Unga's withdrawing from school.

[Flattop]

I can see how the principle of not judging could be being taught and left out perhaps the punishment or steps she needed to take. Maybe the stones that had already hit her was considered the punishment.

If there were stones thrown, I don't think that was part of the process of gaining forgiveness from God. It is my understanding that at least three things are required: sincere repentence, or a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" (I have heard some people use the term "godly sorrow"), making restitution where possible, and forsaking the sin.

The difficulty of these three steps may be enough to constitute some kind of punishment. Repentence isn't supposed to be easy, and from my personal experience I can say that it definitely is not. It would also seem that the more serious the sin, the more difficult the process of repentence if only because it is harder to get that godly sorrow, to make restitution, and to forsake the sin.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I didn't know that. How about the leapers being cleansed? It seems Christ forgave people on the spot, which of course he had the right to do, but I wonder if there were indeed steps taken

I don't recall anything on that story. But the story is question was prominently featured in this book:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Misquoting-Jesus-Story-Behind-Changed/dp/0060859512/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274327008&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Plus) (9780060859510): Bart D. Ehrman:…@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513X2vYD6NL.@@AMEPARAM@@513X2vYD6NL[/ame]

That is one of my favorite biblical stories and I don't think we can discount it just because it was added later, but it clearly was added later.

By the way, ditto for the part about Christ sweating drops of blood in the garden.

[Flattop]

It seems Christ forgave people on the spot, which of course he had the right to do, but I wonder if there were indeed steps taken

Which could suggest a significance in the fact he did not say to the woman "thy sins are forgiven thee."

He often forgave people he healed. Since at least some faith on their part was required for them to be healed, perhaps they had previously done enough to qualify for forgiveness. Certainly he had the ability to look into their heart and know instantly if they had repented sufficiently.

[LA Ute]

Actually, I think K-dog is right here. Ernest Wilkinson was on a mission to ban "fad dances" from BYU and apparently influenced some language about dance in the 1966 For the Strength of Youth pamphlet (which incidentally was only 16 pages long, much shorter than the current version):

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=8839

OK, I learned something. I had no idea that pamphlet has been around so long. Oddly, I do not remember it from my teen years (1967-73).

I feel like we are talking about me.

No, my son, I do not wish suffering upon you. Not at the moment, at least. :devil:

[Viking]

I'm looking forward to the closed-circuit TV broadcast in the hereafter where Santos tells God to stop being such a hard-ass and that this whole accountability thing is "bullshit".

oh brother.

[SteelBlue]

OK, I learned something. I had no idea that pamphlet has been around so long. Oddly, I do not remember it from my teen years (1967-73).

I don't remember it from my teen years either (1983-1989). But mainly I just wanted an excuse to tell you that I was 3 when you left on your mission.

[LA Ute]

I don't remember it from my teen years either (1983-1989). But mainly I just wanted an excuse to tell you that I was 3 when you left on your mission.

Thanks, you miserable vomitous mass. Just remember that someday you too will be middle-aged, and some wet-behind-the-ears kid will taunt you about your age.