Offshore Annuity, Deferred Variable Annuity
An Offshore Annuity works very similar to a deferred variable annuity. The owner pays into the annuity during the accumulation phase using either a lump sum or paying scheduled amounts over a period of time. The money in the annuity will gain interest at a rate determined by the investment portfolios in which it was placed, and either the owner or annuitant will be taxed once the withdrawal period begins.You should remember that the owner and annuitant do not need to be the same, and for an Offshore Annuity the owner is usually an offshore trust. If the two annuities are so similar, then what is the benefit of having an Offshore Annuity versus a U.S-based deferred variable annuity?BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES OF AN OFFSHORE ANNUITYThere are several advantages to having an Offshore Annuity, but they can be easily narrowed down into three main benefits:1. flexibility2. protection3. tax advantagesFLEXIBILITY OF AN OFFSHORE ANNUITY VS DEFERRED VARIABLE ANNUITYWhen you choose to purchase a deferred variable annuity you are usually opting to place your money into mutual funds, equity funds, bond funds, etc. The investment portfolio chosen for your money is done by the insurance company you purchase the annuity from, and is limited to venders they have contracts with.An Offshore Annuity offers more investment options since the overseas advisor can choose to place the money in any of the previously mentioned portfolios, or, for example, they can invest your money in gold. The overseas advisor is not limited by contracts and can invest your money into a number of diversified accounts. Your rate of return is not guaranteed, and is determined by the success of your advisor’s chosen investments.ASSET PROTECTION AND SECURITY OF AN OFFSHORE ANNUITYOffshore Annuities offer much more than just increased investment options; they offer a secure way to hide your existing assets from the U.S Government. This feature of an Offshore Annuity is also known as Wealth Preservation. If the offshore issuer of your annuity has no U.S-based affiliations, U.S Courts have no jurisdiction over them or your annuity. This means that anyone wishing to effect a garnishment of your assets must receive permission from the host country where

VOIP Against the Traditional Phone Services
VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) - allows you to make telephone calls using a computer network in very simple way . It converts the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that’s why you can speak to anyone with a regular phone number. You can change the way you think about long-distance phone calls. People generally like to use the new technology because its costs are less than traditional phone Below are listed some of the advantages and disadvantages of using VOIP .VOIP offers you: Lower costs per call, especially for long-distance calls VOIP can reduce international call tolls by as much as 40%. You can talk with many people at the same time without any additional cost. The call can be made to a local number, a mobile phone, to a long distance number or an international number – without any additional cost. You can also use services that are not available with a traditional phone – you can send data, like pictures and documents while talking on the phone. As long as you have access to a broadband connection you don’t need to pay for roaming or long distance charges wherever you travel. That’s why the VOIP is very important in business. You have also ability to receive internet phone calls anywhere you are, as long as you are accessible to the internet. One of the various advantages is that many services such as caller id, call forwarding, call waiting, three way calling, and voice mail features often come standard with most VOIP plans. Unfortunately I have to report some problem with the integration between VoIP system and Internet. The main problem is as you can imagine voice data communication must be a real time stream (you couldn't speak, wait for many seconds, then hear other side answering) - the risks involved with poor internet connections, lost signals, and dropped data packets. Below are listed of some other problems of using VOIP:1. Not all VoIP services connect directly to emergency services.2. The risks involved with poor internet connections, lost signals, and dropped data packets.3. It only works if your computer is switched on and the VOIP software is running.4. The other person with whom you are trying to communicate with has to get the same program loaded and r

