Tag Archives: God of gods

The Creator God and Jesus Son of the Highest, the firstborn from the dead


“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Ge 1:1 KJ21)“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram and said unto him, “I am the Almighty God. Walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” (Ge 17:1 KJ21)

“And God said unto him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.” (Ge 35:11 KJ21)

“2 And God spoke unto Moses and said unto him, “I am the LORD. 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” (Ex 6:2-3 KJ21)

“and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son’s son what things I have wrought in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that ye may know that I am the LORD.”” (Ex 10:2 KJ21)

“”Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex 15:11 KJ21)

“Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods; for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly, He was above them.”” (Ex 18:11 KJ21)

“And He said, “Thou canst not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live.”” (Ex 33:20 KJ21)

“that men may know that Thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the earth.” (Ps 83:18 KJ21)

“‘O Lord GOD, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness and Thy mighty hand; for what God is there in heaven or in earth who can do according to Thy works and according to Thy might?” (De 3:24 KJ21)

“4  “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart; 7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them as a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates.” (De 6:4-9 KJ21)

“in that ye provoke Me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt whither ye have gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?” (Jer 44:8 KJ21)

“There is none holy as the LORD, for there is none besides Thee; neither is there any rock like our God.” (1Sa 2:2 KJ21)

“Therefore Thou art great, O LORD God; for there is none like Thee, neither is there any God besides Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” (2Sa 7:22 KJ21)

“Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power and the glory, and the victory and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as head above all.” (1Ch 29:11 KJ21)

“And the house which I build is great, for great is our God above all gods.” (2Ch 2:5 KJ21)

“Behold, God is great, and we know Him not; neither can the number of His years be searched out.” (Job 36:26 KJ21)

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted on the earth.” (Ps 46:10 KJ21)

“«A song. A Psalm for the sons of Korah.» Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, on the mountain of His holiness.” (Ps 48:1 KJ21)

“Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things. O God, who is like unto Thee!” (Ps 71:19 KJ21)

“Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone doeth wondrous things.” (Ps 72:18 KJ21)

“that men may know that Thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the earth.” (Ps 83:18 KJ21)

“Among the gods there is none like unto Thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto Thy works.” (Ps 86:8 KJ21)

“For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?” (Ps 89:6 KJ21)

“O LORD, how great are Thy works! And Thy thoughts are very deep.” (Ps 92:5 KJ21)

“3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is His also. 5 The sea is His, and He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if ye will hear His voice: 8 “Harden not your heart as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness 9 when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work.” (Ps 95:3-9 KJ21)

“For Thou, LORD, art high above all the earth; Thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Ps 97:9 KJ21)

“He sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for ever; holy and reverend is His name.” (Ps 111:9 KJ21)

“For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.” (Ps 135:5 KJ21)

“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.” (Ps 145:3 KJ21)

“But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.” (Isa 5:16 KJ21)

“And one cried unto another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”” (Isa 6:3 KJ21)

“Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” (Isa 8:13 KJ21)

“To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?” (Isa 40:18 KJ21)

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.”” (Isa 12:2 KJ21)

“”Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but Me; for there is no savior besides Me.” (Ho 13:4 KJ21)

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,” (1Ti 2:3 KJ21)

“Fear ye not, neither be afraid. Have not I told thee from that time and have declared it? Ye are even My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is no God. I know not any.”” (Isa 44:8 KJ21)

“For thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isa 57:15 KJ21)

“who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain, inasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee.” (Jer 10:7 KJ21)

“I will accept you with your sweet savor when I bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.” (Eze 20:41 KJ21)

“And I will sanctify My great name which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” (Eze 36:23 KJ21)

“Thus will I magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the LORD.’” (Eze 38:23 KJ21)

“The king answered unto Daniel and said, “In truth it is, that your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.”” (Da 2:47 KJ21)

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” (Joe 2:32 KJ21)

“For then will I return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord.” (Zep 3:9 KJ21)

“In this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” (Mt 6:9 KJ21)

“And Jesus said unto him, “Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God.” (Mr 10:18 KJ21)

“For He that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is His name.” (Lu 1:49 KJ21)

“God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”” (Joh 4:24 KJ21)

“1 ¶ These words spoke Jesus and lifted up His eyes to Heaven and said, “Father, the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, 2 as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. 3 And this is life eternal: that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” (Joh 17:1-3 KJ21)

“”I have manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy Word.” (Joh 17:6 KJ21)

“25 “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. 26 And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”” (Joh 17:25-26 KJ21)

“And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Ac 2:21 KJ21)

“For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Ro 1:20 KJ21)

“For “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”” (Ro 10:13 KJ21)

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Ro 11:33 KJ21)

“4  Concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but One. 5 For though there be what are called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet to us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1Co 8:4-6 KJ21)

“according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” (1Ti 1:11 KJ21)

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1Ti 2:5 KJ21)

“For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Heb 9:24 KJ21)

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1Jo 4:16 KJ21)

“And each of the four living beings had six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within; and they rested not day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!”” (Re 4:8 KJ21)

“saying, “We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to come, because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.” (Re 11:17 KJ21)

“And I heard another out of the altar say, “Even so, Lord God Almighty; true and righteous are Thy judgments.”” (Re 16:7 KJ21)

“Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God, that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.” (1Ch 28:8 KJ21)

“16  Let no man therefore judge you in regard to meat or drink, or in respect to a holy day or the new moon or the sabbath days, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” (Col 2:16-17 KJ21)

“But their minds were blinded; for until this day the same veil remaineth untaken away in the reading of the old testament, which veil is done away with in Christ.” (2Co 3:14 KJ21)

“”Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Mt 5:17 KJ21)

“Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,” (Eph 2:20 KJ21)

“4  Coming to Him as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded.”” (1Pe 2:4-6 KJ21)

“For no man can lay another foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1Co 3:11 KJ21)

“And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.” (Col 1:18 KJ21)

“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for His body’s sake, which is the church,” (Col 1:24 KJ21)

“17 even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18  “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me. Because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said unto Him, “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him. 24 He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My sayings. And the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. 25  “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, ‘I go away and come again unto you.’ If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, ‘I go unto the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 “Hereafter I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” (Joh 14:17-31 KJ21)

“But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1Co 11:3 KJ21)

“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son Himself also be subject unto Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Co 15:28 KJ21)

“30 And the angel said unto her, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. 31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. 32 He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, 33 and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.” 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that Holy Being who shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Lu 1:30-35 KJ21)

“21  Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized. And while He prayed the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from Heaven, which said, “THOU ART MY BELOVED SON; IN THEE I AM WELL PLEASED.” 23 And Jesus Himself had become about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli,” (Lu 3:21-23 KJ21)

“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Ac 10:38 KJ21)

“To Him all the prophets bear witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.”” (Ac 10:43 KJ21)

“Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”” (Ac 4:12 KJ21)

“Therefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name,” (Php 2:9 KJ21)

“The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world!” (Joh 1:29 KJ21)

“even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”” (Mt 20:28 KJ21)

“who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,” (1Ti 2:6 KJ21)

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is every one who hangeth on a tree”),” (Ga 3:13 KJ21)

“Him God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” (Ro 3:25 KJ21)

“And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1Jo 2:2 KJ21)

“Herein is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1Jo 4:10 KJ21)

“and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?”” (Joh 11:26 KJ21)

“But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Ga 3:22 KJ21)

“one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (Eph 4:5 KJ21)



 

 

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Filed under Quotations from Holy Scriptures, Religious affairs

Religion and the essence of devotion

Necessary parts in the daily walk with God

A proud Christ-follower who believes that we are all on a journey in life writes:

Religion is the essence of devotion. Our religious activities are to be an outpouring our our absolute devotion to God. Religion and relationship are necessary parts in the daily walk with God. And in speaking of religion in this way we can get a better glimpse at Christianity in a global sense. There are many traditions throughout Christendom that seem quite strikingly different than what any one of us may be used to, but they are simply unique ways to express the relational devotion we have to God. {The R&R of Christianity}

In the previous two writings, we talked about people who have a very restricted view of what a Christian would or should be. Lots of Christians are convinced that people who do not believe the human doctrine of the Trinity may not or can not call themselves Christian. They forget that the word Christian is made up of “Christ” and the suffix” ian”, denoting a follower of Christ. Then they should come to see and know who Christ is. For non-Trinitarians Christ is the Nazarene Jewish master teacher (or rebbe) Jeshua ben Yosef, Jesus the son of Mary (Miriam) and Joseph, born in Bethlehem. The word Christian gives an indication that it is about a follower of Christ or Kristos, the anointed Messiah. Naturally, it depends on what or whom, one wants to accept as a “follower”.

Christians, Lutherans, Wesleyans, and other followers

Normally a follower is considered to be someone who believes in a particular system of ideas, or who supports a leader who teaches these ideas. In the case of Christians it are people who follow the opinions or teachings of Christ Jesus, in particular, those teachings notated in the Messianic Scriptures (or New Testament: the four gospels and writings of the apostles and the revelation of St. John).

As the world accepts a Lutheran is a follower of Luther or a ‘belonger’ or accessory and supporter of the Lutheran community or Lutheranism, around that what was started by the German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. When we speak about a Lutheran we think of a person of or relating to the religious doctrines of Martin Luther, or relating to the Protestant denomination adhering to these doctrines. especially the doctrine of Sola fide or justification by faith alone.

According to similar usage, a Christian is a follower or someone who has a strong interest or pays close attention to Jesus Christ and is willing to follow his guidance, command, or leadership. For that guidance of Christ the person must Not follow the rules of other human beings, but can follow the trusted Word like it is notated in the Holy Scriptures.

A Lutheran should follow the writings of Luther, but when we look at the Lutheran Church we can see there are a lot of changes in that church which would not be liked by Luther (take for example the role of the women in that church today.) With Christians we see a similar gross deviation from the teachings of the teacher Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus leading his followers out of a system of oppression

It should not be forgotten that Jesus came along to lead his followers out of the ungodly Roman system. He also wanted to show to Jews and non-Jews how important it is to come back to the Divine Creator and to worship only One True God instead of the many gods of that time. Jesus was a very devout Jew, who did not worship himself (as several name Christians want us to believe). Jesus remained faithful all his life to the God of Israel, Who is a Singular Eternal Omniscient Supreme Spirit Being. No man can see God, but Jesus wanted everybody to figuratively come to see God and to accept Him as their heavenly Father.

There was not only the Roman oppressor; there were also the priests, Pharisees and Sadducees, who wanted to have power over the people. Like many theologians today, they too wanted to make Scriptures more complicated than they really are. Jesus explained the scrolls and showed how people have to live more to the spirit of the letter, than to the interpretation of those temple workers. Jesus also preached an alternative form of government, speaking of a jurisdiction outside the Roman state, based on the perfect law of freedom, outside the tyranny of men who would rule over their brothers and neighbours. He first chose Jewish people who believed in One Singular God, (the God of the Jews), the God of Abraham, Who is One and not two or three. A real Jew never would agree with the Trinity. At first, the people who joined the Jewish sect (or group) the Way, were all Jehudiem or Jews who did not betray their Jewish faith. It was only later when goyim or people from other nations, cultures and other faiths started joining the group of followers of Christ, problems raised under the Jewish community, of which many did not want non-Jews in their ranks and in their synagogues or prayer houses.

First-century Christians

The Way to God

Jesus always said people had not to thank him but God. He always said he was less than God, but that he was the way for people to come to God and the way to life, and that people should believe in him and be in union with him, like he is in union with God.

“I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (Joh 10:9 KJ21)

“But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”” (Joh 10:38 KJ21)

“Jesus said unto him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (Joh 14:6 KJ21)

“9 Jesus said unto him, “Have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.”

“12  Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

“15  “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever” 17 even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

“18  “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me. Because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.”” (Joh 14:9-21 KJ21)

“that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” (Joh 17:21 KJ21)

“by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Ro 5:2 KJ21)

“for through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph 2:18 KJ21)

“by a new and living Way, which He hath consecrated for us through the veil (that is to say, His flesh),” (Heb 10:20 KJ21)

Following teachings based on Jesus his teachings

In the first century of this common era, more and more people came to follow the apostles their teachings, which were based on those of their master teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ). They all agreed with the teachings of Jesus and became unified, forming the early Christian church with a system of charity, hope and respect for the rights of each other, requiring that each person would love their neighbour as themselves in a system of mutual, not governmental support.
Those joining the movement of The Way did agree to those Jewish teachings of Jesus and his apostles. For them, it was also clear that Jesus was showing a way to untangle people from the captivity of the social contracts they had made with the state of Rome and Judea, and the tribute and obligations they had become snared by. He proclaimed to call no man “Father”, as they called their Roman benefactors, but stated that the One Who made them alive is their Father Who is in heaven. The perfect law of freedom indicated that man’s unalienable rights stemmed from God and nature, and not governments of men. This was a system of anarchy, by strict definition, without the complex system of tribute that led to the decadence and decline of society, and the corruptible force of the state to back it up.

Not believing in a different God than the Jews

The early Christian church was not persecuted for their belief in a different God or a Kingdom in Heaven, but for their opting out of the mutual taxation system and seeking to live apart from the kings and overlords, the gods many, who demanded their tribute.

Path to walk

For those early followers of Christ it was important to give worship to the same God Jesus worshipped and to leave all those other gods at the side, non touched and not glorified. For them, it was clear that all glory belonged to God. They knew they had not to bow down in front of graven images, and always had to keep their soul diligently, all the time loving Jehovah as their God of gods, and not somebody else. It was also clear they, like God’s People (the Jews), had to walk in God His ways and not following human traditions which were not according to God’s Will,  for they had to keep Jehovah God His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances. Their devotion should fully be for Jehovah God and not for any other god, be it the Caesar, Baal, Apollo, Zeus or any other.  Those who were drawn away, and came to worship other gods, and came to serve them, were turning aside from the way which Jesus and his God have commanded mankind. Though God warned already in the past that the world would turn away from God and shall have false worship. He warned that evil will befall mankind in the latter days; because they will do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger through the work of their hands.

“”Only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them to thy sons and thy sons’ sons,” (De 4:9 KJ21)

“16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,” (De 30:16-17 KJ21)

“For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”” (De 31:29 KJ21)

“For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” (Ps 96:5 KJ21)

“He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul, but he that despiseth His ways shall die.” (Pr 19:16 KJ21)

“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.” (1Co 7:19 KJ21)

A God demanding exclusive devotion

Today we see how lots of people have made or taken themselves other gods than the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. Even from those who call themselves “Christian” there are many who bow down in front to graven images or kisses books and pictures as a sign of their devotion. They should know that Jehovah God requires exclusive devotion.

“But I had pity for Mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they went.” (Eze 36:21 KJ21)

“”Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Now will I bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name” (Eze 39:25 KJ21)

“God is jealous, and the LORD avengeth; the LORD avengeth and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.” (Na 1:2 KJ21)

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, the LORD thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,” (Ex 20:5 KJ21)

“For thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” (Ex 34:14 KJ21)

“For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” (De 4:24 KJ21)

“And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins:” (Jos 24:19 KJ21)

“And further, my son, by these words be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh.” (Ec 12:12 KJ21)

“For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: ‘To the Unknown God’. Whom therefore ye worship in ignorance, Him I declare unto you.” (Ac 17:23 KJ21)

The God greater than Jesus

Jesus not able to do anything without God

Jesus, his talmidim and the apostle Paul declared The God Who is greater than Jesus and without Him Jesus could not do anything.

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, “Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do; for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (Joh 5:19 KJ21)

“Ye have heard how I said unto you, ‘I go away and come again unto you.’ If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, ‘I go unto the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” (Joh 14:28 KJ21)

Jesus submissive to his God

Jesus his disciples also knew and wanted others to know that even their master was submissive to God and also submitted to Him whom he beheld as the only True God.

“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in the fashion of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death—even the death of the cross.” (Php 2:5-8 KJ21)

“But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1Co 11:3 KJ21)

“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son Himself also be subject unto Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Co 15:28 KJ21)

The churches and gods of man

But today many have several gods, like “material possession” (Mammon) or find themselves under slothful tribute to an emperor and a system that is not for their benefit. For many, their eye and worship is on material goods or on people who can gloriously show off their acquired wealth. Many covet their neighbour’s goods in a vain pursuit of “free” health care, education, welfare, unemployment benefits, social security and government protection. They have traded their inalienable God-given rights through social contracts both implied and explicit. Their churches are not ordained by God, but are corporations granted status by the state. Many want even bigger churches and want to spread hate for those churches which do not want to align with them. In many of those main churches they denounce the followers of whom they consider an anarchist, because for them Jesus is God and all who contradict that are not just contradictors but objectionable individuals. Those Trinitarians do not want to see that real followers of Christ have to be like Christ, united with Jesus and be one with him the same way as Jesus is one with God.

