Questions For Joe Smith, for starters: "mansion" & "huge pool" Options

[PeacefulBe]

Upon reviewing the letters written by Dr. Walt Thompson concerning Danny’s actions in regard to divorcing Linda and his remarriage to Brandy, not once is the charge of fornication made against Linda. So why is the scarlet letter “A” pinned upon her? What makes her an adulteress in the eyes of God? Like the woman dragged through the streets and thrown down on the ground in front of Jesus, was Linda caught in the act of adultery? No. Then why has she been publically dragged through the mud and deposited by her accusers at the feet of the court of Adventist public opinion: to be tried, convicted and branded as an adulteress without a shred of evidence?

Aletheia, where is the evidence that Linda has committed adultery? Everyone is still waiting for Danny to produce the evidence or perhaps the problem is he can not produce what does not exist?

Sister, you need a minor correction here. It is a scarlet "SA" pinned upon her.

Aletheia, as far as "Spiritual Adultry" goes, how do we know Linda has even ever lusted after the Norwegian doctor in her heart?

[Clay]

Good to see you Greenie.... wondered where you disappeared to....

Aletheia, I hear what you are saying but that dog won't hunt.... there is no such animal as "spiritual adultery" and no way to "prove" that a spouse was engaged in spiritual adultery.... And really it is not a ground for divorce..... no matter how many times Danny and his crew suggest that it is....

[Aletheia]

Sister, you need a minor correction here. It is a scarlet "SA" pinned upon her.

Aletheia, as far as "Spiritual Adultry" goes, how do we know Linda has even ever lusted after the Norwegian doctor in her heart?

We don't P.B. Unless she herself expressed this we couldn't. Speaking for myself, I am not Miss Cleo.

But I am quite sure it is a sin and is one which isn't hidden from the Lord, which is not a laughing matter.

[Aletheia]

Aletheia, I hear what you are saying but that dog won't hunt.... there is no such animal as "spiritual adultery" and no way to "prove" that a spouse was engaged in spiritual adultery.... And really it is not a ground for divorce..... no matter how many times Danny and his crew suggest that it is....

Yeah. well that's why I have alot of questions about that whole scenario, and don't know if they'll ever be answered. I don't like Despotic behavior.

"we decree that so and so is guilty of such and such, and it is so because we deem it so, and we have no obligation to explain ourselves. You can bow now..

NOT happenin'

[Pickle]

I've heard it claimed that Danny claimed that he had biblical grounds since Linda had committed "spiritual adultery." Anyone have that in writing from him?

[Green Cochoa]

Good to see you Greenie.... wondered where you disappeared to....

Aletheia, I hear what you are saying but that dog won't hunt.... there is no such animal as "spiritual adultery" and no way to "prove" that a spouse was engaged in spiritual adultery.... And really it is not a ground for divorce..... no matter how many times Danny and his crew suggest that it is....

Ya, well, what can I say, Clay? Took a break from it all, and been busy too.

As for this so-called "spiritual adultery", I think I made a pretty good case to frame up an equivalent charge, logically, that of "spiritual murder." The Bible is pretty clear that to hate someone is tantamount to murder. So should we be imprisoning and/or executing folks for hatred?

As has been brought up not long back, crimes of this nature were to be established by the mouth of AT LEAST two witnesses. Perhaps this is partly why the United States Constitution does not require that one testify against oneself (5th amendment, right?).

Now, let's suppose for a minute that Linda had lustful thoughts towards someone other than her husband. 1) The thought itself is NOT sin, but temptation. 2) When one dwells on it, then it becomes sin. 3) It is only God who can judge the difference.

Satan will tempt us. He will subsequently tempt us to believe that we have ALREADY sinned by having even been tempted! Therefore, IF SHE HAD SUCH THOUGHTS (which remains completely unproven) it is quite possible that not even Linda herself could be trusted to fairly witness to the sinfulness of it. The whole thing may have been merely a temptation, and by not succumbing to it, Linda has been victorious. But let's make this clear--I don't have any reason to think Linda had so much as a temptation on this issue.

The Bible is more than clear on this. There is only one cause for a divorce to be permitted without committing adultery. It is rather obvious to me that there is adultery involved in this situation. But it may not be in the corner where folks are looking the hardest.

I'm actually aware of some major evidence, which I've heard from both sides of this situation, which puts Linda in an extremely bad light and nearly forces the conclusion of her having committed physical adultery. However, I am also aware of a mitigating factor which, when considered along with the first evidence, not only exonerates her, but actually reverses the entire conclusion and commends Linda for her bravery in taking the heat without answering in kind when she could simply say one sentence and prove her innocence. There is a reason she has done this, and for that same reason, I will not give more details about it here. Suffice it to say, all is not what it is made out to be by Danny.