No Money Down Mortgage Loans - Ways To Get Approved For a Home Loan Online With Zero Down
No money down mortgage loans enabled more people to own their own home. The following ways will help you get approved for a home loan online with zero down.Good Credit RatingsIn order to qualify for a zero down mortgage, you need to have good credit. The high-risk of having zero down make many mortgage lenders picky about late payments. Typically, after three years of perfect payments and a FICO score of 600, you can qualify for a zero down mortgage.Money FactorsZero down mortgage loans are a higher-risk for mortgage lenders, so they like to see higher cash reserves of applicants. Mortgage lenders also like to see a low debt to income ratio, so pay down short-term debts like credit cards. Additionally, a long employment history proves you have reliable income, a desired trait by mortgage lenders.Save For Closing CostsMost mortgage lenders will require you to pay the closing cost of a mortgage loan, even a zero down mortgage loan. These fees often will run into the thousands, but some lenders will add this into the loan up to 3%. You can negotiate this with your mortgage lender, particularly if you are a first time home buyer.Don’t Overbid On A HomeWith a zero down mortgage, you can only borrow what the home is appraised for. However, many home buyers overbid on the price of the home, making them ineligible for a zero down payment mortgage.Make sure your potential home is in an area with rising real estate prices, so the mortgage lender will be more likely to approve the loan. Also, find out the appraised value of the home before making a bid to ensure you don’t go over your limit.Be FlexibleIt is estimated that only one in four zero down mortgage loan applicants complete the loan process. Some are denied due to the mort stringent requirements, but many choose to put down at least a small down payment.When you apply for a mortgage loan, be flexible with the options presented to you. You may find a piggy-back loan, a small down payment, or an interest only loan are better financial choices for your situation.To view our list of recommended mortgage lenders online, visit this page:

4. How do you feel we should proceed with a more active dialogue with the Mormons, especially when you realize that in the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, one of the three books along with the Bible that has equal authoritative status, you find that God told Abraham to lie, which suggests that, if this were true and even though God could do anything He wants, He would be going against His very own nature? In the Bible, it only states that Abraham lied without God being involved at all (Gen 12:12-13). How do you deal with this latter concern and other Mormon doctrines.

5. Which Christian Sect would be most difficult to deal with?

6. What can we learn from the Christian Sects? What do you think they can learn from us?

7. Would a more effective way to create a more active dialogue with the Sects be to invite members of the Sects to a Christian discussion group, or a Bible study group?

8. Can you disagree with someone and still respect his or her opinion considering the fact that you probably are speaking from two different backgrounds?

9. What would your reaction be if someone said to you "Are you born again?"? A) How do you look upon Salvation?

10.How else might you enhance Christian Unity among the Christian Churches?

1st Internet Question: IS ORGANIZATIONAL CHRISTIAN UNITY REALLY NEEDED TO HAVE MORE EFFECTIVE SPITITUAL UNITY?

THE RESPONSES COME FROM 3 CHRISTIAN WEBSITES

1) Stephen says: Organizational unity is for me an absolute no, no,. Spiritual unity is an absolute necessity.

2) Corbin says: I feel it's important to have organizational Christian unity, but only if it leads to true Spiritual unity.

3) Tom says: Humans are social, yet we frequently fear organization. Why is this so? We fear that which we need. Spiritual unity can only be accomplished if there is an organization that allows us to come together and seek it. My understanding of organization is simply a defined space where everyone understands and follows the same rules while in that space. Without this common ground how do we create sacred space to share that which will bring about unity. Do we fear organization because it calls us to follow rules? Without rules spirituality is impossible.

4) Anne says: I tend to be somewhat an anarchist and rebellious at heart and belonging to a church is really difficult for me. I belong to one now and what brought me back was having small children. I had the desire to bring them up in the traditions and teachings of the church, feeling that I wanted community support along with what I taught them. I guess I have been very fortunate in that I haven't been through any terrible horror stories as far as churches are concerned, but I am aware of suffering caused by some churches with church people going awry

5) Shirly says: Today we Jehovah's Witnesses are organized to carry out Jesus' command to preach the good news of the kingdom worldwide. We are united spiritually in a way that no other group claiming to be Christian can compare. Regardless where you may go in the world, Jehovah's Witnesses believe the same thing doctrinally. We remain individuals with many differences as to culture. likes, dislikes, etc. Yet we are a true brotherhood. We do not mix with the politics of the world and do not take up arms against our brothers of any nation.

6) Jimmy says: I agree with Shirly about her organization, but I strongly disagree with her about her doctrine.

7) Barbara says: This is not a"one size fits all" issue. The answer to your question lies in the level of faith of the Christian. We are all at different levels-the purpose of a Church organization is to give teaching, support, strength, and above all, fellowship by example, to those weak in their faith. Those of us who have a strong faith and have found the Truth have a stewardship toward those who struggle still to obtain the "mustard seed". We must answer the call of our Lord and go where He directs us, to administer to His Sheep, our brothers and sisters in Christ. This may, or may not be, in a Church organization. Actually we must all acheive Spiritual unity before organizational unity can be acheived.

8) Johnny says: This seems to be a movement towards a shallow unity at the expense of truth, which may be based largely in part on the protest movements of the 60s and 70s. True unity must involve both an inner change of heart and life with doctrinal and practical uniformity.

