Tony,
Artificial insemination was also used in Ancient Egypt on young virgin hymen intact to ensure the offspring was the child of the Pharaoh, who actually became the child of Ra, god of the sun. I gained that knowledge from reading History of Ancient Egypt. The hymen must still be intact till the time of birth, that is virgin birth.

Isaiah 9 mentions that the child would be born of a virgin [meaning not having intercourse with a man]. That was written 600 years before Messiah was born, as is also verified by the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah. The Essene community also used artificial insemination, so as not to be made ceremonially unclean. That was contemporary with the time of Jesus conception. Zechariah also visited the Essene Community and knew the Isaiah scrolls.

To David F.

[I used to believe in God. After reflection I concluded I believed in an entity that existed only in the human mind and not elsewhere. I wrote an article to that effect.]

I started on the thought that if it's something I've seen, or something I can do, (whatever the task, or the activity), then it is common enough that most everyone else has too. I may have to reconsider that logic. So if that is the case and having an experience with God is rare, (as opposed to something everyone experiences at least once but don't recoginize it/ or ignore it), if it is rare, then I should go into more detail.

How do you love God. There are more answers then I am aware of, just like I told Mikk, there are many forms love can take. Here are a few examples though. Love can be shown by wanting to be around someone, and appreciating them. A child running to their dad or mom excited to see them is like that kind of love. Giving thanks to God is one way to show your love to Him, when you pray. Being excited for how He did something for you, or for someone else, that's a love of appreciation too, even if you don't thank Him. Spending time with God can be as simple as making time for Him, with prayer and bible study. If a person does this gladly, I think God knows the love they have for Him.

(Continued)

Toni, there you go mentioning the Anglicans, Sister Mary said never mention the Anglicans unless it was to be in the most disparaging of terms. You're not being too disparaging there. You know they were in league with the devil, don't you? Aka Henry VIII, who also had nasty thing to say about the Holy Father in Rome, as well as the Irish!

You know St Patrick was an Irishman from god knows where! If he wasn't, he should have been.

p/s Sister Mary always referred to the Blessed VIRGIN Mary, not Sister Mary, the other Mary.

I should point out there was another "immaculate conception"; When my step sister got up the duff at 16, I distinctly recall the Old Man shouting "What is this... the immaculate bloody conception!" see there were two.

(Continued)

Obeying God's word is another sign of love. Like a husband and wife who love each other respect each other's wishes and don't do something they know the other doesn't like, it's a sign of love through commitment. Any time we find a way to apply one of His teachings to our lives it is a continuation of commitment and love. But commitment can be it's own focus. Many families get hurt because one person is committed to their job so they can support the family they love. In the same way if a person holds many responsibilities to be committed to God, but lose sight of God in the process, it might be a negative effect instead of a positive one.

Third way I know is to show love by caring and loving those God cares about. This basically includes everyone. Care for one another and help each other. Especially those who need it. This ties into being obedient to His teachings, because so many of them are about being good to each other. In fact I'd say by practicing all three aspects, (appreciation, commitment, and love for others) all mix well together to strengthen your faith as well as keeping you strong in being a good person. But being thankful to God I think is a real deal, because our love for Him is strengthened by His love for us. He can and does help us better love each other when we also love Him and stay close to Him.

To AJ Philips. You asked about your arrogance. Consider your comment when you called me arrogant.

[If I was not a true believer, then no-one is. True believers can still come to reason.]

And a later comment.

[if I had lost my Christian faith because of a tragic loss, then you would have considered the possibility that I had really found Jesus, but since I was (*ghasp*) THINKING, you as assumed that I could not have possibly been convinced that I had found Jesus?]

Your arrogant and snide remarks are almost always in your comments. And your arrogant attitude that Christians can't think just adds to this. Don't call anyone else arrogant unless they are at least as arrogant as you. Hold yourself to the same standards you push onto others. That said I don't want this to be the focus of the discussion. You don't need to apologize, and definitely don't need ask what I mean. You should be smart and observant enough on your own to see it. I would rather move on because it might be needed to show how to love God, and how God has loved us. (On that note I can only tell from my experiences and those that have been told to me). God does love each of us, I hope by telling the experiences and observations I've found it can be an encouragement to to anyone, to seek God.

Dear Josephus,

I don't understand your response. I did not mention the immaculate conception so your explanation of its difference from the virgin birth is irrelevant. I did point out that there is no mention of a virgin in the original prophesy in Isaiah, but you chose to ignore that preferring a faulty translation to the original. The only thing I gather from your reply is that you prefer Protestant nonsense to Catholic nonsense.

Dear Not_Now.Soon,

When I was a child I heard or read the story of the binding of Isaac and was horrified by it. I asked my father what he would do if he heard a voice from God telling him to sacrifice me. Dear old Dad did not disappoint me. He told me he would see a psychiatrist.

Unfortunately psychiatrists were not available in Abraham’s time, and he probably would not be sensible enough to see one if they were. Apparently belief in God dulls one’s critical senses.

The God of the Bible is unreasonable and vengeful.

He sets up a scenario in the Garden where he knows they will eat the fruit. He destroys most life on earth by a flood. In the New Testament he condemns his own son to a torturous death. He is a nasty guy who does a lot of nasty things.

Can you recommend another God for me to love? That nasty piece of work in the Bible is not lovable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

“There is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.”

“There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide,[9] but about 84% of the world's population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion.”

People believe many different things in the way of religion. All religions do not have a concept of a God or a supernatural. Unitarians and humanistic Judaism do not require either belief in a God or a supernatural.

However, among all those 10,000 religions there must be some with a God who less a monster and more lovable than the biblical gent.