[Aletheia]

Ah, yes. Well, then by so saying you clear the guilt of any "capital punishment" for those who merely hated or lusted while Israel was its own nation.

And, you must also feel that it's ok to divorce your husband if he steals, or breaks the Sabbath, because, just a little further from the statement you quoted in James, comes the following:

James 2:10-11 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

May God help us to follow the Biblical injunction to rightly divide the truth.

Hello. Are you an SDA????

Divorcing your husband for anything other then adultery when that's the only biblical reason Jesus gave? please don't come back with more weird unbiblical theories.

Sin still carries the death penalty. But Today's Church is not a Nation and we don't have our own civil laws. In the new covenant Jesus said no more eye for an eye, and said all judgment has been given to him. That is not difficult to comprehend.

The death sentence will be carried out by God, and every unrepentant sinner will be cast into the lake of fire. because the wages of sin is death. Those judgments against sin still exist, but we are not authorized to carry them out, Jesus is. Get it?

This post has been edited by Aletheia: Dec 27 2006, 09:22 AM

[Joe Smith]

Then by all means get some.

What was the source of your statement that the house was a mansion? Had you personally seen it, or were you relying on Danny's or someone else's word?
I'm really not interested in verbal descriptions from either side. I want concrete facts, like the number of square feet and rooms listed in the Real Estate listing, with a photocopy of that listing.


So are you trying to say that $200,000 buys a mansion in Springfield, IL? Or are you instead trying to prove that you exagerated when you said she now lives in a mansion? $200,000 buys a mansion compared to what I live in and ANY pool is huge compared to us who have none. Also, $200,000.00 is nearly as much as Danny's house is worth... and it took 2 of them to pay for it.

I'm not sure what your point is.
Since you directed this comment directly to me, I respectfully request an apology for your base and unchristian insinuation. And you shall have it my friend. If you were insulted, then you have my opology. The comment (not accusation) was not meant for you alone, but for anyone who has info on this subject. Don't take it personal..


Either prove it or kindly and courteously keep such hearsay out of this thread. This thread was intended to deal with concrete and provable claims you made, not deal with more rumors.

Find whatever documents or pictures you can to prove that Linda indeed lives in a mansion with a huge pool, and post them here. And state whether you have ever seen the house and pool yourself, and if not, who gave you this information.

[lurker]

What that money will buy depends very much on where the home is located. What will buy a mansion in one area will only buy a dump in another area. I'm not saying Linda's home is a dump, just saying that the housing market is very different depending on where you settle. Linda's daughter lives in that area. Linda needed to be near her daughter. I don't have a pool either but if I got a good deal and could buy a house with a pool for about the same money as one without, I would get the one with a pool, if only for the resale value of the property.

As late as a couple of weeks ago, someone in our Sabbath School Class said of Linda "Oh, I thought she left Danny for another man." The picture the uniformed have of her seems to be that she is living in Scandinavia with a doctor without being married to him.

This is the rumor that has been fostered and is still being actively spread. In spite of the fact that Linda is still single and says she has no plans to remarry. In spite of the fact that she still lives in the United States. In spite of the fact that she attends Sabbath School and Church and people see her going about her normal daily life. She is being judged by most, not of spiritual adultry, but of real adultry because most SDA's assume that

1. Danny is the chosen of the Lord and to question his judgement is to oppose God.
2. There must be proof or it would not be claimed that there is.
3. The constant new rumors such as the one about Linda wearing a wedding ring must be true. "Where there is smoke, there is fire."
4. People would rather believe a juicy lie than a boring truth.

This post has been edited by lurker: Dec 27 2006, 09:33 AM

[Green Cochoa]

Hello. Are you an SDA????

Would this matter?

Divorcing your husband for anything other then adultery when that's the only biblical reason Jesus gave? please don't come back with more weird unbiblical theories.
...

Well, I will admit that I was presenting a weird and unbiblical theory. I don't believe it for a minute myself. But it followed from the same logic as the weird and unbiblical theory of "spiritual adultery" which some here seem unable to correct in their minds, and I don't believe you caught on to what I was pointing out, so let me make it more clear.

1) It is true that the Bible says lusting after a woman is tantamount to committing adultery with her in your heart.
2) It is also true that the Bible says breaking the law on one point is tantamount to breaking the law on all other points.