2nd Internet Question: WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN ORGANIZED CHRISTIAN UNITY - THE LORD'S SUPPER, BAPTISM, CHURCH GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE, WOMEN ISSUES, BIBLICAL INTERPRETATIONS, THE PAPACY, ETC.?

1) Corbin says: I believe it would be the Papacy because how do you deal with the infallibility of the Pope on moral issues.

2) Johnny says: That's really an interesting question, You've definitely picked a big stumbling block for Protestants, Corbin, with papal infallibility. Especially since the Catholic Church condemned much of the Reformational ideas and reformists. Then there is the Evangelical's emphasis on being "born again" and all they mean theologically with that. On the one hand, it is encouraging that the Episcopaleans and Lutherans worked out a way to accept each other in unity, able to supp together and administer all rites together. On the other hand, 20+ years of dialogue seems terribly long to resolve together two denominations that most of the world can't even tell apart. Personally, I think they all need to recognize that there are a lot more grey areas of doctrinal interpretation than they realize. Thank you for the question that deals with a matter that is close to my heart - the need for much more Unity of the Spirit amongst the brethern.

3) Melvin says: The pope has only been infallible since the 1800s and that was because the pope said that he was infallible, which means nothing if he is fallible. Besides, nobody knows what that means. I think that sharing communion is about the best that we can hope for.

4) Johnny says: Although it has never been stated until the 1800s, I believe the infallibility of the Pope was implicitly understood since the beginning of the Papacy.

5) Bernard says: The biggest problem for me is that organizational unity can never be real in heart, it must by its nature be coercive.

6) Mary Anne says: I agree Berny. Organizations are by nature, static and ultimately death-dealing to the life of the Spirit. Spirit moves. It is fluid, dynamic, and changeful. Box it up in a pile of laws and statutes and codes and contracts and pretty soon it's dead as a doornail. Unity I do not support. Love and wonder and appreciation in diversity I do. Love your individualism. I hope it's contagious.

7) Morgan says: I recall an old saying which went "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity". I think there's a lot to be said for that. I work ecumenically, and I find that valuable and worthwhile. But ecumenism, and for that matter, multi-faith understanding, has never been about seeing what is the lowest common denominator on which to base a spurious unity, but an appreciation of the diversity of faith and the celebration of that diversity, alongside a recognition of where we can connect with one another whilst retaining our differences.

8) Jane says: For me, the biggest obstacle to any kind of human unity is the humans themselves. I don't have to look further than my own front door to see that. As far as Christian unity goes, it seems that the second biggest obstacle to unity is the definition of what it means to be Christian. I have seen so many definitions of this and it can be quite confusing.

9) Debbie says: The primary problem with Christian unity is that of differing traditions/doctrines/and/ beliefs. They all cannot be correct; however, they all can be wrong, but it's impossible for all to be right concerning the nature of God and Salvation.

10) Mary Jane says: I have to agree with those who say that disunity in the understanding of Scripture is probably the biggest problem in the way of unity. Listening to all the chatter about what this verse means and what that verse means makes one think that 99% of folks have bitten the apple if you know what I mean. That is, suffered the effect of a kind of self pride that enticed us to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and now we all seem to think we are gods and we can decide what is right and wrong and what makes one a Christian and what can't possibly make one a Christian, and what is or isn't necessary to believe. Another term to describe this is original sin.

11) Herbert says: Jane, your feet are not only wet, you're really swimming now.

12) Samuel says: The only Christian unity that will come will be at the end of time.

13) Clifford says: I think the biggest problem would be trying to get everyone to agree on what is the correct thing to believe. There are so many different types of churches today because whoever started them had a slightly different idea about how something should be interpreted, and when someone else agreed with him, it started a new church, So how do you get them all to believe the same thing?

14) Celeste says: I agree with Cliff. I think this is impossible, so I think we should try to build our unity on love and respect despite the differences, and that is something I believe could work, because we all want to love God and God tell us to love one another.

15) Corbin says: Another problem could be the meaning of Apostolic Succession. The Roman Catholics believe that Apostolic Succesion just came from Peter, but I believe Apostolic Succession actually came from all the Apostles so that every Christian is representing Christ here on earth with the Bible as our guidebook.

