Paige Elizabeth

Muslims have argued for years that the Bible verse John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever," predicts the coming of Muhammad. They use Surah 61:6 (from the Quran), "And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic." to justify their argument that Muhammad is a prophet predicted by Jesus. This is all fine and dandy until you get into the original language of the verse and understand that in Arabic, the word for Ahmad (praised one) is equivalent to the word periclytos (praised one) in Greek. Unfortunately for their argument, the word periclytos does not appear in the verse found in John. John actually includes the Greek word paraclete (helper). Therefore, if the Muslims wish to argue that John does predict the coming of Muhammad, they would have to find evidence and support for the idea that the text of John is corrupt. I don't think Jesus directly stated that there would be the rise of Muhammad or the Islamic faith, but He does warn of false faiths and prophets in Matthew 7:15. So we do have a sort of prediction of a new faith or prophet rising up, but it's not named. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus often refers to a new helper coming in the near future and multiple times He says that this helper will be coming in His (Jesus') Name. Adding on to the fact Jesus said that the helper would be coming in a short number of days (Acts 1:5), Muhammad can be argued against because he did not come around until nearly 600 years after Jesus said this. I hope this helped! Let me know if it is not clear enough!

Hey all my AMAZING prayer warriors! It's been a while since I've spoken to quite a few of you! Life has definitely kept me busy lately! I'm coming to you and asking for prayer for a very important chapter of my life... As of July 26, 2016, I'm engaged to an awesome man of God who continually pushes me to grow in my relationship with our Savior. I couldn't ask for a better man. I've truly been blessed. He's managed to stay strong in his faith and encourage me during some of the most challenging trials I've ever experienced. Can you all please pray for our marriage? Peace is a big thing we are both desperately in need of right now. Thank you in advance! <3 I love you guys!

As many of you know, I used to be very active on the forums. Within the past few months a lot changed in my life and I went spiraling down hill very quickly. I was in a dark place and drugs among other things took priority in my life. It is with great joy I am able to say that I kicked all addictions to the curb and I've found the love of Christ once again. Although the craving for many things is still there, I'm doing all I can to end it. I would appreciate it if you could all keep me in your prayers as I go through this. It's not easy to go through alone and I know many of you are always available to talk to and confide in. Thank you in advance!

To start off, let's get the official definition of "religious freedom" or "freedom of religion". As stated in Article 18(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, religious freedom is: The International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) defines five things as a direct attack on religious freedoms. If you take this definition of religious freedom and the five articles listed above, you can justify the religious freedoms of specific religions being taken away piece by piece. For example, in most Middle Eastern countries, being a Christian is not only extremely dangerous but also illegal. In the United States, Christianity is under attack because the most commonly held beliefs go against the social norm of this age. So yes, our religious freedom is being taken social, but legally I would say no until there are laws passed against Christianity.

This is a very sticky situation. No parent would want their child to feel pain or suffering, so the easy answer for most people would be to abort the baby. Although my views and opinions differ from many people, I do not ever support abortion under any circumstances. Who are we to play the role of God? The doctor's report may say one thing, but the healing power of God says a completely different thing. God will remain faithful to those who trust in him. I don't think that it is ethically right to abort a baby because of what the doctors say. There have been way too many cases where the doctor's report has been incorrect and a perfectly healthy baby was aborted. Even if you're told your baby will only last a few hours or day, that's still a life that deserves to be lived even if it's short.

DISCLAIMER: I am notorious for offending people. If you happen to be one of the people I offend, I am not sorry. So please do not be a squeaky wheel and try to cause havoc. You have been warned. When you fill out most legal forms in today's society such as standardized testing forms, job applications, insurance forms, and many others, they all have something in common. They all have the question, "What is your race/ethnicity?" I find that really interesting. In light of all the recent attacks on our police officers (Officer Darren Goforth to be exact) that are said to be "race related" and "racially started", I got to thinking about how race plays into all of this. Personally, I find it very ridiculous that the American society has stooped so low in their actions relating to racial tension. When you call 911, what does the dispatcher say? "How may I help you?" or "What is your emergency?" They don't stop in the middle of YOUR emergency to ask what your race is. They don't ask you if you're black, white, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or anything else because they don't care what your race is. When an officer recites the oath, no where in there does it talk about race. It says they will serve and protect ALL people. The oath is color blind to race. When an officer puts on their badge in the morning before work, it's because they care about YOU. When they get the call from dispatch about YOUR emergency, what do they do? While you're running from your emergency, they are running into it full force to protect YOU. They come to help you while they have no idea how dangerous the situation may be. Officers don't stop the dispatcher and ask, "Is this a white person who's calling? Or a black person? Or a Hispanic?" Your race is irrelevant to the emergency. Officers don't care what race you are, they care about YOU, a human person. They care about your life whether your white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian. We all have our flaws, who doesn't? People forget that even workers of the law can make mistakes. Every morning an officer has to kiss their family goodbye and not know for sure they will return that evening. Especially in today's society. Your life matters. My life matters. Our police officer's life matters. The most hated person in America's life matters. Every. Life. Matters. Keep our officers in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this trial. What are your thoughts on the ongoing battle that police officers are facing daily? Why?

From my understanding, Christian Science believes in the healing power of prayer, so they do not take pain medicine or go to the doctor for a treatment. They rely solely on their faith in the power of healing through prayer. With that being said, would it be incorrect to say that their relationship with God might be stronger or more spiritual that a Christian who does not rely on only prayer for healing? I know that only you and God know the strength of your relationship, but if these people are literally putting their health in the hands of prayer, saying their faith is extremely strong may not necessarily be wrong.

I'm going to be honest about my views and opinions on "being yourself". This is a really touchy topic for a lot of people, so I apologize in advance if I offend you (I doubt I will, but just in case). Many people believe that being yourself is doing what "you" would do, saying what "you" would say, and supporting what "you" would support. Today's society tells us that we should be ourselves, but only if it fits their criteria. They say in order to be accepted as the defined "normal" part of society we need to support a certain political party, "worship" powerful people from Hollywood, dress and look a certain way. We are given a set standard on how we should be if we want to be accepted in modern day society. How on earth are we supposed to be ourselves when we are also given a check list of how we should be according to the mainstream media? I believe that in order to be yourself, you shouldn't let outside opinions and beliefs influence your own personal views. I will be the first to say I am very guilty of letting outside views influence my own. If you take a look at different society views and hold them up to the ethical principles and morals in the bible, they don't exactly hold the same beliefs. Some examples include but are not limited to, abortion, homosexuality, and gun control. The bible says we should live in the world, not of it. You can take that and interpret it however you please.

Hey guys! It's been probably about a year since I'm talked to really any of you. It's crazy how quickly and drastically life changes on us! I hope all of you have been doing more than well. <3 As far as an update goes in my life, I went through a rough period there for a while and dealt with a bunch of negative influences and addictions, but now I'm clean and on the right path. I'm currently working on finishing up school and getting the last credits I need to officially be done with school and then I'll be well on my way to becoming a licensed cosmetologist. So yay, right? In addition to all of the changes in my life, my appearance has changed quite a bit, so here is a recent picture with dark hair. (I believe most of you knew me when it was either brown or mahogany-ish) It's really great to be back on CTF and I can't wait to catch up with all of you guys! I love y'all! <3