There is such a thing as crop rotation.....always with one field every seventh year to rest......that is the way I read it.....but then again I dont wear a yamica(if that is how you spell it)...

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Economic reality has made it virtually impossible to obey the sabbatical commandment. Profit margins on most crops are minuscule, and intensive use of every fi eld is the norm. No farmer can afford to lose a whole year’s income.

'where your heart lies there will your treasure be also......'

I think they have something like the NYS lottery to keep the food coming......

I agree that crop rotation is an option...but the Jews try to follow EXACTLY what God says. What a concept, huh?

That can be good or it can be bad. Some Muslims are following the exact language in the Koran and look how that's turning out.

Quoted from Shadow

That can be good or it can be bad. Some Muslims are following the exact language in the Koran and look how that's turning out.

True, Shadow, but this is not the true word of God.  This is only the word of Man who stated that he got it from God.  The Bible is the true, infallable word of God.

Unfortunately all the religious writings were interpreted by man and if you put 10 people in a room and let them read the same books you'll get 10 interpretations.

Quoted from 16

True, Shadow, but this is not the true word of God.  This is only the word of Man who stated that he got it from God.  The Bible is the true, infallable word of God.

Which Bible?? The King James version, or the Catholic version?  I think the Catholic version has more books than the King James. Does that mean it's a more complete Bible than the King James??  I can never decide which bible to read, so I read a little from each one, so as to get the full story.   

Quoted from CICERO

Which Bible?? The King James version, or the Catholic version?  I think the Catholic version has more books than the King James. Does that mean it's a more complete Bible than the King James??  I can never decide which bible to read, so I read a little from each one, so as to get the full story.   

Cicero,
To be honest with you, I don't know.  I personally do NOT use the Catholic bible, although I do know that there are some other books that are included in it.  There is a set group of books that are considered canonical by the church.  I believe, but couldn't tell you off the top of my head, that these books do NOT include the additional books that are added to the Catholic bible.
Again, personally, I would go with the NIV.  I did use the King James before, but it is quite difficult, especially with the "thees" and "thous", especially for children, therefore, for my children, I would "giveth" the NIV.

The 'Old Testament' is what the Jewish folk follow.....I believe the 'Old Testament' known to both the Protestants and Catholics alike, otherwise known as the The Law; The Prophets(both minor/major); The Writings, by the Jewish folk.......

I personally read, believe and try to live by the King James or the NIV.

However, Shadow does have a point. The Muslims, or any religion for that matter believe theirs is clearly the true written word. And I guess if we were born in Iran or Iraq, we would be Muslim and believe just as stongly as they do. Same with the Mormans and any of the other gazillion religions out there. INCLUDING WICKA! (witchcraft). As far as Catholic....that's not my choice.

http://www.dailygazette.com

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Jewish, Muslim holidays coincide
Two faiths observe time of reflection and celebriation
BY JILL BRYCE Gazette Reporter

   At sundown Wednesday, Jewish people around the Capital Region gathered for Rosh Hashana while Ramadan, the Islamic period of fasting, began with special prayer.
   Both religions follow a lunar calendar and the two holidays coincide this year, which is somewhat rare and last occurred in October 2005, according to Tariq Niazi, president of the Islamic Center of the Capital District.
   For the faithful of both religions, this is a holy time of reflection and atonement as well as celebration.
   The Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana started Wednesday at dusk, beginning a 10-day period of prayer and reflection that lasts through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
   “According to our tradition, we believe this is the season when God opens the book of life and writes our name in it for a year of blessing, well-being, goodness and health and it is sealed on Yom Kippur,” said Rabbi Matt Cutler of the Congregation Gates of Heaven.
   Jews celebrated by eating apples and honey and other traditional foods which symbolize sweetness and prosperity.
   “By tradition it’s the birthday of the world,” said Cutler. “We eat the apple because it’s round, like the world. We eat honey because we want sweetness from it.”
   There is a continuity about Rosh Hashana, said Cutler, and each year there’s something wonderful about seeing people sitting in synagogues next to family and friends. “They will say the same words and same melodies and the sound of the shofar, which will be blown by the same person. It gives an incredible sense of continuance of faith and of belonging.”
   Rosh Hashana started at dusk Wednesday to correlate with the start of a new moon based on the lunar calendar.
   At Congregation Gates of Heaven, Neil Golub will raise the shofar, a curved ram’s horn, to his lips during the service this morning as he has done for decades to mark Rosh Hashana.
   This book of Torah instructs how it is to be done. “This is the way God has commanded us to do it,” said Cutler. “We fulfill that act. It will be blown with different notes to stir your soul.”
   He said a great sage from centuries ago viewed it as a way to awaken an internal alarm clock. The tones from the ram’s horn call Jews to look inward at the the kind of person they are and the person they want to be, said Cutler.
   The tones remind congregants to repent and change to seek a higher standard for themselves, said Cutler.
   The blasts from the shofar also remind Jews to ask forgiveness from those they have hurt in the past year and to resolve to be the best they can be in the new year, said Cutler.
   It asks Jews to reflect how they have followed God’s commandments and if they accomplished goals that God set for them.
   It can be difficult to play the ram’s horn and Cutler called it an art form that’s similar to playing the trumpet. There are several notes and three different styles.
   Golub, who is the CEO of Golub Corp. which owns Price Chopper supermarkets, was a trumpet player, which has made him very good at playing the shofar, and it’s become a highlight at the service, which begins at 10 a.m. today, said Cutler.
   Rosh Hashana is a great moment of the Jewish calendar, said Cutler, who expects every seat in the Congregation Gates of Heaven will be taken.
   Ramadan began at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday with a night prayer and marks the beginning of a 30-day fast, which begins each day at dawn and ends after the sun has set.
   No food, no drink and no smoking is allowed during the fast hours.
   “It’s a very special month, a time for prayer and reflection. By refraining from food and drink, people are more mindful and try to do things they should do all along,” said Niazi. “The hope is that if they do it for 30 days they will continue to do it. The idea is to be good to neighbors and be good to others.
   “We go for 30 days, we worship our God. The Koran prescribes this in Islamic tradition,” said Niazi.
   By fasting, a person realizes how difficult it can be for those who are less fortunate in developing countries.
   Niazi said he will get up early today and eat and will have to stop eating at first light, at 5:15 a.m. He will not eat again until sunset at 7:09 p.m.
   Muslims enjoy special pastries and other sweets when ending their Ramadan fasts. The holiday Eid al-Fitr follows the monthlong fast and will be marked with prayers at mosques.

