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Hello everyone, I am writing a full report on Torah only using the NT, this is the start of part 1. I was shown to not search for the spiritual on the web. I only Use The Word and The Spirit. Part 1:The Meeting Of Acts. In acts chapter 13 vs. 14 & 15, we can see the Gentiles in Antioch are keeping the Sabbath and studying Torah, KJV: “But when they departed from Per'ga,they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. 15. And after the reading of The Law(Torah) and the prophets” (so Torah and rest of OT is what was being studied by the first Christian’s on The Biblical Sabbath day) In vs. 39 we see By our Belief/Faith in The Messiah we are Justified/made pure,. KJV: “And by him all that believe are Justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses”(simply following the customs of Torah is not what gives humans Justification) In vs. 45 we see the Jews become Jealous of the masses of Gentiles who have came to synagogue to Hear The Word of YHWH, and start speaking blasphemous. KJV: “BUT when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy" In chapter 14 vs 1 we see the Greeks and Jews both believed together as one Body in synagogue, no separation of Jew n Gentile. In chapter 15 vs.1 we have man who came down from Judea and taught the New converts, that They CAN NOT be saved UNLESS they are physically circumcised, KJV: “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses YE CANNOT BE SAVED.” which is what causes the whole debate can a person get salvation and be uncircumcised? KJV vs.2: “Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them, should go upto Jerusalem unto the Apostles and Elders ABOUT THIS QUESTION" (Not whether we should keep or destroy the Torah that would have been sacrilegious and never would have ever crossed Their minds!) In vs 5 there is a Pharisee that stood up during the debate, and said it is NEEDFUL they be circumcised and they should be COMMANDED to keep or "Guard" the Torah which could be a reference to rabbinical oral law about placing "fences" around Torah, on this verse I sought out a 4th translation from the Aramaic peshitta, that actually makes the most sense for the context, HRB: “But some of those rose up from the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, saying, It is necessary to circumcise them in order to keep the Law of Moses” In vs.9 we see again there is NO difference between Jew and Gentile, and that our Hearts become purified By Faith! Keeping the rules without Faith is worthless, keep the Torah perfect, without Faith and a circumcised heart it means Nothing! In vs. 10 we see Peter say, “now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” I believe this Yoke to be a mindset, the very mindset that caused this whole debate, that you CANNOT BE SAVED unless you follow these rules and customs, where as now the understanding has changed in this Meeting from ” we HAVE to Follow these customs to be Saved” to “now that we are Saved by grace, we SHOULD follow these customs” Although, the Torah is Holy, just and good (Ro 7:12), human beings are not, and according to the Torah (Deut 27:26) if one entered the first covenant, then they were obligated to observe every law of Torah and there was no way to have certain sins removed such as adultery, idolatry, blasphemy and murder. Yahshua magnified the Torah to show that in spirit every human being has committed such sins. Since Circumcision is the sign of the first covenant in which you could not have the penalty of such sins removed, Peter is clearly stating why would the elders want to put such a burden on new believers. Paul clearly expounds on this in the book of Galatians that if one is circumcised and joins the old covenant that Messiah will profit him nothing as there was no removal of sins but simply a hope of a better covenant to come with a more perfect priesthood in Melchizedek. In vs. 11 we again see through the Grace of The Messiah we are saved along with our Faith and belief as we seen in previous verses, this of course is not saying in any way that we should not Try to Follow YHWHs Rules, Just that The rules themselves DO NOT bring salvation, many men followed the customs who were unrighteous in heart, like the Pharisees who wouldn’t help men who needed healing on the Sabbath, they twisted His Torah into something it never was . In vs, 19 we see James stands up and says that they should not TROUBLE the New converts, as in don’t overwhelm these new people who have came to Elohim with a direct command from the Jerusalem council that they must follow every rule In order to gain salvation, in vs.20 he instead recommends that they(the elders) write them(new converts) a list they need to abstain from, to not overwhelm them, that they just stop fornication, blood, idols, things strangled “It would be ridiculous to think that these are the only 4 requirements that a new gentile believer needed to follow, as it does not mention murder, blasphemy or even belief in Yahshua. Since cultural issues such as not draining the blood correctly in animals was keeping Jewish believers from fellowshipping with gentile ones, the Apostles are simply making basic rules that will allow them to meet together with a clear conscience. These 4 points are not the only doctrine that a new gentile believer will have to learn, but they are a starting point, as the next verse clearly states that the gentiles will “hear the Torah each Sabbath that they meet” with the Jewish believers, clearly showing the still binding validity of the Sabbath and Torah, even after this decree.” In vs 21. James points out the fact that The Torah of Moses is preached every Sabbath, KJV:”For Moses of Old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day" there fore The elders don’t need to teach or tell these people about the rest of the commandments, bc they fully expect them to Hear Torah every Sabbath as they go to synagogue, in turn they can learn the rest of Torah at Their own pace and not be overwhelmed or worried. And in vs. 22 we can see only after this truth was stated “THEN" the elders, apostles, is pleased and in agreement with the decision.

