tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40993133443471791132024-02-08T01:05:33.164-05:00Dumb Idols - Spiritual Thoughts of Daniel J. ClausenDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-23177886627837512842024-01-01T22:28:00.012-05:002024-02-05T19:26:24.346-05:00The Shiloh Prophecy Unveiled: Herod, the Departure of Judah's Scepter, and the Eternal Kingship of Christ<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienJ2oStEdXXah1tdMijbso8w-jps8xBMHhOSxxjTdQbvgyp56zv8Z78-VpmUZbqPycFJotvFpeZYJQNnPHgP0XuJDBq7mr_raqm-44VMaEnJ36Vh6F0h2p8JxG7zXVdJyOKFz7rhCTqxH2qSfEf9UqCAJb_TbFaOk1WCivPWESp3Fs2RxPgSrv6Pfg5X7/s640/640px-%EC%84%B1%EC%86%8C(%EC%84%B1%EB%A7%89)_%EB%AA%A8%ED%98%95.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="640" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienJ2oStEdXXah1tdMijbso8w-jps8xBMHhOSxxjTdQbvgyp56zv8Z78-VpmUZbqPycFJotvFpeZYJQNnPHgP0XuJDBq7mr_raqm-44VMaEnJ36Vh6F0h2p8JxG7zXVdJyOKFz7rhCTqxH2qSfEf9UqCAJb_TbFaOk1WCivPWESp3Fs2RxPgSrv6Pfg5X7/w291-h204/640px-%EC%84%B1%EC%86%8C(%EC%84%B1%EB%A7%89)_%EB%AA%A8%ED%98%95.jpg" width="291" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"> A lesser known messianic prophecy in the book of Genesis, known as the "Shiloh Prophecy" sheds significant light on the timing of the messianic age. The prophecy reads, <i>"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people." </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>This prophecy connects the coming of Shiloh, identified as a person, to a time when the scepter, a symbol of rule, passed out of the control of Judah. This verse is part of Jacob's blessings and prophecies for his sons before his death. Each of Jacob's sons receives a specific blessing or prophecy, and in the case of Judah, Jacob foretells the continuity of royal authority within the tribe until the arrival of Shiloh, a figure long interpreted as the Messiah.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Passing the Scepter</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> This begs the question, did the scepter ever pass from Judah? </span>The traditional interpretation is that the scepter departed from Judah with the Roman conquest and occupation of Judea, specifically during the rule of King Herod the Great, who was appointed by the Romans. Herod the Great was not ethnically Jewish, nor a direct descendant of the tribe of Judah, but was a foreigner of Edomite lineage. Eusebius records it like this in his Ecclesiastical History, Book 1 Chapter 6: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>"Herod, the first foreigner, as I have already said, was made King of the Jewish nation by the Roman senate and by Augustus."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Once this rule was passed onto a foreigner, a messianic fervor ignited in Israel, knowing the expectation that the Messiah's coming would be imminent. This sentiment is expressed in Luke 2:22-38 in the admiration of Simeon and the Prophetess Anna:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>"...Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ..."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Herod the Great was given the title of "King of the Jews." Jesus Christ, being born at the latter end of Herod the Great's reign, was also given this title, but in his case, it was due to the fact that the "scepter" had truly passed to him instead, who was of the Tribe of Judah, and a descendant of David, who was promised, <i>"your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Sam. 7:12-16). </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Meaning of Shiloh</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>"...Until Shiloh comes, to Him shall be the obedience of the people."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> Shiloh is clearly described as a man, but what does Shiloh actually mean? There is some debate among scholars, however, there are two contenders:</span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> 1. </span><i>"He whose right it is"</i> or <i>"to whom it belongs,"</i> implying a ruler or leader who has the rightful claim.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> 2. Alternatively, it could be related to the Hebrew word for "peace" and thereby mean something like <i>"bringer of peace."</i></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span> </span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span><span> Either of these meanings, and perhaps both as a double entendre, would apply to Jesus as a descendent of the tribe of Judah, of the house of David, but also as the foretold "prince of peace." (Isa. 9:6)</span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span> Those familiar with the Old Testament will notice that Shiloh is also mentioned as a specific location where the Israelites set up the Tabernacle once they were established in the Promised Land. The Tabernacle was a temporary tent sanctuary set up for the presence of God to dwell.</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span><span> In this way, it also serves as a metaphor for Christ, who was the very presence of God for a time in our midst. This connection is specifically alluded to in </span></span></span></span>John 1:14, which states:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>"And the Word became flesh and <b>dwelt</b> among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> </span>In this verse, the term "dwelt" is translated from the Greek word "eskenosen," which can be translated as "tabernacled" or "pitched his tent." This emphasizes the idea that Jesus, being the Word incarnate, pitched the tent of his flesh in this world, filled with the Divine Presence, evoking the image of the temporary dwelling of the presence of God in the Tabernacle of the wilderness. He represents Shiloh. He is the Shiloh.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Shiloh Timeframe</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> Overall, the Shiloh Prophecy is valuable because it not only provides very early detail (book of Genesis) that the Messiah would Himself be the Divine Presence, but also provides a clear time frame for when the fulfillment would occur. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span> </span>The coming of Messiah will be when the rule passes from the tribe of Judah. </span>Daniel 9:24-27 also foretells that following the Messiah's death, the city and the sanctuary, the Second Temple, would be destroyed, which occurred in 70 AD. So, in the broadest possible terms, Messiah could <i>only</i> come within a span of 107 years, from 37 BC when Herod became King, to 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed. Jesus Christ came precisely within that time frame. No other messianic figure within these limits had lasting historical influence. And yet, according to this timeline, the messiah must have already come.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Eternal Kingship of Christ</h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> Ultimately, the Shiloh Prophecy illustrates a time when the reign of temporal human rulers would be overtaken by the eternal Kingship of the Christ. Rather than continuing the story of failed or imperfect rulers, it looked forward to the hope when God would pitch His tent among His people, at a time and location of His own choosing, to proclaim a new and eternal Kingdom whose citizens are representative out of every kindred, tribe and tongue. Jesus Christ has done just that.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Hallelujah.</span> </div><p></p>Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-52075682828548001382023-12-11T18:12:00.048-05:002023-12-20T21:17:33.748-05:00Ekklesia, Tradition, and a Challenge to Sola Scriptura<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDJD9VvvDKlFVfjJwYuIKxkebYq5sh1mZPk5-E5GKlUrrhhk90idbsQA7IUcmVTVuRiAgvGMu5-cFcT9Qh_wlc_Jnua1sm9Y-A8uXnbidYQifdYXfFw0GEHSZXA1o0H1pn_dEovsU4ZDQ_tsFl8x7mwLatIL5FYhFvgK2E9g2J4uTTDBvD2KtqPLv6pVc/s718/sola.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="Sola Scriptura" border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="715" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDJD9VvvDKlFVfjJwYuIKxkebYq5sh1mZPk5-E5GKlUrrhhk90idbsQA7IUcmVTVuRiAgvGMu5-cFcT9Qh_wlc_Jnua1sm9Y-A8uXnbidYQifdYXfFw0GEHSZXA1o0H1pn_dEovsU4ZDQ_tsFl8x7mwLatIL5FYhFvgK2E9g2J4uTTDBvD2KtqPLv6pVc/w199-h200/sola.PNG" width="199" /></a></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Sola Scriptura or "Scripture Alone," either as a doctrine or practice, never existed prior to the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. In fact, throughout the initial 1500 years of church history, Sola Scriptura did not have any proponents, particularly because it was never seriously considered. The formalized doctrine of Sola Scriptura, emphasizing the exclusive authority of the Bible for matters of faith and practice, emerged during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. While early church fathers often emphasized the ultimate authority of Scripture, the specific formulation of Sola Scriptura as a doctrine took shape much later in history.</span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>And necessarily so. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The idea that those who directly interacted with the apostles, such as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna, would discard their firsthand experiences from months or years of discipleship in favor of a few written letters seems implausible. These early disciples had the unique advantage of personal, prolonged exposure to the apostolic teachings, and with the apostles, used them to lay the foundations of the apostolic churches. T</span><span style="text-align: justify;">he notion that they would abruptly abandon these oral teachings for an exclusive reliance on written texts appears incongruent with historical context. Instead, the rise of Sola Scriptura as a doctrine for the church is necessarily a later theological development that arose as a response to changing circumstances, rather than a natural outgrowth of the early Christian experience.</span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><span> A fact frequently missed by advocates of Sola Scriptura is that the Church herself, with the apostles as members, birthed the Scriptures through the leading of the Holy Spirit ,and reverently preserved them through the millennia. The Scripture did not create the Church, the Church created the Scripture. The Church predates Scripture.</span><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;">Scripture Alone is Not in Scripture</h4><div><p></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Oddly enough, the idea of Scripture Alone is not found in Scripture itself either - which suggests those who believe in Sola Scriptura must begin by adhering to a foundational doctrine that is not in their ultimate authority, contradicting the principle itself. Sola Scriptura is therefore, itself, a pious tradition rooted in the Reformation. In fact, if anything, the Scripture supports the idea that the Scripture does not contain all things, and a holy tradition must be guarded as well.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><i>"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter." </i>- 2 Thess. 2:15 ESV</h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Within the basic framework of Sola Scriptura, here is a difficulty. The Bible itself tells believers to hold onto traditions from the apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:15). So, when practicing Sola Scriptura, one will follow Scripture and obey this command by recognizing and practicing traditions alongside the Bible. This creates a paradox – obeying the Bible's command to follow traditions challenges the idea of relying exclusively on the Bible, creating a contradiction within Sola Scriptura. To adhere to Sola Scriptura, one must either not obey the Bible, or undermine the logic of their own doctrine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> Nevertheless, t</span>here are numerous traditions that Protestants take completely for granted that are also found no where in Scripture. For example: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span>T</span>he Scripture does not tell you what the books of Scripture are. The actual Canon of Scripture we have are received are by the tradition of the church.</li><li>Certain doctrines, like the Divinity of Christ, are the received understanding of the testimony of Scripture.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Some Protestants take a more nuanced definition of Sola Scriptura saying Scripture is the "only infallible rule of faith" rather than the more vague "Scripture Alone." Yet, if there is no other infallible rule of faith like Holy Tradition, then the Canon of Scripture, a tradition that we received, is itself only fallible and cannot be assuredly known to be true. <i>How can you believe Scripture Alone, and not know definitively what the Scripture is? </i>Therefore, under Sola Scriptura, the canon of Scripture is malleable and books can be included or excluded based on theological preference.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Furthermore, if the traditional understanding of the Scripture on the Divinity of Christ is not authoritative and infallible as a rule of faith, then this interpretation becomes a matter of opinion and private interpretation, and ultimately, any Christology becomes equally viable. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;">Sola Scriptura Leads to Private Interpretation</h4><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation."</i> - 2 Pet.1:20</h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span> </span>The verse suggests that relying solely on individual understanding is problematic due to the inherent fallibility of human interpretation. Personal biases, cultural context, and theological predispositions can influence the interpretation of scripture, introducing the potential for diverse and conflicting understandings. Depending solely on individual interpretation, as proposed by Sola Scriptura, will lead to doctrinal divisions and theological fragmentation within the Christian community, as is demonstrated within the Protestant movement. For those that would contend that the Holy Spirit will be their guide, the body of evidence suggests that diversity of understanding is the norm rather than the exception. <span> </span>Therefore, the interpretation of Scripture should be approached within the broader context of the Christian community's shared understanding and tradition, acknowledging the fallibility of individual interpretation.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>How Did the Early Church Fathers Use Apostolic Tradition?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>An interesting fact about the earliest church fathers is that when confronted by an erroneous interpretation of Scripture, they frequently did not battle verse for verse against the heretics. They recognized that anyone can twist the scriptures to make them say anything they desire. Instead, they appealed to the teachings within the apostolic churches. What did they believe in Ephesus? What did they believe in Rome? What did they believe in Antioch? What of Thessalonica? Since the apostolic teaching was consistent throughout the world, recognizing that churches a thousand miles away from each other, yet maintaining consistent teachings that were sourced from the apostles gave pedigree and apostolic authority to those interpretations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> St. Vincent of Lerins summed up Holy Tradition in 434 AD as, <i>"That which has been believed always, everywhere, by everyone,"</i> <span style="text-align: center;">emphasizing the importance of teachings that are consistent across time, space, and among the entire body of believers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Tertullian relates the concept perfectly:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><i>"No other teaching will have the right of being received as apostolic than that which is at the present day proclaimed in the churches of apostolic foundation... If that [doctrine] has existed from the beginning which has the apostles for its authors, then it will certainly be quite evident that the doctrine which came down from the apostles is that which has been <b>kept as a sacred deposit</b> in the churches of the apostles." -</i>Tertullian, 207 AD</div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span>Elsewhere, Tertullian explains how heretics misuse and abuse Scripture, the same as today:</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"This heresy... does not accept certain Scriptures. And those Scriptures it does receive, it perverts by means of additions and diminutions. It does this to accomplish its own purpose. And such Scriptures it does receive, it does not receive in their entirety. But even when it does receive any Scripture up to a certain point as entire, it nevertheless perverts even them by the contrivance of diverse interpretations. Truth is just as much opposed by an adulteration of its meaning as it is by a corruption of its text.</i></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;">Consequences of Sola Scriptura </h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>However, for those who advocate Sola Scriptura, there can be no appeal to tradition to fully justify their interpretation. Their understanding of the Divinity of Christ, for example, is on equal footing with those who deny it because tradition is not an infallible rule of faith. Theological disputes become an unwinnable battle of opinion and interpretation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Even if tradition is considered useful, if its not an infallible rule of faith, one cannot know when it can be trusted and when it cannot. Even if Protestants borrow from it when its convenient, [ie, Canon, Trinity] it is not authoritative, but mere preference. Everything devolves into a matter of opinion, or "private interpretation." For this reason, the Protestant Reformation has become the greatest engine of heresy in the history of the church, as evidenced by the thousands of denominations, and many unique cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-Day Saints [Mormons] that now exist, but never would have otherwise.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> Sola S</span>criptura advocates for the use of Scripture as a rule of faith based on <i>what is says</i>, but that is not sufficient for the believer, because one also has the need to know what it <i>means. </i>But, meaning can be completely subjective. The Scripture alone can tell us what it says, but only tradition can tell us how it ought to be understood. Without this, the interpretive imagination of individuals has no limit. </div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Use of 'Ekklesia' as an Indication of the Role of the Church</h4><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matthew 16:18 (ESV): <i>"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."</i></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> </span>When Jesus Christ himself instituted the Church, He used the word, 'Ekklesia' - a word that had a long pre-Christian usage in the Greek language. This was not accidental, but was a deliberate choice in wording used by the gospel writers. This word was already understood within its proper context by those that heard it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span> In the times before Christ, the Greeks utilized a confederation of independent City-States, each called a "Polis." Polis is where we get our words like Policy, and Politics. Within the Polis, the governing body, for example in Athens, was a democratic institution called the Ekklesia, which was part of the governing body of the Polis.</span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span> The Ekklesia was comprised of free, land owning men who each had voting rights on the administration of the Polis. The Ekklesia has baked within it a concept of decision making and self-determination, policy, and politics.</span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span> Jesus Christ connects <i>his </i>Ekklesia as the governing authority of the Kingdom of God on earth. In doing so, He is granting decision -making authority to His Ekklesia to settle issues, determine right doctrine, uproot heresy, and discipline the citizens of His Kingdom. All of this, with the promise that the Holy Spirit would guide the people of God and lead them into all truth.<br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span><span> It should be noted that the Ekklesia did not have a singular figurehead as part of its governance. Therefore, a position like the Pope would not accurately reflect the Greek concept of the Ekklesia. The Ekklesia functioned more by consensus and disputation as seen in Church councils. This was the practice of the entire unified Church, East and West, for 1000 years until the Great Schism of 1054. This model of the Church is still used in Orthodoxy to this day.</span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span><span style="text-align: center;">This becomes especially significant when examining the implications for the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. Sola Scriptura emphasizes the exclusive reliance on Scripture for matters of faith and practice. However, the choice of 'Ekklesia' implies a communal, participatory, and authoritative structure — a departure from an individualistic approach to interpreting Scripture that entrusts this authority and administration to the leadership of the Church as a whole. For this reason, Paul refers to the church as "<i>the pillar and ground of the truth." </i>(1 Tim. 3:15 NKJV)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span> Those who do not recognize this role of the Church are not aligned with the historic meaning of the word Ekklesia, nor the intended meaning Jesus used when He chose it.