God in Christians

For real followers of Christ, there is the belief that God is in all of them, and that they have to attract others to come also under Christ, to become children of God.

“3 Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, so we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this: that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Ro 6:3-7 KJ21)

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1Co 15:49 KJ21)

“But because of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who from God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption,” (1Co 1:30 KJ21)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Co 5:17 KJ21)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Ga 6:15 KJ21)

United in Christ serving the God of Christ

Those in Christ should be united and serve the same God Jesus served. They should fully be devoted to Jehovah God, having no other gods than Him. Real Christians are those willing to have only One God and to study His Word, His ordinances so that they too can do God’s Will, like Jesus did not his own will but did the Will of his heavenly Father and asked his followers also to do the Will of his heavenly Father, Jehovah God. In case Jesus is God he naturally would always have done his own will and then he was all the time misleading people and praying to himself.

Jesus not knowing many who call themself Christian

Several people, calling themselves Christian forget that at the end times, when they would be coming in front of Christ, there could be a possibility that Jesus shall say not to know them, because they did not do the Will of his Father. To call oneself Christian or to become part of the Body of Christ one has to do the Will of God and be as a brother or sister of Christ Jesus and those following him.

“But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.” (Le 27:21 KJ21)

“And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” (Ec 1:13 KJ21)

“”Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven.” (Mt 7:21 KJ21)

“For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in Heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.”” (Mt 12:50 KJ21)

“And He went a little farther, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”” (Mt 26:39 KJ21)

“He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, unless I drink it, Thy will be done.”” (Mt 26:42 KJ21)

“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.”” (Mr 3:35 KJ21)

“And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee. Take away this cup from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”” (Mr 14:36 KJ21)

“And that servant, who knew his lord’s will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Lu 12:47 KJ21)

“saying, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.”” (Lu 22:42 KJ21)

“Jesus said unto them, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” (Joh 4:34 KJ21)

“38 For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. 39 And this is the Father’s will who hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the Last Day. 40 And this is the will of Him that sent Me: that every one who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the Last Day.”” (Joh 6:38-40 KJ21)

“but bade them farewell, saying, “I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills.” And he sailed from Ephesus.” (Ac 18:21 KJ21)

“Take them and purify thyself with them, and bear their charges with them, that they may shave their heads; and all may know that those things of which they have been informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou thyself also walkest orderly and keepest the law.” (Ac 21:24 KJ21)

Picking and choosing like a kid

Lots of people who call themselves “Christian” not at all follow the teachings of Jesus and pick and choose texts from Sriptures how it soots them best.

But you don’t pay attention to that do you my little lambs? No, you pick and choose like a kid going through a candy store deciding what to spend his quarters on. You choose what fits your sick sense of morality, and then toss the rest like it never existed. The fact that you become utter hypocrites apparently doesn’t bother you. Neither does the fact that it doesn’t fit my morality. But you care just as much about my definition of morality as I do yours. The only difference between us, is I’m not forcing you to try to live by my morality. {Of Christianity and Modern Morality}

rightly remarks someone who calls himself The Bastards 2013 (Where The Bastards come to share the word!) He, like lots of atheists saw how a bunch of Evangelical pastors were laying hands on Donald Trump in the White House and how one prominent evangelical leader immediately tweeted out the image with the caption:

“President Trump is bringing God back to America.” {In God We Obfuscate}

This “Bastards 2013” also wrote:

You talk about love and tolerance and yet your actions speak of hate and seclusion. You talk about America needing to find it’s moral center and returning to respecting one another and finding joys in the diversity of America. Then you back a man who is none of those. Donald Trump is your reflecting God. He is the face of your fake bullshit religion and from this day forth you will be forever known as the frauds and charlatans you are. Your speeches about god and love will be laughed at and ignored. Your attempts to say that this is Christianity will be endlessly mocked by those of us who know better. More importantly, when your god falls, and his presidency is nothing but a pile of ashes, you will have nowhere to run. Your sins will be laid bare and the scarlet letter of hypocrisy will be forever tattoed onto your forehead. While you preach the word of a megalomaniac, he is busy mocking Puerto Ricans as they struggle to survive after back to back hurricanes. As you attempt to speak about love and kindness (which you know nothing about) your god calls black men who are peacefully protesting inequality “Sons of bitches” and “traitors.” Meanwhile he speaks in front of a group of neo nazis and homophobes and says “It’s so nice to be around friends. So many friends.” You are the lowest form of human. ISIS is evil and should be eradicated, but at least they own who they are. They make no false speeches about love and acceptance when they don’t believe in it. They don’t shake the hands of the people while silently prepping to stab them in the back. You are nothing but low level talentless snake oil salesmen. You prey upon those who have been stricken desperate by your shitty unethical policies. You sell them a cure and make them believe that you and only you can help them. Then you sit back in your six homes, watching the peasants stumble around trying to find some sort of relief. {The Reflecting God}

Traditions of man

Throughout the ages, mankind had several gods and had celebrations for them. The Roman Catholic Church willing to capture as many heathen as they could, integrated many heathen festivals in their system. Christmas and Easter are the two most important ones still celebrated by the majority of Christians.

Lots of human traditions entered the life of those who call themselves Christian, though not many of them seem to wonder if they would be all right in the Eyes of God. That way Christendom became totally different from first-century Christianity.

A Religion of a relationship

Bringing a “Thought from a Pilgrim of Truth”, , a father, husband, and a pastor writes

There is another thing that tends to happen when someone views Christianity as a relationship rather than a religion. The terms of the relationship begin to get a bit blurry. God and King, Master and Lord, get discarded for the much easier to handle Friend. When God becomes solely our friend, we lose the fear of the LORD, and our relationship with Him becomes unbiblical. Again, this is where religious devotion comes in. We are His servants, His children even. We must remember that God has been and will always be great, higher and holier than we are. {The R&R of Christianity}

Christianity should be a religion of a relationship with Jesus Christ and with Christ his God, Jehovah the God above all kings and gods, but also about the relationship with others and other things (human beings, nature – plants and animals).

Fear God

Many who have made Jesus as their god have lost the fear of God or fear for God. Our religion should be an expression of that fear for God. In the end it will be Him that preserves the faithful, and plentifully shall reward him that deals proudly with the Truth, having the courage to speak out and show the world That Only One True God, the God of the kings David, Solomon and Christ. Strangely enough Trinitarians are giving the word Christian an othe meaning than then “ian” to the “Christ” would suggest. They do not see the fundamentals connected to being a Christian, nor the need to know about the God of Christ, Who is the God of the Bible. Those Trinitarians minimalise the act of Christ and do not value Jesus his act of submission to God and his complete sacrifice for humanity. Strangely enough many who call themselves Christian but worship a three-headed god dare to say, like the pharmacy student Teni:

God wanted His people to stand out from the people around them.

The bible makes us understand that God Almighty the creator of the whole universe is the One and Only true God. That means, every other god, is actually non-existent and made up by people’s imagination and craftiness. {4 Mmisconceptions that need to be cleared about being a christian}

though they do not believe in that Only One True God.

Bringing honour to the Only Right God

Bringing honour to such false gods is at the same time dishonouring God and misusing God’s Name and God’s Title. those who call themselves Christian should witness to the goodness of God in a world that has ceased to acknowledge His existence, let alone His sovereignty over the Cosmos. It was God’s son, Jesus who gave his followers an assignment to tell those around them about the Divine Creator and His promises, the good news of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.

Those calling themselves Christian, should as followers of Jesus Christ, not only keep to his teachings, but follow the example of Christ, being servants of God, Jesus and others, and this even to their own peril. We should have a friendship realtionship with Christ as our brotherbut we are not to consider ourselves as equals with God, in the same way Jesus never considered himself equal with God. We owe only Jesus his God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, all of our devotion and allegiance.

 

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Preceding

Not About The Name Of The Godhead Of Jesus

Rhetoric and Biblical Truth

Confrontation by people telling lies to force others to avoid the targetted groups

Religions and Mainliners

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Additional reading

  1. People are turning their back on Christianity
  2. Blindness in the Christian world
  3. Not liking your Christians
  4. Not all christians are followers of a Greco-Roman culture
  5. Christian in Christendom or in Christianity
  6. Christianity is a love affair
  7. To be chained by love for another one
  8. Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
  9. Jesus and God
  10. Only one God
  11. A Father Who begat a son
  12. Jahushua, Joshua, Jeshua or Jesus an Immanuel or God with us an incarnated God or a human being?
  13. The sent one from God
  14. Knowing Jesus Rabboni
  15. Jesus son of God or God the son
  16. Jesus son of God
  17. Jesus Christ the Messiah
  18. Seeing Jesus
  19. Reasons that Jesus is Not God
  20. God son king and his subjects
  21. Not saying Jeshua is God
  22. Sayings of Jesus, what to believe and being or not of the devil
  23. Jesus begotten Son of God #19 Compromising fact
  24. On the Nature of Christ
  25. The Son can do nothing of his own accord
  26. The son of man given authority by God
  27. The Nazarene master teacher learning people how they should behave
  28. Doctrine of Christ
  29. One Mediator
  30. Commandements of Christ
  31. Statutes given unto us
  32. Relationship with God, Jesus and each other
  33. Memorizing wonderfully – Additional verses: Psalm 34 Tasting and blessing Jehovah God
  34. Extra verses to remember by the reading of Psalm 45 A Great name to Praise God
  35. Not words of any organisation should bind you, but the Word of God
  36. A learning process for each of us
  37. Paul’s warning about false stories and his call to quit touching the unclean thing
  38. Matthew 15 Calvin’s view
  39. Matthew 20 It is never too late
  40. Matthew 20 Are you willing to work for Jesus?
  41. Matthew 25 Jesus ministry drawing to its dramatic conclusion and warning to be ready
  42. A strange thing might happen when you come under Christ
  43. As brothers and sisters showing that you are followers of the real Jesus or being a Jeshuaist sharing responsibilities
  44. Demanding signs or denying yourself
  45. Attitude of a Christian
  46. As Christ’s slaves doing the Will of God in gratitude
  47. A heart full of love is a fundamental requirement
  48. Christianity without the Trinity
  49. Doubting and going astray
  50. Main churches losing population share
  51. How do trinitarians equate divine nature
  52. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
  53. Thought for today November the 6th: Indifference
  54. Is it a Jewish or a Christian faith
  55. Religious imagery used by pop artists
  56. Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ
  57. Today’s thought “Fools despise wisdom” (March 23)
  58. False opposite true worship which exalts the God of Israel
  59. How should we worship God? #14 True worship
  60. In a time when we must remain in our place
  61. Memorizing wonderfully 18 Proverbs – Fear of God, Wisdom and instruction
  62. Symptom of tzara’at a white spot on the flesh
  63. Today’s thought “Folly and Wickedness of Men” (January 06)
  64. Today’s thought “Sound an alarm for the day of Jehovah that comes” (November 19)

 

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Further related

  1. Pouring Into Others (comeawake.org)
  2. Being Christian
  3. Being Christian Takes Practice
  4. Being Christian On Day One
  5. What Does It Mean to be a True Christian?
  6. Being A Cultural Christian Is Not Enough
  7. The Quiet in the Land
  8. Martin Luther’s Seal
  9. ROFLMAO — what would Luther’s 95 Theses sound like in an corporate office email memo to all staff?
  10. Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
  11. A Bonhoeffer moment and a barstool conversation between Luther, Bonhoeffer and a Finnish theologian — links and quotes for future reference
  12. Lutheran Women and Their Impact on History
  13. Luther an’ Me
  14. Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
  15. Progressive Christianity
  16. Check Yourself, Christian
  17. Unchurched
  18. Come To Me To Have Life
  19. Sheep and Goats, Faith and Mercy
  20. Reformation 2020. The Righteousness of God at the Present Time
  21. It Matters
  22. Commitment to Christ Means Commitment to His Church (Blogs Revisited)
  23. What the Coronavirus Reveals about Protestant Piety
  24. Lutherans vs. Coronavirus
  25. Attitude is Everything
  26. Is the Trinity scriptural – or is it pagan nonsense
  27. Fully God and Fully Man
  28. December 11,2020: Finding the “O’s” in God’s message
    Satan’s Lie: You Can Become God
  29. Is Jesus God? – Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green
  30. Proof that the disciples did not preach the trinity!
  31. How the Trinity Debate has Influenced Our Reading
  32. A Trinitarian Christian claims he can explain the trinity…guess what happens next?
  33. Mohammed Hijab vs David Wood, Tawheed vs Trinity
  34. Is Jesus God? Debate between Pastor Stanley Sjoberg and Sheikh Ahmed Deedat
  35. Trinity vs Tawheed, Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green (Part 1)
  36. Trinity vs Tawheed – Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green (Part 2)
  37. Of Christianity and Modern Morality
  38. 4 Mmisconceptions that need to be cleared about being a christian
  39. Matthew 20:26
  40. Heaven, work, and duty
  41. The Church – Body of Christ
  42. Funhouse God
  43. Our Heavenly Home 
  44. Listening While White: Respecting the Image of God in People of Color
  45. Deepening our Faith: 2nd Sunday of Advent 2020
  46. He is Faithful
  47. Catholicism – a False religion based on idolatry man made doctrines pagan traditions
  48. Completing the great commission
  49. Where is wisdom found?
  50. the high cost of not trusting God
  51. Above the voice of men
  52. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
  53. Fear of God – Temor de Dios
  54. The Fear of God
  55. Fear Brings Contentment
  56. Pleasing and Not Pleasing People for the Glory of God
  57. You´ve overcome

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Lifestyle, Quotations from Holy Scriptures, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Spiritual affairs, World affairs

Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #1 Abrahamic religions

2016 was already a year of great dissonance, 2017 was not so much better. It did turn its back unto us, but left a big stamp on what we might expect for this year. The world looked with astonishment to the one who managed to become the 45th president of the United States of America. What most people in the West thought would not ever happen did happen. It shows how mistaken we can be.

Like their leader,who thinks he can decide which place has to be the capital of a certain country, several of the citizens of that so called ‘united’ States think they may decide which word people have to use to speak about their god or how to call God. On many internet platforms and chat-groups or Facebook Groups, those Americans want to forbid people in whose languages already thousands of years before the U.S.A. was founded, the word Allah was used to denote “God” to call the Most High Maker “Allah”. They forgetting that this title’s origin can be traced back to the earliest Semitic writings in which the word for “god” was il or el, the latter being used in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Allāh is the standard Arabic word for God and is used by Arab speaking people as well as in many other languages by Christians as well as by Muslims .

Those English speaking Americans having the pretentious to decide which word other language speaking people may use for speaking about their God. Worse is that several of those stubborn Americans do not want to see that they commit blasphemy against the Divine Creator. One can wonder if it is because of their education of lack of education that those Americans go so much against the word “Allah” they even do not come to see or understand that it is a common title for “God” in many languages and in many countries outside the United States of America and in many religious groups.

0042_20Just to few some active bloggers, we can find a person living in in Troutdale, Oregon USA, who loves cats and perhaps likes to crawl like one. Though she writes to be a lover of Christ we can not see that expressed in her writings which are a continuous attack on a group of people as well on those who dare to use “Allah” to speak about their “God”. Strange that an “average man who tries to do his best at being the kind of person the Bible tells us we are all suppose to be” likes to follow and duplicate her writings doing just the opposite the Bible tells and also bringing blasphemy to the Divine Creator.  Though both have a writing where they quote (Exodus 20:3 KJV) they both, like many other Americans love an other god, are even not afraid to draw pictures of their god and worship in front of graven images (though that is against the commandments of the Only One True God). In the cartoons they publish they also say umbilical things and want their readers to believe “Jesus is the only one god”, instead of recognising that Jesus is the son of God. Naturally the Old Poet and Kristi Ann are free to take whatever god they want, but they should not forbid others to use the title “Allah” for the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. If they do not want to see that Jesus is the way to the Only One True God, that is their problem and their right, but they should not hinder those who want to love Christ Jesus and take the God of Jesus as their “Allah“.

Though the

people make the statement that all ‘these religions’ pray to the same God, they just call Him/Her by a different name, so why can’t they all just get along? {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

In a certain way he is right because Jews, real Christians and Muslims worship the Only One True God, Whose Name is Jehovah, whilst the majority of those who call themselves Christian do not worship the same God as Jesus but have made Jesus into their god, and in fact are ‘hidden’ polytheists, having a three-headed god with different qualities as the main god.

