The Narrow Path Ministries

Since the series

n = (summation over j = 1 to infinity) 1.5^j

does not converge, the statement is meaningless. You can't make a variable equal to something that has no finite value. You are trying to violate the meaning of the word "equal."

I did not bother to read all of the posts, so this might have been covered ...

The series

n = 3/2 + 9/4 + 27/8 + ...

which is the summation

n = (summation over j = 1 to infinity) 1.5^j

does not converge, so the algebra in the first post is not valid.

Is it possible to go one minute without sinning? If so, why would it not be possible to go 2 minutes? 5 minutes? 20 minutes? one hour? 12 hours? 1 day? 1 week? 1 month? 1 year? 1 life time? It may be possible to not sin in a given time period, but as the time period increases, the probability of no...

First the science: Release a softball at shoulder height and it will be accelerated toward the center of the earth at a known rate. This is a deterministic process. It must happen. Suspend an ice cube on an insulating thread in a typical room and it will melt, but it is not a deterministic process. ...

jriccitelli, Baptism is a 'sign' of the new Covenant, just as circumcision was the 'sign' of the Old Covenant. I am not aware of the passage that explicitly states this. It must be an inference, but I am not aware what passages it is inferred from. This statement would have to be the conclusion draw...

If you believe that every passage of scripture must be construed in a vacuum then our difference is a fundamental one. That is not at all my point. My point is that the first readers of Mark would not have formed their understanding of Mark by comparing it with Paul's letters. its audience was part...

The reference to baptism would be entirely superfluous if it were already included in the prior reference to faith. CThomas, Keep in mind that the first audience did not have a volume of other writings they could refer to in order to develop an understanding of faith and baptism. (They had an oral ...

CThomas has hit the nail on the head. One starts with a "hypothesis." Then one reads the scripture in a way that will agree with their pre-determined conclusion. The obvious problem is that with this approach, the scripture does not inform one's beliefs, but one's beliefs control their understanding...

Steve, You wrote: The fact remains that it goes beyond logical necessity, in Mark 16:16, to make baptism an absolute requirement for salvation, while it is clear that faith is an absolute requirement (because of the negative affirmation). and then: I did not provide an interpretation of the text. I'...

I wouldn't assume they make the analogy to yield the result they want, but rather the analogy is a result of what they believe it says. This is exactly my point. The analogy does not establish the meaning of the passage, the analogy is selected to explain a person's understanding of the passage. Th...