this. That is why that scripture is put in the very first of the blog, from Matthew. I believe that the information I give you is from the knowladge that my Spirit carries, not my mind.
Here is a list of the topics I cover in this long blog. To make things easier on you, I have provided a "code" next to each topic if you're looking to skip to that certen part. To use this code, hit CTRL and F at the same time on your keyboard, and input the code in the Find Text box, and then hit Enter. You will be taken to the first instance of that text.
The titles are controversial for a reason, it's what is said about the Bible. If you've ever heard a sentence said here and felt doubt from it, find that section for the answer and understanding.
- [B4M00] The religion is flawed, the saved cannot go near sinners, therefore cannot save others without damning themselves. It says so right in the Bible!
- [B4M01] It's too hard to believe in God!
- [B4M02] The bible is incomplete, things were taken out/changed during english translation!
- [B4M03] God has a defining gender, so he can't be perfect!
- [B4M04] God would let me do (such and such action) now, times have changed!
- [B4M05] The bible says it started with two people, so everyone's related! That's incest!
- [B4M06] God is jealous, it says so in the Bible! Envy is a sin!
- [B4M07] I can listen to whatever music, or any TV show I want!
- [B4M08] It's human nature to sin!
- [B4M09] The Bible told me to hate my mother and father!
- [B4M10] The Bible says not to kill, why is that so easy but the others so hard? (NEW!)
- [B4MFAQ] Frequently Asked Questions
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[B4M00]
"The religion is flawed, the saved cannot go near sinners, therefore cannot save others without damning themselves. It says so right in the Bible!"
"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of this evil deeds"
(2 John 1:9-11)
Alright, there has been too much controversy on this passage. This is twisted in some pretty pathetic and judgemental things, and I'm going to show you how it's taken wrongly, how to take it and translate it correctly and what a mistake like this can do. First off you need to know what John is talking about here. This comes from The Second Epistle of John. An Epistle is a letter, most notebly a formal letter. John was writing this letter to warn of false teachers who commonly traveled from church to church speaking heresy.
People pervert this section and translate it into something like this :
Whoever sins, and doesn't follow the word of God, doesn't have God. If you follow the word of God, you have both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and doesn't have have the word of God inside them, don't let him into your house and do not bid him God speed: For if you give him that which is holy then you sin.
The bold text is where the translations usually get mixed up. Here's what it should read like, under the teachings of John.
Whoever sins, and doesn't follow the teachings of God, doesn't have God. If you learn the teachings of God, you have both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and tries teaching you things other than God, don't let it into your heart and do not bid him God Speed: For if you give blessings upon doctrine of evil, then you believe doctrines of evil.
The underlined word, house and heart, is difficult to translate correctly. It is said that when you open your heart to God, that he makes home there and protects it. That is the main part of the translation. You can see that with correct useage of words that the scripture becomes alot easier to understand.
This happens all the time, and that is why it is said that the Bible can only be truely understood while undert he influance of the Holy Spirit. Let's look at another, and then I will show you what misunderstandings like this can cause.
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."
(2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
This is how people translate it :
Don't be around unbelievers: for what business do blessings and sin have? And what business do light and darkness have? What business does Christ and Belial have? Why would a believer be near an infidel? What business does the the Temple of God have with idols? You are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell within them, and walk in them; and I will be thier God, and they shall be my people. So get away from them, and don't go near them, so it is said by the Lord, and don't go near it; and I will receive you.
Alright, another misunderstaning. People take this as another controversy of "Well the bible says to stay away from sinners, so no one can be saved. If you put yourself near a sinner to teach them, then you sin yourself."
This is not true. This does not talk about people in general. The underlined words in the scripture above is derrived from the word Heterozugeo, which means "Another". However, specifically in the chapter of 2 Corinthians 6:14 (Oh man, multiple meanings! What a shocker!) it talks particularly of marrage.