But the Old Poet has an other view on that and see other reasons for not believing that they worship the same god. He writes

This statement would be nice, if it were true, but it isn’t at all correct. Mostly the people I have heard say this nonsense have been the Hollywood types or talking heads from the NYC area. People who make this assumption tend to be people who have no knowledge of what the different religions teach and usually have no knowledge of even the teachings of one religion. {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

The Old poet recognises that there are different divisions in the Christian communities, of which he claims that they

have no knowledge of what the different religions teach and usually have no knowledge of even the teachings of one religion. {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

Strange enough he says himself

“Yet I am not going to stone any believers in Jesus Christ whether they are Protestant or Catholic.” {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

Though he condemns all those Catholics and Protestants who use the word “Allah” and condemns all the Bibles and Christian teaching books where the writers use “Allah” when they speak about their God, be it a Trinity or a Binary or Unitarian God. Very strange it becomes, when he continues

One of the many things I have never understood in life is how groups that believe that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and King can raise their weapons against another person who believes the same thing, in the name of Religion, in the name of Christ! This confusion isn’t just among Christian Churches, let God be the Judge, we are not qualified. {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

But he himself and his favourite female writer do throw stones to all those Christians who worship Allah and have Jesus Christ as their saviour. He asks God to be the judge, but he himself judges all those people who do not speak English and use the words of their language to speak about God and not his English title he likes so much. By his writings he also condemns the books which got an imprimatur from the Roman Catholic Church and have the title of God written as “Allah”. By her writings Kristi Ann indicates than that that Roman Catholic Church is the instrument of “Satan”.

Kristi Ann further writes on her website

Only Devout Judaism and Christianity is Right {He is (Yahweh-Jehovah) God!!}

though seems to overlook that no Jew or no real Christian would ever believe in her three gods: a God the Father, god the son and a god the Holy Spirit. For real lovers of the Jewish Nazarene rabbi there is only One and the same God, The God of the Jews and Muslims, namely the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jeshua (Christ Jesus) and his disciples, the God of Israel, the El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh.

In her article He is (Yahweh-Jehovah) God!! she brings a lot of quotes from the Holy Scriptures, which she herself does not seem to belief, because she has made herself an other god than the God of the Bible. She may do that, but then she may not throw stones to those who prefer to believe those verses which declare that there is Only One True God.

When she then also attacks those people who use their own language and not English, it becomes to much to bare or to let it circulate the internet without any reaction. It is not up to her, or any other person who calls himself or herself Christian, to dictate that the words to describe the Most High Divine Creator of all things should be their English word “God”. We and all those for which “Allah” is the word to describe the title of the Most High God should not be dictated by American nationalists and/or Neo-Nazis which title to use, or should not be dictated by them to have such or such city as their capital. They may have freedom of speech but should also have others to have the same freedom of speech and the freedom of language.

Several American Christian magazines try also to bring confusion and have those who use the word “Allah” to denounce that God or those using that title

“The key condition behind calling the Christian God Allah is that Allah must refer to the same God as the one in the Bible. However, this requirement presents “a huge problem for both Muslims and Christians….” From its very starting point Islam denies what Christianity takes as its central truth claim – the fact that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father. If Allah has no Son by definition, Allah is not the God who revealed himself in the Son. How then can the use of Allah by Christians lead to anything but confusion …and worse?” {passage from the ‘Christian Post’, U.S. (Is Calling the Christian God ‘Allah’ Wrong? – August 23, 2007)  Ustaz Azahar A Pluralist?}

That writer like many Muslims seems to forget that lots of Muslims may be confused by the son part, though they still also call Abraham their patriarch and themselves children of Abraham.

From Muslim site there is also a grudge against all those who use the word “Allah” as if they have the sole right to use that word.

“Allah” in the Bible – Two copies of the Bible in Malay (L) and the Iban dialect are seen in this picture illustration taken in Kuala Lumpur January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Samsul Said

In this country, Allah has been used to refer to God, whereas Tuhan, which the ruling party wants Catholics/Christians to use, is a generic term which is non specific, hence the refusal by the Malay/indigenous language speaking Catholics and Christians to budge. {Malaysia: Muslims confiscate Bibles, police threaten arrests if non-Muslims use word “allah”}

To the West and East it is clear the U.S.A. would not love more to have an American take-over. Their president like a little child boasts about having a bigger button than the North Koreans have, and by always shouting about having better and bigger weapons he and his Alt-Right friends and those who call themselves Christian but fight against all who have an other idea or use other words than they, are a danger for world peace.

As we can see what happened in certain Muslim countries wanting to have the sole use for the word of “god” them claiming they alone should be allowed to use “Allah” we now find the opposite by fundamentalist Christians (mainly North American U.S.A. citizens) who claim that everybody should use their word and nobody alse should use the title “god” for any other god, though they forget that the bible itself calls angels, Moses, Pharao, Baal, Apollo; Zeus, “god” (notice the small letter), even when they (according to us) are not their god Jesus , nor the Real Divine Creator God above all gods, the Host of hosts, which has in certain languages also the title “God” (with capital) or “Allah”, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, the Only One True God.

The smear of certain Christians, their strong reactions against users of the title “Allah” and their strong reactions against those who prefer the Islamic Faith, doing as if all Muslims are Islamic terrorists and haters of God, makes it that we see it coming closer to the times the Bible mentions that religion shall come up against religion.

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Preceding

Crisis man needed in this world

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Additional reading

  1. Today’s thought “Sun, moon and stars” (January 22)
  2. The language of Jesus and the title of God
  3. Government school classroom assignment on world religions in discussion and Islamophobia gone wild
  4. ISIS cannot be presenters of the real Islam
  5. Malaysia requires sole use of God’s title for Muslims
  6. The Divine name of the Creator

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Kristi Ann falsely claiming that the Quran would say “Allah” or “The God”, Whom we take to be Jehovah, is the “Best of deceivers” and Satan

The blasphemous postings: by Kristi Ann “Muslims bow and worship allah / satan Everyday!!” + “allah is NOT a god!!” and the reposting by Old Poet’s ‘Truth troubles’: allah is NOT a god!! are just one of the disturbing postings on the net we encountered the last few months.

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Related articles

  1. Kalimah Allah: The Argument of a (Very) Confused Man
  2. Ustaz Azahar A Pluralist?
  3. Islamic Authorities Seize Bibles Because Christians Use the Word ‘Allah’
  4. For Bumiputera Christians, ‘Allah’ ban akin to cultural ‘genocide’, says archbishop
  5. Malaysia: Muslims confiscate Bibles, police threaten arrests if non-Muslims use word “allah”
  6. Arabic Bibles have been falsified to please Muslim converts
  7. Imam Goes Off Script at Vatican
  8. Pope Francis: Vicar of Allah?
  9. Be good even if you don’t receive good, not because of other’s sake but because Allah loves the good doers. -Ibn al-Qayyim.
  10. 99 Names of Allah: al-Rahman
  11. Part 103: To Allah do we belong…
  12. HumanBeing Can only Dream
  13. Masha Allah! Qur’an offers a clearer understanding of Prophet Isa (Jesus).
  14. What is God?
  15. ​Christianity Vs Islam.
  16. Depression in Islam
  17. Why did Vikings have “Allah” embroidered into funeral clothes?
  18. No issue about using ‘Allah’ for God
  19. The Spheres of Heaven
  20. Eid Reflection: Allah is Beautiful and Loves Beauty (The Beautification of Man by God)
  21. Allah Made Easy #2
  22. Why do so many Muslims hate America?

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Filed under Crimes & Atrocities, Headlines - News, Knowledge & Wisdom, Lifestyle, Political affairs, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Welfare matters, World affairs

After darkness a moment of life renewal

A spiritual advisor, Cherokee Billie, calls herself a clairvoyant, who has been advising thousands of clients about relationships, business affairs and the future. Though the Bible, God’s Word warns us to stay away from such persons, we would like to quote her.
She wrote

“The Christ, He who was in the ancient of days, is the flame of God that dwells in the spirit of man. He is the breath of life that visits us, and takes unto Himself a body like our bodies.

He is the will of the Lord. {Be Blessed at this Holy Time}

She is right in calling Christ the Will of the Lord, by whom she (we think) means God. The God of gods, the Divine Creator, gave in the early days, in the Garden of Eden, a solution for the fall of man. God provided that a Messiah would come who would be able to put his own will aside in favour of the Will of God. That man, born in Bethlehem and brought up in Nazareth, was a very active person seen by many. Though God cannot be seen by man, Jesus made it possible to have a clear picture of his heavenly Father.

She further writes

And the word of the Lord our God builded a house of flesh and bones, and was man like unto you and myself. {Be Blessed at this Holy Time}

But according to the Bible Jesus was a man of flesh and bones whilst God is an eternal Spirit to Whom man can do nothing. Man could do a lot to Jesus. He was not only tempted many times, whilst God can not be tempted, he had enough reason to fear man, because man could really hurt him and did really kill him. God cannot be killed, but Jesus really was.

Too many Christians do forget the attributes and specific character of God and mix those two Biblical characters. Not only have they made Jesus into their god, but often they also made graven images of him or use the sign of the god of evil and the god of light (or sun), Tammuz, as the symbol of their god Jesus (namely the cross).

The writer also thinks like Kahlil Gibran

Many times the Christ has come to the world, and He has walked many lands. And always he has been deemed a stranger and a madman.” ~Kahlil Gibran in Jesus The Son of Man {Be Blessed at this Holy Time}

She further adds

Too much political correctness has made it unfashionable to have faith and talk about it openly.  I will choose to continue to have faith because without it I would have nothing. {Be Blessed at this Holy Time}

Now when Winter has passed and the Spring Season opened with the remembrance day of Christ (14 Nisan) and the exodus of Egypt (14-15 Nisan) we can rejoice in the fact that this man who did not do his own will, which he would have done in case he is God, was taken out of the dead by his heavenly Father the Only One True God. Jesus did not come out of his grave by his own power, but by the Mighty Power of God.

It was that time Jesus was back alive on earth, where he showed his wounds to his followers to give proof that he is not a ghost, whilst God is a Ghost, and not some one of flesh and blood. No other time was Jesus ever back onto the earth, after he was taken up high by his heavenly Father to sit next to that Only One true God.

It is from there in the heavenly regions that Jesus is allowed by God to be a mediator between man and God and to be a high-priest for God and man.

As long as we are living in this system of things, we should take time to come to know Jesus his heavenly Father well and to prepare ourselves for the harsh times coming.

We always should remember that if God spared not his own only begotten son, how much less will he spare us!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Alexander Melville.jpg

British Particular Baptist preacher Charles Haddon (CH) Spurgeon

What whips of burning wire will be yours when conscience shall smite you with all its terrors. Ye richest, ye merriest, ye most self-righteous sinners-who would stand in your place when God shall say,

“Awake, O sword, against the man that rejected me; smite him, and let him feel the smart for ever?”

Jesus was spit upon: sinner, what shame will be yours! We cannot sum up in one word all the mass of sorrows which met upon the head of Jesus who died for us, therefore it is impossible for us to tell you what streams, what oceans of grief must roll over your spirit if you die as you now are. You may die so, you may die now. By the agonies of Christ, by his wounds and by his blood, do not bring upon yourselves the wrath to come! Trust in the Son of God, and you shall never die. {Charles Haddon Spurgeon}

Without the light we shall stay in the dark, but in our heart it has not to stay dark.

Behold, how independent of outward circumstances the Holy Ghost can make the Christian! What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes to and fro, and the pillars of the earth are removed! {Charles Haddon Spurgeon}

It is now that we shall have to

Take time out of your busy lives and reflect on the spiritual blessings that are being poured out at this time. No matter what you may be going through the blessings are still coming and it is up to us to recognize the miracle of each day. {Be Blessed at this Holy Time}

The Christian concept of apocatastasis include...

The Christian concept of apocatastasis includes a restoration of the world to its original state, as in the Garden of Eden (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With Spring announcing new life we should also look for ways to receive a new life and to prepare ourselves for a never ending abundant life of peace. We should come to the right correctness, putting away all human dogma’s and keeping only to the Biblical Truth and the purity of the Word of God.

Please reflect on the words written in the old Book of books, the Bible, and take time now to put everything on order and to clean up all mess and start a new.

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Please do reflect on following Bible sayings:

Luke 3:21-38 (TS98)
21 And it came to be, when all the people were immersed, יהושע {Jehshua} also being immersed, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Set-apart Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven saying, “You are My Son, the Beloved, in You I did delight.” 23 And when יהושע Himself began, He was about thirty years of age, being, as reckoned by law, son of Yosĕph, of Ěli, 24 of Mattithyahu, of Lĕwi, of Meleḵi, of Yanah, of Yosĕph, 25 of Mattithyahu, of Amots, of Naḥum, of Ḥesli, of Noḡah, 26 of Ma῾ath, of Mattithyahu, of Shim῾i, of Yosĕph, of Yehuḏah, 27 of Yoḥanan, of Rephayah, of Zerubbaḇel, of She’alti’ĕl, of Neri, 28 of Meleḵi, of Addi, of Qosam, of Elmoḏam, of Ěr, 29 of Yehoshua, of Eli῾ezer, of Yorim, of Mattithyahu, of Lĕwi, 30 of Shim῾on, of Yehuḏah, of Yosĕph, of Yonam, of Elyaqim, 31 of Melea, of Menna, of Mattattah, of Nathan, of Dawiḏ, 32 of Yishai, of Oḇĕḏ, of Bo῾az, of Salmon, of Naḥshon, 33 of Amminaḏaḇ, of Ram, of Ḥetsron, of Perets, of Yehuḏah, 34 of Ya῾aqoḇ, of Yitsḥaq, of Aḇraham, of Teraḥ, of Naḥor, 35 of Seruḡ, of Re῾u, of Peleḡ, of Ěḇer, of Shĕlaḥ, 36 of Qĕynan, of Arpaḵshaḏ, of Shĕm, of Noaḥ, of Lemeḵ, 37 of Methushelaḥ, of Ḥanoḵ, of Yereḏ, of Mahalalĕl, of Qĕynan, 38 of Enosh, of Shĕth, of Aḏam, of Elohim.

Exodus 33:20 (TS98)
20 But He said, “You are unable to see My face, for no man does see Me and live.”

Hebrews 2:9  (TS98)
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the messengers, {Jehshua} יהושע, because of the suffering of death crowned with esteem and respect, that by the favour of Elohim He should taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:14  (TS98)
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself similarly shared in the same, so that by means of His death He might destroy him having the power of death, that is, the devil,

Hebrews 2:17-18 (TS98)
17 So in every way He had to be made like His brothers, in order to become a compassionate and trustworthy High Priest in matters related to Elohim, to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 For in what He had suffered, Himself being tried, He is able to help those who are tried.

John 4:23-26 (TS98)
23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also does seek such to worship Him. 24 “Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming, the One who is called Anointed. When that One comes, He shall announce to us all.” 26 יהושע {Jehshua} said to her, “I who am speaking to you am He.”

John 20:2-17 (TS98)
2 So she ran and came to Shim῾on Kĕpha, and to the other taught one whom יהושע {Jehshua} loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Master out of the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him.” 3 Then Kĕpha and the other taught one went out, and they were going to the tomb, 4 and the two were running together, but the other taught one outran Kĕpha and came to the tomb first. 5 And stooping down he saw the linen wrappings lying, but he did not go in. 6 Then Shim῾on Kĕpha came, following him, and went into the tomb. And he saw the linen wrappings lying, 7 and the cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but folded up in a place by itself. 8 So, then, the other taught one, who came to the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet know the Scripture, that He has to rise again from the dead. 10 Therefore the taught ones went away again, by themselves. 11 But Miryam was standing outside by the tomb weeping. Then as she wept, she stooped down to the tomb, 12 and saw two messengers in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of יהושע had been laid. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?” She said to them, “Because they took away my Master, and I do not know where they laid Him.” 14 And having said this, she turned around and saw יהושע standing, but she did not know that it was יהושע. 15 יהושע said to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said to Him, “Master, if You have carried Him away, say to me where You put Him, and I shall take Him away.” 16 יהושע said to her, “Miryam!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 יהושע said to her, “Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My Elohim and your Elohim.’ ”

Hebrews 6:20  (TS98)
where יהושע {Jehshua} has entered as a forerunner for us, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Malkitseḏeq.

1 Timothy 2:1-8 (TS98)

1 Timothy 2
1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all men, 2 for sovereigns and all those who are in authority, in order that we lead a calm and peaceable life in all reverence and seriousness. 3 For this is good and acceptable before Elohim our Saviour, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one Elohim, and one Mediator between Elohim and men, the Man Messiah יהושע, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be witnessed in its own seasons, 7 for which I was appointed a proclaimer and an emissary – I am speaking the truth in Messiah and not lying – a teacher of the gentiles in belief and truth. 8 So I resolve that the men pray everywhere, lifting up hands that are set-apart, without wrath and disputing.