3rd Internet Question: ONE ANSWER TO CHRISTIAN UNITY MIGHT BE FOR CHRISTIANS TO ORGANIZE AN ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH WHERE THE CHURCH WOULD RECRUIT ALL CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING ROMAN CAT

vah Witness' doctrine?.

4. How do you feel we should proceed with a more active dialogue with the Mormons, especially when you realize that in the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, one of the three books along with the Bible that has equal authoritative status, you find that God told Abraham to lie, which suggests that, if this were true and even though God could do anything He wants, He would be going against His very own nature? In the Bible, it only states that Abraham lied without God being involved at all (Gen 12:12-13). How do you deal with this latter concern and other Mormon doctrines.

5. Which Christian Sect would be most difficult to deal with?

6. What can we learn from the Christian Sects? What do you think they can learn from us?

7. Would a more effective way to create a more active dialogue with the Sects be to invite members of the Sects to a Christian discussion group, or a Bible study group?

8. Can you disagree with someone and still respect his or her opinion considering the fact that you probably are speaking from two different backgrounds?

9. What would your reaction be if someone said to you "Are you born again?"? A) How do you look upon Salvation?

10.How else might you enhance Christian Unity among the Christian Churches?

1st Internet Question: IS ORGANIZATIONAL CHRISTIAN UNITY REALLY NEEDED TO HAVE MORE EFFECTIVE SPITITUAL UNITY?

THE RESPONSES COME FROM 3 CHRISTIAN WEBSITES

1) Stephen says: Organizational unity is for me an absolute no, no,. Spiritual unity is an absolute necessity.

2) Corbin says: I feel it's important to have organizational Christian unity, but only if it leads to true Spiritual unity.

3) Tom says: Humans are social, yet we frequently fear organization. Why is this so? We fear that which we need. Spiritual unity can only be accomplished if there is an organization that allows us to come together and seek it. My understanding of organization is simply a defined space where everyone understands and follows the same rules while in that space. Without this common ground how do we create sacred space to share that which will bring about unity. Do we fear organization because it calls us to follow rules? Without rules spirituality is impossible.

4) Anne says: I tend to be somewhat an anarchist and rebellious at heart and belonging to a church is really difficult for me. I belong to one now and what brought me back was having small children. I had the desire to bring them up in the traditions and teachings of the church, feeling that I wanted community support along with what I taught them. I guess I have been very fortunate in that I haven't been through any terrible horror stories as far as churches are concerned, but I am aware of suffering caused by some churches with church people going awry

5) Shirly says: Today we Jehovah's Witnesses are organized to carry out Jesus' command to preach the good news of the kingdom worldwide. We are united spiritually in a way that no other group claiming to be Christian can compare. Regardless where you may go in the world, Jehovah's Witnesses believe the same thing doctrinally. We remain individuals with many differences as to culture. likes, dislikes, etc. Yet we are a true brotherhood. We do not mix with the politics of the world and do not take up arms against our brothers of any nation.

6) Jimmy says: I agree with Shirly about her organization, but I strongly disagree with her about her doctrine.

7) Barbara says: This is not a"one size fits all" issue. The answer to your question lies in the level of faith of the Christian. We are all at different levels-the purpose of a Church organization is to give teaching, support, strength, and above all, fellowship by example, to those weak in their faith. Those of us who have a strong faith and have found the Truth have a stewardship toward those who struggle still to obtain the "mustard seed". We must answer the call of our Lord and go where He directs us, to administer to His Sheep, our brothers and sisters in Christ. This may, or may not be, in a Church organization. Actually we must all acheive Spiritual unity before organizational unity can be acheived.

8) Johnny says: This seems to be a movement towards a shallow unity at the expense of truth, which may be based largely in part on the protest movements of the 60s and 70s. True unity must involve both an inner change of heart and life with doctrinal and practical uniformity.

2nd Internet Question: WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN ORGANIZED CHRISTIAN UNITY - THE LORD'S SUPPER, BAPTISM, CHURCH GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE, WOMEN ISSUES, BIBLICAL INTERPRETATIONS, THE PAPACY, ETC.?

1) Corbin says: I believe it would be the Papacy because how do you deal with the infallibility of the Pope on moral issues.

