Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
First Page - Now launched! All the stories are true, or based on real events. Unlimited reading for $4.99 / month. No downloads. Read on your phone, tablet or computer.
La verdad puede ser más extraña que la ficción.
First Page - ¡Ya está en marcha! Todas las historias son verídicas, o están basadas en hechos reales. Lectura ilimitada por $4.99 / mes. No hay que descargar nada. Lea en su teléfono, tableta u ordenador.
Manna Minutes Podcast: Eye-opening Bible study in less than five minutes! Access all episodes here.
Manna Minutes en español:
Estudio bíblico que nos hace abrir los ojos en menos de cinco minutos! Acceda a todos los episodios aquí.
Manna Minutes Podcast auf Deutsch:
Augenöffnendes Bibelstudium in weniger als fünf Minuten! Alle Episoden finden Sie hier.
Was There A Curse On Helen's Romantic Life?
The Third Man by Angela Sheffield is based on a true story. Read chapter one now!
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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
Should Christian Use The Metaverse? A Biblical Response
The Metaverse In A Nutshell
The goal of the metaverse is to advance technology to a point that man can make virtual reality seem so real that it cannot be distinguished from reality. Specially designed visors would allow users to enter the metaverse in the form of an avatar they create...an image that does not have to resemble them in any way. Whatever the avatar experiences in the metaverse will be experienced by the user. If your avatar parachutes from an airplane, you experience all the sensations of parachuting in the real world. Now, what if other avatars decide to capture and torture your avatar? Would that be a problem?. It's virtual reality, not reality. But medical science proves people have been literally scared to death.
Should Christians Use The Metaverse?
Let's say a Christian says, "I'll only meet up with other Christians, family and friends in the metaverse. Christians miles apart could attend worship services and Bible studies in virtual reality. So, isn't there a good side to the metaverse?" No. There is not.
The metaverse is a falsehood. No matter how close virtual reality is to reality, it is not reality. It is a falsehood. It is a lie. Period. In St. John 8:44, Christ warns that Satan is the father of lies. Does God want us worshiping in a falsehood? Did not Christ tell us in St. John 4:23 to worship Him in spirit and in truth? That means truth in all its forms. And of what is the false world of the metaverse composed? Images. The Bible repeatedly makes it clear that God forbids making images of people and animals. Some say images are okay as long as we don't worship them. No. We are not to even make them. Exodus 20:4 is one of several passages that forbid making images. Exodus 20:5 forbids worshiping them. Two separate prohibitions.
Note: There are cleverly constructed teachings circulating the internet that have deceived many into believing that the Bible condones and even encourages making, having and praying before images. The authors of such content even cite various biblical passages to support such erroneous teachings. We invite you to read Exposing How Catholics Use The Bible To Condone Having Sacred Images after reading this article on the metaverse.
Finally, keep in mind that the goal of the metaverse is to be able--in virtual reality--to experience every aspect of life in actual reality. Even if we could assure all experiences would be wholesome, we'd still be in conflict with God's plan to live life in the natural, physical world.
Marriage, for example, is wholesome, and is according to God's plan. But two avatars cannot be married. Not in His eyes. Matthew 19:5 says, "A man shall leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife. And they twain shall be one flesh." FLESH is real world.
God shows us He wants real people to deal with real people, not images. Not even images that represent real people. Even with the need to spread the gospel worldwide, God did not send out images of His servants. In chapter eight of the book of Acts, the Lord sends Philip to explain the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch. After Philip teaches the eunuch, the Lord supernaturally transports him away. Of course God could have supernaturally sent an image of Philip. Instead, he transported the real Philip.
Our very salvation depended on Christ coming in the flesh. God the Holy Ghost prepared a body for God the Son to live and move in the real world. Finally, Psalm 7:14 says of the wicked, "Behold he travaileth with iniquity and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood."
"Travaileth" means diligently labors. Iniquity is sin. Mischief means evil. This scripture refers not to a simple lie, which doesn't require diligent labor. And a lie is something we tell, not bring forth. Enemies of the gospel are laboring diligently to bring forth a virtual reality like never before. A falsehood.
Although "Christian" movies about end times do NOT depict biblical truths, one thing we might pay attention to is the fact that they depict the mark of the beast being taken by people while caught up in virtual reality. The metaverse. Movies, including the most far-out science fiction films, depict the actual plans of the enemies of the gospel.
"And he had power to give life unto the IMAGE of the beast, that the IMAGE of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:15-17).
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
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