I thought we can post here stuffs for all who are seeking facts, truths and Christ! So feel free to share things that could help any seeker out there! Sources I know to be very good that are runned by new born Christians: At Youtube: Steven Bancarz, The Vigilant Christian, James & Lea D http://reasonsforjesus.com/ ******* Removed YouTube Links ... YouTube Links Are Not Allowed *******

Origins - Evidence For a Young World O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 1 Timothy 6:20 http://youtu.be/tX9eDTNfQHY But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 2 Corinthians 4:3-5 http://youtu.be/Z43s4tx9CxM And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: Ephesians 3:9

http://youtu.be/SyUDGfCNC-k

We all wonder what will happen to us after we die. When a loved one dies, we long to see him or her again after our turn comes. Will we have a glorious reunion with those we love or is death the end of all consciousness? Jesus taught that life does not end after our bodies die. He made this startling claim: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.” According to the eyewitnesses closest to him, Jesus then demonstrated his power over death by rising from the dead after being crucified and buried for three days. It is this belief that has given hope to Christians for nearly 2000 years. But some people have no hope of life after death. The atheistic philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote, “I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my own ego will survive.”1 Russell obviously didn’t believe Jesus’ words. Jesus’ followers wrote that he appeared alive to them after his crucifixion and burial. They claim not only to have seen him but also to have eaten with him, touched him, and spent 40 days with him. So could this have been simply a story that grew over time, or is it based upon solid evidence? The answer to this question is foundational to Christianity. For if Jesus did rise from the dead, it would validate everything he said about himself, about the meaning of life, and about our destiny after death. If Jesus did rise from the dead then he alone would have the answers to what life is about and what is facing us after we die. On the other hand, if the resurrection account of Jesus is not true, then Christianity would be founded upon a lie. Theologian R. C. Sproul puts it this way: Many skeptics have attempted to disprove the resurrection. Josh McDowell was one such skeptic who spent more than seven hundred hours researching the evidence for the resurrection. McDowell stated this regarding the importance of the resurrection: So, is Jesus’ resurrection a fantastic fact or a vicious myth? To find out, we need to look at the evidence of history and draw our own conclusions. Let’s see what skeptics who investigated the resurrection discovered for themselves. Cynics and Skeptics But not everyone is willing to fairly examine the evidence. Bertrand Russell admits his take on Jesus was “not concerned” with historical facts.4 Historian Joseph Campbell, without citing evidence, calmly told his PBS television audience that the resurrection of Jesus is not a factual event.5 Other scholars, such as John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar, agree with him.6 None of these skeptics present any evidence for their views. True skeptics, as opposed to cynics, are interested in evidence. In a Skeptic magazine editorial entitled “What Is a Skeptic?” the following definition is given: “Skepticism is … the application of reason to any and all ideas—no sacred cows allowed. In other words … skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibility that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true. When we say we are “skeptical,” we mean that we must see compelling evidence before we believe.”7 Unlike Russell and Crossan, many true skeptics have investigated the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. In this article we will hear from some of them and see how they analyzed the evidence for what is perhaps the most important question in the history of the human race: Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Self-Prophecy In advance of his death, Jesus told his disciples that he would be betrayed, arrested, and crucified and that he would come back to life three days later. That’s a strange plan! What was behind it? Jesus was no entertainer willing to perform for others on demand; instead, he promised that his death and resurrection would prove to people (if their minds and hearts were open) that he was indeed the Messiah. Bible scholar Wilbur Smith remarked about Jesus: In other words, since Jesus had clearly told his disciples that he would rise again after his death, failure to keep that promise would expose him as a fraud. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. How did Jesus die before he (if he did) rose again? A Horrific Death and Then. . . ? You know what Jesus’ last hours of earthly life were like if you watched the movie by road warrior/brave heart Mel Gibson. If you missed parts of The Passion of the Christ because you were shielding your eyes (it would have been easier to simply shoot the movie with a red filter on the camera), just flip to the back pages of any Gospel in your New Testament to find out what you missed. As Jesus predicted, he was betrayed by one of his own disciples, Judas Iscariot, and was arrested. In a mock trial under the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, he was convicted of treason and condemned to die on a wooden cross. Prior to being nailed to the cross, Jesus was brutally beaten with a Roman cat-o’-nine-tails, a whip with bits of bone and metal that would rip flesh. He was punched repeatedly, kicked, and spit upon. Then, using mallets, the Roman executioners pounded the heavy wrought-iron nails into Jesus’ wrists and feet. Finally they dropped the cross in a hole in the ground between two other crosses bearing convicted thieves. Jesus hung there for approximately six hours. Then, at 3:00 in the afternoon—that is, at exactly the same time the Passover lamb was being sacrificed as a sin offering (a little symbolism there, you think?)—Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (in Aramaic), and died. Suddenly the sky went dark and an earthquake shook the land.9 Pilate wanted verification that Jesus was dead before allowing his crucified body to be buried. So a Roman guard thrust a spear into Jesus’ side. The mixture of blood and water that flowed out was a clear indication that Jesus was dead. Jesus’ body was then taken down from the cross and buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. Roman guards next sealed the tomb, and secured it with a 24-hour watch. Meanwhile, Jesus’ disciples were in shock. Dr. J. P. Moreland explains how devastated and confused they were after Jesus’ death on the cross. “They no longer had confidence that Jesus had been sent by God. They also had been taught that God would not let his Messiah suffer death. So they dispersed. The Jesus movement was all but stopped in its tracks.”10 All hope was vanquished. Rome and the Jewish leaders had prevailed—or so it seemed. Something Happened But it wasn’t the end. The Jesus movement did not disappear (obviously), and in fact Christianity exists today as the world’s largest religion. Therefore, we’ve got to know what happened after Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb. In a New York Times article, Peter Steinfels cites the startling events that occurred three days after Jesus’ death: “Shortly after Jesus was executed, his followers were suddenly galvanized from a baffled and cowering group into people whose message about a living Jesus and a coming kingdom, preached at the risk of their lives, eventually changed an empire. Something happened. … But exactly what?”11 That’s the question we have to answer with an investigation into the facts. There are only five plausible explanations for Jesus’ alleged resurrection, as portrayed in the New Testament: Jesus didn’t really die on the cross. The “resurrection” was a conspiracy. The disciples were hallucinating. The account is legendary. It really happened. Let’s work our way through these options and see which one best fits the facts. Was Jesus Dead? “Marley was deader than a doornail, of that there was no doubt.” So begins Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the author not wanting anyone to be mistaken as to the supernatural character of what is soon to take place. In the same way, before we take on the role of CSI and piece together evidence for a resurrection, we must first establish that there was, in fact, a corpse. After all, occasionally the newspapers will report on some “corpse” in a morgue who was found stirring and recovered. Could something like that have happened with Jesus? Some have proposed that Jesus lived through the crucifixion and was revived by the cool, damp air in the tomb–“Whoa, how long was I out for?” But that theory doesn’t seem to square with the medical evidence. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association explains why this so-called “swoon theory” is untenable: “Clearly, the weight of historical and medical evidence indicated that Jesus was dead. … The spear, thrust between His right ribs, probably perforated not only the right lung, but also the pericardium and heart and thereby ensured His death.”12 But skepticism of this verdict may be in order, as this case has been cold for 2,000 years. At the very least, we need a second opinion. One place to find that is in the reports of non-Christian historians from around the time when Jesus lived. Three of these historians mentioned the death of Jesus. Lucian (c.120–after 180 A.D. referred to Jesus as a crucified sophist (philosopher).13 Josephus (c.37–c.100 A.D.) wrote, “At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man, for he was a doer of amazing deeds. When Pilate condemned him to the cross, the leading men among us, having accused him, those who loved him did not cease to do so.”14 Tacitus (c. 56–c.120 A.D.) wrote, “Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty … at the hands of our procurator, Pontius Pilate.”15 This is a bit like going into the archives and finding that on one spring day in the first century, The Jerusalem Postran a front-page story saying that Jesus was crucified and dead. Not bad detective work, and fairly conclusive. In fact, there is no historical account from Christians, Romans, or Jews that disputes either Jesus’ death or his burial. Even Crossan, a skeptic of the resurrection, agrees that Jesus really lived and died. “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.”16 In light of such evidence, we seem to be on good grounds for dismissing the first of our five