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Preceding

Winter and Spring wonders of nature showing the Master’s hand

Getting fate in your change to positiveness

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Find also to read:

  1. From Winterdarkness into light of Spring
  2. Wishing to do the will of God
  3. Flowing out from a genuine spiritual “heart”
  4. What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits
  5. Cleanliness and worrying or not about purity
  6. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #4 Transitoriness #2 Purity
  7. How we think shows through in how we act
  8. Be holy
  9. Love and cultivate that which is pure
  10. The day Jesus died
  11. Why think that (3) … Jesus rose from the dead
  12. Jesus is risen
  13. Risen With Him

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36 Comments

Filed under Religious affairs, World affairs

Which is worse–works without faith, or faith without works?

Rob Heijermans, who says is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and believes that God has spoken

— in fact, the universe itself is a product of the voice of the Lord. The phrase, “And God said…,” appears nine times in the first chapter of Genesis alone. {Is Anyone Listening?}

He also knows he has ever deceived himself and looks at James, Jesus’ younger half-brother, who knows all about self-deception.

Though the writer wrongly thinks James deceived himself for many years,

“denying that Jesus was God in the flesh.” {11 Self-Deceit 101}

Having grown up with Jesus in an Essene family he probably got to know Jesus as well as God very well. He also knew what Jesus had told others and to whom Jesus prayed, like they at their family, at home, prayed to the only One true God, the God of Israel. Jesus did not pray to himself, but to the God of Abraham, about Whom he taught people to pray to as well.

The apostle James warns us in Verse 22  of the first chapter that if we are hearers of the word–the Bible–and not doers, we deceive or ensnare ourselves.

James 1:22 EWB-CB  But become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Much too often Christians do forget Jesus’ parables and the warning of James. We may not delusively content our selves with being of the audience, but have to put what we hear in practice.

The writer of the blog UpStream writes

James says it’s like looking into the mirror on the morning of an important interview, seeing some serious bed-head, lots of stubble and a smudge of last night’s hot fudge sundae, and just walking away without taking action. {11 Self-Deceit 101}

Too many Christians make it themselves very easy, thinking because they are saved they do not have to do anything any more.

Rob Heijermans is aware that

sitting under the teaching of the Scriptures and not doing what they say is an act of self-deceit. Studying the Scriptures for ourselves, gaining an understanding of their meaning, but not obeying God’s Word, produces knowledge that makes us arrogant but yields no fruit in our lives. It is self-deceit. Even more serious is purporting to be a teacher and either teaching what is false or not doing what is true. James will deal with this more later in his letter. {11 Self-Deceit 101}

We should come to get to know what is written in the Bible and may not twist around the words of it. As such when is written “the son of God” we may not say “god the son“. We should clearly take the Words of God into account and take them serious.

In this world many have made their own gods. A lot also made Jesus in to their god, like Rob Heijermans has done. He also preaches about hell as a sort of place of eternal torture, whilst forgetting that the Divine Creator is a God of Love, who is an eternal Spirit Who can not be seen by man, but is with man, telling them no lies and saying they shall have paid for their sins with their death.

But this God of gods tells also about His sent one, the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Jesus on this earth tried to make his heavenly Father known and showed the way to the Kingdom of God. His brother knew also very well the importance of Jesus’ teaching about that Kingdom. He had to loose his brother at the wooden stake and see his mother cry, being full of grieve. But he had also come into the hope Jesus preached and wanted to share it with others, like his brother had asked it.

That preaching James had taken up is also an act we should do. It is one of the works Jesus asked his followers to do.

Twice, the writer of Hebrews mentions “dead works.” (Heb 6.1, 9.14) Now, James writes of “dead faith.” In the subsequent verses of Chapter 2, he mentions that even the demons believe in God–and tremble before Him!–so simply believing facts about God is not saving faith. James then cites two Old Testament characters whose faith was demonstrated by their works: Abraham, the Iraqi father of the Jewish nation was not content simply to tell God he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. He unsheathed his dagger and was about to plunge it into Isaac’s belly when God stopped him and provided a substitutionary ram. Rahab the whore did not stop at believing that God was conquering His enemies through the Israelites–she protected their spies, knowing the awesome power of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. {14 How to Work Your Way to Hell}

Lots of Christians have forgotten Who that God of the Israelites is and why we should take Him as our Only One True God, like Jesus also took Him as His Only One Most High Almighty God. But not only did they take the ransom offer of Jesus as the final act for them, misleading themselves that they would not have to do anything more because they are saved by the Blood of Christ.

Strangely enough the blog writer seems to know that

On some occasion, James probably heard his Brother say that God is glorified when we prove we are His disciples by producing fruit. (John 15.8) {14 How to Work Your Way to Hell}

In many parables Jesus had told how we have to get a good relationship with the heavenly Father. How He is willing to take us up as His children, but also how we can loose the entrance to the Kingdom of God. James came to understand those teachings of his brother and knew how important it was when people came into the faith how they had to change themselves and had to work on themselves continuously.

We may not assume that it are only our works that can get us some where.

the second half of James 2 demonstrates: just as it is vain to think that my works–religious duty, outward devotion, social activism, neighbourly consideration–could possibly get me to heaven, so also is it vain to suppose I am truly a child of God while my life manifests nothing of my faith. As Jesus said, a fruit tree with no fruit is cut down and burned. {14 How to Work Your Way to Hell}

When having come into the faith we have to water our own tree. (By reading and studying the Bible.) Then we do have to let the food of the earth and food of heaven feed ourselves, so that we can bear good fruits. For getting good fruits we need good pruning. We need to do a lot of work. Without the work there shall be no good fruits and when we are not willing to prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God we shall be too late like some young girls who did not prepare themselves or thought they had enough time. Please do not postpone. Take care that you are ready for when the day comes.

When procrastinating you will be surprised when the day comes you shall have nothing done what had to be done and will miss the boat.

Some things may be hard or difficult, like changing sides, or putting away human doctrinal teachings, like the trinity a.o.. but God wants from His son an his followers truthful worshippers of God who are faithful to Him, the Adonai Jehovah, and to His commandments. When we do not follow God’s commandments it will be like ignoring God’s Wishes and not wanting a good relationship with Him. Keeping to those commandments shall demand works we shall have to do with pleasure because we do believe in Christ, the son of God, and in his heavenly Father we also want to love.

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Preceding articles:

Leading people astray!

Restitution

Comments to James remarks, about Faith and works

Luther’s misunderstanding

January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

Our life depending on faith

Romans 4 and the Sacraments

Is Justification a process?

Justification – salvation is by grace through faith – JI Packer

Faith itself not the cause of justification – Louis Berkhof

Letter to the Romans, chapter 3

Letter to the Romans, chapter 4

Additional comments to the 3rd Letter to the Romans

Additional comments to the Letter to the Romans 4

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Please find also to read

  1. God of gods
  2. God is one
  3. Sayings around God
  4. A god who gave his people commandments and laws he knew they never could keep to it
  5. Jesus Messiah
  6. Jesus and His God
  7. the Trinity – the Truth
  8. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
  9. Bearing fruit
  10. Faith Alone Does Not Save . . . No Matter How Many Times Protestants Say It Does
  11. Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness
  12. Christ’s ethical teaching
  13. Being Justified by faith
  14. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
  15. Faith and works
  16. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #8 Prayer #6 Communication and manifestation
  17. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
  18. Observing the commandments and becoming doers of the Word
  19. The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
  20. Be holy
  21. She who sows thistles will reap prickles
  22. Love for each other attracting others

 

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Further related articles

  1. Count on your desire to procrastinate
  2. Sermon Redux – Part 4 of Doing Our Best for God’s Church – “Rejoicing in the Brutal Truth” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
  3. Boast in God’s Grace for You- Joseph Prince
  4. The Parable of the Two Sons
  5. Rewarded for Doing Good?
  6. Rewarded for their Labor? (1 Corinthians 3:8)
  7. Judged for What We Have Done
  8. Rewarded for What We’ve Done?
  9. 2:24 – You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
  10. Chapter 2:23 – And he was called a friend of God.
  11. Four Panel Philosophy
  12. James 2:20-22 — Dynamic Faith
  13. Show Me Your Works

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25 Comments

Filed under Being and Feeling, Lifestyle, Religious affairs

Engagement in an actual two-way conversation with your deities

Today we can find lots of people who are not at all interested in The God sole Creator of Heaven and Earth or in gods, though often they create themselves many gods and worship lots of idols, mainly from the little screen which has become a huge screen in these days (some have measures like the cinema screen of our childhood).

Driver in a Mitsubishi Galant using a hand hel...

Driver in a Mitsubishi Galant using a hand held mobile phone violating New York State law. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A 32 year old single girl who lives alone with three cats, in the process of trying online dating pagan, and likes to think about ‘big’ questions occasionally, currently trying to learn to read the tarot, writes:

Everywhere you turn within Pagan circles these days it seems like you are surrounded by people who have a direct connection to their Gods. They seem to be in possession of their very own ‘Godphone’ (to steal a term I have seen floating about) and are God-bothered on a seemingly constant basis. {G is for Gods}

She is not talking about that strong ‘godly communication‘ we talked about in our previous article. Though the mobile phone may be the new god of many, and lots of them do hope to find with that electronic tool with many gadgets or applications to find the real god app of their life.

Lots of the youngsters put all their aspirations in that mobile phone or their i-pad and are willing to cue all night just to have the latest i-phone or Apple McIntosh gadget. Several i.t.-meetings have taken the place of the old Eucharist celebrations and today we do find high-masses especially for electronic wizards.

After some time many get the feeling they are standing in a becoming colder breeze or getting a ice cold shower, putting them in the Hitchcock thriller were the blood runs in the gutter, taking all their so called (Facebook) friends with it. They do not start wondering if their godphone collection has gone wrong but think they must be at fault.
For sure they must be doing something wrong. The Gods must be ignoring them for a reason,

or you are just not open enough, or maybe you’re on the wrong path.  This is obviously the experience of ‘real’ pagans, so maybe you just aren’t pagan enough. {G is for Gods}

Perhaps there lies the fact: “being not pagan enough”. So this could perhaps give some hope for the many people who felt disillusioned after their internet experience. Perhaps this will give them enough reason to look for other and better values than those that internet can offer them.

The pagan lady writes she is not in possession of a Godphone,

I am not God-bothered, and I can’t think of a single time when I engaged in an actual two-way conversation with my deities. Sure I get a feeling about things sometimes, I know they appreciate the incense I offer her for example, but it exactly that… a feeling. This doesn’t mean I am not pagan enough and it is actually a perfectly normal experience for a large number of Pagans.

Those pagans we would offer a better solution. If their gods are not such listening gods and not so much answering gods, why would they not try to come to find the real Supreme God of gods? Why going second hand when each of us has the opportunity to go first hand 5-star quality?

Many of those not satisfied with what their mobile can bring, are looking for something more sacred or divine. Divination is something they are interested in.

I have spent some time looking at different types and trying to find one that works for me. I’ve tried runes, the pendulum, crystal gazing and even tea leaf reading but I am always drawn back to the Tarot. I am beginning to think it must be for the artwork, as I seem to have little to no skill in reading them! {D is for Divination}

Often we notice people are going to look for it so far away, when it is easy to grab for in front of their nose.

I have had all sorts of advice about reading cards, not just Tarot but oracle as well, but they tend to come back to either ‘learn by rote’ or ‘trust your intuition’. Having tried both, and continuing to flip between the two, I can see that I have problems with both. {D is for Divination}

Japanese mobile phone keyboard

Japanese mobile phone keyboard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We would say, it is not in those cards you shall find the right answers. You may find and see lots of symbols in it and find word-games made up by human beings, but when taking up a Book of books, written down in very old times, they would be surprised what it all has to tell, also about things happening today. In that Book of books, short “the Bible” they and we can find the answer on many of our daily questions. With that best-seller we get the best guide and best manual for life we ever can get.

When looking at it and giving it more of your time, you shall come to notice that it has not to be a one way road to seeing letters forming words, words forming phrases and phrases forming ideas. By reading all that old stuff we shall get ideas for our life and find out that it is not only our reading effort but also our taking down information out of the book that shall bring us to a two way system of communication.

When we are prepared to listen we shall find answers and we shall get replies.

Paganists looking at their own pagan books may find that when they have tried reading from intuition they went blank. The 32 year old lady writes:

I don’t trust myself enough to just open up and ‘say what I see’ as it were. I am so worried about getting it wrong that I just can’t allow myself to go with it.

Communication Centre, Kimbolton - geograph.org...

Communication Centre, Kimbolton – geograph.org.uk – 1572042 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, that opening up is something which is necessary for everything, to see the good but also to see the bad. We are all created in the image of God and as such we also have the inner feeling of good and wrong. Since the fall of man, having eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil mankind, like the animals have their instinct, but they also received something more which is that inner feeling which gets deep down to them. Lots of people resist that inner feeling and that inner Voice. But as soon as a person wants to open him- or herself to that inner Voice he or she shall be able to come to hear the Voice of God. The Voice of the real God of gods, Who is a much better option than to go for all those other gods.

Go straight ahead to the Only True God of gods, the Most High Elohim, Hashem Jehovah!

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Preceding article: Of old and new ideas to sustain power and to feel good by loving to be connected and worship something

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Articles of interest:

  1. Do you believe in One god
  2. God of gods
  3. Attributes to God
  4. God is one
  5. Does there have to be a Holy Trinity Mystery
  6. The Trinity – the truth
  7. Bible Word of God, inspired and infallible
  8. Incomplete without the mind of God
  9. God is positive
  10. Let us not forget it was God who chose us
  11. God Helper and Deliverer
  12. Jehovah my strenght
  13. Life with God (video)
  14. Faith because of the questions

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Knowledge & Wisdom, Lifestyle, Religious affairs, Spiritual affairs

A voice cries out: context

In many countries a new year heaving started in September or October, with the advent, they take time to think about the Nazarene man who was given by his heavenly Father. God can not be tempted nor die, but his son who had a beginning, more than 2000 years ago, was born, was tempted more than once, was tortured to death and was taken out of the dead by his heavenly Father, the Only One Divine God.
The gospel of Marcus let us see the importance for mankind of that figure born in Bethlehem, without his willingness to do not his will, but the will of his heavenly Father, we could not have salvation and the Grace of God coming in this way, he took care of.

We may not overlook the beginning of Mark’s Gospel where we can discover, not the manger scene, but the meaning of a gospel as proclamation, and the importance of the titles “Christ” and “Son of God.”
As the writer of the article says:

“Mark reminds us that gospel originally meant “good news.” “

Too often Christians forget to look at the older books, the Old Testament. By doing that they also miss out very important knowledge and do not come to see clear who Jesus really is and what he really did.

As a Jew Jeshua (Jesus Christ) did not want to bring a new religion. and his disciples did not begin with a “new book”. Though the evangelist John might have looked at it as starting a new Book. At least he wanted to start a “new Chapter”. He looked at the world of Christ as a new world or Renewed world, given by God, made possible by Christ Jesus his ransom.
John started his book as Moses did, by the Voice of God. God speaking made everything in existing. Now the world could hear God’s Voice again. In the Garden of Eden God had already spoken and given His promise that a solution for Adam’s sin would come. As such that speaking from God, in the beginning of the world was also the Word of God which came unto mankind some 2 millennia ago,

Jesus was the fulfilment of that Word from God. As such the evangelist in his gospel (John 1:1) begins with an unmodified “theos” without the article, writing:

“In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” (NWT)

Denoting Jesus was a special person, like Moses and Pharaoh, who are also called gods (=high placed person). Jeshua, though a simple workman’s son, was so important because he was the only human person who managed to keep the commandments of God and to do only the will of the Most High Elohim. He, as son of man and son of God, knew very well how we human beings felt but also how we should all come closer again to the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham. Jesus clearly showed the world who is God was and why we also should come to honour only this One and Only True God. He also showed the world his God was a God of Love, prepared to give the world a “New Start” a fresh “New Beginning”. With Christ Jesus the world was given a 2° Adam. This second only begotten son by God brought us a “New Message”, the one that salvation was at hand. He showed us to the Way to the Kingdom of God. We either can keep our ears and eyes closed, or hear the message and see what we can do, to become partakers of that Kingdom of God. It only demands of us making the right choices.
Advent is the time to think about those matters, matters of importance, priority and matters of eternal life.

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Please do read also:

  1. Only one God
  2. God is one
  3. God of gods
  4. Plain necessary food of the gospel
  5. God’s promises
  6. Jesus begotten Son of God #8 Found Divinely Created not Incarnated
  7. Jesus begotten Son of God #13 Pre-existence excluding virginal birth of the Only One Transposed
  8. The Beginning of the life of Jesus Christ
  9. Jesus Messiah
  10. Who was Jesus?
  11. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
  12. Kingdom of God what would it be like
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  • The Revelation Of Jesus Christ: “out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:” (mydelightandmycounsellors.wordpress.com)
    John, after seeing a throne surrounded by a green rainbow, with God’s glory shining forth as a jasper and sardine stone, now sees the presence of God manifest by lightnings, thunderings and voices.   This scene is very similar to the display of God’s greatness that was seen by the Israelites in Old Testament times…
  • The Messiah (mylordmyfriend.com)
    The Hebrew word means “anointed” a rescuer, sent from God to save His people.