</span></span></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span>Implications for the Late Date of Sola Scriptura</span></span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"> Considering that Sola Scriptura is a Reformation concept that had no previous history in the Church, it is subject to certain historical critiques about doctrinal innovation. This is confirmed again by Tertullian when he said, <i>"[The Church] lays down a rule that this faith has its solemnities appointed by either the Scriptures or the tradition of the forefathers, and that no further addition in the way of observance must be added, because innovation is unlawful.... From here on, in the following principle, we find a presumption of equal force against all heretics whatsoever: The principle is that whatever is first is true. Therefore, that which is later in date is spurious... for truth must precede error." </i>- Tertullian, 213 AD.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span> </span>Therefore, simply based on its lateness, it ought to be rejected as innovation.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>It should be acknowledged that not all tradition that is handed down is apostolic in nature - that was never the argument. But that which is <b>early and universal</b> can generally be stated to be apostolic by fulfilling the maxim, <i>"that which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all." </i>And this, we are assured, is the deposit of faith which has been guaranteed to be preserved to all mankind by the Holy Spirit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <i> "By this [succession], they have handed down that Church which exists in every place and which has come down even unto us. She is guarded and preserved without any forging of Scriptures, by a very complete system of doctrine. She neither receives any addition to, nor does she allow any diminishing of the truths which she believes."</i> - Irenaeus of Lyons, 180 AD.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i> "Let the heretics contrive something of the same kind [ie, a list of succession back to the apostles]... However, even if they were to produce such a contrivance, they will not advance even one step. For when their very doctrine is compared with that of the apostles, its own diversity and discrepancy proves that it had neither an apostle nor an apostolic man for its authorship." </i>- Tertullian, 197 AD.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> <i>"Those who seek to set up any new dogma have the habit of very readily perverting into conformity with their own notions any proofs they care to take from the Scriptures.... The apostolic word marks out the case in these words. <b>"If anyone preaches any other gospel to you other than that which you have received, let him be accursed."</b> Consequently, in addition to what has been once committed to us by the apostles, a disciple of Christ should not receive anything new as doctrine." </i>- Disputation of Archelaus and Manes, 320 AD.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>In conclusion, how will you know if another gospel is being preached, if you don't know that which has been the received tradition? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>How will you know what is accursed? If you say "the Scriptures are self-evident" we know this is not true, evidenced by the proliferation of cults and heretics who use the same Scriptures to arrive at opposite conclusions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>How can you "rightly divide the word" and arrive at something contrary to the first 1000 years of the unified Church and not call it "private interpretation?" - By the Holy Spirit you say? Don't all schismatics claim the same?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Yet the Scriptures portray the Church/Ekklesia as the "body of Christ," with Christ as head of the body (Eph 1:22-23). This metaphor clearly demonstrates that Christ enlivens and takes personal direction of the Ekklesia. Christ leads his body. Christ, as the ever-living God-Man, is imaged as one continuous existence through time, eternal, always doing the Father's will - members of one another, members of Him (1 Cor. 12:12-27). That is the Church, bearer of both truth and tradition. </div></div></div></div>Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-66263284381856702292023-10-19T18:09:00.040-04:002023-12-23T18:22:24.430-05:00Was the Priesthood that Crucified Christ Illegitimate?<p><b> Note: Contains original research and perspectives.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3NdZngQ5_SphTKgNKEqIldJOMsQRJChIXQvTyxSE3gQ9ZzrEXgm04LDYa0DnSyrGEBwV56wz5vVMT9V2HJg7aKcKy0jp-AIAkwgU_14CF2B5pxyf-41QCl5s-15WPnKKSF9shrJ0kOl34caxIdN6vL-jNVFr9Cw2eJnLn4ZFrgVuE4JevAV9_1S05zLq2" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3NdZngQ5_SphTKgNKEqIldJOMsQRJChIXQvTyxSE3gQ9ZzrEXgm04LDYa0DnSyrGEBwV56wz5vVMT9V2HJg7aKcKy0jp-AIAkwgU_14CF2B5pxyf-41QCl5s-15WPnKKSF9shrJ0kOl34caxIdN6vL-jNVFr9Cw2eJnLn4ZFrgVuE4JevAV9_1S05zLq2=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></div><div>The writings of the early church contain a wealth of knowledge and rare information that is uncommonly known in the present.</div><p></p><p>In one example of this, Eusebius of Caesarea, renowned for his "Ecclesiastical History," (written around 312), offers a captivating historical insight that unveils a lesser-known facet of the crucifixion narrative. In his writings, Eusebius emphasizes the intriguing shift in the Jewish Priesthood that occurred during the period of Roman rule in Judea.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Breaking of the Ancient Line of Priesthood</h2><p>While he is making note of how long Jesus' public ministry was, he counts it as less than four years, because there were four High Priests listed in the Gospels, and he cites Josephus Flavius for the succession of the High Priests. As an explanation for this, he mentions in passing, in Book 1, Chapter 10, of the Ecclesiastical History, <i></i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>"The rites indeed of the law, having been already abolished since that, with it were also <b>annulled the privileges of the priesthood: of continuing it for life, and of hereditary descent. Under the Roman governors, however, different persons at different times were appointed as high priests, who did not continue in office for more than one year."</b></i></h4>This detail underscores a significant transformation in the religious leadership of the Jewish community.<p></p><p>This reveals that ever since the Roman conquest of Judea, the High Priests of the Temple and of Jewish community were<b> political appointees by the secular authorities.</b> The last High Priest of the traditional hereditary line of Aaron was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristobulus_III_of_Judea" target="_blank">Aristobulus III</a>, who was slain by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great#" target="_blank">Herod the Great</a>, the first Roman appointed "King of the Jews."<b> From that time on, the High Priest was appointed by the Romans through the Ruler of Judea.</b></p><p>Eusebius elaborates on this in Book 1 Chapter 6: </p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>7. But Hyrcanus, who was the last of the regular line of high priests, was very soon afterward taken prisoner by the Parthians, and Herod, the first foreigner, as I have already said, was made King of the Jewish nation by the Roman senate and by Augustus.<br /></i><i>8. Under him Christ appeared in bodily shape, and the expected Salvation of the nations and their calling followed in accordance with prophecy. From this time the princes and rulers of Judah, I mean of the Jewish nation, came to an end, and as a natural consequence the order of the high priesthood, <b>which from ancient times had proceeded regularly in closest succession from generation to generation, was immediately thrown into confusion.</b> </i>[Eusebius' statement is perfectly correct. The high priestly lineage had been kept with great scrupulousness until <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrcanus_II">Hyrcanus II</a>, the last of the regular succession. (His grandson <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristobulus_III_of_Judea" target="_blank">Aristobulus III</a>, however, was high priest for a year under Herod, but was then slain by him.) Afterward the high priest was appointed and changed at pleasure by the secular ruler. Herod the Great first established the practice of removing a high priest during his lifetime; and under him there were no less than six different ones. (Footnote from Ecclesiastical History)]<br /><i>9. Of these things Josephus is also a witness, who shows that when Herod was made King by the Romans he no longer appointed the high priests from the ancient line, but gave the honor to certain obscure persons. A course similar to that of Herod in the appointment of the priests was pursued by his son Archelaus, and after him by the Romans, who took the government into their own hands.</i></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><h2>Comparing the Old and New Priests-Kings</h2></div><div style="text-align: left;">Herod the Great was also the same who ruled Judea at the birth of Christ. Therefore, just as soon as the old Priesthood in its ancient line was extinguished, the eternal Priesthood of Jesus Christ was introduced into the world. Instead of being appointed High Priest by the rulers of this world like the new line of Jewish priests, He was appointed by the Ruler of All Worlds : <i>"So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'" </i>Heb. 5:5</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Just as Herod the Great, the "King of Jews" was crowned by the Romans, the <i>true</i> King of the Jews was born Jesus Christ. It was for this reason, that there was a rumor that another "King of the Jews" was born that inspired the Slaughter of the Innocents in the Gospel. Later, he was crowned in mockery by the Romans with a purple robe and crucified under the moniker of "King of the Jews."</div><p>Originally the High Priest was appointed was hereditarily, and for life. While the powers of this world annulled that practice, Christ who still represents the untainted Law of God, and who is ever-living, was appointed for Life as well, bringing in a never-ending priesthood. His pedigree is not of mortal man, but of God Himself. <i>"But he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."</i> Heb. 7:24-25</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrcanus_II" target="_blank">Hyrancus II</a>, who was the last of the regular succession of High Priests was actually also both King AND High Priest of Judea. Jesus Christ, who restored the High Priesthood was made Priest AND King as well, creating a complete restoration of the former order. He was truly fulfilled as <i>"a Priest-King forever after the Order of Melchizidek." - </i>Psalm 110:4, Heb. 5:6.</p><p><i></i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>"Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?"</i> - Heb. 7:11</h4><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Implications for the "Blame" of Who Crucified Christ</h2><p>Now there are further implications as well that influence the traditional narrative of the crucifixion. For millennia, a certain responsibility, blame, and guilt has been put upon the Jews for condemning Christ, as if God had not long foreordained His ransom. However, when we understand that it was not the <i>spiritual</i> Israel that condemned Christ, but the worldly, compromised priesthood appointed by Rome, and the secular powers of Rome that carried out His execution, we begin to see the design displayed in the fulfillment of prophecy. The <i>Israel of God </i>(Gal. 6:16) stayed true and following their Priest and in Christ, and further invited the whole world to His reign. For Israel, the unbelieving branches were broken off of as a pruning, but we Gentiles brought as wild branches are grafted into that tree of true Israel (Rom. 11:17-24). The tree is one and the same, but pruned and grafted by the true husbandman, Christ. Thus, Jesus rightly said, "salvation is of the Jews."</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Rejection of Christ Caused the Destruction of the Temple</h2><p>After the death of Christ, the Lord granted the standard and mystical 40 years to allow repentance and to call Israel to Himself. (Christ died and rose in 30 A.D, the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.) Shortly before the destruction of the Temple, the Jews killed James, brother of the Jesus, and Bishop of Jerusalem. It was widely seen as a final rejection of the authority of Christ, for in rejecting James, they also rejected Jesus. At the time, a rumor was circulating that Jerusalem was destroyed because they had killed James. Both James and Jesus are mentioned in the history of Josephus. <i>"If then, Josephus says that it was on account of James that the desolation of Jerusalem came upon the Jews, would it not be more in accordance with reason to say that it happened on account of Jesus Christ?" </i>- Origen 248 A.D. Ante-Nicean Fathers 4.416</p><p>A contemporary pagan testimony of this perspective has been preserved in the letter of Mara bar Serapion, writing just after 73 AD: <i>"What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished."</i></p><p>It seems a common attitude in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem was that these events occurred based on the fact that Jesus <i>"came unto his own, but his own received him not."</i> (John 1:11)</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Christ Set Up the Eternal Priesthood</h2><p>So after 40 years to allow for repentance after the death of Christ, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, for the eternal Temple with the eternal Priesthood had been set up, thus fulfilling Daniel 9:26-27: <i>"And then sixty-two weeks must pass before the Christ is done to death; the people will disown him and have none of him. <b>Then the army of an invading leader will destroy both city and sanctuary, </b>so that his taking away will mean utter destruction;<b> only a ruin is to be left when that war is ended.</b> <b>High covenant he shall make,</b> before another week is done, and with folks a many; but when that week has run half its course, <b>offering and burnt-sacrifice shall be none; in the temple all shall be defilement and desolation,</b> and until all is over, all is fulfilled, that desolation shall continue."</i></p><p>So we see the continuation of the ancient Priesthood fulfilled by the restoration of it in Christ, as foretold. The old Priesthood ended under Herod the Great. Yet the powers of this world were unable to destroy the true Priesthood, for in the reign of that same Herod, "King of the Jews," the eternal Priesthood and Kingship was introduced into this world to lead the spiritual Israel of God. </p><p>The old priesthood and Temple are destroyed in the earth, yet in Christ, they are eternally ministered to our benefit in the heavenlies. The earthly Temple was perishable, and it indeed perished, but it was fashioned after an eternal archetype in heaven. In like manner, the earthly priesthood was perishable, but is fulfilled in the heavenly archetype of Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest.</p><p>Through the eternal Priesthood, the Gentiles have been invited into the family of Israel by the mediation of Christ in the New Covenant. We have been grafted into the tree of Israel, and therefore, we are all Jews in Christ, the <i>Israel of God </i>- both Jew and Gentile. Rather than a replacement theology, its an inclusion theology. Its a fulfillment of Isaiah 54:2-3, speaking to Israel saying: <i>"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities."</i></p><p>Therefore we can all say with Paul, <i>"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, <b>to the Jew first and also to the Greek."</b> </i>(Rom 1:16)</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Rejection of the Temple Recorded in the Talmud</h2><p>The rejection of the Roman appointed Jewish Priesthood and their sacrifices at the Temple is recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud:</p><p><i></i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157). [the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE]</i></h4><p></p><p>A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:</p><p><i></i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the </i><i>destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come </i><i>up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become </i><i>white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of </i><i>the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino </i><i>version, Yoma 39b).</i></h4><i></i><p></p><p>The passage teaches that for the 40 years prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, these miraculous events occurred. Forty years previous to 70 AD places us at 30 AD, the exact year scholars say the crucifixion of Jesus occurred. If one uses the more traditional dating of the crucifixion at 33 AD, it places 30 AD as the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. <b>Therefore, these signs began and were recorded as starting at the start of the High Priestly ministry of Jesus, or else His heavenly ministration. </b></p><p>Here's a breakdown of the elements mentioned in the passage:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Lot for the Lord: </b>Refers to the casting of lots (a form of random selection) to determine which of two goats would be "for the Lord" and which would be the scapegoat. According to the Talmudic account, the lot that should have fallen on the right side, representing divine favor, did not do so, representing a rejection of the sacrifice for forty straight years.</li><li><b>Crimson-colored strap:</b> This is a reference to a ritual involving a crimson-colored strap tied to the scapegoat. The tradition held that the strap would miraculously turn white as a sign of divine acceptance of the atonement. In the last forty years before the destruction of the Second Temple, it is said that this miracle did not occur, representing a continuous rejection of the sacrifice.</li><li><b>Western most light:</b> This refers to one of the lights in the Temple's menorah (candelabrum). The text suggests that a specific light in the westernmost position did not shine during this period. In the Temple, the menorah had seven branches, each holding a lamp. According to Jewish tradition, the westernmost lamp, known as the "western lamp" or "western light," held special significance. It was the first lamp to be kindled each evening and served as a symbol of divine light and the Shekhinah, the divine presence. The westernmost light was considered to be particularly sacred, and its extinguishing or failure to shine was seen as a symbolic and ominous sign. The absence of light in this lamp was interpreted by the rabbis as a reflection of the waning divine favor or presence. It symbolized a departure of the divine light and protection from the Temple.</li><li><b>Doors of the Hekel (Temple) opening by themselves: </b>The doors of the Temple were reported to open miraculously every night. The fact that they opened by themselves could be seen as a sign of the breakdown of the divine protection and regular order. The Temple in Jerusalem had various chambers, and the Hekel was one of them. It was the main hall of the Temple and housed the menorah, the showbread table, and the golden altar of incense. The Holy of Holies was also located behind the Hekel. <b>This sign demonstrated the open access to the presence of God that had never before been granted. </b>It is also reminiscent of the tearing of the veil at the crucifixion of Jesus.</li></ol><div><b>These events occurred continuously for 40 straight years until the Temple's destruction.</b></div><p></p><p>Those who persisted in not following the new High Priesthood of Christ after the destruction of the Temple created a new system of Judaism known as "rabbinic Judaism", without a High Priest and without blood sacrifices, based around the synagogue, not the Temple. </p><p>Yet the eternal High Priesthood of Jesus Christ, as both Priest and Lamb, perpetually offers the most worthy sacrifice through the Eucharist, thus fulfilling the prophecy in Malachi 1:11:</p><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>"For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts."</i></h4><p>Malachi, last of the prophets before the coming of Jesus Christ, foresaw that a<i> pure offering</i> would be made among all the nations of the Gentiles - a prediction that would have been unable to occur under the former Temple Priesthood. So not just in one solitary place are temporary sacrifices made, but now the One perfect sacrifice brings collective participation of God's people, both Jew and Gentile, to every nation on earth through the Eucharist.</p><p><br /></p><p>Praise God.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><br /></p>Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-60510096723713039032022-07-15T18:39:00.001-04:002022-07-15T18:39:05.959-04:00New OSMTJ Website!<p> The OSMTJ has a new International website!</p><p><a href="https://osmtj.global">https://osmtj.global</a></p><p>Not only does it have the most complete history of the Knights Templar continuation online, it the best source for news. announcements and happenings of the International Order.</p><p>Furthermore, the former Templar Digital Research Library is now housed on the <a href="https://osmtj.global">http:///osmtj.global </a>site in the Templar Archives section.</p><p>For those looking to join, they can just visit the Grand Priories and Commanderies section to join the country they live in.</p><p>nnDnn.</p>Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-52009516776969492582017-02-02T17:07:00.002-05:002017-02-02T17:08:37.086-05:00The Three that Crucify Christ<a href="http://ordoaurum.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/6/3/16635156/1624358.jpg?288" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://ordoaurum.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/6/3/16635156/1624358.jpg?288" /></a><br />