http://www.timesunion.com

Quoted Text

Apostolic succession is context of 'true church'  
First published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Can the writer of the Sept. 6 letter, "Reader glad he's not part of 'true church,' " make the claim that his church has apostolic succession? Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches can. Other churches started because of dissatisfaction with the Roman Catholic Church. From what I have read, Martin Luther only wanted to reform the church, not start a new one. Leaving a church doesn't make it better. Reform has to come from within.
  
Personally, I believe that we all have at least some of the truth in our souls. But, please, don't take the Pope's words out of context.

CHRIS SCHOLZE ZURAWSKI
Waterford, Pa.

Quoted Text

....make the claim that his church has apostolic succession? Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches can.

The only 'apostolic succession' is CONSTANTINE!

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

Episcopal bishops meet; gay issues loom large
BY RACHEL ZOLL The Associated Press

   The Rev. Frank Wade, a veteran of the brawling theological debates in the Episcopal Church, said the denomination was once filled with people like him: “old white men.” It was the church of the establishment, the spiritual home of more U.S. presidents than any other denomination.
   Now, the head of the church is a woman who says the Bible supports gay relationships. Many Episcopal priests believe that accepting Jesus isn’t the only path to salvation. And V. Gene Robinson, who lives openly with his longtime male partner, is the bishop of New Hampshire.
   Episcopalians are hardly alone among mainline Protestants in their liberal turn, but they have been tested like no others for their views. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S., and many Anglican leaders overseas are infuriated by Episcopal left-leaning beliefs.
   Starting on Thursday in New Orleans, Episcopal bishops will take up the most direct demand yet that they reverse course: Anglican leaders want an unequivocal pledge that Episcopalians won’t consecrate another gay bishop or approve offi cial prayers for same-gender couples. If the church fails to do so by Sept. 30, their full membership in the Anglican Communion could be lost.
   “I think the bishops are going to stand up and say, ‘Going backward is not one of our options,’” said Wade of the Washington diocese, who has led church legislative committees on liturgy and Anglican relations. “I don’t think there’s going to be a backing down.”
   Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is taking the rare step of meeting privately with the bishops on the first two days of their closed-door talks. The Anglican spiritual leader faces a real danger that the communion, nearly fi ve centuries old, could break up on his watch.
   “I’m working very hard to stop that happening,” he told The Daily Telegraph of London.
   The 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church comprises only a tiny part of the world’s 77 million Anglicans. But the wealthy U.S. denomination covers about one-third of the communion’s budget.
   Within the Episcopal Church, most parishioners either accept gay relationships or don’t want to split up over homosexuality.
   However, a small minority of Episcopal traditionalists are fed up with church leaders.
   Three dioceses — San Joaquin, Pittsburgh and Quincy, Ill. — are taking steps to break away and align directly with like-minded Anglican provinces overseas.
   According to the national church, 55 of its more than 7,000 parishes have either already left or voted to leave the denomination, with 11 others losing a significant number of members and clergy. Episcopal conservatives contend the losses are much higher.
   Many of the breakaway parishes aren’t waiting to see what the bishops decide in New Orleans. They’ve aligned with sympathetic overseas Anglican leaders, called primates, who have ignored communion tradition that they only oversee churches within their own provinces.
   Primates from the predominantly conservative provinces of Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and elsewhere have ordained bishops to work in the U.S., and have set up parish networks that rival the Episcopal Church on its own turf.
   Litigation over who owns the properties has already started and will be expensive and messy. Episcopal buildings and other holdings nationwide are worth billions of dollars.
   The fight isn’t just about the Bible and homosexuality. It’s fueled by deep differences over how Scripture should be interpreted on a wide range of issues, including salvation and truth.
   The decades of debate turned into open confrontation when Robinson was consecrated in 2003. A church — and global communion — that once held together Christians with diverse biblical views found itself dividing into factions, seeing little that could unite them.
   “The various debates ... over my lifetime have been a fascinating study in two ships passing each other in the night,” said the Rev. Peter Moore, a leading conservative thinker and retired head of the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa.
   “Neither heard a thing the other said. It was clear that both groups had made up their minds on totally different grounds, and they were not speaking the same language.”

Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire is a controversial figure in the Episcopal Church because he is gay and openly living with a male partner.

Have fun....it's not my church and it's not the Bishop's church.....who's church is it? who get's to uphold the church?...I would assume the 'someBODY' that other guy is trying to sue.....

How nice...gay episcopalitan priests and catholic pediphile priests. NEXT...