    The Greek word for ‘anointed’ is ‘christos’, from which we get Christ.

    People only need saving when they are in peril, and many times in the history of the Old testament, God people were constantly under attach and oppression. between the New and Old testaments, God’s people were under occupation of foreign powers. Their cries for a Messiah to come, became more and more often.
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    Jesus was recognized by many as the Messiah. Jesus tried to play down those expectations and was reluctant to apply the term to Himself. This was because He was not the figure they wanted Him to be. Jesus had no intention of being connected with violence and insurrection. Jesus preaching was a revolutionary message, and He was setting up a New Kingdom, but it was not the way the people were expecting.

    It was through Christ Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, that His followers understood that He was the Messiah.

  • What Is The Gospel? (dailytwocents.com)
    The meaning of the word “Gospel” simply means Good News. A good news for a very bad situation and predicament.

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    It is often confused with the entire Bible. No, the Bible contains the good news, it is not the good news.

    It is sometimes mixed up with the commandments of God. No, the Gospel is Good News. It’s not a good command.

    It is often associated with the gospel records of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Nope. Not everything written by these four writers is the Gospel. They contain the Gospel, but not everything they wrote about is the Gospel.

  • Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (theeyesoffaith.wordpress.com)
    Throughout the Word of God, the Bible refers to Jesus Christ with several different comparative names or descriptive titles to help us know and understand Him better.

    The Bible tells us that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Redeemer, and the Savior.

    Jesus is the Messiah because He is the anointed and consecrated prince whom God promised through Daniel’s prophecy that He would send.

    He is the Christ because He is the anointed fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the New Testament.

    Jesus is the Redeemer because He is the kinsman who purchases back the lost possessions in the Old Testament and He is the fulfillment of the kinsman in the New Testament.

  • Reading the Old Testament with Martin Luther (cwoznicki.com)
    Why should we read the Old Testament? It seems pretty obvious to us today, but  in 16th century Germany there was a tendency to look down upon the value of the Old Testament. (No doubt Luther’s Law/Grace dichotomy had something to do with this…) Nevertheless Luther advocates for a figural sort of reading of the Old Testament, in other wrods he asks us to read the Old Testament in light of the New

friarmusings

jbaptistmafaMark 1:1-8   1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God). 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. 3 A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” 4 John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. 6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. 7 And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to…

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19 Comments

Filed under Re-Blogs and Great Blogs, Religious affairs

Getting out of the dark corners of this world

Because of certain unpleasant things that happened to individuals who belonged by their family tradition to a church, they left that church as soon as they left the parents house.

After some experiences they tried to keep quiet for years the last few years their wounds were opened again. Perhaps matters can gain momentum. The development presented by the pontiff of the Catholic Church  may ease some pain many had to endure for many years.

 

Gods Own County

Gods Own County (Photo credit: tricky (rick harrison))

The events which sometimes took them by surprise, and for some became a chain for many years,brought them in the darkness. But not always bad experiences had to bring people in the dark corners of this world. Many experiences in our childhood or in our adulthood may have disappointed us and given a bad picture of the world we are living in.

 

Maybe some of the readers coming along here are facing some darkness in their life or are currently going through a desert period with God. The might feeling abandoned by people but worse, by the One Who they thought would resolve all their problems, or the One which they heard talking about from early childhood onwards.

We shall not be saying that you can not have happiness without That One Who has been spoken off in your childhood or about Whom you heard so many talking. To those who believe in god or gods we shall also not say they shall have only happiness and shall have no pain. Be sure, also a believer in God shall have his or her share of unhappiness, fear, frustration and pain. It is not because you would believe in the God of gods that you shall have no suffering.

Some (or perhaps many)  may feel abandoned by “Him”. Even His most beloved only begotten son cried at one moment

“Father why have you abandoned me?”.

Nonetheless, this son of Him had all the time been faithful to his Father and had only done His Will. So why and how could this man of 33 been calling on his Dad when he was put on a wooden stake, to find his death?

Did this son think his Father had broken His promises to him and to His people? When you look at the history of that Nazarene man you might find that he could do many unbelievable things, just because his Father was with him. the son also recognised that and told others he could do nothing without that Father in heaven who was much mightier than he.

Joh 14:27-31 NHEBYSE  Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  (28)  You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.  (29)  Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe.  (30)  I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.  (31)  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Giotto's depiction of Jesus before Caiaphas in...

Giotto’s depiction of Jesus before Caiaphas in the morning based on Luke 22 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lots of Christians as soon as they started to be pointed out what was written in their Scriptures came to see how much their church institution had ‘lied’ to them or told them many things which they could not find in the Book of books. They became so disillusioned by their church and its teaching they left it, without wondering if there were no alternatives. Many laughed at that man who had to be at the same time God, but hearing them say things that contradicted their own saying.  The idea of God in human form made Daniel 7:9–13 crucially important. In this famous vision scene, the Ancient of Days (God) sees “a human one” (“son of man”) coming to him with the clouds. It is to this figure that God may give everlasting dominion, but that does not mean that God gives Himself into the being of that man. Worldly fathers also can try to do everything they can to give to their son. Many shall even hope that their son will become like them. But they all know that their son shall never become the same person as they are. Though many in Christendom would like to believe that. They want to see that the unity between father and son means that father and son become one and the same person. They misunderstood the oneness like Caiaphas hears the passage Jesus quotes from Daniel, when the high priest demands to know who he is. Many claim Caiaphas’ reaction tells us immediately that he knew Jesus was claiming to be the God of Israel in human form — the second power. But that is not the case. It is not because many people may accuse somebody to be saying that he is god, like Pharaoh, or even Moses or some angels, that he or they are really the God of gods. That Caiaphas tears his clothes and charges Jesus with blasphemy also does not proof that Jesus is The God (Matthew 26:63–68).

God can not die, but from historical writings and also from the Bible itself we do know that Jesus died. The Nazarene Jew found an end to his life at the age of 33. Christians are even remembering his death these coming days. Did many forgot the words of this man saying it was not him doing those miracles? Jesus answered them that it was not him but his Father Who worked until now. And it was that calling onto the heavenly Father that people got bothered and angry. That calling onto the Elohim was it that made the Jews their blood boil. Therefore they sought the more to kill this troublesome Jewish rabbi, who got more followers than they. People got glued to his lips and that the Pharisees did not like. Because Jeshua (Jesus Christ) not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, they thought he was making himself equal with God. In the Bible it does not say that he was God, but that the people were weary with him claiming equality. Jesus answered very clearly he was not doing the things out of himself. He told them that he was just a son of God and that he as son could do nothing by himself, but what he saw the Father doing. For whatever things The Father does, these also does the son likewise.  Clearly all the time Jesus speaks about two different persons. First there is the Father Who loves the Son. Several people could hear that Father saying that from heaven, when they were standing at the River Jordan, by the baptism of Jeshua.

Mat 3:16-17 RHB (1.5)  And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up immediately out of the water: and lo, the Heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him:  (17)  And lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I AM well pleased.

The few years Jesus walked from one place to the other preaching the Good News of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, he made the name of his Father known and asked people not to praise him but his Father, the Only True God, Whose holy Name should be known by the whole world as Jehovah.

Jesus let the people also know that what he did was nothing compared with what his Father did. In the past the People of God had already seen incredible things and had felt how the Hand of the Maker of the universe guided them away from slavery, through the dessert, giving them daily manna? But the wonders would not end because Jehovah, the Only One God was going to do greater works than these Jesus could do, so that all people may marvel. Jesus knew he was going to die. He was prepared to give his body for the sins of many. But he believed also that he could trust his Father,like many other prophets had trusted Him. For as the Father raises the dead, and vivifies them; even so the son vivifies whom he will, could he add and create hope for all those who would come to believe in what and whom he, Jeshua rally was. We should come to understanding that Jeshua was that long awaited Messiah. He is the Christ.  The son honoured his Father in heaven, who had sent him. He taught others to come to his heavenly Father and to come into the footsteps of the send one. Many did not want to hear his words, and later many twisted his words. He always spoke about the love we should get for others, because all were created in the image of his Father, Who should also be our heavenly Father, and to Whom we also should pray “Our Father“. Instead of sitting in the dark corners and not believing that there can be hope for everybody, we would do better to listen to that Nazarene man his words. Not only because he himself told us that those who would hear his words, and would believe on Him that sent him, would have everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but has passed from death to life.

When we look at what is happening in the world we should see signs of which the send one from God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah has spoken. We then should see that the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Even when we had a bad life, we can look up at the son who on 14 Nisan remembered how his Father brought His people out of slavery. He there in the upper-room also installed the New Covenant as sign of a restored relationship of God with his son Jeshua (Jesus Christ) and with us, as children of God. Many took offence in the time Jesus was living that he said that for as the Father has life in Himself that he himself also had received the power from God to have life in himself;  and that God would have given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the “Son of Man“.  These coming days we shall remember what that “son of Adam“, “son of Abraham” and “son of God” has done and why he can take in the place of the first Adam, to become the second Adam.

Joh 5:17-26 NHEBYSE  But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”  (18)  For this cause therefore the Jewish leaders sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.  (19)  Jesus therefore answered them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise.  (20)  For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  (21)  For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.  (22)  For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,  (23)  that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.  (24)  “Truly, truly, I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.  (25)  Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live.  (26)  For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.

English: Bytča (Nagybiccse) - mosaic in the ca...

Bytča (Nagybiccse) – mosaic in the catholic church Slovenčina (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Those who do not belief in a God are also blessed by the Grace of God. They also are allowed to live here on this earth. All people, but first of all those who believe in God, should respect all others who live on this world. In respect for the Creator His creation, they should respect everything what God allows to be in the universe. But those who are in the dark corners we should show the light which can come over them. Because God has taken care that light can come over all those who want. All who want to hear and believe can be partakers of the blessings, which came onto this earth by that son of God. He made an end to death and therefore we should not fear any more for the death. It shall not be able to do much, and we know that all shall have to die one day, so we better make the best of our life, as long as we live, because from Scriptures we know we can not take anything into our death and shall be nothing with the treasures gathered in this life.

It is Now we have to make it. It is Now we have to create a nice place to live. It is Now that we have to work for Peace.

For those who feel left alone or left in a dark corner, please come with us and join us on the road to better pastures. Do you think God left you, come to see otherwise. Do you think the god of your previous life is not a good one, try to find the Right God, and let us help you to find Him. Is He refusing to talk to you?  Do you get depressed every time you read the Bible?  Are other Christians getting on your nerves?  Are you burned out by church?   Use this and some of our other sites to come to see it is not so. You might even come to see that why cussing Him out and hating Him doesn’t mean you’re a spiritual failure.  Learn how you can tell that He absolutely will not leave you here forever.

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Additional reading:

  1. Darkness, light, burning fire, Truth and people in it
  2. Accommodation of the Void
  3. Blackness, nothingness, something, void
  4. Wondering
  5. Heroes and saints
  6. Two states of existence before God
  7. When we love we do not need laws
  8. Let us move on
  9. Disappointed expectations
  10. Thirst for happiness and meaning
  11. Happiness an inner state
  12. Happiness is like manna
  13. Wishing to do the will of God
  14. God’s promises
  15. God’s promises to us in suffering
  16. Only one God
  17. God of gods
  18. Attributes to God
  19. Challenging claim 1 Whose word
  20. Creator and Blogger God 8 A Blog of a Book 2 Holy One making Scriptures Holy
  21. Creator and Blogger God 9 A Blog of a Book 3 Blog about Prophecy
  22. God the son
  23. Jesus was not God, Reasons that
  24. The trinity – the truth
  25. Is God comprised of three persons, or is He just one person?
  26. How did the Trinity Doctrine Develop
  27. History of the acceptance of a three-in-one God
  28. The History of the Development of the Trinity Doctrine
  29. Trinity in the Bible
  30. Altered to fit a Trinity
  31. The Trinity: paganism or Christianity?
  32. Trinity And Pagan Influence
  33. Questions for those who believe in the Trinity
  34. How do trinitarians equate divine nature
  35. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
  36. The Great Trinity debate
  37. Newton not believing in the Holy Trinity
  38. Trinitarian philosophy
  39. About a man who changed history of humankind
  40. For the Will of Him who is greater than Jesus
  41. Word – John 1:1
  42. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
  43. Servant of his Father
  44. One mediator
  45. The true vine
  46. On the Nature of Christ
  47. Jesus Christ being dispatched as the Figurehead of a Religion
  48. The Christ, the anointed of God
  49. Jesus begotten Son of God #4 Promised Prophet and Saviour
  50. Jesus begotten Son of God #6 Anointed Son of God, Adam and Abraham
  51. Jesus begotten Son of God #8 Found Divinely Created not Incarnated: The Anointed begotten Son of God
  52. Jesus begotten Son of God #10 Coming down spirit or flesh seed of Eve
  53. Jesus begotten Son of God #14 Beloved Preminent Son and Mediator originating in Mary
  54. Jesus begotten Son of God #15 Son of God Originating in Mary
  55. Jesus begotten Son of God #16 Prophet to be heard
  56. Jesus begotten Son of God #18 Believing in inhuman or human person
  57. Rabboni, Knowing —
  58. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
  59. Being one in Jesus, Jesus in us and God in Jesus
  60. If the Father is the “only true God” (John 17:3) , does that mean that Jesus is a false god?
  61. Self inflicted misery #5 A prophet without a hedge around him
  62. Our relationship with God, Jesus and each other
  63. He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
  64. Jesus begotten Son of God #6 Anointed Son of God, Adam and Abraham
  65. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
  66. Patriarch Abraham, Muslims, Christians and the son of God
  67. Blinkered minds
  68. Old language to confirm the promises
  69. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #4 Words in Scripture
  70. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #5 To meditate and Transform
  71. Prophets making excuses
  72. Written to recognise the Promised One
  73. No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation

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  • Who is Forsaken? (stlukeumc.wordpress.com)
    World War II was one of the most destructive times in all of human history, in terms of both human lives and property. And many historians believe that one of the most destructive battles of that terrible war was the battle for Stalingrad, between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which took place between July 17, 1942 and February 2, 1943.
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    the fourth word that Jesus spoke from the Cross. The word is: Forsaken. And I believe it is the hardest word of all.
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    No, my father, there is no God, for if there is, where in the world is he? And may I be so bold as to say that there are times in life when each one of us finds ourselves, if only for a moment, at that place in life. That place of aloneness and isolation. That place of hopelessness. That place where we are totally cut off from everything we have known and there is seemingly no way out.   When we wonder why we have been abandoned by God and everyone else?
  • Burnt (shughar.wordpress.com)
    I fear that I will perish in this, my lost pride

    I’m filled with hate for myself

    If this is fate, I curse mine

    If this is love, then I’m confused

    I’m nothing more than a broken vessel

    One that can never be patched

    Like spilled water that can never be gathered

  • The One Who Would Die, that Others Will Live (justifiedandsinner.com)
    When during our time of confession and absolution earlier, I mentioned that God daily and richly forgives our sins and grants us new life, those are not just mere words.  They are what we believe, what we count upon each day.

    But we realize as well, and take great joy in the knowledge that this has been God’s plan from the beginning, that Jesus, the one, would die that all the children of God would never fear the power of sin, that is, that death would somehow be the end.

  • Jesus, A Forever Friend! (carolynpriesterjones.org)
    It does seem that running in the same circles draws us together.  As we share the same experiences or know the same people, it seems easier to view the world together.  But once the events, times and places change, some friendships seem to fall away.
  • Love Wins, Week 5: Rocks (revjillhoward.wordpress.com)
    How and when have you encountered God in your life?  Or are you not sure if you have at all?  Anne Lamott, in her book, Traveling Mercies, shares her story of how she came to faith through a series of intense life experiences.  After years of dependency on drugs and alcohol to escape the difficulties of life, she found herself in the depths of her own hell, drunk, on drugs, and alone on one particular night.  Shaky, scared, sick, and finally sobering up, she crawled into bed and after a while, felt a presence in the room with her, hunkered down in the corner.  She explains that the feeling was so real that she actually turned on a light for a moment to make sure that no one was there.  But after awhile, in the dark again, she knew beyond a doubt that the presence was Jesus.  And she was appalled.  Why?  Because she couldn’t imagine what her friends would think if she became a Christian, or how she would handle it herself based on the Christians that she knew.  She simply could not allow for that to happen.  She screamed out in the darkness to the wall, “I would rather die!”  But yet she felt Jesus there on his haunches in the corner, watching with patience and love.
  • Maybe Tonight (The Pedophile) by Nicole Eva Fraser (secondwindpub.wordpress.com)
    In daylight my room was a haven. Safe behind the closed door, I could read, write letters to my pen pals, and commune with the tall lilac bush just outside the second-floor window by my bed. But in the dark of night, my room was a chamber of panic.