<b>Three Against One</b><br />
Christ was crucified due to three differing influences:<br />
<ul>
<li>The Imperial State of Rome</li>
<li>The Religious Majority - Sanhedrin</li>
<li>The Mob of Masses</li>
</ul>
<br />
Each played a role. Each cried "crucify Him!" Each sought to see Him remain in the grave so that His influence and teaching might die with Him. Yet all their efforts failed, having had their verdict overturned by the great Judge of Heaven. However, the enemies of the Crucified One do not retreat very easily. Each of them still seeks to crucify the Living Lord in each of us - even this very day.<br />
What do I mean when I say this?<br />
<br />
<b>Literal Truth and Spiritual Truths</b><br />
The Three Enemies all literally crucified Christ as a fact of history. There is no claim here that the understanding of these is spiritual or mystical only, as some deniers might have. However, as with most of Scripture, the events that God has set into motion as part of His plan have layers of manifold understanding. In these three enemies of Christ, we find the same at war with Him today.<br />
<br />
<b>The Imperial State</b> seeks to crucify Christ afresh by tempting man to solve the soul-sickness of man through political means. Often, men who claim to be citizens of the Kingdom forgo the means by which their King has prescribed to vanquish sin, and instead seek to enact laws of men to try and curb wickedness. Rather than offering all men to come into the Kingdom, they go door to door and offer men to join their political coalition.<br />
Yet we know that the sanctifying work of God cannot be achieved by obeying laws. If it were possible, the ancient nation of Israel would have succeeded. And yet, it transgressed and transgress again - and this was in a nation where men were willing to follow the commandments of God. In the present age, to attempt to make godless nations obey the laws of God, which is by nature contrary to the natural man, is a fool's errand. We cannot use worldly means to achieve God's ends.<br />
This is why we are meant to be a holy Nation unto ourselves - A Kingdom which is not of this world. Let us realize that we are strangers and pilgrims upon this earth, and let us not crucify the Lord afresh by siding with Rome.<br />
<i>We are marching out of Babylon, not reforming it. </i>Though Nero blame us for the burning of Rome, it is not our doing.<br />
A living Christ <i>within</i> us will separate us from of the world <i>outside</i> of us. He will cause us to change, person by person, through sanctification, rather than through the paltry means of scheming men.<br />
<br />
<b>The Religious Majority</b> seeks to crucify the living Lord in us by making the traditions of men as if they were the commandments of God. The Pharisees of Christ's day were formed from the long-term gathering and collecting of doctrines and reasoning over the centuries. These surmisals pile up, tainting the original message with the thoughts and commentaries of others coming after the fact.<br />
In our case, this often manifests not only in doctrines and ways of thinking that do not exist in the apostolic forms of Christianity, but it also makes the modified version more palatable and acceptable to all. The true message of Christ will draw fewer. Though the invitation is broad, few answer, few follow.<br />
As our brother, Deitrich Bonhoffer said, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die." For we all daily take up our cross and follow Him, die to self, and allow the Lord to raise us from the grave, fresh, new and glorified.<br />
A Christianity without a cross is a Christianity without a crown. And this crossless, crownless Christianity is the message of the majority. Beware of it. First you shall die, but then you shall live.<br />
<br />
<b>The Mob of Masses</b> crucifies the living Lord in us by means of ignorance and superstition. Knowledge is the companion of a lover of Truth, and nothing that is truly true is contrary to God, the Author of Truth. Our trust in God is not born out of fanciful stories and superstition, but upon fact and history. No other religion bears up under such claims.<br />
Do not be swayed by group-think and the spirit of the age which seeks to mold your opinions based on hearsay and half-truths. Therefore, fulfill the commandment of Paul to his spiritual son Timothy - <i>"Study to show thyself approved, as a workman that need not be ashamed."</i><br />
We are not those who will be ignorant of the times, nor of the facts. Have a ready answer for the hope that is in you.<br />
Do not be one who withers when questioned about the spiritual reality you experience. Do not be one that the prophet Isaiah spoke of, saying, <i>"My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge."</i><br />
We are not naturally minded, carnally minded, covering our ears and our eyes to things that challenge us. Lovers of Truth have a love of hard questions. The world continues to ask the hard questions. Let us give them the hard answers, unashamed.<br />
<br />
In short, the three enemies that seek to crucify the living Christ in you are:<br />
<b>Rome:</b> Using the means of men over the means of God. Worldliness as a means to seek God's ends.<br />
<b>Sanhedrin:</b> Traditions of men over the commandments of God. Spiritual Compromise.<br />
<b>Mob of Masses:</b> Ignorance and superstition. Group-think.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you deny these enemies their will upon you, you are surely on the golden path and through your own victorious life of resurrection, <i>"<span style="color: #001320; font-family: inherit;">ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men."</span></i></div>
Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-39349822123512065702016-01-01T16:36:00.004-05:002017-01-23T17:22:51.638-05:00Godly Ambition and Elder CareOriginally posted in 2011. <br />
I have a confession. I want to be Great. I want to serve Jesus with all that I am. I want people to know that I serve God alone, whether it brings fame or ridicule. I am ambitious for advancement in the Kingdom. I have tried to study and build a base of knowledge and contacts, created a resumé of sorts for all kinds of Christian activities and experiences that someone may find valuable. Secretly wanting to be recognized for my contributions to the Kingdom.<br />
<br />
This is all a great snare and a stumbling block to me, and the Lord batted me over the head to get my attention. Now, having ambition and wanting to be great are natural to the human condition and there is nothing odd about it. The Bible itself speaks of it and God engenders our sense of destiny and greatness by unlocking everything needed within us to make our lives count for something, to give what the world cannot - ultimate Meaning.<br />
<br />
... but for a long time, I have had things very backwards and distorted. When I was an occultist, I sought power and greatness also. When I became a Christian, the greatness that Christ offers and the power of the Holy Ghost became tantalizing, so much so I became a sort of modern day Simon Magus.<br />
<br />
It is a common enough teaching in the Church, to go up, you must go down. Jesus says in no uncertain terms "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." Matt. 23:11. But in the church-world at large, it still seems that the greatest among us have gotten there by being great in the same worldly fashion, the rewards the same worldly rewards, the honor given is the honor the world gives. And regardless of what the Scripture says, the example that I have seen lived out before me in so many instances has been to seek to climb the ladder, sell your gifts, build your resume.. and then you can become great.<br />
<br />
Now, let me tell you what God has shown me.<br />
It was said by the early Christians: "Unless you make what is right left, and what is left right, what is above into what is below, and what is behind into what is in front, you will not learn to know the Kingdom."<br />
<br />
We know the Kingdom of God is contrary to every way of the world. Let me tell you that the things the world exalts ought to be shame to the believer, and the thing that the world shames ought to exalt the believer.<br />
"Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:42-25<br />
<br />
I have been working in a nursing home for 7 years caring for the elderly. I make only as much as I require. I have been tempted to be ashamed of my work because it has some dirty business in it, because I've been there for much of my working life and I occasionally receive comments like "so you're still there, huh?". I understand the implications and what it looks like. People tell me things like "Dan, you're so smart, why don't you go finish your degree and do something for real? Be a teacher or something.", or "So are you gonna be a nurse or a doctor?" ,"Still just preaching at the prison?"<br />
My secret thought has been, "C'mon, Lord... I thought I'd be promoted by now too..."<br />
This has been my great sin. Either become successful in the world, or successful as a minister.<br />
<br />
But let me tell you my friends, the Lord has blessed me and exalted me already far above what I deserve, because He HAS NOT made me great in any worldly fashion, nor given me any worldly honor, nor have I received any great thing at the hands of men for any of my religious activities.... but RATHER, He made me in the form of a servant, given me the task for lo, these 7 years, to care for those who cannot care for themselves. He has graced me with an environment where I must persistently put myself under for others.<br />
I must be patient with residents that are impatient. I must be kind when they hit me or swear at me. Because of memory loss, I must answer the same question 40 times a day by the same person, each time as if it were the first.<br />
I have been put in a situation where people are dying and seeing their last days and understanding the implications of a life without God. I get to tell the answer. I get to hold people's hand as they pass and prepare their cold shell after they have gone. I deal with the hurt family's as they see their loved ones declining. Because the God of all comfort has comforted me, I may comfort others - both the infirm of body and broken in heart.<br />
I have been put in an environment that is HIGHLY EXALTED in the Kingdom, which is perfectly conducive to creating and maintaining spiritual growth. I am blessed beyond measure.<br />
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I should have seen it sooner. The Lord has said, "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"<br />
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So I have confessed to you a great sin I have had. But I have repented. I will not go Down in the Kingdom to go Up in the world. I will not be ashamed of my profession no matter what people may say, because God has given me a tremendous honor to serve a forgotten, poor and powerless people. If that will make me forgotten, poor and powerless also, so be it. For I am written in His Book, I have riches in heaven, and His strength is made perfect in weakness.<br />
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May He do with me as He wills. I won't complain or yearn any more. If I work in a nursing home for another 60 years I will not gripe against Him one bit. I'm not even just submitting to Him in obedience, I am recognizing what I truly have. If He gives me another assignment in ministry, I will do it graciously and humbly. But I will not strive with the world's means to attain God's ends. No resume can gain me what has already been given to me. I am already in greatness.Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-82625665321014042402014-04-29T21:28:00.000-04:002015-01-29T14:59:09.547-05:00A Case for the Legitimacy of the Shroud<div class="paragraph" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYd8YCgZxAH1wYR-bXNEBoZS3YjEMdB2ctdO0-6DEnfwxsF-e6-xPrnPqGRnJRbVdOm20cfWn0pDmrndsBVK_-VER9tGuo9wb9On1LeUCWMZYGe4ijK14vHUoOUcdjJpJuJHuSe1U_Z7P/s1600/shroud-turin-dates-1st-century-ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYd8YCgZxAH1wYR-bXNEBoZS3YjEMdB2ctdO0-6DEnfwxsF-e6-xPrnPqGRnJRbVdOm20cfWn0pDmrndsBVK_-VER9tGuo9wb9On1LeUCWMZYGe4ijK14vHUoOUcdjJpJuJHuSe1U_Z7P/s1600/shroud-turin-dates-1st-century-ad.jpg" height="227" width="320" /></a></div>
The Shroud of Turin is an enigma to many. Some dismiss it as a medieval forgery, others worship it as a holy relic. Perhaps it should be regarded as neither, but rather as physical evidence of Christianity's central claim: the resurrection of Jesus.<br />
If it is someday proven false, it bears no weight on the history of Christ. However, if it is proven authentic, it stands as both a call and an indictment on humanity. It would be proof of the Resurrection. Rather than be very technical, I will simply lay out some old known facts, along with some very recent research. Lastly, I will close with some compelling circumstantial evidence.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><u><strong>Previously Known Facts</strong></u></span><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Shroud bears an historically accurate image of a crucified man, complete with distortions from wrapping a three-dimensional person. It is no painting or piece of art. One can see his fingernails, as well as his teeth behind his lips. </li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The wounds are consistent not only with crucifixion, but one particularly famous crucified man.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The most common view of the Shroud is actually a negative image, making it much like a photograph - a process and technology unknown until the late 1800's. This could only be created by the burst of energy previously hypothesized.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The image contains 3-D information, allowing the image to be rendered fully in three-dimensions. NASA has used planetary imagery software to create the rendered face of the man on the Shroud. </li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The blood on the Shroud has been authenticated as actual human blood.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Shroud contains fibers of plants and pollen native only to the Holy Land.</li>
</ul>
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<u><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>New Facts and Research</strong></span></u><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/radiation-from-the-shroud-of-turin-a-clue-to-jesus-resurrection-106521/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Radiation has been found on the Shroud,</a> giving rise to the theory that a powerful burst of light and radiation at the moment of resurrection created the image and photographic negative.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2390971/posts" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">official death certificate has been found </a>written upon it in a faded, fragmented combination script of Greek, Aramaic and Latin, reading "Jesus of Nazareth, [Killed] by order of [T]iberius [Caesar]."</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Finally, <a href="http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/1317045-shroud-turin-dates-back-1st-century-ad-says-research" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">the Shroud has been newly dated</a>, placing its origin in the First Century, the time of Jesus, not the middle ages, as previously thought.</li>
</ul>
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<u><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Two Classic Retorts to the Shroud's Authenticity</strong></span></u><br />
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The two strongest critiques of the Shrouds legitimacy have been:<br />
<ol style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: decimal outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It was carbon dated to the middle ages, and.</li>
<li style="list-style: decimal outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">There is no mention of it in the historical record of it until the early middle ages.</li>
</ol>
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These would seem enough to settle the issue on the surface, despite any other evidence. It is tantamount to a plain suggestion of forgery. However, given the new research, and a little historical understanding, both of these are easily resolved.<br />
Regarding #1, it has been widely known that the original carbon dating for the Shroud was faulty, for two reasons:<br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Shroud was burned in a church fire in the medieval era, burning both the Shroud and the chest containing it. Being infused with carbon from the soot, the Shroud would naturally carbon-date to the time of the fire. </li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">After the fire, the Shroud was repaired, stitched and restored in the areas it had been burned. Out of a holy sense of protection, the Vatican only allowed samples to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin_Research_Project" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">S.T.U.R.P.</a> scientists from the repaired areas, not the original, again resulting in an inevitable dating to the middle ages.</li>
</ul>
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Regarding the second retort, one simply needs to understand that before the middle ages, without the systematic copying and recording of Christian monks in monasteries, the historical record on ANY event, object, person, or even kingdom is exceedingly scarce. This is why that time period is commonly referred to as the Dark Ages. Such a silence is not unique to the Shroud, but to nearly anything in reference to this time period. Therefore, even if one would still find the silence suspect, it still falls within the rational scope of reason to accept it as natural for this period.<br />
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<u><strong><span style="font-size: small;">A Little Known Piece of Circumstantial Evidence</span></strong></u><br />
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This writer happens to be acquainted with some of the children of the Head Scientist on the only officially sanctioned study on the Shroud, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin_Research_Project" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Shroud of Turin Research Project, (S.T.U.R.P)</a>. As they tell it, their father entered the project as a full skeptic, expecting to have it disproven and wrapped up in about two weeks. They ended up studying it for years, and although the official findings were "Inconclusive" in relation to its authenticity, a few of the men, including the team head, became Christians, and raised their families as such. The testimony to the news and the papers was cautious, yet the testimony to the hearts of the men who studied it was strong enough to base their lives upon it. In its final report, S.T.U.R.P. wrote:
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin_Research_Project#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none;">[1]</a> "We can conclude for now that the Shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist. The blood stains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. The image is an ongoing mystery and until further chemical studies are made, perhaps by this group of scientists, or perhaps by some scientists in the future, the problem remains unsolved."</blockquote>
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In summation, what we have is a burial cloth consistent with ancient burial practice that has been dated to the first century, whose origin is in the Holy Land, bearing a radiated image of a crucified man, with a death certificate identifying the person as Jesus of Nazareth in the common languages of the time.<br />
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Although at the conclusion of the study in 1981, the Shroud could not meet the threshold to be proven by a scientific standard, it seems that in the present day, some 33 years later, we may now have the evidence to conclude as such.</div>
Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-71538072238522236662013-09-25T17:43:00.000-04:002013-09-26T21:51:37.902-04:00Church Fail: Moral Teaching / Preaching the Commandments<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>1 Peter 4:17-18 </b></div>
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<i>"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"</i></div>
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<i><b>John 14:15</b></i></div>
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<i>"If you love me, keep my commandments."</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvuVher6jSW_5SFIxUQpAC1SzO-3xOrfMdZV7AUCCkKBt1S8dMa9pGoDyGRpnZzO3AuoacWsDPHOqYP1yhpsEpgFxNsBTgJ-mMzH3c3Hf_1LUBgoSNbZGo1PQ2nrtEe55wAWebM6tpb3F/s1600/preach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvuVher6jSW_5SFIxUQpAC1SzO-3xOrfMdZV7AUCCkKBt1S8dMa9pGoDyGRpnZzO3AuoacWsDPHOqYP1yhpsEpgFxNsBTgJ-mMzH3c3Hf_1LUBgoSNbZGo1PQ2nrtEe55wAWebM6tpb3F/s320/preach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are a lot of writings and blogs that pick on the church as a whole, some of it well-meaning, some of it is downright negative and inflammatory. However, they are not written without a cause. The American church is struggling. I say struggling, because, though numbers seem to be gained and lost with little net-change, the caliber of the believer's moral character is waning. So I hesitate to add to the chorus of critique, but we all must understand that such criticisms as this, for any well-meaning Christian, is out of concern, alarm, and even desperation.<br />