2) Johnny says: That's really an interesting question, You've definitely picked a big stumbling block for Protestants, Corbin, with papal infallibility. Especially since the Catholic Church condemned much of the Reformational ideas and reformists. Then there is the Evangelical's emphasis on being "born again" and all they mean theologically with that. On the one hand, it is encouraging that the Episcopaleans and Lutherans worked out a way to accept each other in unity, able to supp together and administer all rites together. On the other hand, 20+ years of dialogue seems terribly long to resolve together two denominations that most of the world can't even tell apart. Personally, I think they all need to recognize that there are a lot more grey areas of doctrinal interpretation than they realize. Thank you for the question that deals with a matter that is close to my heart - the need for much more Unity of the Spirit amongst the brethern.

3) Melvin says: The pope has only been infallible since the 1800s and that was because the pope said that he was infallible, which means nothing if he is fallible. Besides, nobody knows what that means. I think that sharing communion is about the best that we can hope for.

4) Johnny says: Although it has never been stated until the 1800s, I believe the infallibility of the Pope was implicitly understood since the beginning of the Papacy.

5) Bernard says: The biggest problem for me is that organizational unity can never be real in heart, it must by its nature be coercive.

6) Mary Anne says: I agree Berny. Organizations are by nature, static and ultimately death-dealing to the life of the Spirit. Spirit moves. It is fluid, dynamic, and changeful. Box it up in a pile of laws and statutes and codes and contracts and pretty soon it's dead as a doornail. Unity I do not support. Love and wonder and appreciation in diversity I do. Love your individualism. I hope it's contagious.

7) Morgan says: I recall an old saying which went "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity". I think there's a lot to be said for that. I work ecumenically, and I find that valuable and worthwhile. But ecumenism, and for that matter, multi-faith understanding, has never been about seeing what is the lowest common denominator on which to base a spurious unity, but an appreciation of the diversity of faith and the celebration of that diversity, alongside a recognition of where we can connect with one another whilst retaining our differences.

8) Jane says: For me, the biggest obstacle to any kind of human unity is the humans themselves. I don't have to look further than my own front door to see that. As far as Christian unity goes, it seems that the second biggest obstacle to unity is the definition of what it means to be Christian. I have seen so many definitions of this and it can be quite confusing.

9) Debbie says: The primary problem with Christian unity is that of differing traditions/doctrines/and/ beliefs. They all cannot be correct; however, they all can be wrong, but it's impossible for all to be right concerning the nature of God and Salvation.

10) Mary Jane says: I have to agree with those who say that disunity in the understanding of Scripture is probably the biggest problem in the way of unity. Listening to all the chatter about what this verse means and what that verse means makes one think that 99% of folks have bitten the apple if you know what I mean. That is, suffered the effect of a kind of self pride that enticed us to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and now we all seem to think we are gods and we can decide what is right and wrong and what makes one a Christian and what can't possibly make one a Christian, and what is or isn't necessary to believe. Another term to describe this is original sin.

11) Herbert says: Jane, your feet are not only wet, you're really swimming now.

12) Samuel says: The only Christian unity that will come will be at the end of time.

13) Clifford says: I think the biggest problem would be trying to get everyone to agree on what is the correct thing to believe. There are so many different types of churches today because whoever started them had a slightly different idea about how something should be interpreted, and when someone else agreed with him, it started a new church, So how do you get them all to believe the same thing?

14) Celeste says: I agree with Cliff. I think this is impossible, so I think we should try to build our unity on love and respect despite the differences, and that is something I believe could work, because we all want to love God and God tell us to love one another.

15) Corbin says: Another problem could be the meaning of Apostolic Succession. The Roman Catholics believe that Apostolic Succesion just came from Peter, but I believe Apostolic Succession actually came from all the Apostles so that every Christian is representing Christ here on earth with the Bible as our guidebook.

3rd Internet Question: ONE ANSWER TO CHRISTIAN UNITY MIGHT BE FOR CHRISTIANS TO ORGANIZE AN ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH WHERE THE CHURCH WOULD RECRUIT ALL CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING ROMAN CAT

against our brothers of any nation.

6) Jimmy says: I agree with Shirly about her organization, but I strongly disagree with her about her doctrine.

7) Barbara says: This is not a"one size fits all" issue. The answer to your question lies in the level of faith of the Christian. We are all at different levels-the purpose of a Church organization is to give teaching, support, strength, and above all, fellowship by example, to those weak in their faith. Those of us who have a strong faith and have found the Truth have a stewardship toward those who struggle still to obtain the "mustard seed". We must answer the call of our Lord and go where He directs us, to administer to His Sheep, our brothers and sisters in Christ. This may, or may not be, in a Church organization. Actually we must all acheive Spiritual unity before organizational unity can be acheived.

