FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine - International Standard Serial Number ISSN 1449-7425 Issue 56 Vol 6 # 2 February 2005 FreEzine is a free email magazine/newsletter containing articles of interest from a Christian perspective and is published no less than monthly. FreEzine is NOT Spam and is only sent to people who request it. If you ever want to stop (or start) receiving FreEzine you'll find instructions at the end of this newsletter. FreEzine is also available in Spanish - La Revista libre de Ezine, French - La Revue de Ezine libre, German - FreiEzine Zeitschrift, Italian - La Rivista di Ezine libera, and Portuguese - Revista livre de Ezine. A special "hello" to all of our new subscribers. We welcome and appreciate feedback on how we can improve this e-zine for you. IF YOU FIND THIS NEWSLETTER USEFUL... ... PLEASE FORWARD IT TO FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES! IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial: Did God Create Sin? NEW: Feedback via Internet Prayer Thought: New Prayer Request Website From My Case Files: Legal Mischief Letters to the Editor: Removing an auto-line in MS Word; All Right Daffy-nitions: Politics What's On? Seminars & Workshops Repeatable Quotable: Unity Article: Ten Major Causes of Failure by Christos Varsamis Natural Remedies: Haemorrhoid Treatment Havagiggle: That's Not a Sin... Split Second Wisdom: Roots The Extensive Exposition: The Canon of the New Testament, by F.F. Bruce The Funny Bone: Dial-a-Prayer for Atheists Sermon Snippet: There are Worse Things in Life Than... Theologically Speaking: The Best Time to Plant Freebies: GratisGift Take a Hint: Hiding or Locking Folders Cooks Corner: No-Bake Peanut Butter Cups Watch This Space Subscription & Other Information And in Closing: For the Ecologists... FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine Editorial: Did God Create Sin? Isaiah 45:7 reads, "I form the light and created darkness: I make peace and created evil: I the Lord do all these things." Did God create sin? I understand that this verse, in its context is referring to Cyrus - a type in Scripture of the Devil (Satan) whom God did create! So, did God create sin? Perhaps this is best answered by asking, 'what is sin?' In a perfect world sin would not exist. This is because sin is a "nonentity reality" (a phrase I have coined). Now, before you label me an heretic, let me explain. (I do believe in sin!) We know that God didn't create Dark, he created Light. You can't make Dark. Dark is simply the absence of light. Take away the Light and you are left with Dark. Now I would like to suggest that God didn't create Cold, he created the Sun (Heat). You can't make Cold. Cold is simply the absence of heat. Even a refrigerator gets cold because you remove the heat, not because you make Cold. Take away the Heat and you are left with Cold. God didn't create Vacuums. A Vacuum is simple the absence of matter (e.g. air). Take away the Air and you are left with a Vacuum. God didn't create Silence. A Silence is simple the absence of Sound. Take away the Sound and you are left with Silence. There are many examples of this in nature. In the same way God didn't create fear. (2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Fear is the absence of Love. (1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.) Now back to our discussion of Sin. Sin is the absence of God. GOD DIDN'T CREATE SIN but when he gave man freedom of choice, man could then choose to live apart from God and His law. This, then, is Sin - being apart from God and His Law. (1 Corinthians 15:56 "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law." and 1 John 3:4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.") Sin is separation from God (Romans 8:35, 39 " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.") Sin is so serious that it cost Jesus His life just to bring about a reconciliation between Man and God. --Editor NEW: Feedback via Internet We have just introduced a new service for FreEzine: A Forum for Feedback via the Internet. We welcome feedback on articles, current events, or even complaints. Check out our website for the links. (or you can just send us an email!) Prayer Thought: (ALSO NEW) If you have a prayer request, it can be either confidentially shared via a new Personal Prayer Request website or posted in FreEzine. Check out our website for the links. From My Case Files: Legal Mischief After three decades of counselling, your editor (a retired sociologist) sometimes ponders some of the things which have come up in counselling that, in retrospect, contain an element of humour. This section will be included from time to time to share some of these snippets. Names have been changed to protect privacy. While Maggie was seeing me for counselling without her husband, she opened her purse to extract a handkerchief, and a remote control for a television or VCR fell out onto her lap. 'Pardon me for asking, but do you always carry a remote control around in your purse?' I questioned. She replied, 'Oh no, it's just that when my husband Egbert refused to come to counselling with me I figured taking the remote control was the only legal mischief that I could do to him.' Letters to the Editor Cantos de poetry, Catchwords, Changes, Clamourings, Clichés, Commendations, Comments, Commercials, Complaints, Compliments, Congratulates, Credits, Cries, Criticisms, Critiques? We'll Take All! Jenny, email writes, In more recent versions of WORD (since Word97) creating a line is a simple matter of holding down the full-stop key for a fraction of a second to create a line of full-stops (periods) like so ................... And then pressing ENTER. This converts the ................... Into a line ________________. But how do I remove it? To remove the line, try double-clicking just to the left of the line to highlight it and press the DELETE key. If it tends to highlight too much at once you can place the cursor to the left of the line, hold down the SHIFT key and press the Right Arrow key which highlights in increments (If you highlight too much, while still holding the SHIFT key down inch back with the left arrow key). Once the line is highlighted, you can then press the DELETE key. Sometimes, if you are using a table, the line accidentally becomes nested in the table and stubbornly refuses to go away. There are several ways of removing it, but the EASIEST way is to highlight the text surrounding and