Time for a good chat
Having a chat means different things to different people. Some might like a “good gossip”. It can be exciting to hear someone’s news, but we wouldn’t always want others to discuss our personal issues; passing on private information can be hurtful rather than good.
The Bible says,
“You shall not go around as a slanderer (or talebearer)” (Leviticus 19v16)
Some people want to chat because they are lonely or have a particular problem that they are finding difficult to deal with.
In the Bible, James says,
“let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak” (James 1v19)
The advice given is to spend more time listening to others, trying to understand their point of view or their difficulties rather than jumping in too soon with our own comments. We could follow up the standard “how are you?” opener with “are you sure you’re OK?” and then try to really listen and understand the response. We may make a big difference to someone’s life when we take a few minutes to pause in our busy lives and try to understand what someone is really saying. Maybe we can then think of a practical way to help them or perhaps there aren’t any solutions to offer but just listening and offering sympathy may still be beneficial.
In the Bible, God offers a lot of practical wisdom on how to live our lives and have good relationships with others, why not open a Bible and read more?
What are you up to in October?
Join us for something different. We’d love to see you! Discover the Bible for yourself — join our free 6 week course, Learn to read the Bible Effectively. Tuesdays, 7 – 8.30pm, starting 22nd October, God willing. We will cover:
- An overview of the books of the Bible
- How Bible prophecies have come true
- How to structure your Bible reading
- Use of cross references and study aids
- Bible teachings that impact your well-being
- The fascinating background to the Bible
- Free course materials
- No booking necessary
- Friendly atmosphere
- Free tea, coffee & biscuits
Also in October, at 2pm on Sunday 20th, please join us for a presentation on What is the world coming to? Armageddon? There is much in the world situation which is concerning. It is uncertain what will happen between Putin and the West with the possibility of long range missiles being fired into Russia. Will the situation with Israel and Iran escalate further? Could Armageddon result from the situation? What is Armageddon? How does it affect us? The Bible has answers.
Gorseinon Christadelphians, 110 Pontardulais Road, Gorseinon, Swansea SA4 4FQ
People died for us to have this priviledge
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to such people who dedicated their life’s work (and in some cases lost their lives) in order to make the Bible accessible to all who want to read it and we have never had it so good. Bible translation is currently happening in 3,283 languages in 167 countries! English language Bibles range from the John Wycliffe produced a complete translation of the Bible into English in 1382, shortly before he died. He was denounced as a heretic for this work by the Roman Catholic Church. By the mid 1500’s other men such as William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale had also completed English translations. Tyndale was hounded by the Roman Catholic Church for this and burned at the stake in 1536.
William Morgan, a Welshman who studied languages in Cambridge University alongside Tyndale and Coverdale, dedicated himself to the huge task of producing a Welsh Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek. By 1587 he had completed this work and presented a copy of the Welsh Bible to Queen Elizabeth I. He wrote in his dedication to
the Queen “Unless religion is taught in the common tongue it will remain hidden and unknown”.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to such people who dedicated their life’s work and in some cases lost their lives) in order to make the Bible accessible to all who want to read it and we have never had it so good. Bible translation is
currently happening in 3,283 languages in 167 countries!
English language Bibles range from the traditional 1611 King James Version (KJV) through to more modern English versions such as the English Standard Version (ESV) and New International Version (NIV) – and many more, including the convenience of free online accessibility.
And thanks to the work of William Morgan, there have been over 12 translations of the whole Bible into Welsh, including colloquial Welsh.
There is no excuse for not trying to read the Bible; some parts of the Bible can still be a difficult book to read and understand. However, it offers the hope of everlasting life in God’s Kingdom when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this Earth.
We will be starting “Learn to read the Bible Effectively”, weekly seminars, for 6 weeks from Tuesday, 22 October 2024, God willing. They will be at 7pm, at our hall (110 Pontardulais Road Gorseinon SA4 4FQ). Please come along if you are interested.
Does the Bible teach a fiery hell?
It may seem obvious to you that the concept of hell as a place of eternal fiery torment is a Biblical concept, and that the Bible teaches that this is where ‘bad’ people go after death for eternal, fiery punishment! If you look online or to encyclopaedias for information about Biblical hell you will only find mainstream Christianity’s teaching about it. And if you research that more carefully, you will find that it was an idea which was developed in the centuries after the Bible was written.
However, our English bibles are translated from the original languages of Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) so the English words we read are not the original written words in their native tongue. The main words which have been translated ‘hell’ in English are the words ‘Sheol’ (Hebrew), ‘Hades’ (Greek) and ‘Gehenna’; some modern Bible translations leave the original words in place sometimes and this can help when we understand what was originally meant by these words. Both Sheol and Hades simply mean the grave, or a pit, a covered place – this is what was understood by people when they read the Bible originally.
The third word, ‘Gehenna’, was the name of a valley to the south of Jerusalem in Bible times where people would take rubbish. There was always a fire and anything could be burnt, even the bodies of criminals. It was a place where things were destroyed (not tormented) by fire.
Consequently it is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for destruction, and is sometimes translated as ‘hellfire’.
If you read the Bible for yourself with an enquiring mind and open-minded research you can find out real truth. It isn’t as scary as you may have been told.
We are starting new “Learn to read the Bible Effectively” seminars in October 2024, God willing – please come along!
Gorseinon Christadelphians 