Well, that's an eye opener isn't it? That passage is translated completely different when you know that fact, doesn't it? Let's translate again :
Don't get married with an unbeliever: for what fellowship does saved and sin have together? Would Light and Dark commune? Would Christ and belial have a concord? What belief can you find in an infidel? What agreement does the Temple of God have with an Idol? You are the temple of the Living God; as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be thier God, and they shall be my people." If you're married to one, seperate from them, saith the lord "And touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."
Basicly it's a warning to people of faith not to get married to a sinner. There are volumes that can be taught from this. Especially the italicized passage.
"What belief can you find in an infidel?"
The main desire for marrage is not only love, but support. Do you think a sinner will support the bible? It is easier to fall to instinct/sin than to fall to God, so you're doing nothing but defeat yourself in that purpose.
This goes to show that you should seriously take a look deeper into the words of the bible, and it's translation before you judge what it says. This is not a one time read. It's not even a 10 time read. I know a man who's studied the bible for near 35 years and still doesn't know everything, so we wouldn't expect you to.
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[B4M01]
"It's too hard to believe in God!"
What, did you think the reward of eternal life and happiness would be easy to get?The belief in God is hard for a reason, he wishes you to have faith! All through the bible you can see that it is the faith that makes people strong, and the faith that God rewads.
Matthew 9:28-30 reads :
And when he came unto the house, the blind men came to Him: And Jesus saith unto them, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" and they say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then he touched thier eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it unto you."
The bold text is Jesus speaking, and is his words on faith. The underlined words are, in hebrew, referred to as Kata. This means "in reference to" or "inasumuch", so that tells us volumes of how much your faith matters. If you are of little faith, the blessings will do little but one of great faith will have miracles worked upon thier life.
Hebrews 11:6 reads:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that competh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
This scripture tells us again how important Faith is to believe in God. This is not to say that God will not be happy with you in general, but that he is a rewarder of those who do have the faith and it is within that reward that he finds the pleasure. If he cannot make you happy with his blessings, then he cannot be happy either.
Romans 14:23 reads:
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not faith is sin.
This tells us that anything without Him, is aginst Him. Therefor you should have faith always, so to never be aginst Him.
On first glance, however, there have been many people who have mis-understood this scripture. Some would take it as reasoning to cast out all people who did not believe in God, but I tell you now that this is not how this is ment to be taken. This goes along with the scripture from Matthew 12:25 which reads :
And Jesus knew thier thoughts, and said unto them "Every kingdom divided aginst itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided aginst itself shall not stand."
This is to say that the devil cannot do what God does, and God not what the Devil does. If they were to do things aginst themselves, they would fall.
It is not a sin to see sin, but to indulge in it.
Now watch out, I'm about to offend some people. This is the honest truth people, I'm not saying this to judge you I'm not doing this to try and say that you are damned.
The honest truth is that there is two powers to serve on earth, God and Satan. Glory or Sin. If you do not serve one, you will serve the other. You can either believe, or be damned. I do not say that to insult you, condemn you, or judge you. I do that to wake you up, and make you realize things.
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[B4M02]
"The bible is incomplete, things were taken out/changed during english translation!"
Next on the list of things to solve is this idea that when translated the bible was chopped up and mixed around to suit christian needs and desires, or the thought that books were removed because some christian orginization disagreed with them and didn't want to follow those parts. To get to the root of this problem, I'm going to show you exactially who translated the bible, when it was done and what happened because of it. This alone will give you enough logical evidence that such actions were not taken.
The first thing you have to realize about this myth is that it was not a christian orginization that translated the bible. It was a man named william tyndale. He was born in 1494, a devout believer in God and a very intelegent man.
He went to school at Oxford, and afterward to Magdalen Hall and Cambridge. (for those of you unknowing, that's over in England where he was born) He was gifted in many languages thanks to this.