    It is no exaggeration that in all my conscious memories of childhood, I never fell asleep without terror. I knew I wasn’t safe from people in my family or from the evil presence lurking in our house that would one night snuff me out. I would lie in bed, my mind and body throbbing with spiraling panic, seemingly for hours—then the next thing I knew, I’d be opening my eyes to another morning.
    +
    I didn’t expect comfort from my mother, and she didn’t provide any, nor did she mention the incident that night or the next day. I figured she had forgotten about it. And I told no one else what had happened to me; it was too terrifying, and somehow my fault, and I was afraid my friends wouldn’t want to be my friends if they knew.
    +
    I felt like the world was going dark, like I was going to vomit, like I was sinking into the darkness and never coming back. “No,” I said, “I don’t want to,” but I didn’t cry because I knew that wouldn’t change her mind.

  • The Fire Changes EVERYTHING! [Part one] (nnyphishnet.net)
    It really was ‘one of those days’ that left me feeling stunned, numb, burned beyond recognition, invisible, and abandoned.  Like a building had collapsed on me, and there I was- seemingly left for dead [at least somebody was] or just left to go it alone…
  • Before the Council – April 6, 2014 – Matthew 26: 47 – 58 (prissiesissie.wordpress.com)
    Since Caiaphas didn’t have enough testimony for a conviction, he turned to Jesus looking for a confession, but Jesus was silent. Jesus had done nothing wrong. He had nothing to confess and the Sanhedrin couldn’t find enough witnesses to claim He had. They couldn’t even find enough false witnesses to agree on what He had done.

    Jesus could have defended Himself and His ministry, but He chose to remain silent. He had resigned Himself to their plot. He knew His death was inevitable and He could say nothing to dissuade them from their plans. He simply refused to participate in the drama. The Sanhedrin were relying on “plots and schemes and false accusations” but Jesus had placed His trust in God. He would have the courage to be endure the plan that was unfolding.

  • Easter without Hindsight Wk2: The High Priest Caiaphas’ worst fears….? (bloodofinnocents.wordpress.com)
    Caiaphas’ probably felt his worst fears were confirmed when Jeshua arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday, the first working day of the week that Passover started. Hebrew tradition said that messiah would arrive in Jerusalem through the Golden Gate riding on a donkey. As Jeshua did precisely that, thousands of Passover pilgrims, camped on hillsides around the city, flocked around him. Cheering him on they covered the road to the gate with cloaks and palm branches. Jeshua knew exactly how the Hebrews would interpret his arrival.
    +
    Jeshua was not particularly attacking the traders. The modern church often interpret these verses as an attack on commerce but that isn’t Jeshua’s point. Monopoly suppliers protected by an institution often line their pockets unfairly but that was a minor issue. Jeshua’s real target was the institution itself.
  • Palm Sunday 2014 , April 13, 2014 in the World (liveloveandpray.wordpress.com)
    My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
    Indeed, many dogs surround me,
    a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
    They have pierced my hands and my feet;
    I can count all my bones.
    +
    The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
    feared greatly when they saw the earthquake
    and all that was happening, and they said,
    “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
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Filed under Announcement, Being and Feeling, Religious affairs, Spiritual affairs

Religions and Mainliners

In this world we have many sorts of religions and in each religion many subdivisions may be found. In Christendom there are groups which for good reason would prefer to speak of Christendom and Christianity and would prefer to say the world we are living in has also a Mainline Christendom instead of a Mainline Christianity.

Map of the distribution of Christians of the world

Map of the distribution of Christians of the world (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christendom is full of “Tradition” and has embraced the world whilst Christianity would prefer to stay disconnected from traditional worldly matters and though living in this world would not like to be “of this world”. In Christianity you also may find different groups or churches, which all want to honour God the Divine Creator. They would consider the main churches like the Catholic Church (Roman Catholics, Orthodox Catholics, Charismatic Catholics, Latin Catholic Church, etc.) Anglican Church, Church of England, Reformed Church, Calvinist Church, Lutheran ChurchBaptist Church, Episcopalian Church,  and Methodist Church, with the various Presbyterian groups.

English: Major branches within Protestantism (...

English: Major branches within Protestantism (excludes Restoration movements): Diagram of Protestant denominations and movements; see also Image:ChristianityBranches.svg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some might have been in a certain time of history bigger groups or not been considered out of mainstream, like the smaller denominations, such as the Amish, Mennonites, Quakers. Others like the Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists, Christian Scientists, and Pentecostals may have been at first very small groups, but have gained a firm place in certain countries and have even become the main church in a country.

The Charismatic protestant churches and certain Evangelical churches could be seen as separated from Mainline. Some people, like Joel L. Watts who is building up a (sorta) response to Thom Rainer’s 20 Influential Evangelicals list. Unsettled Christianity company wants to  include mainline Christians, but in asking the question on Facebook, the administrator was equally struck by the conversation about who and what is a mainliner.

Calvinist church

Calvinist church (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Conspicuous is that many many consider ‘Mainline Protestants’ having a different perspective. By many they are considered to have a more modernist theology. So, for instance, they would read the Bible, not as the inerrant word of God, according to Joel L. Watts, but as a historical document, which has God’s word in it and a lot of very important truths, but that needs to be interpreted in every age by individuals of that time and that place.

We would consider “mainstream religions” those which adheres to the orthodox standard teachings of the five major religions of the world. Those being the groups in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism which follow their biggest groups their core teachings. In those groups can be groups which do not want to belong or to take their mainstream teachings. In Christianity we can find the groups who stayed in the line of the Jewish thinking Jeshua, better known today as Jesus Christ. They believe like most Jews that there is only One God of gods Who is the Divine Creator of everything. Though the difference with the Jews, except with the Messianic (non-trinitarian) Jews is that they accept the Master Teacher Jeshua to be the son of God who has brought not only the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God, but who also by the Grace of God brought Salvation for all humankind. In those groups or churches who want to distantiate themselves from mainstream church are the non-trinitarian Baptist which became nearly extinct by the strong hold of the Baptist Unions who pressured the trinitarian teaching on their members. In the 1980-90ies most non-trinitarian Baptist went over to other non-trinitarian churches, like the Bible Students, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of God, The Church of Abrahamic Faith, Assemblies of God, the Nazarene Friends, the Restoration Church or to the Christadelphians.

Those non-trinitarian believers worship the God of the Hebrews, Whom they consider to be an Eternal Spirit Who is universal and indivisible. This God Who can not be seen by man, or they would die, also ordered not to make any image of Him. Like Jews and Muslims they would never create image of God because it is in His Law and because the infinite cannot be expressed in a mere image. They, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, all exhibit practices and/or teachings that are not among the more “traditional” practices and teachings of the mainstream churches.

The majority of mainstream Jews do believe a Messiah will one day come. In the contemporary movement we can find Jews who do believe that Jeshua is the send one of God who is going to bring salvation and going to break all human ruling. By those messianic Jews to groups can be found; the ones who believe Jesus is the son of God and an ordinary person, not a divinity like the Christian trinitarian Jesus; and a group who strangely enough take Jesus also to be God, and do not consider it braking with the rules and regulations nor in contradiction with all the words said to the prophets, like Abraham, Isaac and Isaiah.
Those non-stream Jews and Christians, like the Muslims have a similar belief concerning the unity and infinity of God. They do believe in Jesus, and even believe he will return in the end times, but once again he is considered a mere mortal, just like any other prophet, brought back entirely through the Will of God, not through any power wielded by Jesus himself.

Lots of Christians take offence of those who do not believe in a trinitarian god. Several of them are as fundamental as we can find fundamentalists by the Muslims, who hate those who do not think and follow the rules they are following.

It is this hate between believers in a god or in the God, that made non-believers in a divine creature or Supreme Being, make to consider religion the base of all the violence in this world. But we do think in case God would not have been there as Divine Creator and several people following him, people anyhow would have created religions, because all those things they could not understand or explain were transposed unto gods, like the god of light, the god of thunder etc..

The thinking of man, philosophies, system of ethics, cultural norms, etc.would have in any case created the syncretism or the formation of new religious ideas from multiple distinct sources, often-contradictory sources.

Some neopagan religions are also strongly syncretic. Look for example at Wicca which consciously draws from a variety of different pagan religious sources as well as Western ceremonial magic and occult thought, which is traditionally very Judeo-Christian in context. However, neopagan reconstructionists such as Asatruar are not particularly syncretic, as they attempt to understand the recreate Norse beliefs and practices to the best of their ability.

Many mainstream religions created smaller groups of which some became quite big. From Islam came the Baha’i faith which recognizes Krishna and Zoroaster as prophets, though it really doesn’t teach much of Hinduism or Zoroastrianism as being Baha’i beliefs.

English: A colour-coded world map showing the ...

English: A colour-coded world map showing the state religions of applicable nations. Buddhism Islam Shi’a Islam Sunni Islam Orthodox Christianity Protestantism (in England: Anglicanism) Catholicism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Believers and non-believers should come to see that in a way all religions possess some degree of syncretism. It’s how humans work. Even if you believe God (or gods) delivered a particular idea, if that idea was completely alien to the listeners, they would not accept it. Moreover, once they receive said idea, that belief can be expressed in a variety of ways, and that expression will be coloured by other prevailing cultural ideas of the time.

Those who stand strong in their shoes, should not have to fear of others and should be able to go to others to give them their hand offering them peace. It are those who are afraid of their own believes that they or others around them could loose it that bring fear to themselves and others. They create a fertile ground for problems and more than once also of hate and negative attitude to others.

Non-believers may accuse the God or the gods as responsible for all trouble in this world. Because many Christians advocate their God is behind all that is good in the world, they think God should also be responsible for all the badness there is in the world. What they do not seem to understand that when God allows human beings to be free and to make their own choices, people themselves can make good or bad choices which will have their consequences for others in their environment as well.

It is not because in the Bible God gives His Word and tells us that He creates light but also creates darkness and that He makes peace, and creates evil, that it is God Who makes that badness or war in the world. It means that God allows it to be there because man has chosen to go his own way (in the Garden of Eden).  The God and the bad are in this world, created by God, but what can be bad for some one or something can be good for someone or something else. Certain plants are poisons for certain animals and people but for others they are necessary to survive. God claims not responsibility for wars, diseases, smallpox, bacteria, etc.; but He claims to be the One Who allows it to exist, and that is a big difference.

Those who want to call themselves “Children of God” do have to follow God His rules. He has given humankind His Laws which would make the best of the world and which would bring peace all over the world. In case much more people would follow the Laws of the Divine Creator there would be much more peace in the world.

Christianity Today

Christianity Today (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Those who call themselves Christian should have the Spirit of God in them which imparts love,inspires hope, and gives liberty. All Christians should in a way have the same aim to bring others to the narrow gate of the Kingdom of God and to show others the peace we all can have because Jesus nailed the agony, pains and troubles on the wooden stake (‘the cross‘). They all should Love and cultivate that which is pure. they should not be afraid to show Tenderness and kindness because they are not signs of weakness and despair. They should try to Work together with joy and pray with love, and Guard well within themselves that treasure, kindness.

First on the agenda of a Christian should be Observing the commandments and becoming doers of the Word. They all should consider themselves as part of the Body of Christ, all being as part of the same family of God. United people under Christ. We all, believers and non-believers or different believers, should try to Sow and harvests in the garden of our heart.

Some years ago you could find everywhere running on the streets people “speaking”, “running”, and coming up for Christ? Perhaps it is high time we could see again such runners or Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace.

Trying to bring peace, there has to be peace at first in the own heart. Also the person has to have respect for others their beliefs. No matter what they might believe they should be fully recognised as worthy humans deserving full attention and love. Every human being should come to the understanding that it has to respect any other human being, animal and plant. We should treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. In case a person wants to have a religion to feel himself good or to be at ease, he should be able to do so, whatever religion that person may choose. We never may impose our beliefs on others. We should leave everybody the freedom to choose which way they want to go, what to believe, and how to build up their own life. Any religious matter should be an option for private belief, without any pressure from others, be it by reason, science or rational argument. But it would not have to mean we may not discuss it. Any argument should be made in a peaceful manner and with respect for the other person his way of thinking.

Be it adherents of main religions, smaller religious groups or no religion at all, all people should come to strive for the same peace, being able to live one next to the other, in peace and tranquillity.

+

Please do find additional reading:

  1. The business of this life
  2. Did the Inspirator exist
  3. “Who is The Most High” ? Who is thee Eternal? Who is Yehovah? Who is God?
  4. Only one God
  5. God is One
  6. God of gods
  7. A god between many gods
  8. Sayings around God
  9. Attributes of God
  10. God is Spirit
  11. The Divine name of the Creator
  12. God about His name “יהוה“
  13. Jehovah Yahweh Gods Name
  14. One God the Father, a compendium of essays
  15. The Trinity: paganism or Christianity?
  16. Christianity without the Trinity
  17. People Seeking for God 1 Looking for answers
  18. People Seeking for God 2 Human interpretations
  19. People Seeking for God 3 Laws and directions
  20. People Seeking for God 7 The Lord and lords
  21. Finding God amid all the religious externals
  22. Seeing or not seeing and willingness to find God
  23. יהוה , YHWH and Love: Four-letter words
  24. The radiance of God’s glory and the counsellor
  25. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love
  26. Experiencing God
  27. Cosmos creator and human destiny
  28. Of the many books Only the Bible can transform
  29. Faith
  30. Do not forget the important sign of belief
  31. Christian values and voting not just a game
  32. Lord or Yahuwah, Yeshua or Yahushua
  33. Yahushua, Yehoshua, Yeshua, Jehoshua of Jeshua
  34. God’s Salvation
  35. A fact of History or just a fancy Story
  36. He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
  37. Jesus begotten Son of God #12 Son of God
  38. Christ begotten through the power of the Holy Spirit
  39. Who was Jesus?
  40. Jesus spitting image of his father
  41. Jesus and his God
  42. Is Jesus God?Jesus and His God
  43. Reasons that Jesus was not God
  44. Jesus is the Son of God but Not God the Son
  45. How much was Jesus man, and how much was he God?
  46. On the Nature of Christ
  47. Yeshua a man with a special personality
  48. Jesus Messiah
  49. A man with an outstanding personality
  50. One Mediator between God and man
  51. One mediator
  52. Salvation, trust and action in Jesus #3 as a Christian
  53. The wrong hero
  54. The Immeasurable Grace bestowed on humanity
  55. Patriarch Abraham, Muslims, Christians and the son of God
  56. The Law of Christ: Law of Love
  57. Christ’s ethical teaching
  58. Christianity is a love affair
  59. The Law of Christ: Law of Love
  60. The task given to us to love each other
  61. Agape, a love to share with others from the Fruit of the Spirit
  62. Church sent into the world
  63. Proclaiming shalom, bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation
  64. Our relationship with God, Jesus and each other
  65. Are Christians prepared to Rejoice in the Lord
  66. American atheists most religiously literate Americans
  67. Men of faith
  68. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #1 Christian Reform
  69. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #2 Roots of Jewishness
  70. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #3 Of the earth or of God
  71. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #4 Mozaic and Noachide laws
  72. The builder of the Kingdom
  73. Kingdom of God what will it be like
  74. The hands of God’s wrath
  75. Science, belief, denial and visibility 1
  76. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
  77. Faith related boycotts
  78. Right to be in the surroundings
  79. Many churches
  80. Breathing and growing with no heir
  81. A Society pleading poverty
  82. Casual Christians
  83. Quakertime
  84. Anti-Semitic incidents in Australia in 2012 highest ever on record
  85. Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant
  86. Roman Catholic Church at war
  87. Christian clergyman defiling book which did not belong to him
  88. Consequences of Breivik’s mass murder
  89. Representatives of the “Slave Class” or the Real “faithful and discreet slave”
  90. Mormons again gaining some attention
  91. Mormons, just an other faith
  92. Myanmar imposing population control on Muslim minority
  93. How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
  94. Follower of Jesus part of a cult or a Christian
  95. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
  96. Looking for True Spirituality 2 Not restricted to an elite
  97. Looking for True Spirituality 3 Mind of Christ
  98. Looking for True Spirituality 4 Getting to Know the Mind of Christ
  99. Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit
  100. Looking for True Spirituality 6 Spirituality and Prayer
  101. Looking for True Spirituality 7 Preaching of the Good News
  102. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
  103. Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience
  104. Fruits of the spirit will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruitful
  105. Those who make peace should plant peace like a seed
  106. Let me saw beliefseeds
  107. Bringing Good News into the world
  108. The Involvement of true discipleship
  109. Testify of the things heard
  110. Proclaiming shalom, bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation
  111. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #2 Witnessing
  112. Obstacles to effective evangelism
  113. A Voice to be heard
  114. Creator and Blogger God 4 Expounding voice
  115. Blogging for Jesus…
  116. Preaching to an unbelieving world
  117. Words to push and pull
  118. Good or bad preacher
  119. Learn how to go out into the world and proclaim the Good News of the coming Kingdom
  120. How should we preach?
  121. Breathing to teach
  122. Bringing Good News into the world
  123. Jehovah’s Witnesses not only group that preach the good news
  124. Holland Week of billing
  125. Trying to get the youth inspired
  126. When discouraged facing opposition
  127. Messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time
  128. Who are you going to reach out to today
  129. Praise the God with His Name
  130. Agape, a love to share with others from the Fruit of the Spirit
  131. The Spirit of God brings love, hope and freedom
  132. Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
  133. Belonging to or being judged by
  134. Not all will inherit the Kingdom
  135. Preparedness to change
  136. Knowing where to go to
  137. United people under Christ
  138. Fellowship
  139. Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
  140. Pastorpreneur Warren
  141. Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
  142. Anti-Semitism ‘on the rise’ in Europe
  143. Which Christians Actually Evangelize
  144. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
  145. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace
  146. Choose you this day whom ye will serveIt is a free will choice
  147. The Spirit of God imparts love,inspires hope, and gives liberty
  148. Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality

++

Further reading:

  1. What Evidence is There That God Exists?
  2. What is faith and is it the only thing required
  3. We Have the Best Home
  4. Understanding faith for our salvation
  5. Atheist Purpose and Meaning :: Book Review of Julian Baggini’s book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
  6. Against Religion? :: Book Review of Julian Baggini’s book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
  7. Can A Theist Appreciate Baggini’s Atheism? :: Book Review of Julian Baggini’s book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
  8. Can Genuine Christians Be Trinitarian or Non-Trinitarian?
  9. Trinity Doctrine vs Oneness Pentecostalism Doctrine – Berean Perspective Podcast
  10. The Trinity: A Fundamental of the Faith or a Fable?
  11. The Unitarian Universalist Church: A Personal Encounter
  12. Unitarianism and the Bible of the Holy Trinity
  13. The Doctrine Of The Trinity
  14. The Unholy Trinity
  15. God, the Trinity
  16. Trinity And Pagan Influence
  17. Trinity: A False Doctrine of a False Church
  18. The Trinity – A Doctrine Overdue for Extinction
  19. Jesus Christ and God – Some Basic Considerations
  20. Defining Christianity (reneland.wordpress.com)
    Simply put a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ.
  21. Cult or True Religion
  22. The Whore of Babylon? (inpursuitofhappiness.wordpress.com)
    Baal-vs-The “Catholic” God
  23. The Top Ten Most Important Church Councils
  24. Cult or True Religion (wordsonsergebenhayon.wordpress.com)
    “…if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps ‘the’ religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult.” Leo Pfeffer.
    +The Roman Catholic Church for example has been around ever since Constantine. He was a Roman emperor who used Christianity, which was a small cult at the time, as a means to impose his belief systems on the bishops; so he promulgated the council of Nicaea and thereby gained control of the populus. Now, over 1500 years later, people in Catholic churches today still recite the creed set down by Constantine.
    Many people question the Catholic Church and other religions, seeing them as some of the biggest cults in the World today: they are viewed by many as man-made constructs which have the potential to lead millions of people astray. Religion in its current form has become divisive due to it’s many man-made and dualistic doctrines which continue to divide, separate and cause wars.
  25. Billy Graham: Mormonism No Cult
  26. Mormons off Graham’s ‘cult’ list
  27. Is the Mormon “god” of Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck, the True God or a False “god”? Is Jesus the brother of Lucifer?
  28. Can A Cult Member Be President Without Cult Influence?
  29. Billy Graham Offers To Help Mormon Mitt Romney And Then Removes Section From Website Calling Mormonism A Cult! (soulrefuge.org)
    The scriptures make it very clear that true believers in Jesus Christ should not be “yoked” together with unbelievers. Why would any true Christian want to help and support a Mormon who teaches that Jesus Christ is the spirit brother of Lucifer?
  30. Billy Graham’s group removes Mormon cult reference from website after Romney meeting (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
    Shortly after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney enjoyed cookies and soft drinks with the Rev.  Billy Graham and his son Franklin Graham on Thursday at the elder Graham’s mountaintop retreat, a reference to Mormonism as a cult was scrubbed from the website of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

    Billy Graham site removes Mormon 'cult' reference after Romney meeting

    Billy Graham site removes Mormon ‘cult’ reference after Romney meeting

    +
    The removal of the post from the Graham group’s website was first noted by the New Civil Rights Movement website and then later by the Asheville Citizen-Times, which reported that the information on cults was accessed as recently as Thursday afternoon.
    +
    When asked about Graham’s beliefs about Mormonism, Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross said in a statement that “Through an inclusive evangelistic ministry spanning more than 60 years, Mr. Graham was called to preach the transformative message of the Gospel to the whole world, regardless of one’s religious background, affiliation or none. As such, he never proselytized, targeted or labeled specific people, groups, faiths or denominations.

  31. Billy Graham’s Truce with Mormonism; Scrubs Cult Reference (crooksandliars.com)
    The Christian right has cried uncle and issued a truce on Mormons to try and help elect Mitt Romney.
    +
    During the Values Voter Summit in October, sponsored in part by the influential Family Research Council and the American Family Association, it caused quite a stir when Pastor Robert Jeffress, after introducing Rick Perry as a genuine Christian, called Mormonism a cult.
    +
    Christian political operatives are willing to throw away any trace of their contempt for Mormonism during the election cycle. This shows how much hatred they have for the left. They’d rather help elect a ‘cultist’ to the highest office in the land rather than stick to their alleged principles. Typically sickening.
    +
    To distinguish between a cult and a religion is to distinguish between influence and impotence. Both are, in fact, spawns of a smarmy fakery.
  32. ‘Mormonism’ Taken off Site’s Cult List (abcnews.go.com)
    The prominent Christian evangelist Billy Graham has taken public steps to embrace Mitt Romney for president this week, removing Romney’s Mormon religion from a list of cults on his website and taking out an advertisement that appears to urge people to vote for Romney.
  33. Jehovah’s Witnesses (calltoprayerministries.wordpress.com) {the writer of this article does not seem to see what it really means to be a ‘Christian’ and wants to take hold only on a sort-sighted vision.}
    Jehovah’s Witnesses come up in conversation more times than one might think. I guess that it’s because there are many people who know JW’s and there don’t seem to be many obvious differences between their faith and ours. Many JW’s are nice people, talk about Jesus, share their faith, and care about their families… just like Christians. So what are the differences? Are they just a different kind of Christian?

+++

  • Who is God? (richlewis3.wordpress.com)
    El Shaddai means God Almighty, God of the mountains.
  • “The God of Of Salvation, The Lord Of Death” (settledinheaven.wordpress.com)
    The God that we can call our own, is “the God of salvation” or, in other words, He is “the Mighty One that controls the deliverance of His people.”  Here, once again we can see a physical and spiritual aspect to this text…
  • Bush Era to Blame for Renewed Interest in Mainline? (religiondispatches.org)
    Jennifer Schuessler, who covers the academic beat for the New York Times, discusses the resurgence of scholarship on people long since thought to have been dead and passed from the scene: dead, (mostly) white, mainstream/liberal/mainline/ecumenical Protestants.In assessing the roots of a surge of work on 20th-century liberal Protestantism, including works such as Matt Hedstrom’s The Rise of Liberal Religion, Jill Gill’s Embattled Ecumenism, David Burns’ The Life and Death of the Radical Historical Jesus, and Elesha Coffman’s The Christian Century and the Rise of the Mainline, the article notes:The surge of interest in liberal religion, many say, reflects the renewed vitality of religious history more generally, which has spread beyond its traditional redoubts in divinity schools to become one of the most popular specializations among academic historians, according to the American Historical Association.Some scholars say that frustration with the perceived cultural and political dominance of evangelicals in the Bush era gave the subject extra urgency.
  • How America’s Endless Civil War Between Protestant Sects Is at the Heart of American Identity (alternet.org)
    Jennifer Schuessler, who covers the academic beat for the New York Times, discusses the resurgence of scholarship on people long since thought to have been dead and passed from the scene: dead, (mostly) white, mainstream/liberal/mainline/ecumenical Protestants.In assessing the roots of a surge of work on 20th-century liberal Protestantism, including works such as Matt Hedstrom’s The Rise of Liberal Religion, Jill Gill’s Embattled Ecumenism, David Burns’ The Life and Death of the Radical Historical Jesus, and Elesha Coffman’s The Christian Century and the Rise of the Mainline, the article notes:The surge of interest in liberal religion, many say, reflects the renewed vitality of religious history more generally, which has spread beyond its traditional redoubts in divinity schools to become one of the most popular specializations among academic historians, according to the American Historical Association.Some scholars say that frustration with the perceived cultural and political dominance of evangelicals in the Bush era gave the subject extra urgency.
    +

    Jennifer Schuessler, who covers the academic beat for the New York Times, discusses the resurgence of scholarship on people long since thought to have been dead and passed from the scene: dead, (mostly) white, mainstream/liberal/mainline/ecumenical Protestants.

    In assessing the roots of a surge of work on 20th-century liberal Protestantism, including works such as Matt Hedstrom’s The Rise of Liberal Religion, Jill Gill’s Embattled Ecumenism, David Burns’ The Life and Death of the Radical Historical Jesus, and Elesha Coffman’s The Christian Century and the Rise of the Mainline, the article notes:

    The surge of interest in liberal religion, many say, reflects the renewed vitality of religious history more generally, which has spread beyond its traditional redoubts in divinity schools to become one of the most popular specializations among academic historians, according to the American Historical Association.

    Some scholars say that frustration with the perceived cultural and political dominance of evangelicals in the Bush era gave the subject extra urgency.
    +

    Jennifer Schuessler, who covers the academic beat for the New York Times, discusses the resurgence of scholarship on people long since thought to have been dead and passed from the scene: dead, (mostly) white, mainstream/liberal/mainline/ecumenical Protestants.

    In assessing the roots of a surge of work on 20th-century liberal Protestantism, including works such as Matt Hedstrom’s The Rise of Liberal Religion, Jill Gill’s Embattled Ecumenism, David Burns’ The Life and Death of the Radical Historical Jesus, and Elesha Coffman’s The Christian Century and the Rise of the Mainline, the article notes:

    The surge of interest in liberal religion, many say, reflects the renewed vitality of religious history more generally, which has spread beyond its traditional redoubts in divinity schools to become one of the most popular specializations among academic historians, according to the American Historical Association.

    Some scholars say that frustration with the perceived cultural and political dominance of evangelicals in the Bush era gave the subject extra urgency.

