Age? (5-25-06)
by Tommy West (Wake Forest, North Carolina)
Laura Lee writes:
I was not able to get an answer for this letter from Michael Porter after several months of trying.
He emailed at one point for more information, which I sent to him and after that he just never responded so I am not sure if he ever
got any of my emails after that point.
Update: As of December 4, 2007, Michael Porter is claiming that he never answered this
question in the first place even though
we do have email from him to the contrary.
Tommy West writes:
Darwin & Laura,
Greetings.
Hopefully things are well with both of you (and Mous).
Laura Lee writes:
Yes, we are fine and so is Mous. Mous is our diabetic
cat who just turned 14 years old in July of 2007.
Tommy West writes:
Thanks for considering my
recent paper (What Does the Suffering
of Christ Mean to You?) for publication.
I would like to commend both of you on the new format of your newsletter and also for
naming it
THE CHURCH OF GOD MESSENGER which aptly describes the role each of us should play in spreading the gospel of the kingdom
of God in this end time.
Though my income is fixed and much less than it was before retirement, I hope to be able to help you
financially in the next few months. I truly appreciate the work you do and I believe that all who receive it enjoy spiritual benefits
from it.
Laura Lee writes:
Thank you for your encouragement.
Tommy West writes:
In the
latest issue of the newsletter, you
printed Question #57 and the answer given by Michael Porter of Benin Republic. Obviously his comments about the unborn child not receiving
any of the mother's blood was correct or you would not have printed it.
Laura Lee writes:
Yes, I did research that point and found
it to be true. There are numerous web sites you can go to, to get this information. I will quote from only one of them:
“Question: The blood of the mother and the fetus do not normally mix. Why this is important?
Answer: In days past it was assumed that the
primary route of communication between a mother and her child within the womb occurred through the placenta. This was what contributed
to the mother and child bonding because the blood of the mother and that of her fetus would get mixed. However, science and research
has shown us that the blood of a mother and her unborn child never mixes, and if does, then the mother’s blood would raise up an immunology
protest. This could develop to such an extent that her body may wish to get rid of this unwanted object within her that has caused
such a riot! In other words, the mother will start making so many antibodies that she will not be able to carry her baby at all. A
mother and her baby have two distinctly separate blood systems, depending on the genetic contributions that the mother and father
have made, and one must not and will never mix with the other.” From:
http://www.blurtit.com/q153257.html
Tommy West writes:
To
say the least, though, I am flabbergasted at his response. It is clear from scripture that Jesus COULD AGE AND HAVE WRINKLES. Luke
3:23 notes that Jesus was about thirty years of age when He began His ministry. If Jesus couldn't age, why was Luke inspired to write
that or for that matter, how could anyone else distinguish His age? Was He always a boy? Also, it is true that Jesus said as recorded
by John (10:18), He had the power (STRONG'S 1849) to lay down His life and to take it again, but Paul wrote that God the Father raised
Jesus from the dead. (Rom. 4:24, Acts 2:24). This clearly shows to me, that Jesus could NOT determine at what point He could be resurrected.
I believe Mr. Porter was wrong on this point. Perhaps I will write more on this subject later.
Take care.
Tommy
Laura Lee
writes:
Yes, I agree with you that Michael Porter was wrong on this point. We go through a tremendous amount of stuff here to consider
for print and sometimes we miss the mark, but that is what readers are for. Readers do need to protest when they have knowledge of
something. When we printed Michael Porter’s answer to
“Question #57”, we should have left the following statements completely off
the end: “Thus, He did not have gray hair or wrinkles and would not have been subject to old age, infirmity, or disease unto death.
He could get a cold, have a toothache or experience pain, but would have no fear of dying from any of these things. He said no man
could take His life, but it was His to surrender.” I think at the time we looked at this, we printed it because we felt it was Michael
Porter’s opinion, since he stated no scriptures to back it up. In any case we were wrong to have printed those last three sentences
and we apologize to our readers for having done so.
Thank you for writing so we could get this matter cleared up.