At this time the bible was not available in English Translation, so the scholars of the time were the priests and translators of the Bible to those less knowladgeable. This caused for great crimes to be comitted, one of the most noteable would be the ideal of :
"If you pay the church this much, then your sins will be forgiven. So it is said in the Bible"
Tyndale decided that these crimes had gone on long enough, and went to publish the Bible in english so that it would never again be used in perversion or crime.
With the help of his friend Martain Luther, he published the first english translation of the New Testiment in the summer of 1525.
I'm going to cut a long story short, but the scholars didn't like this at all. After all, this man was ruining thier scam, and would make mockeries of them! He eventually went into hiding, and after a while he was found.
Tyndale was arrested and imprisoned in the castle of Vilvoorden for over 500 days of horrible conditions. He was tried for heresy and treason in a ridiculously unfair trial, and convicted. Tyndale was then strangled and burnt at the stake in the prison yard, Oct. 6, 1536. His last words were, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes." This prayer was answered three years later, in the publication of King Henry VIII’s 1539 English “Great Bible”.
And that's the true story of how the New Testiment (Where everyone says books were taken out during translation to suit a christian orginization's needs) happened. You decide the rest for yourself. If you want to know more, click on William Tyndale's name at the beginning of this section and you'll be taken to a site containing all this and more information.
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[B4M03]
"God has a defining gender, so he can't be perfect!"
Next up is the circle logic that revolves around the "Gender" of God. The argument usually looks something like this :
It is said that God is a perfect being, but due to the fact he has a defining gender then it places him within a rank and file thusly debunking the entire religion.
Alright, this is how we're going to do this. I'm going to fight circle logic with circle logic here as is normally done in this kind of debate as well as point out fact in scripture.
First, read this :
Genesis 1:26-27
And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have domination over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
So this is what people get in such an uproar over, and where our topic begins. (as well as our creation but that's obvious)
God was talking to someone, otherwise he wouldn't be talking at all. This is an understanding from the Hebrew word Elohyim.
The word Elohyim is plural, but we'll get into that later. It is plural of Eliyathah which means - Strength Almighty and Root.
Elohyim is a masculine noun, both plural and singluar in usage - gods(lowercase!) in the ordinary sense, but specifically used of the supreme God(uppercase!), occasionally applied by the way of deturance of magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:-angels or exceeding. God , gods, Goddess, or Godly.
The reason it's plural is because it talks more of than just a being, but of the "Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." All three of which make up God, which would be who he was taking to (Yes, folks... God was talking to himself.)
Honestly I don't think God has a true "Gender", it's not like he's sitting up there with a penis that he doesn't use. I believe he's considered Male to give him definition and understanding, because it would be alot more difficult to understand a being without gender and could open up many twists and perversions of the bible aginst our own anatomy.
In any case, there is no reason that this small fact would destroy the belief system or anything inside of the Bible. If, however, you still have complaints please leave them in the Comment box, and I will further this discussion.
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[B4M04]
"God would let me do (such and such action) now, times have changed!"
Next I am going to show you that God hasn't made mistakes concerning the current day and age. Many have proclaimed that certen things don't apply, because this day and age is alot different than way back then.
There is no such thing as Time to God. This is pointed out subtley in Genesis -
It was in the story of Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel and then...
Genesis 4:6-10
And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he said I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
The underlined word was mistranslated, and in hebrew text was plural. So it should read "Thy brother's bloods" and it does so because Time does not exist to God. He not only heard the cry of Abel, but the cry of each child he would of let be born. Every son, daughter, grandchild, greatgrandchild and so on.
So through this teaching you can see that God knew that in this day and age things would of been different, which is why Jesus said :
Matthew 5:18
For Verily I say unto you, till Heaven and Earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fufilled.
So no, people. God wouldn't change his rules because of the way we live now. He knew tattoo's would no longer become dangerious, or that smoking isn't as bad as it used to be. He knew that it would be difficult to follow all these rules more-so than it was before, and he still says do them to this day. There's no exception for times, so it is written.
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[B4M05]
"The bible says it started with two people, so everyone's related! That's incest!"