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First, we must understand that the church is a body, a collection, comprised of individuals. The quality of the individual spiritual life creates the measure of the church's spiritual life. The quality of an individual's spiritual life is measured in it's obedience to the Christian Life and commands as described by Christ and the Apostles in the New Testament. So to say the church is struggling, it is because individuals are struggling. The church is morally weak because the individuals are morally weak. The church is failing in its mission because the individuals are failing in their mission. I am among this failing crowd.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>This brings me to my diagnosis: We are not teaching the moral precepts of the New Testament. We are not preaching the explicit commandments of the Christian Life given by Christ and the Apostles.</i></span><br />
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They may be mentioned, or read over. But they are not taught, expounded, and emphasized.<br />
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Sermons are often given on the basis of what people want to hear. Topics are given based on addressing the felt-needs of the community. Most preachers won't admit this. They "get a word" or some such. But the reality is people tend to go to church to feel better, and preachers try to make people feel better. But people's felt-needs tend to be the felt-needs of the flesh, not the Spirit, since the flesh speaks so much louder. The goal of the preacher should be to help the hearer subdue the flesh and grow in the Spirit.<br />
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So what we end up with are a continuous string of messages of "God is on your side", "Christ will bring you to victory", "Hang in there", "God will provide." Or we get some interesting tidbit from breaking apart a word and discovering the third cousin root of the Chaldee means something profound.<br />
Not to mention many of these wonderful promises are actually conditional, at the very least one must repent, belong to Christ, be a new creature, and seek to obey the gospel.<br />
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The fact is, we major on the minors, while the explicit commands, injunctions, and adjurations of the New Testament go largely ignored.<br />
We speak of intangibles. We may talk about "<i>walking in the Spirit</i>." But what does that look like? We may speak of being a "<i>new creation in Christ</i>." What does that look like?<br />
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The proof of this is the fact the church as a whole bears little or bad fruit, not the "much", "good fruit" that will "last" that Jesus promised.<br />
Few evangelize. Most are entangled with the love of this present world. Many Christians are unkind. We are known in the world as judgmental, hypocritical and ignorant. Instead of striving for peace, many embrace war. Instead of embracing the poor, we clamor for wealth. <i>"You will know them by their fruit."</i> And they know us by our fruit too.<br />
Anyone who reads the New Testament would come away with this assessment.<br />
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<b><i>Therefore, when we preach the explicit commands, we must also preach and demonstrate what it looks like in action.</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Important things to emphasize on a regular basis:</b></span><br />
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<b>1. The Great Commission,</b> <i>"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." </i>Matt. 28-19-20<br />
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<b>2. Personal Holiness, </b><i>"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."</i><b> </b>1 Peter 1:15-16, Matt. 5:48<br />
<i>"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." </i> 1 John 3:3<br />
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<b>3. Explicitly Against the Works of the Flesh, </b> "<i>Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past,<b> that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."</b> </i>Gal 5:19-21<br />
<i>"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice" </i>Eph. 4:29-31<br />
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<b>4. Forgiveness, </b><i> "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: </i><br />
<i>Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." </i>Matt. 6:14-15<br />
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<b> 5. Against Friendship with the World / The Otherness of the Kingdom</b>, <i>"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?</i>" James 4:4-5<br />
<i>"My Kingdom is not of this world." </i>John 18:36<br />
<i>"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. </i>1 John 2:25-17<br />
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<b>6. Love in Action, </b><i>"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." </i>John 13:35<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">If there is something unchristian going on in your church, preach against it.</span></b><br />
Otherwise, you become those preachers who Paul predicts, who preach to the "itching ears." It is the the responsibility of the preacher to guide, correct, and admonish the flock in the whole counsel of God, regardless of the consequences. You may lose some, but you are losing those who care not for the things of Christ. You lose the prideful, you gain and grow the humble.<br />
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Consider if you spoke against backbiting, gossip, murmuring, divorce, cowardice, marrying the divorced, lust, and adultery.<br />
Consider if you emphasized generosity, evangelism, holiness, modesty, forgiveness, love, and heavenly pilgrimage.<br />
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One would increase, the other would decrease.<br />
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<i>One is of the flesh, and will grow if not actively plucked up. One is of the Spirit and will not grow unless actively planted.</i><br />
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<b>To end with the famous and wise Leonard Ravenhill, who said, "The world is not looking for a new definition of Christianity, it is looking for a new demonstration of Christianity."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-74994967206353608712013-06-24T09:26:00.000-04:002014-07-29T18:06:31.570-04:00Evidence of a Race of Giants in Prehistory?I have compiled a document containing dozens of articles from many periodicals, including the New York Times, and Scientific American, citing of discovery of giant skeletons.<br />
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Look at that document <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B869eO6Vr61vTklicElsaWZEaHc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE.</a></h3>
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Here is a video I made with those articles as well:<br />
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This is the Introduction from that document, but look at the news articles yourself, even if just the headlines!<br />
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Evidence of a Race of Giants in Pre-History - From sources such as the New York Times and Scientific American.</h3>
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<b>Genesis 6:4</b><br />
<b><i>“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of </i></b><b><i>God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same </i></b><b><i>became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”</i></b><br />
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For those who are Biblically-minded, that which the Bible states is true in all circumstances, even if modern science has yet to affirm it independently. There are many sound reasons for this:</div>
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• First, our very real spiritual experience of certain assertions of the Scriptures lend credence to others we have not experienced.</div>
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• Second, logic states that if one cherry-picks the Scriptures, calling parts true, parts myth, one undermines the ability for any of it to be true.</div>
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• But thirdly, and most importantly, there has never been an archaeological discovery that ever went against the Biblical record.</div>
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When assertions are made by conjecture about what is not known, foolish things occur. For example, the higher critics of a century ago used to claim Biblical prophetic books were written after their recorded events to give the appearance of accurate prophecy. The prophetic predictions were simply too sharp to be believed. But when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, with entire scrolls of our present-day Old Testament which were scribed before the events recorded in those books, it irrefutably affirmed the accuracy of prophecy.</div>
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Again, for centuries, scholars and archaeologists claimed the Bible must have made up various cultures and nations they contended with, since they could find no evidence of them archaeologically or in the writings of other civilizations. The Hittites, they claimed, for example, never existed. But at some point, they not only</div>
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discovered they existed, but were a fierce and dominant force in the ancient world. Now, it is true, there are things in the Biblical record that science has yet to discover, but science must build it's house on what is known, not what is unknown, and what science knows of Biblical archaeology has continuously affirmed the Biblical record, without exception.</div>
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One of the “myths” of ancient times that exists not only in the Bible, but in the cultural myths and histories of many civilizations, is the reality of a race of Giant men from pre-history. Science laughs and scoffs today, yet, in this compilation we find that not only have these things been discovered with certainty many times, but there has perhaps been an effort to obscure this information. The reader should note the many curious involvements of the Smithsonian Institute in the aftermath of these discoveries, after which the discoveries are never heard from again. Truth is never obscured, but for a time. One day, all things will be brought to light, and those things which are in the sphere of faith will rest as established fact.</div>
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-91922154383378758222013-06-10T20:52:00.002-04:002015-11-12T16:38:45.115-05:00I'm Forgetting Who I Was, And I Don't Like It.<div style="text-align: justify;">
This year, I celebrate my 10th anniversary as a Christian. As happy as I am about that, I have noticed a certain unfortunate side-effect: The circle of people in my life now no longer know who I once was. For the record, I am happy they didn't know the old me, but then again, the drama of the sanctifying power of Christ is lost. They can't see the before and after, only the after.The people in my life now simply assume I have always been basically a moral, very religious person. When I tell people otherwise, they think it is a bad joke. I used to be unrecognizably different.</div>
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I am one of those people who had a very dramatic conversion, not only in the sense of joy and zeal, but from the mess I was delivered from. </div>
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<li>I regularly explored mind-scapes derived from the highs of psychedelic drugs. I considered myself a "psychonaut", an astronaut of the mind.</li>
<li>I actively hated and persecuted Christians.</li>
<li>I studied the occult traditions from diverse religions and mystical practices from across the world.</li>
<li>I would invoke demons and angels in blood rituals.</li>
<li>I deceived the simple-minded into believing in false gods for my own gain.</li>
<li>I developed a philosophy which espoused no universal moral law, and I would do evil things simply to demonstrate I was not bound by the same moral constraints as others, and then boasted about it.</li>
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So to me, I guess the sad thing is not only that other people are forgetting, but I am forgetting too.<br />
I heard this would happen.<br />
You begin to forget what you are saved from, and I determine never to do that. However, the credibility of my past is certainly fading. Where once my occult knowledge was equal in depth to my now Christian knowledge, I have now forgotten so much from lack of study and care, I only remember broad principles and facts. I'm left with bumpersticker phrases like "as above, so below" and "an' harm none, do what thou wilt." Mind you, I do not long for my occult knowledge, but I am finding myself in the place where I say I used to be an occultist, yet I can barely speak the jargon anymore. Without something to jog my memory, I probably know less than a Wikipedia page.</div>
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The last vestiges of my past, my occult library, I intentionally kept boxed up in the closet for a keepsake, or at least, documentary evidence of what I once knew. Alas, a few years into marriage, my wife made the rightful point that those probably shouldn't be kept around our house anymore, and I discarded them.</div>
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Truly, my old self is dead, lost behind me in the cloud of forgetting. However, where I am today was not attained through much hard work, but by the sanctifying power of Christ. I just hope I can still remind myself where I've come from, so that grace may wash me, and so that others will know the unyielding, undeniable power of God to save, even those who were his sworn enemy.</div>
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-78702201893545454782013-06-02T21:37:00.001-04:002015-11-12T16:25:30.377-05:00Church Fail: Virginity<div style="text-align: justify;">
[Note: This post is in no way meant to be anti-marriage, but pro-celibacy. Neither is addressing this topic a reflection or thought of regret upon my own blessed marriage.]<br />
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<i>This issue may seem trivial to many, but I am committed to following the doctrine of the Lord - the whole counsel of it. Many are undisturbed by the differences of the apostolic church and our present day manifestation. Addressing this issue is simply to show another area where we err to our own detriment.</i><br />
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Virginity in the modern secular world has become a badge of shame. One is made to feel unwanted, undesirable, and unattractive, or else called a "prude" or "stuck up". In the modern Christian world, virginity is merely the purgatorial state that one must endure before finding the "one" in marriage. God forbid, if they make it to 30 unmarried, there must be something wrong with them. Most Christian young people believe they are just waiting until the person God has for them shows up. Unfortunately, this view has more in common with Disney princesses than it does with the Bible, for the New Testament shows virginity and singleness, not only an intermediate state to endure, but as a virtue to be coveted and exalted, not just for a time, but for a lifetime. This means that for some, there is not God's chosen out there waiting for them, if they have been called to be a virgin. I know so many who are waiting and waiting, because they feel it is expected of them to find someone and marry, <b><span style="font-size: large;">but that may not be the will of God for your life!</span></b> Consider how foreign the Scriptural view is on this topic by considering what I have just said, and reading the following relevant verses:</div>
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<b>"But he said to them, 'Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.'" Mat. 19:11, 12</b></blockquote>
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<b style="text-align: justify;">"I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am." 1 Cor. 7:6, 7</b></blockquote>
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<b>"</b><b>And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. . . </b><b>I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord . . . </b><b>So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage does even better." 1 Cor. 7:35-38</b></blockquote>
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<b>"Now this man, [Philip], had four virgin daughters, who prophesied." Acts 21:9 </b> </blockquote>
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<b>"Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. . . It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb." Rev. 14:1, 4</b></blockquote>
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You see, dear friend, how to Christ and the Apostles, marriage was good, but remaining a virgin was thought better? I know this sounds almost like heresy to some today, but it is not. It is the original teaching of the church. This is further solidified by the practice of the earliest apostolic churches, who kept an "order of virgins," who received alms from the church, like widows, for the women who had no man to provide for them monetarily.<br />
Christ was a virgin, John the Baptist was a virgin, Paul was a virgin, every unmarried Apostle was a virgin. (history only records Peter and Philip as having married.). Do not despise what has been given to you as a gift. When has innocence, purity, chastity, child-likeness, angel-likeness, Christ-likeness, ever not been virtuous? Let them who can receive it, receive it. </div>
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Now, consider some testimony of the early church on the subject:</div>
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"<b>Many who have been Christ's disciples from childhood - both men and women - remain pure even to the age of sixty and seventy years." Justin Martyr</b></div>
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<b>"How many voluntary eunuchs are there! How many virgins espoused to Christ! So many male virgins, so many voluntary eunuchs, carry their glory in secret, carrying no token to make them too illustrious." Tertullian</b></div>
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<b>"The first type of celibacy is virginity from birth. The second is virginity from one's second birth - that is, from the font, which either in the married state keeps pure by mutual agreement, or else perseveres in widowhood by choice. A third class remains, monogamy, when after the intersection of a marriage once contracted, there is thereafter a renunciation of sexual relations." Tertullian </b></blockquote>
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<b>"What else is virginity than freedom from liberty? It has no husband for a master. Virginity is freed from all affections. It is not given up to marriage, nor the world, nor to children." Novatian</b></div>
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<b>"These have dedicated themselves to Christ. They have departed from carnal immorality and have vowed themselves to God, in both the flesh and the spirit. In order to complete their work, which is destined to a great reward, they no longer explore how to be adorned or please anybody, except the Lord. For it is from Him that they expect to receive their reward for their virginity." Cyprian</b></blockquote>
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<b>"A virgin is not ordained, for we have no such commandment from the Lord. Rather, virginity is a state of voluntary discipline - not for the reproach of marriage, but to have more time for godly service." Apostolic Constitutions</b></blockquote>
There are literally dozens of very edifying and beneficial statements on the topic by the early church, but I hope those will suffice. This is not a call for all to be virginal. This is not an erroneous catholic teaching requiring priests to be celibate. This is not to transition us into monks and nuns (though the origins of these orders find themselves in the original virginal orders). This is simply to teach what Christ and the Apostles taught, which is: For the Christian, to remain a virgin and unmarried is a preferred state over marriage. Marriage is not sin, and in it you do well. But as Paul says, "he who remains unmarried does better."<br />
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<b>Let them who can receive it, receive it!</b><br />