8) Johnny says: This seems to be a movement towards a shallow unity at the expense of truth, which may be based largely in part on the protest movements of the 60s and 70s. True unity must involve both an inner change of heart and life with doctrinal and practical uniformity.

2nd Internet Question: WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN ORGANIZED CHRISTIAN UNITY - THE LORD'S SUPPER, BAPTISM, CHURCH GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE, WOMEN ISSUES, BIBLICAL INTERPRETATIONS, THE PAPACY, ETC.?

1) Corbin says: I believe it would be the Papacy because how do you deal with the infallibility of the Pope on moral issues.

2) Johnny says: That's really an interesting question, You've definitely picked a big stumbling block for Protestants, Corbin, with papal infallibility. Especially since the Catholic Church condemned much of the Reformational ideas and reformists. Then there is the Evangelical's emphasis on being "born again" and all they mean theologically with that. On the one hand, it is encouraging that the Episcopaleans and Lutherans worked out a way to accept each other in unity, able to supp together and administer all rites together. On the other hand, 20+ years of dialogue seems terribly long to resolve together two denominations that most of the world can't even tell apart. Personally, I think they all need to recognize that there are a lot more grey areas of doctrinal interpretation than they realize. Thank you for the question that deals with a matter that is close to my heart - the need for much more Unity of the Spirit amongst the brethern.

3) Melvin says: The pope has only been infallible since the 1800s and that was because the pope said that he was infallible, which means nothing if he is fallible. Besides, nobody knows what that means. I think that sharing communion is about the best that we can hope for.

4) Johnny says: Although it has never been stated until the 1800s, I believe the infallibility of the Pope was implicitly understood since the beginning of the Papacy.

5) Bernard says: The biggest problem for me is that organizational unity can never be real in heart, it must by its nature be coercive.

6) Mary Anne says: I agree Berny. Organizations are by nature, static and ultimately death-dealing to the life of the Spirit. Spirit moves. It is fluid, dynamic, and changeful. Box it up in a pile of laws and statutes and codes and contracts and pretty soon it's dead as a doornail. Unity I do not support. Love and wonder and appreciation in diversity I do. Love your individualism. I hope it's contagious.

7) Morgan says: I recall an old saying which went "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity". I think there's a lot to be said for that. I work ecumenically, and I find that valuable and worthwhile. But ecumenism, and for that matter, multi-faith understanding, has never been about seeing what is the lowest common denominator on which to base a spurious unity, but an appreciation of the diversity of faith and the celebration of that diversity, alongside a recognition of where we can connect with one another whilst retaining our differences.

8) Jane says: For me, the biggest obstacle to any kind of human unity is the humans themselves. I don't have to look further than my own front door to see that. As far as Christian unity goes, it seems that the second biggest obstacle to unity is the definition of what it means to be Christian. I have seen so many definitions of this and it can be quite confusing.

9) Debbie says: The primary problem with Christian unity is that of differing traditions/doctrines/and/ beliefs. They all cannot be correct; however, they all can be wrong, but it's impossible for all to be right concerning the nature of God and Salvation.

10) Mary Jane says: I have to agree with those who say that disunity in the understanding of Scripture is probably the biggest problem in the way of unity. Listening to all the chatter about what this verse means and what that verse means makes one think that 99% of folks have bitten the apple if you know what I mean. That is, suffered the effect of a kind of self pride that enticed us to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and now we all seem to think we are gods and we can decide what is right and wrong and what makes one a Christian and what can't possibly make one a Christian, and what is or isn't necessary to believe. Another term to describe this is original sin.

11) Herbert says: Jane, your feet are not only wet, you're really swimming now.

12) Samuel says: The only Christian unity that will come will be at the end of time.

13) Clifford says: I think the biggest problem would be trying to get everyone to agree on what is the correct thing to believe. There are so many different types of churches today because whoever started them had a slightly different idea about how something should be interpreted, and when someone else agreed with him, it started a new church, So how do you get them all to believe the same thing?

14) Celeste says: I agree with Cliff. I think this is impossible, so I think we should try to build our unity on love and respect despite the differences, and that is something I believe could work, because we all want to love God and God tell us to love one another.