This is a severely common mistake made because of the story of Adam and Eve. Let's go straight into scripture, and see what I'm talking about.
Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 2:7-8
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
The underlined words here are translated from the Hebrew word Adam, which has two very distinct definitions.
Adam : This noun usually refers to mankind in the collective sense (Gen. 1:26,27) but it is also a proper noun. Adam, the first man whom god created (Gen 2:20). Adam refers to generic man as the image of God, the crown of His creation, distinct from the rest of creation. God created human beings by a special imediate act, and put Adam and Eve in a position of honor in the Garden of Eden because he had great plans for them.
This means that although there were only two people in the Garden of Eden, there were more than two people created on that day. It wasn't "Man" that was created, but "Mankind". The number of how many is unknown. Therefore it didn't start with just two people, so you can lay your worries down on that.
Past that, the word Incest means to have sexual relations with a close relative. That would mean some Parent/Child or Sister/Brother action. The length to which you want to take incest is your own personal agenda, and I'm not saying go out and marry your cousin, but I am saying that after a few generations the lines no longer exist.
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[B4M06]
"God is jealous, it says so in the Bible! Envy is a sin!"
Some take words way too seriously, you know that? Either that, or take one meaning and denounce others. Before I get into that, let me start off by reading this passage.
Exodus 20:5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Go ahead, click the word Jealous and it will take you to Dictionary.com and show you that this word has mutiple meanings, and the one used here is number 5.
Intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity; autocratic
Meaning he isn't going to tolerate you worshiping fase gods or idols, which would explain why it's a sin and you will be rightly judged for it by him when that time comes if you are not forgiven. God isn't going to be envious of you worshiping idols, but he isn't going to let you get away with it either.
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[B4M07]
"I can listen to whatever music, or any TV show I want!"
This is a touchy subject, and I want you to pay close attention to it.
Jesus said :
Mark 7:15
There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
and
Romans 14:23
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not faith is sin.
Now, here's what that means. These songs are not going to make you evil, these TV shows are not going to make you evil. However you have got to remember that we are human. Humans are easily led to temptation.
It's not going to make you bad to watch or listen, but for you to set a thought of sin in front of someone it's a temptation. It's like setting a lit cigarette in front of someone who's trying to quit smoking.
I'm not saying that if you listen to a song about drinking, you're going to drink. I'm not saying that if you watch a TV show about homosexuals you're going to become one. I am not saying that if you hear a curse word you're going to go and repeat it, but why should you put that temptation in front of you in the first place? If you remove all instances of sin from in front of you, then you have no example to live off of and no temptaiton to sin in the first place.
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[B4M08]
"It's human nature to sin!"
I agree.
Wait, was that not the responce you were looking for? Sorry to say but it's the truth. It truely is human nature to sin. You have a human instinct to have sex. You have a personal need for protection, so you lie.
Romans 7:14
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
The word Carnal is translated from Sarkikos which means "Flesh". It is understood that the Carnal, or fleshy, needs is that of sin, and that the nature of the carnal in itself is a fallen one.
This is why you go through the process of being "Saved" and giving your life to God. This is why it's so difficult to live in His word, and by His rules/law. It's not an easy thing to do to go aginst your own instincts, and that is why it is said that a war rages.
Romans 7:23
But I see another law in my members, warring aginst the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
This is called "Spiritual Warfare", and it's the war of the Holy Spirit and the carnal flesh. Your mind knows the laws of God, but your body will want to do them still. Do not think down upon yourself because of it, because it happens to everyone. You are a part of a war if you are to follow the laws of God, and rightly so you should be prepared to face that challenge. I never claimed that following God was easy to do.
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The Bible told me to hate my mother and father!
Luke 14:26
If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
This is a common misunderstood scripture, mainly because we use the term Hate so strongly nowadays. Hate is a very strong word afterwords, but the times have changed. Sure enough, the word Hate here is derrived from the greek word Miseo which means "Love Less". That makes it alot easier to understand.