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-17306755847800612942013-05-24T09:38:00.000-04:002013-05-24T09:52:50.871-04:00Letter from St. Paulinus of Nola: An appeal to a soldier to leave the military<div style="margin: 1em 20px; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Saint Paulinas of Nola (354 – 431) was a distinguished lawyer who held several public offices in the Roman Empire. After the death of their son, Paulinas and his wife Therasia gave away all of their property and riches and dedicated their lives to the poor. Paulinus was chosen bishop of Nola by popular demand. Among his close friends was St Augustine of Hippo.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Paulinus’ writings include a letter to Crispinianus, a soldier in the Roman military. Paulinus exhorts Crispianus, a Christian, to leave the military and devote his life to God. His letter is below.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Letter 25, to Crispinianus</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">1. Though I am unknown to you personally, I already know you in spirit. Victor, my dearest son in the Lord, ensured that I knew you, though distance separates us, by telling me of your scrupulous life. So I have begun to love you as a future comrade in Christ, for Victor recounted to me how he was an associate and attendant of your mess in that worldly military service in which you are still occupied. This has induced me to take the liberty of writing to you through him. For I hope that you will come to the true path by the same road as he, since in him you have sent one of your comrades ahead to us, and the Church holds him as your pledge that she may gain you after him.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">There is nothing, my blessed son, which can or ought to be preferred to Him who is the true Lord, the true Father, the eternal Commander. To whom is it right to devote our lives more than to Him from whom we received them, and for whom we must preserve them to the end, because we live by His kindness? If we have been a soldier for Him in this world, we shall then deserve to pass over to Him. But if we love this world more, and prefer to be a soldier for Caesar rather than for Christ, we shall later be transported not to Christ but to hell, where the cause of the princes of this world rests.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">2. So we ought not to put loyalties or fatherland or distinctions or riches before God, for Scripture says: “The fashion of this world passeth away.” And those who love this world will also perish with it. This is why the Lord Himself speaks these words of the Gospel in witness: “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever doth not take his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.”</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Of the riches of this world, which some embrace and love as the highest and necessary good, He says: “Treasuries shall not profit wicked men, but justice delivers from death.” Again He says through a prophet: “All were destroyed who were exalted with gold and silver.” In the Gospel, too, He cries out in condemnation of the rich men of this world: “Woe to you rich; for you have your consolation. Woe to you that are filled; for you shall hunger. Woe to you that now laugh; for you shall mourn and weep.”</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">3. Therefore do not any longer love this world or its military service, for Scripture’s authority attests that “whoever is a friend of his world is an enemy of God.” He who is a soldier with the sword is the servant of death, and when he sheds his own blood or that of another, this is the reward for his service. He will be regarded as guilty of death either because of his own death or because of his sin, because a soldier in war, fighting not so much for himself as for another, is either conquered and killed, or conquers and wins a pretext for death-for he cannot be a victor unless he first sheds blood. So the Lord says: “You cannot serve two masters,” the one God and mammon, that is, Christ and Ceasar, even though Caesar himself is now keen to be Christ’s servant so that he may deserve kingship over a few peoples. For it is not some earthly king who reigns over the whole world, but Christ God, for “all things were made by Him and without Him was made nothing. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Whatever He pleases He does in earth, in the sea, in the deeps.”</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">4. Let us follow Him, then. Let us be soldiers for Him. The soldier who wears armour for Him is never unarmed. On them that fight for Him He bestows the glory of eternal life, the distinction of the heavenly kingdom, the riches of His inheritance, and an everlasting share in the knowledge of God. But Scripture says: “He that loveth money shall not be justified,” and “he that seeketh after earthly possessions shall become entangled in them.” So divine Wisdom speaks through the mouth of Solomon in Ecclesiasticus: “Many have been brought to fall for gold, and the beauty thereof hath been their ruin. Gold is a stumbling block and casts down those that follow after it. But only fools shall perish by it.” So flee from it, my son, as from the appearance of a serpent. Trust in Christ, who in the Gospel solemnly states to all men: “A man’s life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth.”</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">5. Perhaps, however, the confidence of youth, your family tradition of distinctions, and your increased riches prompt you to say: “I am still young and have time to complete my army service, marry, have children, and afterwards serve God.” You are answered not by me but by the Lord speaking through His prophets and apostles. The prophet says: “Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day, lest His wrath come on a sudden.” The Gospel indicates with what eager haste we should seek conversion when it says: “From the days of John the Baptist until today, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away.”</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Such violence is welcome to God, for it disturbs no one and is achieved without harm to any. Direct your hands to the plunder which is sinless and brings salvation. Why should you trouble about the provision of solders’ pay which involves the violence you loathe, when doubtless your integrity makes you mild in levying even the regular taxes? Whereas without rousing anyone’s hatred and with God’s grace you can be violent in seizing the kingdom of heaven. When it “suffereth violence,” Christ rejoices at being attacked, because with His abundance of love and power He is capable both of donating what He holds and of retaining what He gives. For when He allows His saints to reign in His kingdom, He will reign amongst those whom He has adopted as comrades in His heavenly kingdom. Scripture says that God’s kingdom will be shared with His saints and that those saints are themselves God’s kingdom. If God is good and you are converted, you will discover this by reading, and understand it by believing.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">…(Paulinus discusses the difficulties of family life)…</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">8. Listen, then, my son, and give me your ear. Break off all ties which bind and entangle you in this world. Change your secular military service into something better-start being a soldier for the eternal King. I hear that you now help and protect civilians; I pray that you may become the count of Christ. Again, you in secular military service are wont to pray for advancement to the rank of protector, but if you prove yourself before God, you will begin to have Him as your Protector. See to what kind of military service I invite you as a comrade, for God will be to you what you hope to be to a man. Once you begin to follow Him, you begin your service as a count, and the end of your service will be kingship not on earth or in time, but in eternity and in heaven.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: normal;">Source: Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola. Translated an annotated by P.G. Walsh. (Westminster, MD: Newmann Pres: 1966-67).</span></h4>
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-77970508271558966022013-05-15T20:24:00.001-04:002015-11-12T16:34:24.232-05:00A Warning to Parents - William Gurnall<div style="text-align: justify;">
To the parents of ignorant children,</div>
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Parents, your children have souls which God expects you to nourish with at least as much care as their physical needs. Who will teach them if not you? No one is surprised to hear that a ship put out to sea without a compass has sunk or run aground. Why should we be surprised to see children wander far from God, when they have received no spiritual direction?</div>
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We see a pattern set for us by the saints of old. David, busy king that he was, thought it his solemn responsibility to instruct his son in the way of the Lord: 'Know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind.' (1 Chron. 28:9). And what need I tell you of Timothy's mother and grandmother, who taught him the Scriptures from the time he was a child? I believe a man calls in question his own Christianity if he does not bother to acquaint his child with God and the way the leads to Him. I will even go so far as to say I've never known a true saint who was not deeply concerned about his child's relationship with the heavenly Father.</div>
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You will give a poor account at the Last Day if all you can say is, 'Lord, here are my children. I bred them like gentlemen and left them wealthy.' What a mocking witness to your own folly that you would do so much for that which rusts, and nothing for a knowledge of God unto salvation, which endures forever!</div>
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A careful study of the principles of God will show how serious this matter is. If we neglect the spiritual training of our children, we fail on three fronts:</div>
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1.You obviously fail your children when you leave them ignorant. Faith and unbelief are fundamentally different, not only by definition, but in the way they operate as well. Faith will not grow without planting, and will even die where it is planted unless it is watered and fertilized with the Word of God. Atheism, irreligion, and profanity, on the other hand, not only grow without planting, but will not die without forceful plucking up. Indeed, they thrive best in an untended soul - until simple ignorance and disbelief in the child become willful attitudes in the man.</div>
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What a grave injustice is done through your neglect! Your child is not born with a Bible in his heart, or in his head. Satan has already done his work in the womb at conception. Now you must do yours. The strain of faith you plant in your children's heart must be hardy enough to spring up and choke out the tares of Satan. And the best season for planting faith is in your child's youth.</div>
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You also fail yourselves by leaving your children in a state of ignorance, for you heap upon yourselves the consequences of their sins as well as your own. When a child breaks one of God's commandments, it is his sin; but it is also the father's if he never taught the child what the commandment of God was. Wicked children become heavy crosses to their parents. When a father or mother must trace the source of wickedness to his or her own neglect in training the child, cross is laid upon cross and the load becomes unbearable. Can there be a greater heartache in this life than to see your own child running full speed toward hell, and know that you were the one who outfitted him for the race? Oh, do your best while they are young and in your constant care, to win them to God and set them onthe road to heaven.</div>
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Most important, you fail God when you rear an ignorant child. Scripture tells of those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Among others, this includes parents who lock up the knowledge of salvation from their children. Where is the parent who will rob hs own son's house? Yet this is what you do if you neglect his spiritual education. For you keep in your own pocket the gold talent God intended you to give your child. If you leave no godly inheritance, what will happen when you die, and the truth of the gospel is buried alongside your rotting bones?</div>
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If you are God's child, then your children stand in closer relationship to the heavenly Father than the children of unbelievers. God depends on you to nurture them as you have been nurtured, and to protect them at all costs from the devil's education. Training your children up in the ways of the Lord is no casual suggestion, but a solemn command given to all Christian parents. Your refusal to obey, whether the product of deliberation or neglect, will pay you bitter wages when you stand before the King of kings in judgement. </div>
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-William Gurnall, Christian in Complete Armor</div>
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If you need guidance and rearing children in Christ, I recommend <a href="https://www.createspace.com/4095149" target="_blank">Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle.</a></div>
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-13745677277226113342013-04-25T20:07:00.000-04:002013-04-25T20:26:02.965-04:00Non-Violence in the Early Church: Complete Quote List<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Non-Violence
in the Early Church </b></span>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">For those who are unconvinced by the consistent, recurrent testimony of Scripture, and the plain example and practice of Christ and the Apostles on the subject of Christian Non-Violence, I present the exhaustive list of quotations from the early Church in the first 400 years. Featuring quotes from hearers of the Apostle John and hearers of theirs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Justin
Martyr (100-165)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">We
who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from
making war upon our enemies, but also, that we may not lie nor
deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ. We who were
filled with war, and mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have
each through the whole earth changed our warlike weapons,— our
swords into plowshares, and our spears into implements of tillage, —
and we cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope,
which we have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
do not wage war against our enemies."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
will not ask you to punish our oppressors. Their present wickedness
is sufficient punishment."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Aristides
(120)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">Whatever
Christians would not wish others to do to them, they do not to
others. And they comfort their oppressors and make them their
friends; they do good to their enemies. Through love towards their
oppressors, they persuade them to become Christians.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Tatian
(120-180)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">I
do not wish to be a king; I am not anxious to be rich; I decline
military command… Die to the world, repudiating the madness that is
in it.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Irenaeus
(130-200) </b></span>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">But
if the law of liberty, that is, the word of God, preached by the
apostles (who went forth from Jerusalem) throughout all the earth,
caused such a change in the state of things, that these [nations] did
form the swords and war-lances into plowshares, and changed them into
pruning-hooks for reaping the corn, [that is], into instruments used
for peaceful purposes, and that they are now unaccustomed to
fighting, but when smitten, offer also the other cheek, then the
prophets have not spoken these things of any other person, but of Him
who effected them.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"He
commanded [His followers] . . . not only not to strike others, but
even, when they themselves are struck, to present the other cheek. .
. [He commanded them] not only to not injure their neighbors, nor to
do them any evil, but also when they are dealt with wickedly, to be
long-suffering.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Athenagoras
(133-190)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">We
have rejected such spectacles as the Coliseum. How then, when we do
not even look on killing lest we should contract guilt and pollution,
can we put people to death?” </span>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">We,
a numerous band of men as we are, have learned from His teaching and
His laws that evil ought not to be requited with evil, that it is
better to suffer wrong than to inflict it, that we should rather shed
our own blood than stain our hands and our conscience with that of
another.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
have learned not to return blow for blow, nor to go to law with those
who plunder and rob us. Not only that, but to those who strike us on
one side of the face, we have learned to offer the other side also."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"What,
then, are the teachings in which we Christians are brought up? <i>'I
say unto you, love your enemies; bless those who curse you. Pray for
those who persecute you.'</i>"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Clement
of Alexandria (150-215)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"An
enemy must be aided, so that he may not continue as an enemy. For by
help, good feeling is compacted and enmity dissolved."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
do not train our women like Amazons to manliness in war, for we wish
even the men to be peaceable."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">Let
the Athenian, then follow the laws of Solon, the Argive those of
Phoroneus, and the Spartan those of Lycurgus. But if you record
yourself among God’s people, then heaven is your fatherland and God
your lawgiver. For we are not to delineate the faces of idols, we who
are prohibited to cleave to them; nor a sword, nor a bow, following
as we do, peace. For it is not in war, but in peace, that we are
trained.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">Above
all, Christians are not allowed to correct with violence the
delinquencies of sins.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"The
spiritual man never cherishes resentment or harbors a grudge against
anyone - even though deserving of hatred for his conduct."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Paul
does not merely describe the spiritual man as being characterized by
suffering wrong rather than doing wrong. Rather, Paul teaches that a
Christian does not keep account of injuries. For Paul does not allow
even to pray against the man done wrong to him, For he knows that the
Lord expressly commanded us to pray for our enemies."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Tertullian
(160-220)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">But
now inquiry is made about this point, whether a believer may turn
himself unto military service, and whether the military may be
admitted unto the faith, even the rank and file, or each inferior
grade, for who it is not required to take part in sacrifices or
capital punishments. There is no agreement between the divine and the
human sacrament, the standard of Christ and the standard of the
devil, the camp of light and the camp of darkness. One soul cannot be
due to two masters—God and Caesar. . . .But how will a Christian
war, nay, how will he serve even in peace without a sword, which the
Lord has taken away? For albeit soldiers had come unto John, and had
received the formula of their rule; albeit, likewise, a centurion had
believed, still the Lord afterward, in disarming Peter, unbelted
every soldier."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">To
begin with the real ground of the military crown, I think we must
first inquire whether warfare is proper at all for Christians. Do we
believe it lawful for a human oath to be super-added to one divine,
for a man to come under promise to another master after Christ? Shall
it be held lawful to make an occupation of the sword, when the Lord
proclaims that he who uses the sword shall perish by the sword? And
shall the son of peace take part in the battle when it does not
become him even to sue at law? Indeed, if, putting my strength to the
question, I banish from us the military life."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"<i>'Nation
will not take up sword against nation, and they will no more learn to
fight.'</i> Who else, therefore, does this prophecy apply to, other
than us? For we are fully taught by the new law, and therefore
observe these practices. The practice of the old law was to avenge
itself by vengeance of the sword. It was to pluck out<i> 'eye for an
eye,'</i> and to inflict retaliatory revenge for injury. However,
practice of the new law points to clemency. It changes the primitive
ferocity of swords and lances to tranquility. It remodels the
primitive execution of war upon rivals and enemies of the Law into
the peaceful actions of plowing and cultivating the land."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Men
of old were used to requiring 'e<i>ye for an eye, and tooth for a
tooth</i>' and to repay evil for evil, with interest! . . .But after
Christ has supervened and has united the grace of faith with
patience, now it is no longer lawful to attack others even with
words, nor to merely say "fool," without danger of
judgment. . . Christ says, '<i>Love your enemies, and bless your
cursers, and pray for your persecutors.'</i>"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"If
someone attempts to provoke you by physical violence, the admonition
of the Lord is at hand. He says, '<i>to him you strikes you on the
face, turn the other cheek also.</i>' Let outrageousness be worn out
by your patience. Whatever that blow may be, joined with pain and
scorn, it will receive a heavier one from the Lord."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"For
what is the difference between provoker and provoked? The only
difference is that the former was the first to do evil, the the
latter did evil afterwards. Each stands condemned in the eyes of the
Lord for hurting a man.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Christ
plainly teaches a new kind of long-suffering, when He actually
prohibits reprisals that the Creator permitted in requiring '<i>an
eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth.'</i>"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"If,
then, we are commanded to love our enemies (as I have remarked
above), whom have we to hate? If injured, we are forbidden to
retaliate, lest we become bad ourselves. Who can suffer injury at our
hands?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"How
often you inflict gross cruelties on Christians. You do this, partly
because it is your own inclination, and partly in obedience to laws.