options. Jesus was clearly dead, “of that there was no doubt.” The Matter of An Empty Tomb No serious historian really doubts Jesus was dead when he was taken down from the cross. However, many have questioned how Jesus’ body disappeared from the tomb. English journalist, Dr. Frank Morison. initially thought the resurrection was either a myth or a hoax, and he began research to write a book refuting it.17 The book became famous but for reasons other than its original intent, as we’ll see. Morison began by attempting to solve the case of the empty tomb. The tomb belonged to a member of the Sanhedrin Council, Joseph of Arimathea. In Israel at that time, to be on the council was to be a rock star. Everyone knew who was on the council. Joseph must have been a real person. Otherwise, the Jewish leaders would have exposed the story as a fraud in their attempt to disprove the resurrection. Also, Joseph’s tomb would have been at a well-known location and easily identifiable, so any thoughts of Jesus being “lost in the graveyard” would need to be dismissed. Morison wondered why Jesus’ enemies would have allowed the “empty tomb myth” to persist if it wasn’t true. The discovery of Jesus’ body would have instantly killed the entire plot. And what is known historically of Jesus’ enemies is that they accused Jesus’ disciples of stealing the body, an accusation clearly predicated on a shared belief that the tomb was empty. Dr. Paul L. Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, similarly stated, “If all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable … to conclude that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. And no shred of evidence has yet been discovered … that would disprove this statement.”18 The Jewish leaders were stunned, and accused the disciples of stealing Jesus’ body. But the Romans had assigned a 24-hour watch at the tomb with a trained guard unit (from 4 to 12 soldiers). Morison asked, “How could these professionals have let Jesus’ body be vandalized?” It would have been impossible for anyone to have slipped by the Roman guards and to have moved a two-ton stone. Yet the stone was moved away and the body of Jesus was missing. If Jesus’ body was anywhere to be found, his enemies would have quickly exposed the resurrection as a fraud. Tom Anderson, former president of the California Trial Lawyers Association, summarizes the strength of this argument: So, with no body of evidence, and with a known tomb clearly empty, Morison accepted the evidence as solid that Jesus’ body had somehow disappeared from the tomb. Grave Robbing? As Morison continued his investigation, he began to examine the motives of Jesus’ followers. Maybe the supposed resurrection was actually a stolen body. But if so, how does one account for all the reported appearances of a resurrected Jesus? Historian Paul Johnson, in History of the Jews, wrote, “What mattered was not the circumstances of his death but the fact that he was widely and obstinately believed, by an expanding circle of people, to have risen again.”20 The tomb was indeed empty. But it wasn’t the mere absence of a body that could have galvanized Jesus’ followers (especially if they had been the ones who had stolen it). Something extraordinary must have happened, for the followers of Jesus ceased mourning, ceased hiding, and began fearlessly proclaiming that they had seen Jesus alive. Each eyewitness account reports that Jesus suddenly appeared bodily to his followers, the women first. Morison wondered why conspirators would make women central to its plot. In the first century, women had virtually no rights, personhood, or status. If the plot was to succeed, Morison reasoned, the conspirators would have portrayed men, not women, as the first to see Jesus alive. And yet we hear that women touched him, spoke with him, and were the first to find the empty tomb. Later, according to the eyewitness accounts, all the disciples saw Jesus on more than ten separate occasions. They wrote that he showed them his hands and feet and told them to touch him. And he reportedly ate with them and later appeared alive to more than 500 followers on one occasion. Legal scholar John Warwick Montgomery stated, “In 56 A.D. [the Apostle Paul wrote that over 500 people had seen the risen Jesus and that most of them were still alive (1 Corinthians 15:6ff.). It passes the bounds of credibility that the early Christians could have manufactured such a tale and then preached it among those who might easily have refuted it simply by producing the body of Jesus.”21 Bible scholars Geisler and Turek agree. “If the Resurrection had not occurred, why would the Apostle Paul give such a list of supposed eyewitnesses? He would immediately lose all credibility with his Corinthian readers by lying so blatantly.”22 Peter told a crowd in Caesarea why he and the other disciples were so convinced Jesus was alive. We apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by crucifying him, but God raised him to life three days later….We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. (Acts 10:39-41) British Bible scholar Michael Green remarked, “The appearances of Jesus are as well authenticated as anything in antiquity. … There can be no rational doubt that they occurred.”23 Consistent to the End As if the eyewitness reports were not enough to challenge Morison’s skepticism, he was also baffled by the disciples’ behavior. A fact of history that has stumped historians, psychologists, and skeptics alike is that these 11 former cowards were suddenly willing to suffer humiliation, torture, and death. All but one of Jesus’ disciples were slain as martyrs. Would they have done so much for a lie, knowing they had taken the body? The Islamic martyrs on September 11 proved that some will die for a false cause they believe in. Yet to be a willing martyr for a known lie is insanity. As Paul Little wrote, “Men will die for what they believe to be true, though it may actually be false. They do not, however, die for what they know is a lie.”24 Jesus’ disciples behaved in a manner consistent with a genuine belief that their leader was alive. No one has adequately explained why the disciples would have been willing to die for a known lie. But even if they all conspired to lie about Jesus’ resurrection, how could they have kept the conspiracy going for decades without at least one of them selling out for money or position? Moreland wrote, “Those who lie for personal gain do not stick together very long, especially when hardship decreases the benefits.”25 Former “hatchet man” of the Nixon administration, Chuck Colson, implicated in the Watergate scandal, pointed out the difficulty of several people maintaining a lie for an extended period of time. Something happened that changed everything for these men and women. Morison acknowledged, “Whoever comes to this problem has sooner or later to confront a fact that cannot be explained away. … This fact is that … a profound conviction came to the little group of people—a change that attests to the fact that Jesus had risen from the grave.”27Were the Disciples Hallucinating? People still think they see a fat, gray-haired Elvis darting into Dunkin Donuts. And then there are those who believe they spent last night with aliens in the mother ship being subjected to unspeakable testing. Sometimes certain people can “see” things they want to, things that aren’t really there. And that’s why some have claimed that the disciples were so distraught over the crucifixion that their desire to see Jesus alive caused mass hallucination. Plausible? Psychologist Gary Collins, former president of the American Association of Christian Counselors, was asked about the possibility that hallucinations were behind the disciples’ radically changed behavior. Collins remarked, “Hallucinations are individual occurrences. By their very nature, only one person can see a given hallucination at a time. They certainly aren’t something which can be seen by a group of people.”28 Hallucination is not even a remote possibility, according to psychologist Thomas J. Thorburn. “It is absolutely inconceivable that … five hundred persons, of average soundness of mind … should experience all kinds of sensuous impressions—visual, auditory, tactual—and that all these … experiences should rest entirely upon … hallucination.”29 Furthermore, in the psychology of hallucinations, the person would need to be in a frame of mind where they so wished to see that person that their mind contrives it. Two major leaders of the early church, James and Paul, both encountered a resurrected Jesus, neither expecting, or hoping for the pleasure. The Apostle Paul, in fact led the earliest persecutions of Christians, and his conversion remains inexplicable except for his own testimony that Jesus appeared to him, resurrected. From Lie to Legend Some unconvinced skeptics attribute the resurrection story to a legend that began with one or more persons lying or thinking they saw the resurrected Jesus. Over time, the legend would have grown and been embellished as it was passed around. In this theory, Jesus’ resurrection is on a par with King Arthur’s round table, little Georgie Washington’s inability to tell a lie, and the promise that Social Security will be solvent when we need it. But there are three major problems with that theory. Legends rarely develop while multiple eyewitnesses are alive to refute them. One historian of ancient Rome and Greece, A. N. Sherwin-White, argued that the resurrection news spread too soon and too quickly for it to have been a legend. 30 Legends develop by oral tradition and don’t come with contemporary historical documents that can be verified. Yet the Gospels were written within three decades of the resurrection.31 The legend theory doesn’t adequately explain either the fact of the empty tomb or the historically verified conviction of the apostles that Jesus was alive.32 Why Did Christianity Win? Morison was bewildered by the fact that “a tiny insignificant movement was able to prevail over the cunning grip of the Jewish establishment, as well as the might of Rome.” Why did it win, in the face of all those odds against it? He wrote, “Within twenty years, the claim of these Galilean peasants had disrupted the Jewish church. … In less than fifty years it had begun to threaten the peace of the Roman Empire. When we have said everything that can be said … we stand confronted with the greatest mystery of all. Why did it win?”33 By all rights, Christianity should have died out at the cross when the disciples fled for their lives. But the apostles went on to establish a growing Christian movement. J. N. D. Anderson wrote, “Think of the psychological absurdity of picturing a little band of defeated cowards cowering in an upper room one day and