So this passage doesn't teach us to hate everyone, it teaches us to put the love of Jesus and God above all others, even our own life. It's easier if you read it like this :
If anyone comes to me and loves his father more than me, or his mother, or his wife, or his children, or his breathren, or his sisters or even his own life he cannot be my disciple.
Meaning if you put anything before God, you can't be for God.
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The Bible says not to kill, why is this so easy to follow but the others so hard?
I've heard this question so many times. First, let's look directly into the actual passage.
Exodus 20:13 - Thou Shalt Not Kill
I guess that makes things plain and clear doesn't it? People worldwide know this comandment which as passed down, but alot of people don't fully understand it.
What's to understand about not killing, you say? Let's see what Jesus has to say on the subject. This is something that a million people have overlooked!
Matthew 5:21-26
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire.
Now, what does it mean?
It's simple. Killing goes beyond the normal belief of murder in God's eyes. The passage "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause" terms to those who hate for no reason.
This revolves around racism, sexism, or anything. Even being a bully in school. This is mentioned further with "Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca." Raca is an old hebrew term meaning "To spit upon". It was derived from the sound made to spit up flem and cast it out on those who you hated.
"But whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire" Ever said someone was wrong just because they didn't agree with you? Ever said someone didn't matter? Guess what, It's a sin.
Human life is just as important as human dignity in the eyes of God. If you would degrade human dignity, and make someone feel worthless then you have killed. If you would look upon someone and make them feel as if they don't deserve to be alive then you have killed that person in the eyes of God.
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If you have any questions that you would like answered, or have a contridiction of your own I encourage you to leave them in the comment box below. I will answer them right here, on this blog, for all to see. I will make it a point to find all things that people denounce and use aginst the bible and show them that if you don't do your research it's easy to get caught up in lies.
[B4MFAQ]
Frequently Asked Questions
Any question that you ask me, I'm going to answer in scripture because it should be the leading authority and answer of all questions in life.
How do you get your answers?
Matthew 10:18-20
"And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony aginst them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
What it means :
Whenever the scripture is believed, there will be one who will challenge you on it. When they ask for answers, you shouldn't try to know beforehand what to say, because it will be placed in your head by the Spirit of God which speaks from inside you.
What I have to say on it :
I thank the Spirit daily for the answers it shows me and I give to you. Each time the Bible is challenged, I find the way to answer that question.
Why are you doing this?
Matthew 18:11-14
"For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine and goeth into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
What it Means :
The Bible is sent to save those that are lost. What do you think? If a sheperd have 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, doesn't he leave the 99 and go to the ends of the earth to find the one he lost? When he finds it, I assure you that he'll be happier for the one who was found than the ones he never lost to begin with. This is the will of God, which is in heaven, that anyone who is lost should not die.
What I have to say :
Not everyone will see the conflicts in the Bible that someone else will, but they are the 99 that are not lost. The one who will come and misunderstand a scripture, or the ones that will be without faith are the ones that I should go to the ends of the earth for. The will of God is that I (or any one of the faith) should help those that are lost, and I will.
What church do you go to, and what beliefs do they have?
I go to a church called "Frostbite House of Prayer"
Matthew 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
It is named Frostbite for being in the middle of the Frostbite community, the surrounding area that most of the family of this church comes from.
Our belief is simple. The bible. Nothing else. We believe in the King James Version of the bible, but I am not beyond searching other translations or versions to double check some challenges.
We do not carry mass tradition, and for this we are deemed Non-Denominational.
What is Non-Denominational?
Non-Denominational means simply that we don't have a set belief. We go only by what the bible tells us.
Some simple beliefs are that we believe that everyone is welcome -
James 2
1My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Here it speaks of how you should not have respect of persons, which means you should treat all people equally. How if one of a rich demenor would enter the church how they should be treated equally to one who would come in and be poor, and visa-versa. This means not only in material things, but in spirit as well.
-- To be completed --