. . . Yet, banded together as we are, ever so ready to sacrifice our
lives, what single case of revenge for injury are you able to point
to? However, if it were held to be right for us to repay evil for
evil, a single night with a torch or two could achieve an ample
vengeance. But away with the idea of a divine sect avenging itself by
human fires!"</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
willingly yield ourselves to the sword. So what wars would we not be
both fit and eager to participate in (even against unequal forces),
if in our religion it were not counted better to be slain than to
slay?"</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"God
puts His prohibition on every sort of man-killing by that one
inclusive commandment: '<i>You shall not kill.</i>'"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"The
Lord will save them in that day, even His own people, like sheep. .
. No one gives the name of 'sheep' to those who fall in battle with
arms in hand, or those who are killed repelling force with force.
Rather, it is given to those who are slain, yielding themselves up in
their own place of duty and with patience, rather than fighting in
self-defense.</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"<i>'And
they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning-hooks.' </i>In other words, they will change their
dispositions of injurious minds, hostile tongues, blasphemy, and all
kinds of evil pursuits into pursuits of moderation and peace. <i>'Nation
will not lift up sword against nation.' </i>That is, they will not
stir up conflict. <i>'Neither will they learn war anymore.' </i>That
is, the provocations of hostilities. So you should learn from this
that Christ was not promised to be powerful in war. Rather, he has
promised to pursue peace. Now you must deny either that these things
were foretold (although they are plainly seen) or deny that they have
been fulfilled (although you read of them).</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Is
the [military] laurel of triumph made of leaves, or of corpses? Is it
adorned with ribbons, or with tombs? Is it we with ointments, or with
the tears of wives and mothers? It may be made of some [dead]
Christians too. For Christ is also believed among the barbarians.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Hippolytus
(170-235)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">A
soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to
refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath; if
he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected. If a catechumen or a
believer seeks to become a soldier, they must be rejected, for they
have despised God.”</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Origen
(182-254)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">And
to those who inquire of us whence we come, or who is our founder, we
reply that we are come, agreeably to the counsels of Jesus, to ‘cut
down our hostile and insolent “wordy” swords into plowshares, and
to convert into pruning-hooks the spears formerly employed in war.’
For we no longer take up ‘sword against nation,’ nor do we ‘learn
war anymore,’ having become children of peace, for the sake of
Jesus, who is our leader, instead of those whom our fathers
followed.”</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“…<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">for
neither Celsus [a pagan critic], nor they who think with him are able
to point out any act on the part of Christians which savors of
rebellion. And yet, if a revolt had led to the formation of the
Christian commonwealth, so that it derived its existence in this way
from that of the Jews, who were permitted to take up arms in defense
of the members of their families, and to slay their enemies, the
Christian Lawgiver would not have altogether forbidden the putting of
men to death; and yet He nowhere teaches that it is right for His own
disciples to offer violence to any one, however wicked. For He did
not consider it to be in accord with His laws to allow the killing of
any individual whomever. For His laws were derived from a divine
source. . . . For our laws do not allow us on any occasion to resist
our persecutors, even when it is our fate to be slain as sheep.”</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Celsus
says, "They also have a teaching to this effect: that we should
not avenge ourselves on one who injures us. Or, as Christ expresses
it: <i>'Whoever will strike you on one cheek, turn the other to him
also.'</i>"</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
revile no one, for we believe that '<i>revilers will not inherit the
kingdom of God.</i>' And we read, <i>'Bless them that curse you;
bless and curse not.'</i> Also, <i>'Being reviled, we bless.'</i>"</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Cyprian
of Carthage (190-258)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">Wars
are scattered all over the earth with the bloody horror of camps. The
whole world is wet with mutual blood. And murder–which is admitted
to be a crime in the case of an individual–is called a virtue when
it is committed wholesale. Impunity is claimed for the wicked deeds,
not because they are guiltless, but because the cruelty is
perpetrated on a grand scale!”</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"When
a Christian is arrested, he does not resist. Nor does he avenge
himself against your unrighteous violence, even though our people are
numerous and plentiful."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Christians
do not attack their assailants in return, for it is not lawful for
the innocent to kill even the guilty."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"The
hand must not be spotted with the sword and blood - not after the
Eucharist is carried in it."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
may not hate. And we please God more by rendering no return for
wrong. Therefore, we exhort you to make satisfaction to God. Do this
while you have the power, while there yet remains in you something of
life . . .We do not envy your comforts, nor do we conceal the divine
benefits. We repay kindness for your hatred. In return for the
torments and penalties that are inflicted on us, we point out to you
the ways of salvation."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"The
Christian has departed from rage and carnal contention, as if from
hurricanes of the sea. He has already begun to be tranquil and meek
in the harbor of Christ. Therefore, he should allow neither anger nor
discord within his breath. For he must neither return evil for evil,
nor bear hatred."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Even
our enemies are to be loved."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Commodianus
(240)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Do
not willingly use force, and do not return force when it used against
you."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Lactantius
of Bithynia (240-317)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">"Therefore
they are to be accounted as savage beasts who injure a man; who, in
opposition to every law and right of human nature, plunder, torture,
slay, and banish.” </span>
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Why
would [the just man] carry on war and mix himself with the passions
of others when his mind is engaged in perpetual peace with men? Would
he be delighted with foreign merchandise, or with human blood, he who
does not know how to seek gain? For the Christian is satisfied with
his standard of living. He considers it unlawful not only to commit
slaughter, but also to be present with those who do it."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Religion
is to be defended, not by putting to death, but by dying. Not by
cruelty, but by patient endurance. Not by guilt, but by good faith.
For the former things belong to evil, but the latter to good. . . For
if you wish to defend religion by bloodshed, tortures, and guilt, it
will no longer be defended. Rather, it will be polluted and profaned.
. . And, therefore, when we suffer such impious things, we do not
resist even in a word. Rather, we leave vengeance to God. We do not
act as those persons who would have it appear they are defenders of
their gods, who rage without restraint against those who do not
worship them."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"The
Christian does injury to no one. He does not desire the property of
others. In fact, he does not even defend his own property if it is
taken from him by violence. For he knows how to patiently bear an
injury inflicted upon him."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"We
do not resist those who injure us, for we must yield to them."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"If
anyone should be so shameless as to inflict injury on a good and
just man, such a man must bear it with calmness and moderation. He
will not take upon himself his revenge. Rather, he will reserve it
for the judgment of God. He must maintain innocence at all times and
in all places. And this commandment is not limited to merely his not
[being the first to] inflict injury on another. Rather, he should not
even avenge it when injury is inflicted on him. For there sits on the
judgment-seat a very great and impartial Judge."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Why
do contests, fights, and contentions arise among men? Is it because
impatience against injustice often excites great tempests? However,
if you meet injustice with patience, then no virtue can be found more
true. . . In contrast, if injustice . . . has met with impatience on
the same level as itself, . . . it will ignite a great fire that no
stream can extinguish, but only the shedding of blood."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"In
what respect, then, does the wise and good man differ from the evil
and foolish one? Is it not that he has unconquerable patience, of
which the foolish is destitute? Is it not that he knows how to govern
himself and to mitigate his anger - which others are unable to curb
because they are without virtue? . . . What if a man gives way to
grief and anger and indulges these emotions (which he should struggle
against)? What if he rushes where ever injustice will call him? Such
a man does not fulfill the duty of virtue. For he who tries to return
an injury desires to imitate that very person by whom he has been
injured. In short, he who imitates a bad man cannot be good."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"When
provoked by injury, if he returns violence to his assailant, he is
defeated."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"If
desire is restrained, no one will use violence by land or by sea. No
one will lead an army to carry off and lay waste the property of
others. . . . For what are the interests of our country, but the
detriments of another state or nation? To extend the boundaries that
are violently taken from others, to increase the power of the state,
to improve the revenues - all these things are not virtues. Rather,
they are the overthrowing of virtues."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">"How
can a man be just who hates, who despoils, who puts to death? Yet,
those who strive to be serviceable to their country do all these
things. . . When they speak of 'duties' relating to warfare, their
speech pertains neither to justice, or to true virtue." </span>
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"When
God forbids us to kill, He prohibits more than the open violence that
is not even allowed by the public laws. He also warns against us
doing those things that are considered lawful among men. For that
reason, it will not be lawful for a just man to engage in warfare,
since his warfare is justice itself. Nor is it lawful for him to
accuse anyone of a capital charge. For it makes no difference
whether you put a man to death by word, or by the sword instead. That
is because it is the act of putting to death itself that is
prohibited. Therefore, with regard to this commandment of God, there
should be no exception at all. Rather, it is always unlawful to put a
man to death, whom God willed to be a sacred creature.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Archelaus,
277</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">Those
soldiers were filled with wonder and admiration at the grandeur of
the man’s piety and generosity and were struck with amazement. They
felt the force of this example of pity. As a result, many of them
were added to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and threw off the
belt of military service.”</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"<i>'An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.</i>' That is the expression
of <i>justice. </i>However, His injunction that a man who is struck
on the cheek should suffer the other one also - that is the
expression of <i>goodness. </i>Now are justice and goodness opposed
to each other? Far from it!Rather, there has only been an advancement
from simple justice to positive goodness."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Athanasius
of Alexandria (296-373)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">And
this is at least incredible, inasmuch as even now those Barbarians
who have an innate savagery of manners and cannot endure to be a
single hour without weapons; but when they hear the teaching of
Christ, straightway instead of fighting they turn to husbandry, and
instead of arming their hands with weapons they raise them in prayer,
and in a word, in place of fighting among themselves henceforth they
arm against the devil and against evil spirits, subduing these by
self-restrains and virtue of soul. Now this is at once a proof of the
divinity of the Saviour, since what men could not learn among idols
they have learned from him.” </span>
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Theonas
of Alexandria (300)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">"Do
no one any injury at any time; provoke no one to anger. If an injury
is done to you, look to Jesus Christ. And even as you desire Him to
forgive you your transgressions, you also forgive others theirs."</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><b>Martin
of Tours (316-397)</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.07in;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro, serif;">Hitherto
I have served you as a soldier; allow me now to become a soldier to
God. Let the man who is to serve you receive your donatives. I am the
soldier of Christ; it is not lawful for me to fight.”</span></span></div>
</div>
Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-48044458690412109942013-03-29T21:09:00.001-04:002013-03-29T22:15:28.658-04:00"My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" - The Awesome Truth From Christ's Last Words <blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<b><i>"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is, being interpreted is, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' . . . And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." </i></b></blockquote>
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<b><i>- Mark 15:34, 37</i></b></blockquote>
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<b>The last words of Christ dying on the cross are disturbing to many. They look and say, "See? Even Jesus despaired in that great hour," or "See? Even Jesus felt like God had abandoned Him." </b><b>No doubt, the travail of the crucifixion would be enough to break even the best of us, however, there is a more likely, and I daresay, a more encouraging understanding on these pained words. </b></div>
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<b>First, some cultural context</b></div>
<b style="text-align: justify;">Back in first century Jewish culture, and even in some communities in the present day, it was the standard practice of all children to memorize Scripture, that is, the Old Testament. Scribes and scrolls were scarce in those days - not everyone had more books than they know what to do with. Instead, these things were memorized and rehearsed orally. As a result, even the commoner had certain passages memorized, even if without understanding. The Rabbis, particularly the Pharisees, who crucified Jesus, had practically the entirety of Scripture committed to memory.</b><br />
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<b>So, why is all of this relevant?</b></div>
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<b>It just so happens that the words Jesus gasped are the exact, word for word, verbatim, first verse of <span style="font-size: large;">PSALM 22. </span>Psalm 22 is a song of David which happens to contain several <span style="font-size: large;">Prophecies of Messiah</span> that were being fulfilled EXACTLY AT THAT MOMENT that Christ uttered it. So, more than likely, Jesus was engaging a pneumatic device, or a "memory helper" to jog the memory of the hearers, so they might realize the implications of the events they were witnessing.</b></div>
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<b>For example, if I said "A B C D," the hearer would almost involuntarily follow in their mind with "E F G", and so on. If I started with "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you might find your mind finishing it with "How I Wonder What You Are." Such is the way with things that are committed to memory in a deep, instinctual way. And such was the way with Psalm 22. I believe Christ had hopes they might hear, see what is going on, and BELIEVE, as they saw it right in front of them.</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What Prophecies? </span></b><br />
<b>(Lets Explore, in order of appearance.) (I will enlarge the most dramatic ones.)</b></div>
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<i><b>1. "</b><b>But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. </b><b>All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, </b><b>He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." v. 6-8.</b></i></blockquote>
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<b>These verses plainly describe how people were treating Christ at the time. They scorned, laughed and shook their heads. Matthew even records one comment, <i>"He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him."</i> (Matt. 27:32)</b></div>
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<b><i>2. "But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. v.9-10.</i></b></blockquote>
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<b>These verses demonstrate the "Sonship" of Christ, the closeness of relation to God, and may even imply the Incarnation, which is shown so clearly in other prophetic verses.</b></div>
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<b><i>3. "The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet." </i></b></h2>
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<b>At the very time Christ was pierced and hung on the cross, He drew their attention to the prophecy about it. Even more remarkable, this proclamation by David describing the nature of crucifixion was made a full 800 years before the Roman Empire even invented it.</b></div>
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<b>4. <i>"They divide My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing." </i></b></h2>
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<b>When Jesus spoke the first verse to this Psalm, this is exactly what was occurring. The soldiers, knowing a dead man needs no clothes, cast lots. "And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, '<i>They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.'</i>" (Matt. 27:35)</b></div>
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<b><i> 5. "The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. . . A seed shall serve Him; it shall be spoken of God to the coming generation. They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness to a people that shall yet be born, that He has done this." v.26-27, 30-31</i></b></blockquote>
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<b>These last verses show the conclusion of the matter. Because of this momentous event of the crucifixion, those who humble themselves before the Lord shall be satisfied and live forever. All nations shall hear of it, and it will be spoken of from generation to generation, to people not yet born, the Lord has done this thing. In this one Psalm, Jesus manages to communicate the summary of the Gospel, and bring tremendous attention to what was occurring that day.</b></div>
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<b>In light of the fact that Jesus said these words, which happen to be exactly verse 1 of Psalm 22, which happens to communicate things that were occurring in that very moment, it seems to me that this was no mere accident, or expression of sorrow. I have heard entire doctrines built around how God had to depart from Him because the sin of the world was on His shoulders at that time, and since God cannot bear sin, He was left to suffer alone. It may sound theologically interesting, but to me, I find this explanation not only more plausible, but far more inspiring as well.</b></div>
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-58956885137621453872013-03-03T21:44:00.003-05:002013-03-03T22:54:04.565-05:00Pagan Prophecies of Christ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Examples of Sibyllian Oracles:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"With five loaves at the same time, and with two fishes, He will satisfy five thousand men in the wilderness . . . He will walk on the waves. He will release men from disease. He will raise the dead and drive away many pains. And from the bread of one pouch, there will be the satisfying of men." </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"He will afterwards come into the hands of the unjust and the faithless, and they will inflict blows with impure hands on God." </i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Know Him as your God, who is the Son of God."</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Do you not tremble, nor fear God most High? There is only one uncreated God, who reigns alone, all-powerful, very great, from whom nothing is hid."</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"But there is one God of pre-eminent power, who made the heaven, the sun, the moon, the fruitful earth, and the waves of the sea . . . Worship Him who alone is ruler of the world, who alone was, and is from age to age."</i></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the ancient days of Rome, Greece and Babylon, the land was filled with raving, frenzied prophetesses. Each god had their possession, and spoke to mankind, informing and deceiving by devilish influence. Yet among these, there was a class of elderly women called the Sibyls, who for hundreds of years, interlaced with their infernal madness, also proclaimed profound truths and clear prophecies of the coming Christ and a plain monotheism that stood against the pagan backdrop of a multitude of deities. Their words are very ancient, pre-dating the advent of Christ by many hundreds of years.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Early Christians took note, and some were even called "believers in the Sibyls" because they so often used their utterances to evangelize to the idolatrous world around them. Legends say one of the earliest Sibyls was even a pagan daughter-in-law of Noah, explaining the synergies of both plain monotheism and messianic fervor that were uncharacteristic in pagan cultures. Modern scholars are so confounded by the accuracy of these words, they presume they were later additions to the texts, a corruption of the original ravings.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Alas, scholars are shirking the testimony of those closest and most related, for this idea of corruption even existed in the very infancy of the church age. Consider this simple retort from Lactantius, ante-Nicene Father, and tutor of Emperor Constantine, in 304 A.D:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Being refuted by these testimonies, some are accustomed to fall back on the claim that these poems were not written by the Sibyls, but were invented and composed by our own writers instead. However, he who has read Cicero, Varro, and other ancient writers will assuredly not think this. For they make mention of the Erythraean and the other Sibyl, from whose books we bring forth these examples. And those authors died before the birth of Christ according to the flesh. However, I do not doubt that in former times, these poems were regarded as ravings. For, at that time, no one understood them . . . Therefore, they were neglected for many ages. But they received attention after the birth and passion of Christ."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Wikipedia cites Church Father Athenagoras of Athens who, in a letter addressed to Marcus Aurelius in ca. AD 176, quoted verbatim a section of the Oracles. They are mentioned in the midst of a lengthy series of other classical and pagan references such as Homer and Hesiod, stating several times that all these works should already be familiar to the Roman Emperor. Copies of the actual Sibylline Books (as reconstituted in 76 BC) were still in the Roman Temple at this time. How then were these prophecies were forged by Christians, who at that time were small in number and politically powerless? How were they able to make the forged copies so numerous that philosophers and emperors would be familiar with their corruptions without question? How is it that their forgeries were made on the legendary level of Homer and Hesiod in so short a time, in just a mere generation? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It seems that those who wish to discredit these prophecies are doing just what was attempted to be done with the piercing Biblical prophecies of Isaiah. Scholars said, <i>"These statements are simply too accurate to be legitimate. These prophecies of Messiah are not mere interpolations of vague imagery. They must be written after the fact."</i> Such was the running argument for generations of skeptics, that is, until the Dead Sea Scrolls unveiled full copies of Isaiah that were written before the advent of Christ, proving the prophetic Spirit alive.</b></span></div>