15) Corbin says: Another problem could be the meaning of Apostolic Succession. The Roman Catholics believe that Apostolic Succesion just came from Peter, but I believe Apostolic Succession actually came from all the Apostles so that every Christian is representing Christ here on earth with the Bible as our guidebook.

3rd Internet Question: ONE ANSWER TO CHRISTIAN UNITY MIGHT BE FOR CHRISTIANS TO ORGANIZE AN ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH WHERE THE CHURCH WOULD RECRUIT ALL CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING ROMAN CAT

and appreciation in diversity I do. Love your individualism. I hope it's contagious.

7) Morgan says: I recall an old saying which went "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity". I think there's a lot to be said for that. I work ecumenically, and I find that valuable and worthwhile. But ecumenism, and for that matter, multi-faith understanding, has never been about seeing what is the lowest common denominator on which to base a spurious unity, but an appreciation of the diversity of faith and the celebration of that diversity, alongside a recognition of where we can connect with one another whilst retaining our differences.

8) Jane says: For me, the biggest obstacle to any kind of human unity is the humans themselves. I don't have to look further than my own front door to see that. As far as Christian unity goes, it seems that the second biggest obstacle to unity is the definition of what it means to be Christian. I have seen so many definitions of this and it can be quite confusing.

9) Debbie says: The primary problem with Christian unity is that of differing traditions/doctrines/and/ beliefs. They all cannot be correct; however, they all can be wrong, but it's impossible for all to be right concerning the nature of God and Salvation.

10) Mary Jane says: I have to agree with those who say that disunity in the understanding of Scripture is probably the biggest problem in the way of unity. Listening to all the chatter about what this verse means and what that verse means makes one think that 99% of folks have bitten the apple if you know what I mean. That is, suffered the effect of a kind of self pride that enticed us to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and now we all seem to think we are gods and we can decide what is right and wrong and what makes one a Christian and what can't possibly make one a Christian, and what is or isn't necessary to believe. Another term to describe this is original sin.

11) Herbert says: Jane, your feet are not only wet, you're really swimming now.

12) Samuel says: The only Christian unity that will come will be at the end of time.

13) Clifford says: I think the biggest problem would be trying to get everyone to agree on what is the correct thing to believe. There are so many different types of churches today because whoever started them had a slightly different idea about how something should be interpreted, and when someone else agreed with him, it started a new church, So how do you get them all to believe the same thing?

14) Celeste says: I agree with Cliff. I think this is impossible, so I think we should try to build our unity on love and respect despite the differences, and that is something I believe could work, because we all want to love God and God tell us to love one another.

15) Corbin says: Another problem could be the meaning of Apostolic Succession. The Roman Catholics believe that Apostolic Succesion just came from Peter, but I believe Apostolic Succession actually came from all the Apostles so that every Christian is representing Christ here on earth with the Bible as our guidebook.

3rd Internet Question: ONE ANSWER TO CHRISTIAN UNITY MIGHT BE FOR CHRISTIANS TO ORGANIZE AN ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH WHERE THE CHURCH WOULD RECRUIT ALL CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING ROMAN CATHOLICS, TO BE MINISTERS TO WHOMEVER NEEDED HELP. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

1) Jim says: This is a nice idea. Unity is certainly what the world needs today. And the branches of Christianity started out with this idea in mind, the problem being that with each new one, even with the unification of Christianity in mind, it is just adding itself to the list of branches of Christianity. The World Christian Encyclopedia estimates that in 1900 there were 2000 sects of Christianity whereas in 1990 there were 21,000. Almost 5 new ones every year.

2) Stephen says: My experience of ecumenical endeavors is that the mainstream churches generally work well together whilst recognizing that our various traditions do create differences, but these can be a source of positive diversity and richness.

3) Corbin says: I'm a member of this type of church down here in Argentina, and we're really one big happy family as far as Christian unity is concerned. Of course we have our family squabbles like all families do, but this is strictly in-house

4) Melvin says: Corbin, I think this kind of church sounds like a dream. I've heard of other churches like it and I think that if we can get it to work in more places, it will definitely be a big step in the right direction for the whole of Christianity.

5) Miichael says: I think that would be a great idea. We Christians then could work much more efficiently in solving Global Issues.

The names of the commentarians have been changed to protect the privacy of the Internet contributers, but their comments are accurate.