a few days later transformed into a company that no persecution could silence—and then attempting to attribute this dramatic change to nothing more convincing than a miserable fabrication. … That simply wouldn’t make sense.”34 Many scholars believe (in the words of an ancient commentator) that “the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church.” Historian Will Durant observed, “Caesar and Christ had met in the arena and Christ had won.”35A Surprise Conclusion With myth, hallucination, and a flawed autopsy ruled out, with incontrovertible evidence for an empty tomb, with a substantial body of eyewitnesses to his reappearance, and with the inexplicable transformation and impact upon the world of those who claimed to have seen him, Morison became convinced that his preconceived bias against Jesus Christ’s resurrection had been wrong. He began writing a different book—entitled Who Moved the Stone?—to detail his new conclusions. Morison simply followed the trail of evidence, clue by clue, until the truth of the case seemed clear to him. His surprise was that the evidence led to a belief in the resurrection. In his first chapter, “The Book That Refused to Be Written,” this former skeptic explained how the evidence convinced him that Jesus’ resurrection was an actual historical event. “It was as though a man set out to cross a forest by a familiar and well-beaten track and came out suddenly where he did not expect to come out.”36 Morison is not alone. Countless other skeptics have examined the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, and accepted it as the most astounding fact in all of human history. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ raises the question: What does the fact that Jesus defeated death have to do with my life? The answer to that question is what New Testament Christianity is all about. Did Jesus Say What Happens After we Die? If Jesus really did rise from the dead, then he alone must know what is on the other side. What did Jesus say about the meaning of life and our future? Are there many ways to God or did Jesus claim to be the only way? Read the startling answers in “Why Jesus.” -from y-Jesus.com

The McDonalds Hot Coffee Lawsuit - What You Didn't Hear Originally published here on May 6, 2008 Probably at some point, you have heard of the woman who spilled hot coffee in her lap, and sued McDonald’s for millions. What you usually hear, is how this woman drove into the drive-thru at McDonald’s and bought hot coffee, that she then stuck between her legs. Because it was a Styrofoam cup with a slip on slid, the coffee spilled in her lap. Then you hear that that this lady was awarded nearly 3 million dollars because she burned her lap. Generally, most people tend to feel more sympathy for an individual, than they do for multi-billion dollar corporation. In this case some people side more with McDonald’s, reasoning that this woman doesn’t deserve much, if anything, afterall, McDonald’s did not spill the coffee, she did that herself, it was her poor judgement that led to the accident. They also think that 3 million is a ridiculous amount of money, for a coffee scald. Perhaps, you are one of those people. We are always hearing of frivolous lawsuits and/or excessive judgement in lawsuits. Perhaps this angers you some, because you know that these things cost us all money. Perhaps you believe that if you were in her shoes, you would not have brought this suit, but just admitted your own fault and move on, after you stopped screaming from the pain. Those are easy positions to take, aren’t they? You may not have your facts strait however, or at least you may not have all of the facts. For example, this woman was not driving, she was a passenger in the car, and the car was not in motion. She was opening the lid to add cream and sugar. Yes, the coffee was between her legs as she attempted to remove the lid. The lid was on tight enough (which is good, because you would not want the lid to come off if the cup overturned while driving) that she had to squeeze the cup with her legs to keep the cup from lifting while she pulled the lid off, but, once the lid was off, the cup lost reinforcement. Then the pressure from her legs squeezed the cup out of round, and the coffee squirted up and out of the cup. In a moment, the coffee was absorbed into her sweatpants which kept the hot coffee in contact with her skin. The pain made her react instinctively and uncontrollably, spilling the rest of the coffee – you get the picture. Now, this doesn’t make the spill the responsibility of McDonald’s, but it does transform the incident from one of a really foolish driver with hot coffee in her lap, to a mistake and accident that anyone of us might have made. Now, what you also might not know, that this was not simply a painful burn. The burns she received were extensive. Six percent of her skin was third degree burns, with additional second and first degree burns. How did it get to such a large about of her body? Well, after the initial burns on her legs and groin, the coffee ran downhill to the car seat, where her buttocks were burned. Without getting too detailed, she was burned everywhere in between. She spent the next eight days in the hospital, having dead tissue removed and receiving skin grafts. The woman sought $20,000 from McDonald’s, but McDonald’s refused. This is when she sought relief through