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Why Pagan Prophecies?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In the Bible, we have precedent for this strange occurrence, of pagan prophets speaking the truth of God. We have the story of Balaam, son of Beor, a non-Israelite seer often maligned in the Scriptures as an example of what a prophet ought not to be. His story shows him to be a man of selfish ambition, prophesying for money, gain, and favor. The basis of his story is that he is hired by Balak, King of Midian to prophecy against Israel. He did what the Lord asked of him, but only because he had no other choice.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Outside of the Bible though, we find he was also a man of double allegiances Preserved in the Deir Alla Inscription in modern day Jordan, we find a fragment from "The Book of Balaam, son of Beor," which is a prophecy of wrath and apocolypse given by other gods, Baal and Asherah.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The fact is this: Balaam was a man who the Lord God used to prophesy what was needful. Seers, mediums and soothsayers are always open to spiritual forces, but indiscriminately, without guard, barrier or discernment. This reality is often taken advantage of by devils and deceptive spirits to convey their agendas. However, since there is no guard upon them, the Spirit of God has, at times, used such persons.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The implications can be haunting and confusing. It can bring up questions like, "If they were right about this, what else were they right about?" The fact is, Truth is true, no matter where it is found. Any truth is measured against the Scripture's testimony. Truth is never made untrue because of it's source. Even a fool may utter a wise word. It is only untrue being contrary to the the Inspired Word. We would be wise to admit this. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Yet the early Christians so embraced these utterances, and believed that God had planted seeds of truth in the Greek and Roman cultures through the Sibyls.</b></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[Addressed to Pagans:] </span>"You may in part easily learn right religion from the ancient Sibyl. For, by some kind of powerful inspiration, she teaches you. Through her oracular predictions, she teaches truths that seem similar to the prophets."</i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">- Justin Martyr, 160 A.D.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It would seem these sorts of events, both Balaam, and the Sibyls, are a demonstration of God's great love for people. In Balaam, he was used to bring blessing upon Israel when a curse was desired. In the Sibyls, God used those who were seen as having divine authority to gave the Gentiles a foretelling of His saving plan in Christ. He would not leave people in utter darkness. His love extended even to those who heed the words of devils. The Jews were keepers of the untarnished prophecy, held and preserved for all time that every generation might see their fulfillment. But the Sibyls spoke to a completely contrary, unbelieving world - God taking advantage of their authority, as well as their indiscriminate spiritualism, to bring light where none was to be found.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The result was a stark contrast between the Messianic prophetic verses and the devilish rantings. The result was countless souls converted from paganism to Christ by the rightful use of their testimony. The result was showing a demonstration of the powerful love of God to go to any length to reach so very many.</b></span></div>
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Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-75173937053291116302013-02-22T16:07:00.001-05:002013-03-04T22:00:40.138-05:00The Secret of the Ineffable Name of God<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(191, 169, 138); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; color: #604933; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">
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<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: medium;">"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14)</span></strong></span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>The name of God, as revealed to Moses, has become a thing of great mystique to the world. Translated as "I AM" in most modern translations, it is commonly understood to mean, "I exist", "The Self-Existent" or "The One Who Is." It is a name that the Jews have considered too sacred to utter, and as a result, the proper pronunciation of it has been lost to time. Many transliterate it into vocalization as "Yahweh."<br /><br />None of what I just explained is wrong or improper in understanding. However, there is a profound meaning of the Name that stands as one of the greatest markers of prophetic significance in all of Holy Writ.<br /><br />In ancient Hebrew, like ancient Greek, the alphabet is multi-purpose, not merely letters, but also numbers. They had no numerical system, but each letter was, at the very same time, a number. And not even a number only, but the letters themselves were pictographs, or "word-pictures," where each letter was, in fact, an entire word in it's representation.<br /><br />Here is a chart to help us understand:</strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now, the name "I AM," sometimes called the Tetragrammaton, comprised of four letters, "Yod," "Hey," "Vav," and "Hey."</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">A significant prophetic revelation is revealed when we look, not at the pronunciation of the letters together, but when we understand the literal meaning of the pictographs together. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Let's use the chart above to decipher the prophecy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><em style="position: relative;">"Yod" = Hand<br />"Hey" = Behold<br />"Vav" = Nail<br />"Hey" = Behold</em></span></span></strong></div>
<strong><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 1.5;">Therefore, a legitimate and profound understanding of the name of God is formed in a sentence:</span></span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Rokkitt, serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center;">"BEHOLD, THE HAND. BEHOLD, THE NAIL."</span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">If one understands this, then the pronunciation of 'YHWH' becomes second tier, and everything of significance shall point to the power of the New and Greater Covenant in the Crucified One, Jesus Christ.</span></strong></div>
Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-91178335567137283752013-02-22T16:01:00.001-05:002013-03-04T21:51:10.459-05:00Regarding The Fear of Death<h2 style="font-family: Rokkitt, serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px 0.2em;">
<em style="position: relative;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: medium;">O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? </span></em></h2>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>To name any fear a man may have, he may as well just assert that he has a fear of <em style="position: relative;">death. </em>Either the stated fear directly leads to death, or else, the fear pales in comparison to death itself. It is the most natural of torments: the striving to be alive at all costs. What man would not admit a moment of hesitation when peering over the void? Who would deny the paralysis that comes from envisioning all fade to black before our eyes?</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Now, before we are consumed by such thoughts, let me bring light to that darkness by proclaiming what has been done: </strong></span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">"As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death, he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." - Hebrews 2:14-15</span></strong></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>This passage tells us something: </strong></span><br />
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<li style="color: #702a19; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">First, most of Mankind is in <em style="position: relative;">bondage.</em> They are shackled, bound and chained all their lifetime by the fear of death.</span></strong></li>
<li style="color: #702a19; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Second, and most importantly, death has been defeated, and deliverance is available from this bondage.</span></strong></li>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>The power of the living, reigning Messiah is such that death no longer has power over those who are given to his hand and share in his victory. And the grand result in conquering the fear of death is that all other fear is conquered in the process. In defeating the most grand of foes, all fears fear the power than can make death dead.</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>If the greatest fear is gone, what can you cower before?</strong><strong>In being free from the fear of death, a man is free to live, for there is nothing restraining.</strong></span><br />
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<li style="color: #702a19; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There is no fear of man.</span></strong></li>
<li style="color: #702a19; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There is no fear of failure.</span></strong></li>
<li style="color: #702a19; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There is no fear of persecution.</span></strong></li>
<li style="color: #702a19; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There is no fear of death.</span></strong></li>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><em style="position: relative;">But there is the fear of God.</em></strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>"Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: <u>but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.</u>" - Matthew 10:28</strong></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>When no power exists over us except the Lord, it is only the work of the Lord that has ambition to us. In being free from the fear of death of the body, we are only concerned with the life of the Spirit.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>Those whose crown will be best are those who have </strong><em style="font-weight: bold; position: relative;"><u>lived</u></em><strong> with abandon, </strong><em style="position: relative;"><strong><u>loved</u></strong></em><strong> with abandon, </strong><u><strong><em style="position: relative;">gave</em></strong></u><strong> with abandon, <em style="position: relative;"><u>proclaimed</u></em> with abandon. In doing this, one denies the fear of <em style="position: relative;"><u>death</u></em>, the fear of <em style="position: relative;"><u>judgement</u>, </em>the fear of <em style="position: relative;"><u>lack</u></em>, and the fear of <em style="position: relative;"><u>men</u></em>.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>This is why <em style="position: relative;">Joy</em> is a repeated mark of the heavenly-bound. If one can mock at death, laugh at the enemy, and live eternally, what is it other than a life of Joy? This is the great reason we may *love our enemies,* because the Lord has taken away the fear of the greatest thing an enemy may do to us. Since death is no longer the greatest evil to us, even enemies, persecutors and assassins may do us no harm, for in giving us death, they only give us glory and great reward.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Brethren, this is a solid ingot of gold that is only gotten when you sell all you have, and buy the field that contains this treasure. It has been the secret of many who have gone before us. There are those who holding this truth, and being sentenced to burn on the stake, danced to the fires, as a groom on his wedding day. There are those who, understanding this truth, were </span><em style="position: relative;"><span style="font-size: small;">"</span></em></strong></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:</span><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;"> And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: </span><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><em style="position: relative;">They were stoned, they were sawn asunder ... were slain with the sword." </em>These are those of whom the world is not worthy.</span></span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">It is only in holding the reality of the resurrection that one can be free from fear. Why fear death if you belong to the God of the living? How can you fear darkness if you belong to the light? How can you fear lack if "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof?" How can you fear the void when you partake in the fullness?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>Death for us is a celebration. It is glory. Death is not death to us, but new life. We are made free from death that we may die, and in dying, attain the resurrection of life, both now, and in the great beyond.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>"For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Phil. 1:21</strong></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><strong>So live to the only thing that matters. Fear nothing. The righteous are as bold as a lion. Death is no longer the worst thing that can happen to you. It's not even on the list.</strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." - Joshua 1:9</span></strong></blockquote>
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<strong><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"> "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; <u>and they loved not their lives unto the death.</u>" - Rev. 12:10-11</span></strong></blockquote>
Daniel Clausenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480653246201371981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-16600174054524813372013-01-07T22:47:00.004-05:002013-03-04T09:44:51.240-05:0017 Things Taught by the Early Church that Christians Rarely Practice Today<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="http://dumbidols.blogspot.com/2013/01/17-things-christians-rarely-practice.html#List"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is a long introduction that is worth your time, but if you'd like to skip to THE LIST, Click Here.</span></b></a></h2>
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<i>Before I get into this, let me say, it has been suggested I make too much of "non-salvation issues." I will say that I do make much of them, but only because Christ said to <b>"make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded." </b>He commanded more than believing on His name, but rather, an entire moral and ethical system, a worldview, even an entire Kingdom Culture, which is to be observed by those who gain citizenship therein.</i></div>
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<i>I know that teachers will be held to a greater account of judgement (James 3:1), and I will not hold back to teach what I believe is the whole counsel of God. (Acts 23:20)</i></div>
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Recently, I came upon the name of a movement that is what I essentially believe, having never known before that there was a "group" of people who thought as I did. Now, I won't go so far as to throw my weight behind this movement, because I only speak for myself - but their idea, seems to be my idea. This group of believers are called "Paleo-Orthodox," and the idea is that <u style="font-weight: bold;">the earliest consensus view, and the earliest practices and beliefs of the Christian community, are the correct ones,</u> understanding that truth must precede error. Error of doctrine diverges from some original truthful one. We inherently know this. That is why we look to the Scriptures for our guide of faith and practice, because it is the earliest source we have - that of Christ and the Apostles.</div>
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The following is an excerpt from my next book project, which is apparently "Paleo-Orthodox" in nature. Called <i>"Fathers of Controversy,"</i> it pits the earliest practices of the disciples of Christ, the Ante-Nicene Fathers, against our modern day understanding the Scriptures, challenging us to rethink the way we have been taught, for these men did not follow any reformer, theologian or preacher, but the doctrine handed to them by the Apostles and their disciples:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is no shortage of interest in the writings of the early church fathers – and for good reason. They were men of conviction and faith who sought to vibrantly live out the teachings of Christ and the apostles without compromise. They purposed to disseminate those teachings throughout the earth, to contrast the holy nature of God with the paltry offerings made by idols and the minds of men. In this quest, they largely succeeded. But as it is, over time, those who were closest to those world-shaking events at the beginning of the first century died off, and only the hearers of those men were left. After that, only the hearers of those hearers, and so on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The charge of Christ and the apostles to keep the teaching pure was challenged, and the prophetic warnings against false teachers and heresies were brought to fruition. The future of life-giving gospel depended upon the faithfulness and zeal of those who would preserve the message at all costs. Many, if not most, of the early church fathers traded this temporal life for an eternal one, and gained a crown by God through the trials of martyrdom. In following their Master in their life, they were received by Him in glory, in like manner of His death. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my study of these men of virtue, I have come to respect them greatly. They were each of different character as men, but made of one spirit by God. They did not agree on every matter of faith and religion at all times, but they always sought the truth, first through the Scriptures, and second through the verbal teaching of the apostolic tradition.In the pursuit and protection of truth, the essential doctrines necessary for salvation have been brought down to us to the present day, 2000 years later, unchanged, untampered and uncorrupted, carried along by the will of the Sovereign God. I am proud to know that I believe on, and pray to, the same One who was preached those many years ago. It is astounding to consider it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> However, even in a casual reading of these men one will find some marked differences between the Christianity of today and the Christianity of 17 to 19 centuries ago. Differences, which, I daresay, are not desired for any lover of truth, since we have the command to <i>"</i><i>stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thess.2:25)</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i> Some long established ways of thinking in our Christianity are not the ways of thinking by those earliest of believers. Our theological doctrines of today, the doctrines of theory, existed often only in rudimentary form back then, but the doctrines of the ways and manners of the Christian life were well delineated, well taught, and fervently upheld. This is one of the main distinctions between the early church and today. Many are content today to have an answer to certain theological questions and problems. Many are quick to read into obscure verses and derive a doctrine from them, while overlooking straight forward, clear commandments. We sometimes major on the minors, and certain clear, but hard sayings, which do not fit into our contemporary religion, we seek a way to interpret our way out of. These early fathers, however, embraced those hard sayings and manifested a culture of contrast that was the natural outworking of living in a Kingdom which is <i>"not of this world." (John 18:36)</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i> Our faith is not one of those things which ought to "change with the times" or adapt to fit with the current waves of thought by the fancy and reasoning of men. The gospel's power lies in it's contrast to the natural man and the natural kingdoms. The church fathers understood this, and exalted this, whereas in the present day we seek to reconcile the teachings of Christ and the Kingdom of God with the ways of the world, and make them comfortable for the natural man, resulting in a pointed hypocrisy, which the detractors of the faith are quick to expose. Rather than killing off the natural man with the standard of our way of life in the Spirt, the modus operandai of the present day is to make man as comfortable as he can be while in the world, yet still professing to be a Christian. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Let it be known though, the early church fathers are not themselves a sole authority on any given topic, but their writings are a commentary on the ways and beliefs of the earliest believers in Christ. The Scriptures are the authority on all matters of faith and living. However, the early church fathers are an apt means to color the Scriptures in a context of culture and contemporary events, to demonstrate how the teachings of Scripture were being lived out through the initial understanding of them. They allow us to discover what was the earliest consensus view on a topic, which is most valuable since logic affirms that the earliest consensus is likely the authentic teaching. Truth must always precede error, for error is a corruption of truth. As one moves further in time from the source, if the consensus changes, it is likely an aberration of the original understanding, or a later justification. Their testimony can be the arbiter for those very issues that divide us when each side today seem to be able to make a sensical case from the Scriptures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> With some topics discussed by the church fathers, there is no clear consensus, opinions vary, and accordingly, those matters are left to the faith and conscience of the individual - I do not address those matters herein. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> However, there are some matters on which there was practically no dissension, and were the affirmed, settled teaching of the church. The scope of this book will not be to play favorites on issues that divide us today, to cherry-pick those quotes which support my views to settle the issues. No. Rather, this book is purposed to expose the issues, beliefs and practices that were entirely one-sided in the early church, to which some in the present day find themselves on the opposite side of. Some things which are small matters to us now, loomed large in the role they played in the early Christian life. Conversely, some things which are a major part of today's Christianity had no place in the early church. Each present-day sect may be at variance in different ways, but I know of none that are in perfect conformity with the earliest teachings of the church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a time that was a distinct line in the sand when it came to a change in certain attitudes of the church. That time was with the reign and conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312. At that time, the church began a slow reformation, where it was no longer esteemed to be a competing Kingdom with the kingdoms of the world, but became the state religion of the most powerful empire ever known. Certain doctrines and ways of Christian living were justified and adapted to be congruent with worldly power. No longer the chaste virgin of Christ, she was married to a wealthy and powerful suitor which sought to disrobe her of her otherworldly trappings. Being a Christian was no longer the commitment of death to the world, but became the inheritance of citizenship in the Roman Empire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> This is not to cast dispersion upon true believers, who have been numerously present and richly vocal throughout all of church history, in every era, and every denomination. However, it is beyond dispute that the record of the church of God in the world is fraught with wanderings and mistakes, many of which have been recovered from, some we have not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The Scripture speaks of two forms of tradition, which are contrary to one another. There is one where Jesus bitingly says, <i>"And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ... In vain do they worship, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."</i> It is this form of tradition He speaks against: the addition of rules and doctrines, beliefs and attitudes, unconfirmed by Scripture, which are then taught and handed down as if they were present at the source. It is handed down by men and not from Christ. This is evil, and an unclean leaven in the doctrine of the church. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The other form of tradition spoken of in the New Testament is the kind mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11:2, where Paul says, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you." </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter." </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These verses demonstrate a virtuous kind of tradition which is actually </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"delivered"</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in two ways, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"our spoken word" </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> "by our letter." </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The "letter" lives on in the New Testament, but the "spoken word" lives on in those hearers and disciples, who heard and conveyed those teachings.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I submit to you, that where the earliest, most ancient one-sided consensus exists, that also has found it's witness in the written word of the New Testament, that is the authentic teaching of the apostles. This is known as the "apostolic tradition." This is the tradition that Christ and the apostles exhorted us to cling to. </span></div>