including the line, and COPY it. Open the NOTEPAD programme, and PASTE the text into NOTEPAD. Then select and COPY it while in NOTEPAD (this takes away any formatting), go back to MS WORD and PASTE the text back where it belongs. Sir, Is it alright to use 'alright' in a sentence? (Name withheld) No it is not all right, although it has crept into modern usage and even some spellcheckers, there is no such word as 'alright'. The reason being, that the opposite of 'all right' is 'all wrong'. There is no such word as 'alwrong'! All right? Daffy-nitions: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it and then misapplying the wrong remedies. - Groucho Marx What's On? Seminars & Workshops: For information on free lifestyle seminars, see . Information on the 2005 GNU Seminars is available from . Also a number of free lectures are advertised on . (P.S. Carolyn of Good News Unlimited has advised that they have some new books in stock: 'The End of Terrorism' (1ET0001) by Des Ford $24.95; 'Which Jesus' (1WJ0001)by Tony Campolo $9.95; 'The Cross of Christ' (1TTC001) by John Stott $14.95; 'Body, Soul & Spirit' (1BS0001) by Pr Ritchie Way $10.00; 'Will Christians go to Heaven when Jesus returns? (1WCG001) by Pr Ritchie Way $7.95; and 'In the steps of our Lord' (1IT0001) by F F Bruce $13.95 (Prices do not include postage - see for details. Repeatable Quotable: Unity In essentials unity, in non-essentials charity, in all things Jesus Christ -- Chrysostom (347-407 AD) Article: Ten Major Causes of Failure -Lack of a specific purpose in life. You can not hope to succeed in any field of your life if you don't have a central purpose. If you don't have a definite goal in your life then you will jump from one activity to another with no success. Almost 97% of people think and act this way. That's why successful people, who have a clear goal in their life, are very few. -Lack of education. Most of the successful people are "self educated" or "self made" as individuals. You can have five college degrees but if you don't apply this knowledge it's a waste. What counts is the applied knowledge with a plan of action and not just knowledge. -Lack of self discipline. Discipline means self-control. You must control yourself and decrease your negative habits and qualities. If you don't conquer yourself, it will conquer you. -Procrastination. It is one of the major causes of failure. These kind of people are waiting for opportunities come to them instead of seeking for the opportunities. They think that some day the time will be right to act. That "right" time never comes. -Lack of persistence. Most people are good starters but they stop in the run when the first obstacles come. Obstacles are a chance to become better. They are ways to use your mind and improve your self. Quitters can not hope to success of any kind. -Being negative. If you are negative then your whole world is negative. Your subconscious mind tells you that you can't do it. Your subconscious mind commands your conscious self that you "really" can't do it. -No risk at all. If you are extremely careful and take no risks then you can't expect to make the difference .There are many opportunities out there for you to grab. Being over cautious limits you to mediocrity and leads you to failure. -Wrong selection of associates. This is very critical. We can not do everything ourselves. The colleagues we work with are a capital for our business. Successful and intelligent partners are one of the keys for our own success. - Divide you actions. This is a typical mistake. Spreading your energy and efforts on multiple causes and not concentrating on one cause. Sooner or later you will realise that you will not succeed to any of them. - Lack of honesty. This is the master key of success. Without honesty your credibility will vanish in no time and you can not hope to expand and of course retain your business. People are not as stupid as you think. They can understand the fake, maybe not immediately but in the long turn run they will go away and spread around the world negative messages about you. -- Christos Varsamis (Internet Marketing Consultant, creator and publisher of http://www.settinglifegoals.com) Natural Remedies: Exploring some of nature's hygiene helpers and ways to fix basic ills, chills, aches and pains. Common sense is paramount - some of these hints are health related, and if you have a medical condition such high blood pressure, are taking prescription medication or are in any way unsure whether you should follow the self-help suggestion/s provided, consult a doctor or natural therapist. This month: Haemorrhoid Treatment Witch-hazel is an excellent natural remedy for haemorrhoids because of its astringency. Saturate a cotton hall with distilled witch hazel and apply after each bowel movement and several times throughout the day to help shrink the swollen vein. -- Pamela Allardice, Natural therapist Havagiggle: That's Not a Sin... A young girl once confessed to her priest that she thought she was guilty of the sin of pride. She said, "When I look in the mirror, I think I am beautiful." The priest said, "That's not a sin, that's a mistake." --Courtesy Rev. James Whitcomb Brougher, Sr. Split Second Wisdom: "Well let's see...I was born very young and close to my mudder..." -- Patricia Griffin (www.writers.net/writers/24688) The Extensive Exposition. Each issue we will make available a longer article available by email free to those who request it. This is to keep the FreEzine a readable length yet make available more in-depth material for those who are interested. Articles provided under this section do not always reflect totally the beliefs of the editor. In some issues more than one article will be available under this section and articles will need to be asked for by name to save confusion. We have no separate mailing list for the automatic despatch of articles in The Extensive Exposition so a separate request will need to be made for each article. This month's article is the full text of The Canon of the New Testament, by F.F. Bruce This is in plain text format, resourced from the editor's archives and made available free by writing to the editor and asking for the article by name. (Please check the available space in your email box before requesting articles (15k req.) The Funny Bone: Dial-a-Prayer for Atheists They have Dial-a-Prayer for atheists now. You can call up and it rings and rings but nobody answers. -- Tommy Blaze