a lawsuit. During the discovery portion of the trial, McDonald’s produced documents which showed that there had been at least 700 claims by people burned by McDonald’s coffee, in the ten years prior to this woman’s case. This shows that McDonald’s knew that it had a problem with the temperature of it’s coffee. McDonald’s also provided information, to the effect that they keep their coffee on hold, at 185 degrees, plus or minus 5 degrees. This is substantially hotter that other establishments. Coffee at home, is usually served at 135 to 140 degrees. To give a perspective, most adults cannot make themselves, no matter how hard they try, hold their hand in water over 130 degree. Water at 105 degrees, is about the most people can tolerate in a hot tub, 95 to 100 still feeling quite hot. Eighty degrees above that, is quite hot! Water at 180 degrees, can give you a third degree burn, in as little as two seconds. There are other facts that you may not have heard, but I will skip most of them. Remember that three million dollars? Well 2.7 million of that was punitive damages. For those of you not familiar with how our civil court system works, punitive damages are not awarded to the plaintiff because the plaintiff deserves or needs them. The are designed to punish the defendant (McDonald’s), so that they will have an incentive, to change their behavior, and stop serving coffee that unnecessarily burns 70 people every year. This amount, at the time, was the equivalent of two days worth of coffee sales for McDonald’s. Damages, the amount awarded to plaintiff as compensation, were awarded by the jury in the amount of $200,000, but they were reduced to $160,000, because the jury found that the plaintiff was 20% responsible. The punitive damages, were reduced by a judge, to $480,000, but the judge said that McDonald’s was reckless, callous, and willful. The parties entered into a secret settlement subsequently, so we do not know how much McDonald’s actually payed I am guessing that it was less, that McDonald’s threatened to appeal the verdict and/or awards, and that the plaintiff might end up with nothing, so a compromise was stuck. I do not know this to be true, this is just a guess. O.K. What does all of this have to do with a Christian chat administrator’s blog? I do not know if knowing the facts of the case that I presented above, change your opinion about it at all, that is not the point. But you can see, that someone might come to different conclusions, if they have all of the facts, or in some cases just admit that they do not know all of the facts, and suspend judgement until they do have the facts. We, as Christians, have a lot of insecurity usually on the topic of judgement. Some of us think think that it means that we should not criticise others. It does not mean that. If you want, you can see my thoughts on judgement as a theological topic, you may, but that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about how quick we can be, to leap to false conclusions, when we do not have the facts. Sometimes we think we have the facts, but we do not know how much more to a story there is than is apparent. Sometimes, it is none of our business to know all of the facts, and in such cases, might we want to consider suspending our opinions out of recognizing our own ignorance? We often have too much pride, to consider that we might be wrong, might not have the facts (who wants to be ignorant?). How do we do this? How does it manifest, where is the harm? We do this when we become critical of others, when they behave in a way that we do not approve of, but we may not realize, that we might have done the same thing in their position. Friendships can be damaged, congregations torn apart, or, if not torn apart, we separate into factions or cliques, where we justify why we are not like those other guys, as they do the same thing concerning us. This is not pleasing to God, we are one family, we are to love the brethren, bearing one another’s burdens, making peace, forgiving each other, as God also forgave us. Before you are tempted to reply and scold me and tell me that the Bible instructs us to judge those in church, save your breath, I understand that. Again, that is not the subject here. My topic is more about jumping to unfounded conclusions. Another way that we manifest this faulty type of judgement, is we sometimes blame God, when something in our life is not as we think it should be. We have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. God is the only one who knows all of the details, that lead Him to the actions He performs, or allows things in our lives, that we may not like. We do not know what greater purpose might be served by our discomfort, or how those things are shaping us into better people, perfecting us in areas that need change in our lives. Perhaps the biggest thing we forget, is that while we may approach His throne and make requests, the decisions are His, and His decisions are always right. We were bought with a price, we belong to Him, and we have no rightful claim on our own lives. To the extent that we maintain our own sense of entitlement, we are outside of His perfect will for us. We are at our best, when we complete surrender ourselves to His will. It is not a natural thing for us to do, it is a supernatural quality. Jesus said it best: “Never-the-less, thy will, not my will, be done.” Omegaman