  • Make your pick: Do Mainline Protestants need a new name? (religionnews.com)
    Mainline Protestants  made up 18 percent of U.S. adults in 2008. Fifty years ago, its members were the church of the Establishment.
    +
    Forget labels: Everyone and his brother, left or right, calls himself an evangelical. No one will admit to being a fundamentalist since its original religious meaning was overtaken by crazies like David Koresh. It takes Pew Research experts 20 minutes to delineate who is a Jew and they still offer a definition matrix. So let the branding go.
  • Are there dividing lines between Mainline and Evangelical? (unsettledchristianity.com)
    There is a great move towards social justice in many Evangelical (sub)groups and for that, I thank God. Do you think the view on Scripture and Tradition (Scripture is infallible in all things, Tradition is near to worthless) is a good start for a line?
    +
    But the dividing line between Mainline (which seems not to be something negative) and Evangelical (some people use this correctly, others not) is not so easy to grasp. I’m guessing because “Mainline” means, for a lot of people, a dying breed of Christianity. Evangelical means… well, it seems for Mainliners it means those who go and witness/serve for the Gospel. For Evangelicals, this term helps to codify something different.
  • MainlineDecline, Decline-Talk, and Decline-ism — Sightings (Martin Marty) (bobcornwall.com)
    You have heard it many times Mainline Protestant churches are in decline, but then so are most other forms of religion.  Attendance has not kept up with growth in population, etc.
    +
    Why point out decline among the religions when Sightings’ role is to spot and explore religion in outstanding events? What goes on here with “decline?” A fad? Maybe “decline” is not occurring. This claim is hard to support. Maybe headline writers are concentrating on the wrong aspects of religion. Maybe they are exhibiting the old “be-the-first-kid-on-your-block” syndrome, seeking to be a jump ahead, to get a scoop. Maybe enemies of religious institutions of all sorts are enjoying mass Schadenfreude, enjoying the misfortunes of others. Whatever else is going on, noticing this phenomenon should be liberating: we are henceforth allowed to yawn when one more headline-writer tries to play catch-up.
  • When the Christian Global South Heads West (juicyecumenism.com)
    Between 1910 and 2010, the global center of Christianity shifted from Spain to Timbuktu. As far back as 1980, there have been more Christians living in the Global South than in the first world. On any given Sunday, there are more Christians attending church in China than in the United States or Europe.
    +
    Hanciles also noted, with some disappointment with how the financial and political power in US mainline denominations remains in West, even when Africans outnumber them. “We might have to challenge the term “Anglican”, which of course means English,” he said. Hanciles spoke approvingly of African churches in the United States, which he claimed were very little-e evangelistic in their outlook.
    +
    Professor Virginia Garrard-Burnett of the University of Texas-Austin spoke at length about the religious tendencies of Latino migrants, including the often overlooked Protestant Latinos. Roughly 1/4 of Latino immigrants are Protestant, most of which are Pentecostal. Catholic Churches in the US that cater to these immigrants often take on charismatic forms of worship, she noted, often causing friction with existing native Americans. Latin-American Protestant churches take part in almost “reverse missionary” work, where churches in the Global South send people to minister to those in America. She cited the example of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, the third-largest denomination in Brazil, whose presence in the US is mostly mission work to Latin-American migrants.
  • Inoculated Against Christianity? (thelittleredblog.typepad.com)
    “The post-Christian world has been inoculated against Christianity because, over 1500 years, we never managed to give it true Christianity. ‘Found difficult and left untried,’ indeed. And this is to our demerit. There are also many, many things over these 1500 years to be proud about, and Christendom, for all its flaws, was probably better than the alternatives. But now we’re reaping what we’re sowing. We created this generation of post-Christians whom we vaccinated against Christianity. Thankfully, viruses mutate and occasionally beat vaccines.  In the meantime, if our aim is a fantasy of Christendom rather than Christ and His Cross, we are being idolaters.”I’m not sure that “probably better than the alternatives” is much of an endorsement.  Mr. Gobry’s point, however, is to distinguish between Christendom, Christianity, and following Jesus: a dilemma yet to be resolved for some 2000 years.  I await Gobry’s further insights with genuine interest.
  • The Coming Schism (wmbriggs.com)
    Maybe it’s not a schism but apostasy which I mean. Doesn’t matter. Continuing in our Curmudgeon Series, here are my guesses of the course of Christianity in the West over the next twenty years. Each point below deserves its own essay: these are rough points.
    +
    Since elites of secular institutions only truly care about elites at other institutions, the leadership of these churches won’t want to fall behind the CofE. They’ll issue cheerful press releases boasting love and then arm wrestle for who gets to perform the first homosexual ceremony. Most denominations already allow homosexual clergy.Theologically, since going to a service at a mainline Protestant church will increasingly be no different than reading the New York Times or Guardian op-ed section, which is more convenient and saves on gas, those willing to make the trek will dwindle and die off. If you’re in the market for an old church (aren’t they quaint?), look to the Methodists and Presbyterians. Besides, members are tired of being called stupid and irrational by the culture.
  • Stuart Murray on Christendom (abnormalanabaptist.wordpress.com)
    Anabaptists identify the “Christendom shift” in the 4th century as the time when Jesus began to be marginalized.
    +
    Anabaptist are convinced that, whatever its undoubtful benefits, the Christendom system seriously distorted Christian faith: the price the church paid for coming in from the margins was allowing Jesus to be pushed out from the center to the margins – Stuart MurrayThe Naked Anabaptist, Herald Press, 2010, p 52
  • Unitarianism and the Bible of the Holy Trinity (afkimel.wordpress.com)
    I do not know if it’s happening throughout worldwide evangelicalism or is restricted to the more intellectually inclined; but I have noticed a curious phenomenon on the internet—a movement amongst evangelicals from trinitarian to unitarian faith. This movement does not necessarily entail the rejection of the teaching of Jesus nor even rejection of the confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is a unitarianism that can accommodate the kind of subordinationism characteristic of some of the second and third century Church Fathers: Jesus and the Spirit are “divine” (in some sense), but only the Father is the one God. Consider, for example, a recent blog article by Kermit Zarley: “Can Genuine Christians Be Trinitarian or Non-Trinitarian?
  • Why converting Muslims is taboo in the Catholic Church (catholicherald.co.uk)
    What are they talking about at the Synod for Evangelisation? This article by Sandro Magister tells us that the Bishops have broached the taboo subject of conversions from Islam to Christianity. It makes interesting reading, despite the rather ponderous translation, (read the original here ) and I was particularly struck by this section of it, which I beg readers to consider carefully:“The Muslims do not see the difference between Christians and Westerners, because they do not distinguish, themselves, between what is religious and what is political and social. What precedes the Westerners is perceived by the Muslims as preceding the Christians. Now, Western behaviour, especially on the cultural and political level and in a general way, harms the religious and national sensitivity of the Muslims, their values, their ethics and their culture. Consequentially, this forms an obstacle to their openness to Christianity and to their possible evangelisation.”
  • Billy Graham: Mormonism No Cult (orthodoxyandheterodoxy.org)
    Sociologists of religion use cult to refer to a religious group that does not regard itself as exclusively true yet has negative relations with the surrounding society. Those two factors—exclusivity and societal relations—form the basis for sociological definition of religions into four kinds of groups: church (exclusive with good relations), denomination (inclusive with good relations), sect (exclusive with bad relations) and cult (inclusive with bad relations). Yet almost no one uses these terms in the way sociologists of religion use them.
    +I think what is really meant by cult in most modern Evangelical parlance is “bad/weird religious group.” And of course perhaps such a definition is right in its own way.
  • Grahams tighten Romney ties (newsobserver.com)
    The election-year embrace of Mitt Romney by some evangelical Christians now borders on a bear hug, given a series of moves by Billy Graham and his family that appear to say it’s OK to vote for a Mormon.
  • Billy Graham website admits scrubbing ‘Mormons’ from ‘cult’ list after endorsing Romney (rawstory.com)
    The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association confirmed on Tuesday that it had removed all references to Mormonism as a “cult” from its website after their founder announced his support of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
  • Why I Am a Christian. (crawfordgarrett.wordpress.com)
    I have to admit that it’s not always the most simple and straightforward answer to give, because there are many reasons that have led to my faith in Christ.  However, I guess the first place to start is with my parents.  I am a Christian because of my parents.  There may be nothing remarkable about that, and often times I, or many other Christians, would not like to admit that truth.  I am a Christian because my parents are Christians, and that’s what they raised me to believe, just like Jesus was a Jew because His parents were Jews.
  • Christ didn’t come to help us, He came to Include us (melwild.wordpress.com)
    a surprising few resonate so much to the more important fact that the Father’s plan was to substitute Christ for us and place us in Him. I think this is unfortunate.
  • Jesus Christ was an Anarchist (blacksupremacylovenunity.wordpress.com) > Jesus Christ was an Anarchist
    Jesus came along to lead his followers out of this ungodly Roman system, preaching an alternative form of government. He spoke of a jurisdiction outside of the Roman state, based on the perfect law of freedom, outside the tyranny of men who would rule over their brothers and neighbors. He unified the early Christian church in a system of charity, hope and respect for the rights of each other, requiring that each person love thy neighbor as thy self in a system of mutual, not governmental support.
    +
    Jesus was showing a way to untangle people from the captivity of the social contracts they had made with the state of Rome and Judea, and the tribute and obligations they had become snared by. He proclaimed to call no man “Father”, as they called their Roman benefactors, but stated that “thou Father art in heaven.” The perfect law of freedom indicated that man’s unalienable rights stemmed from God and nature, and not governments of men. This was a system of anarchy, by strict definition, without the complex system of tribute that led to the decadence and decline of society, and the corruptible force of the state to back it up.The early Christian church was not persecuted for their belief in a different God or a Kingdom in Heaven, but for their opting out of the mutual taxation system and seeking to live apart from the kings and overlords, the gods many, who demanded their tribute.
    +Today, most of us find ourselves under slothful tribute to an emperor and a system that is not for our benefit. We have coveted our neighbor’s goods in a vain pursuit of “free” health care, education, welfare, unemployment benefits, social security and government protection. We have traded our inalienable God-given rights through social contracts both implied and explicit. Our churches are not ordained by God, but are 501(c)(3) corporations granted status by the state.As we head into what is certainly going to be a volatile 2014, we are going to need to dig down deep and find that anarchist in all of us, with a little more loving thy neighbor as thy self to boot.
  • Fanatic hindu who hated christians is an evidence of Jesus (pciniraj.wordpress.com)
    I never liked Christian missionaries. I used to speak against Christianity and was organising people near the temples against the evangelism activites.“But Lord Jesus mightly fighting for His children, if anybody persecuting Christians, for which I am a clear evidence”, now I am witnessing this every corner to corner by holding the Holy Bible in one hand and showing my terrific stomach to the public. “I was an enemy of Christians, but Jesus Christ loved me, made me alive and saved me from sin and death. Now I am His servant”. This is my testimony.
  • Pouring Into Others (comeawake.org)
    If you are a Christian, you are a disciple of Christ. You know Him, but what have you done to make Him known to others? And I’m not just talking about evangelism. I’m talking about how you can use your time, your energy and most importantly, your knowledge about who Christ is to help out a fellow brother or sister.The purpose of our lives is simply this: To know Christ, and to make Him known.
  • A Bad Reason for Thinking that Atheism is not a Religion (maverickphilosopher.typepad.com)
    a mere lack of belief in something cannot be a religion.  But atheism is not a mere lack of belief in something.  If atheism is just the lack of god-belief, then tables and chairs are atheists.  For they lack god-belief. Am I being uncharitable?  Suppose someone defines atheism more carefully as lack of god-belief in beings capable of having  beliefs.  That is still unacceptable.  Consider a child who lacks both god-belief and god-disbelief.  If lacking god-belief makes him an atheist, then lacking god-disbelief makes him a theist.  So he is both, which is absurd.Obviously,  atheism is is not a mere lack of belief, but a definite belief, namely, the belief that the world is godless.  Atheism is a claim about the way things are: there is no such thing as the God of Judaism, or the God of Christianity, or the God of Islam, or the gods of the Greek pantheon, or . . . etc.  The atheist has a definite belief about the ontological inventory: it does not include God or gods or any reasonable facsimile thereof such as the Plotinian One, etc.  Note also that if you deny that any god exists, then you are denying that the universe is created by God: you are saying something quite positive about the ontological status of the universe, namely, that it does not depend for its existence on a being transcendent of it.  And if it does not so depend, then that implies that it exists on its own as a brute fact or that it necessarily exists or that it causes itself to exist.  Without getting into all the details here, the point is that if you deny that God exists, this is not just a denial  of the existence of a certain being, but implies a positive claim about the ontological status of the universe.  What’s more, if  there is no creator God, then the apparent order of the universe, its apparent designedness, is merely apparent.  This is a positive thesis about the nature of the physical universe.Atheism, then, is not a mere lack of god-belief.  For it implies definite positive beliefs about reality as a whole and  about the nature and mode of existence of the physical universe.
  • Atheism Was the First to Show Me Compassion (jessedooley.wordpress.com)
    what is the issue with the idea of God that pushes most atheists to reject religion and to see it as the supreme evil?
    +
    When the tribal deity is the supreme king, and that deity is interpreted from a fundamentalist, all-or-nothing approach, then nothing can penetrate or alter that worldview, regardless of the reasonableness of the argument.
  • Are Liberals Too “Special” to Go to Church? (religiondispatches.org)
    New research from psychologists from the New York University suggests that the desire to feel unique can undermine consensus, cohesion, and mobilization—at least in political contexts.
    +
    Stern, et al found that “liberals underestimated their similarity to other liberals, whereas moderates and conservatives overestimated their similarity to other moderates and conservatives.”Further, the researchers found that liberals “possess a greater dispositional desire to be unique,” which, they suggest, “likely undermines their ability to capitalize on the consensus that actually exists within their ranks and hinders successful group mobilization.” The “desire to conform” among moderates and, to a greater extent, conservatives, likewise, “allows them to perceive consensus that does not actually exist and, in turn, rally their base.”Liberals, that is, emphasize in their beliefs, actions, and self-understanding uniqueness, creativity, and non-conformity even in the face of sameness. Moderates and conservatives, by contrast, focus on similarity and commonality even when little may in fact exist.
  • Are Esoteric Teachings Missing from Christianity? (jesusweddingthebook.wordpress.com)
    In my opinion, Christianity is the only tradition that openly celebrates both spiritual paths. I can agree that there is no secret teaching, because both spiritual paths are out in the open for everyone to see. However, by definition, the esoteric teaching is the second leg of the spiritual journey. The esoteric teaching does not have to be “secret” in order to maintain its mystery. The mystery of the esoteric path can only be revealed when the exoteric path or first leg of the spiritual journey is fully completed.
  • Discovering the Truth (cosmicmacduff.wordpress.com)
    for me it has been and is the walking that is important, not any place that I might arrive at or achievement I might accomplish.  I think that I have discovered  a lot since I started, but do not consider myself “enlightened”,  just aware of who  I am.  For me this primary truth, a recognition that there was/is something  more to me (my soul)  than my physical body, is what allowed me and still allows me, to find meaning and purpose in life.
  • Am I A Religious Person? (elephantjournal.com) + But is it my religion?
    I’ve heard it said that religion is having someone else’s spiritual experience and spirituality is having your own. It’s certainly true that some Buddhists venerate the Buddha or other teachers to such a high degree that they are just having the Buddha’s experience and not their own. I don’t do that. The Buddha warned us against doing that. He said, “Don’t worship me,” and right after his death, people started doing it.
  • Religion and Young People: The Lost Generation? (collectionofclancy.wordpress.com)
    I know of many relatives, friends and people I’ve met in general who are either agnostic or atheist and I don’t judge them for it. However what kills me is that their status gives me the feeling that they are the smarter and more enlightened people. But on the other side, the church gives me the feeling that because I have more liberal beliefs means I cannot truly be as good as the devout. A rock/hard place moment.
  • Does Religion Shape a Person? (meesh14102.wordpress.com)
    Atheism is my own personal belief and I understand and respect everyone else’s religious beliefs. I simply want to talk about the idea of religion shaping a person.
    +
    I don’t need a God to influence a good and honest behavior. My mom told me to never speak of my new belief (or lack  there of) ever again and to Never tell my father. I respected these wishes and continue to keep my thoughts about God and religion to myself. I believe a persons’ inner self shapes their character. I do not believe religion is what influences a good or bad character.Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and should live so accordingly!
  • Haunting the chapel: my thoughts on heavy metal and religion. (seanmunger.com)
    Is heavy metal inherently anti-religious? Having been virtually a lifelong metalhead, I can say from experience that many people, both within and without the scene, believe that it is, or should be. Critique of organized religion or aspects of it has been a common lyrical and thematic element in metal for decades.
  • Ask an Atheist: The Usual Questions (csgroome.wordpress.com)
    Atheism differs from religion, because we are not certain and would change our views if given evidence, but we are convinced by the lack of evidence and by all rational argument, that appealing to myths from intellectually dark parts of human history can not even begin to give us answers to any questions, even moral or epistemological ones.
    +
    Religion lies outside science and evidence, so you can’t prove it wrong. Why can’t you just accept this and that people want to live with a belief in a greater being?
    +
    I could believe whatever I want if it made me happy. But in all other ways, except for a religious conviction, the believer of a claim unprovable by science immediately pays a social price.
    +
    The absence of a belief is never a motivation, and while Communism may be a secular ideology, this does not mean that all atheists or secularists are communists and it certainly does not mean that we would wish to kill or destroy religious people or religious infrastructure.
  • All BEings are Divine (amuseinharmony.wordpress.com)
    all beings, including human beings are divine manifestations of Creator Source on the physical earth plane materialized in various forms for the purpose of expansion. the earth is mother to us all. we are organisms formed from her womb. as she ascends, so shall we. the mother loves her humans as she does all creatures or our existence would no longer be. our love and unity with her and all her inhabitants is our duty as earth walkers.
  • Dalai Lama speaks on harmony to religious followers at Tokyo temple (japandailypress.com)
    The famous leader went on to explain that most of the problems humans encounter are of their own making, and thinking that they are all different from one another. This kind of thinking has a tendency to separate people instead of uniting them. His speech centered on the essential “oneness” of all people and emphasized on the divisiveness that comes with focusing on the “them” and “us,” rather than on the “we”, as a whole. Religious harmony is one thing that His Holiness has committed himself to, and hopes that it is something that Japan can contribute to as well.
  • what is the happiest person in the world saying? (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)
    A friend wants to know if I’m still Christian. Yes, I am. Everything that I’m referring to from science and new age and Buddhist teachers is complimentary with Jesus’s teachings. I posted a couple of the most important Christian practices–in my opinion, 1 John (NIV) and the Our Father prayer are essential in Christian belief.
  • How to Argue for the Existence of God (omigassplus.wordpress.com)
    Anyone who feels God, can see and feel God inside them. They live inside God. God lives inside them. They see God as an energy that penetrates them and fills them up inside. They feel God as an energy around them and within them. They feel God touch them in their special places. They realize that God is a higher faith, a greater presence. They crave Him. They want to feel his love fill them up inside. Without God, they feel empty, unloved, lonely. Only with God inside them can they feel whole again.
  • Nineteenth Century Protestant Doctrines of the Trinity (redeemingthetext.wordpress.com)
    The discussion in chapter nineteen of The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity is, in brief form, one of how Enlightenment philosopher-theologians developed innovative ways to discuss the Trinity and their effectiveness leading into the twentieth century.
  • Hans Kung on Trinity Part 2 (presenttruthmn.org)
    This is continued from the previous post on the Trinity. It is taken directly from Hans Kung’s book ‘Christianity: Essence, History and Future’
  • A Theology Big Enough for the Gospel: Reviewing Mike Bird’s Evangelical Theology (marccortez.com)
    despite the fact that Bird mentions the image of God throughout, clearly viewing it as an important topic that has bearing on a range of other issues, he devotes only five pages to it, one of which is just a recitation of the relevant biblical verses. His excursus on infra- vs. supralapsarianism is almost as long! And union with Christ hardly gets any attention at all. In a systematic theology, pages are like currency; what you invest in shows what you value. And I was surprised at a few of the investments.
    +
    Bird affirms a social trinitarian approach, defining the divine persons as “self-aware” beings who are “capable of consciousness” (p. 615), and he even refers to separate consciousnesses in the Trinity (p. 118). Regardless of whether you think social trinitarianism is viable, Bird’s discussion simply fails to deal with the historical and theological objections that can (and have!) been raised. And unfortunately, these aren’t isolated incidents.
  • What’s Old is New Again: The Return of “Biblical Unitarianism” (southernreformation.wordpress.com)
    While I’m used to defending the deity of Christ against the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or fending off Mormon misunderstandings of the doctrine of the Trinity, I never thought I would see professing “conservative evangelicals” who were willing to jettison the central dogma that makes Christianity…Christianity.But it’s happening.
  • “Should You Believe in the Trinity?” (1peter58.wordpress.com)
    “The Bible says…” The real issue here is that these individuals, and also those that belong to very young churches/institutes, claim for themselves the authority to teach new doctrine, claim for themselves the authority to reject unchanged ancient doctrine. How do you decide when to trust that a doctrine is truly of God? How do you decide what is a false doctrine not of God?
  • Because the Bible Tells Me So (mackerelsnapperblog.wordpress.com)
    Whenever a Catholic debates the Faith with a non-Catholic — Christian or atheist — the very first argument that often gets brought up is that Catholic teaching contradicts the Scriptures.
  • Sola Scriptura? (preacheroftruth.com) + > Sola Scriptura?
    Pythagoras is said to have been the earliest outside of Scripture (Isa. 40:22) to contend that the earth is round. He did not make the earth round with his assertions, but identified what already was.  Sir Isaac Newton certainly did not create gravity, but he is credited for our modern understanding of it.  Likewise, the term “sola scriptura” is not found in scripture (similar to terms like “trinity” and “omniscience”), but it was coined during the “Reformation Movement” as part of Martin Luther’s protests against perceived corruptions of the Catholic Church.  It was a “Latin phrase (literally ‘by Scripture alone’) describing the Protestant theological principle that Scripture is the final norm in all judgments of faith and practice.
  • (1) The Two Pillars of the Reformation (altruistico.wordpress.com)
    The Protestant Reformation saw the advancement of the Gospel and an understanding of right doctrine that hadn’t been seen since the time of Christ and the Apostles. It drew Christianity out of the dark ages of the faith; a time when the Scripture was forbidden to be read in the language of the people, when superstition reigned, where abominations within the church leadership was a norm, and when a knowledge of the Truth was virtually unknown.

 

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