Therefore, THE SAME "SPIRITUAL" SIN that you speak of relative to adultery can be "proven" by demonstrating a sin against any of the other 9 commandments, for to break any commandment is to also break the commandment against adultery. So, if you can have grounds for divorce based on your spouse's lustful thoughts, then you have equal grounds for divorce for your spouse stealing, or killing, or breaking the Sabbath, or worshipping other gods, etc. IT'S THAT SIMPLE.

[lurker]

If people can get divorces for spiritual adultry, then any man can dump his wife. All he has to do is accuse his wife of being infatuated with another man.

[Pickle]

$200,000 buys a mansion compared to what I live in and ANY pool is huge compared to us who have none.

Since you did not qualify your comments in this way when you initially made them, you left quite a different impression upon your readers. And that was dishonest, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

You stated emphatically that she now lives in a "mansion" with a "huge pool," and you never qualified that by saying that even if the pool was 4 ft. across, it would be huge to you since you "have none."

Please tell us how you knew that her house has a pool. Have you seen it? If not, who told you? You evaded this question before, and I am wondering why.

Also, $200,000.00 is nearly as much as Danny's house is worth... and it took 2 of them to pay for it.

How much is Danny's house worth? $210,000? I was told another figure, so I want to see who is telling me the truth on this one.

And you shall have it my friend. If you were insulted, then you have my opology.

"If you were insulted"? "If"? What does that have to do with it?

You insinuated, without presenting any evidence, that the doctor was paying Linda to be immoral by giving her a loan for her house. That insinuation was base and unchristian, and I asked you to apologize, not because I was or was not insulted, but because you had said such a thing.

This post has been edited by Pickle: Dec 27 2006, 09:51 AM

[Aletheia]

If people can get divorces for spiritual adultry, then any man can dump his wife. All he has to do is accuse his wife of being infatuated with another man.

This is just an aside from the Shelton case, but in the world today, many have what is known as phone or internet sex. Is that adultery?


just wonderin'



This post has been edited by Aletheia: Dec 27 2006, 10:13 AM

[Pickle]

Maybe someone else does, but I don't recall reading it.

To the best of my knowledge this is where the term "spiritual adultery" originated.

A pastor told me this morning he had had an email from Danny stating this. Whether someone can actually find such an email is another question. But if someone can find one, I'd like to see it.

[Aletheia]

I've heard it claimed that Danny claimed that he had biblical grounds since Linda had committed "spiritual adultery." Anyone have that in writing from him?

Maybe someone else does, I don't recall reading that anywhere here or anywhere else???

To the best of my knowledge this is where the term "spiritual adultery" originated.

Walt thompson's letter to Gregory Matthews:

"In early March Danny called me. He was very distraught as he told me what Linda was doing. I immediately traveled to 3abn to find out for myself, and for the next two to three months was there for a few days almost every week. During this time I and a small committee of the board had a number of sessions with Linda, encouraging her to break off the relationship that was ruining her home and putting a serious strain on the ministry. Pastor John L. was one of the first to counsel Linda. From the start, before meeting with Danny and Linda together he warned Linda that what she was doing was wrong, and must stop. He then spent hours counseling the two of them together. I am not sure how many other sessions were had. When I arrived, I arranged for Pastor John, Linda and Danny and I to meet together. We met, talked and prayed. Both Danny and Linda were anointed, and committed to God to do what was right. Linda promised us to cut off the relationship. Not long (I don't remember the length of time, but probably less than an hour) she was secretly on the phone to Norway with the doctor again. We had other sessions with her where she reluctantly made similar agreements, but usually said she was not going to give him up until she was sure Danny would stop interfering in her affairs - as if it was Danny's fault they were having trouble. On one occasion I was able to get the doctor on the phone. I begged him to break of the relationship. He told me he would not. We arranged for Danny and Linda to visit a marriage counselor couple out of state. They were not Adventist, but devout Christians of another faith. They were chosen so that Linda could not claim that they were biased, if Adventist. Danny and Linda spent eight hours with the counselors. They were the one's who told Linda she was committing "spiritual adultery" and that it was wrong and must be stopped at once. She made excuses, said she was doing nothing wrong. They warned her that the way she was going it would soon become physical."

A pastor told me this morning he had had an email from Danny stating this. Whether someone can actually find such an email is another question. But if someone can find one, I'd like to see it.

Me too.


That's weird, How did my post, which you were responding to end up below your reply to it, along with my next repy???

It happened again. every time I reply, it just adds to the previous post instead of being a new post???

This post has been edited by Aletheia: Dec 27 2006, 10:17 AM