Aside: Are you a writer, a poet or an illustrator? An interesting site to check out is http://www.todays-woman.net. Rose DesRochers, the Founder and Administrator of Today's-Woman Net, has suggested that her site is not just for women, and other budding writers are welcome to have a "look-see". Also, if you have something you have written or illustrated that you would like to consider having published, a free 60 page Style Guide is available online at , or from the Editor of this FreEzine. There is no charge for publishing and YOU receive payment on publication (see the free Style Guide for details). Publishing formats include Books, Pamphlets, Leaflets, Magazines & Ezines, Online video & audio, CD-ROM & floppy-disk electronic books & multimedia, Video & Audio tapes and Talking Books & audio CDs. Sermon Snippet: There are Worse Things in Life Than... A mother passing by her daughter's bedroom was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope propped up prominently on the centre of the bed. It was addressed, "Mom." With the worst premonition, she opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands: Dear Mom, It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new boyfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you. I've been finding real passion with John and he is so nice even with all his piercing, tattoos, beard, and his motorcycle clothes. But it's not only the passion mom, I'm pregnant and John said that we would be very happy. He already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. He wants to have many more children with me and that's now one of my dreams too. John taught me that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone and he'll be growing it for us, and trading it with his friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so John can get better; he sure deserves it! Don't worry Mom, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know your grandchildren. Your daughter, Brooke PS: Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at the neighbour's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card, which is in my desk drawer. I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home. -- Snippet submitted by 'Bill' Theologically Speaking: The Best Time to Plant The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; the next best time is today. -- Anon Freebies: Check out the latest additions on www.geocities.com/gratisgift. Take a Hint: Hiding or Locking Folders Hi Lionel, Could you tell me how I could set up my personal computer to have my personal files separate from business files so that other people only have access to business files? -JR JR, probably one of the easiest ways is to use a programme that hides or locks folders. You can put anything you want hidden in these folders and, using the programme, set a password so that only you can access them. There are many freeware programmes available over the internet. A good place to start is http://www.dirfile.com/freeware/hide-folders.htm (The Google ads at the top of the website are for programmes that you need to pay for, so you may choose to scroll down and look at the freeware programmes (there are several to choose from). Cooks Corner: No-Bake Peanut Butter Cups Gather: 1 cup graham crackers; 1/2 cup butter, softened; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1 cup peanut butter; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons milk; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 cup chocolate chips Go: Crush graham crackers into crumbs and mix together with 1/2 cup butter, powdered sugar and peanut butter. Press mixture into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, milk and 2 tablespoons butter. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove mixture from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Spread chocolate over graham cracker layer. Chill and cut into small squares. Watch This Space: Future issues will include other sections not listed here. Why not write to us suggesting what you would like to see included. Subscription Information: FreEzine is a free email magazine/newsletter, published by Lionel Hartley, PhD () no less than monthly and sent out ONLY to those who request it. As FreEzine only uses an opt-in email list, we never buy or otherwise obtain email addresses. Although we encourage our readers to forward a copy of FreEzine to their friends and invite them to subscribe, we have a strictly No Spam Policy. To subscribe, please send an email telling us where you heard about FreEzine, to and type SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. To change your email address, please send a message listing your old and new addresses to and type ADDRESS CHANGE in the subject line. 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Free offers in FreEzine of CD-ROMs, software, posters, additional articles, screensavers, etc. have a time limit which is normally until the issue of the next edition of FreEzine. Special exceptions are sometimes made and also freebies are listed online where they can be accessed long after the issue date (while stocks last), Back issues of FreEzine are available at and In order to cater for a variety of tastes and beliefs, the content of FreEzine does not always reflect totally the beliefs of the editor. Se also our website for information on Prayer Requests and our Online Forum. E&OE. Although all care has been taken to check details in this newsletter but no responsibility can be taken if information is inaccurate. The Editor would appreciate being informed of erroneous information so that it may be corrected. Contents of FreEzine are COPYRIGHT and we make every endeavour to acknowledge sources. (Our extensive search for copyright sometimes causes some articles to appear in FreEzine some considerable time after they were written). You may freely quote from FreEzine PROVIDED is cited as a reference source. Occasional contributions from Good News Australia are used with permission. YOUR contributions and comments most welcome. Although all out-going emails are scanned using Symantic's Norton AntiVirus with the most recent virus definitions, FreEzine cannot warrant or represent that this communication (including any enclosed files) is totally free from any electronic viruses, faults or defects. And, in closing: For the Ecologists... No trees were killed in the creation of this ezine. However, many electrons were terribly inconvenienced.