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</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">May you, reader, have the courage to put your own presumptions, doctrines, and traditions on the line, and be challenged by those who were unencumbered by time and distance from the truth we desire. If we seek the truth of God and not the rationalizations of man, the commentary and assertions of the earliest believers are a meaningful way to discover the authentic teachings brought forth from the Living Word, and those whom He sent. </span></div>
</blockquote>
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Now, in regard to the<b> "17 Things Christians Rarely Practice, But Should":</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I say<i> rarely practice</i>, because there are, of course, many, who do practice certain aspects of this list, but it truly is rare to hold the entirety of it. I know some of the things here are controversial today, but each thing listed was the practice of the earliest believers for about the first 300 years. Their practice is affirmed by Scripture, and the testimony of the early church fathers. Therefore, the question is, why do we hold on to our own private interpretation of Scripture, when the proper understanding was preserved for us in the practice of the early church?</div>
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<b><i>A Christian is not defined only by what they believe, but what they do.</i></b></div>
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Our Christian walk was not intended to be reduced to believing the right statements, speaking in tongues, and having exhaustive Bible knowledge. It can be those things, but it is also adopting the culture of the Kingdom you belong to, and holding the attitudes of your King in the greatest esteem<b>. In short, its not just believing that Christ is who He claims to be, but obeying His commandments also.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>John 14:21, 23 "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." </i></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><b>Scripture references are not exhaustive, just a quick sampling on the topic.</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<b>If you disagree with my interpretations, don't argue with me, take it up with Ignatius of Antioch (hearer of John), Polycarp (hearer of John), Justin Martyr, Origen, Tertullian, Clement of </b><b>Alexandria, and the others.</b></div>
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<b><br />
</b> </div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4099313344347179113" name="List">THE LIST</a></span></u></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(No particular order)</span></b></div>
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<h2>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">1. Disdain for worldly goods</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A24&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 6:24</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Tim.%206:10&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Tim. 6:10</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%205:1-3&version=NKJV" target="_blank">James 5:1-3</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%202:15&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 John 2:15 </a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></b></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">2. Disdain for personal vanity</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Tim.%202:9&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Tim. 2:9 </a></span></b></div>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Pet.%203:3&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Pet. 3:3</a></span></b><br />
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat%206:28&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 6:28</a></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">3. Concern for the poor, orphans and widows, marginalized</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201:27%20%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">James 1:27 </a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2025:34-46&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 25:34-46</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2014:13&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Luke 14:13</a> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br />
</b> </span></div>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">4. Extreme Forgiveness</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2018:21-22%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 18:21-22 </a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2011:25-26%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Mark 11:25-26 </a></span></b></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2023:34&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Luke 23:34</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Act%207:59-60&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Act 7:59-60</a></span></b></b></div>
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</b>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">5. Take No Oaths</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%205:33-37%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 5:33-37</a></span></b></div>
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<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%205:12%20%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">James 5:12 </a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br />
</b> </span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">6. Anti-War/Nonviolence</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%205:39-44&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 5:39-44</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2026:52&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 26:52</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%205:9&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 5:9</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2018:36%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">John 18:36 </a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2012:17-21&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Rom. 12:17-21</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203:17-18&version=NKJV" target="_blank">James 3:17-18</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span> </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">7. Shun Public Office</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being a priest and king in a heavenly kingdom disables the ability to be a worldly one.</span></b></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No oaths also prevents this option.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022:25-26%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank"> Luke 22:25-26 </a></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2023:11-12&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 23:11-12</a></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%205:12&version=NKJV" target="_blank">James 5:12</a></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2016:13%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Luke 16:13 </a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></b> </div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">8. Equality of Man - Race/Class/Gender</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal.%203:28%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Gal. 3:28 </a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2012:13%20%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Cor. 12:13 </a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Col.%203:10-11&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Col. 3:10-11</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br />
</b> </span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">9. Rejecting Capital Punishment</span></b></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Extreme Forgiveness precludes this option for the Christian.</span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat.%205:43-48&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 5:43-48</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2012:19&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Rom. 12:19</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2013:4&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Rom. 13:4</a> (worldly State exacts punishment on God's behalf, in your stead)</span></b></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">10. Gifts of the Spirit</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2012&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Cor. 12</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2012:6%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Rom. 12:6 </a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2014&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Cor. 14</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph.%204:8&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Eph. 4:8</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span> </div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">11. No Lawsuits</span></b></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Extreme Forgiveness precludes this option for the Christian.</span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%206:1-8&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Cor. 6:1-8</a> (emphasis on v.7)</span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%206:14-15&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 6:14-15</a></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></b></div>
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">12. Community of Goods</span></b></h2>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:44-45&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Acts 2:44-45</a></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Cor.%208:14-15&version=NKJV" target="_blank">2 Cor. 8:14-15</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Act%204:34-37&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Act 4:34-37</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%203:16-17&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 John 3:16-17</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></b></div>
</div>
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</div>
<div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">13. Hell/Eternal Punishments</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2013:41-42&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 13:41-42</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2010:28&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 10:28</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br />
</b></div>
</div>
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</div>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">14. Extreme Love</span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%205:44-46&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 5:44-46</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2013&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Cor. 13</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204:20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 John 4:20</a></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span> </div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">15. Extreme Servitude</span></b></h2>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2020:26-28%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Matt. 20:26-28 </a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Phil.%202:3-8&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Phil. 2:3-8</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Pet.%205:5-6%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Pet. 5:5-6</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">16. Willingness to Suffer</span></b></h2>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%209:16&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Acts 9:16</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:17&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Rom 8:17</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Phil.%201:29&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Phil. 1:29</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Tim.%202:12%20%20%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">2 Tim. 2:12 </a></span></b></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></b></div>
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<div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">17. Church Discipline</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Thess.%203:14-15&version=NKJV" target="_blank">2 Thess. 3:14-15</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%203:10%20&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Titus 3:10 </a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%205:4-13&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Cor. 5:4-13</a></span></b></div>
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</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
______________________________________________________</h2>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I want to clarify, there are people who practice some on this list. I know of people who practice several. I know that I, myself, am growing to adjust my beliefs and practices to be as accurate to the teaching as I can - and I have so far to go! This is meant as a means to examine ourselves and the Bible, and pray and make correction where we feel it's needed. What lover of truth would spurn that opportunity?</div>
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
______________________________________________________</h2>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie46Vhr_5_jq6btVJdF0WHW6ZqBVSvfJrz6ri3637xhSSHvvLMxFNi_RL4TjU5iJO6ff3XdRGj0Zlt-MFcGonLjX5H-zZ74ac8zp76kM0Y9kBeu8b5ktv_o2KxMcBaK8pRezgkNmTEsSE6/s1600/How-The-Early-Church-Spread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie46Vhr_5_jq6btVJdF0WHW6ZqBVSvfJrz6ri3637xhSSHvvLMxFNi_RL4TjU5iJO6ff3XdRGj0Zlt-MFcGonLjX5H-zZ74ac8zp76kM0Y9kBeu8b5ktv_o2KxMcBaK8pRezgkNmTEsSE6/s1600/How-The-Early-Church-Spread.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Did I miss any?</b></div>
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-38361441328411316872012-12-29T22:18:00.001-05:002013-03-04T21:40:52.571-05:00Miracle Birth - The Full Story of Ariel's Arrival<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" </b></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU6PGAeyyULZ8FhIxzna1wjeQL-vMBLy0OFVELUNmJnCwUh1RUmaLwXf8-ZWfvAR7J1BQzu56bR84QXNUR8URnWJwF7tR-7FmdK1R5msWwrJfF9VHcW3aG7gJIA9h4-TWL_QrrlNg6VzW/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU6PGAeyyULZ8FhIxzna1wjeQL-vMBLy0OFVELUNmJnCwUh1RUmaLwXf8-ZWfvAR7J1BQzu56bR84QXNUR8URnWJwF7tR-7FmdK1R5msWwrJfF9VHcW3aG7gJIA9h4-TWL_QrrlNg6VzW/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't use the word "miracle" lightly.<br />
Discover God's faithfulness in every step of this story.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our daughter Ariel was born at home Nov. 29, 2012. She was 12 lbs. 15 oz. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We had a planned home birth with two midwives, my pastor's faithful wife, and my mother-in-law.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Her name means "Lioness of God."</div>
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<br /></div>
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I want to tell this story to extol the great glory that belongs to our God through the name of Jesus Christ. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't have any great interest in just "sharing" our experience. All glory, honor, power and strength belongs to God.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Lord is faithful, and speaks to us in diverse ways and manners. Through prayer, through His Word, His people, and prophecy. There is a daily prophetic word that we pay attention to, namely because it has been so clear, directive, timely and accurate, I have read it often over the past seven years.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The day before the birth, Nov. 28, 2012, read as follows:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>November 28, 2012: Beloved, I am taking you to a high place where I will reveal more of who you are in Me. Even though you have come a long ways, there is yet more to be revealed. Be prepared to navigate through places that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable. As greater revelation of My kingdom is made known to you, you will have to make the necessary adjustments that will allow for more complete unity with Me and those who belong to Me, says the Lord. </b>Psalm 133:1-3 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.</i></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Little did I know how much we would have to navigate that was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Little did I know the unity of the brethren we would need in prayer. Little did I know how much we needed the commanding of the Lord's blessing of Life forevermore.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
The Day of the Birth</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The day of the birth, events were progressing smoothly. After about two weeks of unproductive labor, now known to be because of a *large* baby, we were excited to finally have the process in full swing. Things were also moving pretty quickly, considering the long labor we had with Elia. Spirits were high, faith was flowing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then there was a change.</div>
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Ariel's head was pushing through, which is often a pretty stressful time for both mother and baby. In light of that, the midwives did a check with the fetal heart monitor to see if the baby was stressed with an elevated heart rate.</div>
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But there was no stress. Because there was no heart beat. She was dead.</div>
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The midwives sprang into action, first calling 911, and then contorting poor Courtni in every manner they could think of to get that baby out, but she just wasn't coming. A certain level of panic began to set in. Not allowing this baby to come on her own sweet time, the midwives all but tried to tear the baby out, reaching inside, pulling, clipping - everything that could be done. They were quite heroic.</div>
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Finally, she came out.</div>
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And she lay on the floor, dead. Blue, having never taken a breath of air. Limp, and unmoving.</div>
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I stared in horror and disbelief as the midwives tried for several minutes to revive her with little chest compressions and air, but nothing was happened.</div>
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I began to think on how to adjust my expectations of having a beautiful newborn baby to forever having a hole in my heart. I begged the situation to be different. I hoped it was a dream.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But then something woke me from my cloud of despair and the mire of surrender and defeat.</div>
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I don't remember exactly what was said, but Courtni said something to the effect of "Oh God, please, no."</div>
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<br /></div>
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It snapped me back to reality!</div>
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I remembered all in an instant, who I was and what I believe, and in turn, I knew exactly what to do. PRAY!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, my pastor's wife had been praying fervently in the other room the whole time. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unbeknownst to us, the Lord independently called upon many faithful, strong folks to pray on our behalf at that very time, about 6:30 in the evening. They didn't know why they prayed, but the unity of the brethren was fulfilled.</div>
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As I remembered who I was in Christ, in an instant, faith was restored. There was no surrender, no doubt. I was overcome with the fullness of a feeling that said, "This shall not be."</div>
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<br /></div>
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So I stretched forth my hand, and commanded her to live in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and the Life.</div>
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Within seconds, her heart rate returned. After about a minute, she started breathing. Then a cry.</div>
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When the paramedics arrived, they had to call back to there fellows, saying, "Call back that order, call it back, the situation is not what we expected."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We don't really know how long she was gone, because it is unknown how long she was without a heartbeat before it was discovered it was gone - but from the time of the heartrate check to the birth was about 10 minutes. Birth to Life was *estimated* 6 minutes, for a total of approximately 15-20 minutes that she was dead. If you ask me, being 1 minute dead is long enough. Those minutes were like eternities.</div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>And the prophecy for that day, Nov. 29, 2012 was as follows:</b></div>
<i style="font-weight: bold;"></i><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="font-weight: bold;"><i>November 29, 2012: Raise up a standard of faith in the midst of your circumstances. Take every opportunity to trust Me with all of your heart. Refuse to allow negativity, doubt, or unbelief to undermine your rock-solid faith, says the Lord. Face your fears and overcome. The outcome of your situation depends on it! Be strong and resilient even in great difficulty. I am with you to bring you through to victory. </i><i>Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.</i></i></div>
<i style="font-weight: bold;">
</i></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
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We went to the hospital with the paramedics, and I held her the whole way, rejoicing. Courtni had lost a lot of blood in the process, and due to the violence of the birth, part of the placenta was still stuck to her uteran wall, just continually pouring blood. Courtni and I had to split upon arrival, and she swore me not to leave Ariel's side. I didn't.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They had some concerns about Ariel due to her stressful delivery. They spoke about broken limbs, brain damage, vegetation, seizures, and permanence. Things looked grim, and I didn't know the future. However, at this point, knowing the Lord brought her to life, I knew that He would prosper her after she was living as well. Our worry was pretty minimal.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Due to all the concerns they had about Ariel, they decided to send her that night to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unity in Farmington. Adding to it, because she was such a big baby, she had trouble regulating her sugars. This was an expected thing, just due to her size, and resolves in time naturally so long as she is given glucose or food to maintain her sugar levels.</div>
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They took Courtni and helped remove the remaining placenta and stopped the bleeding. She stayed overnight and I checked her out the next morning, and we went to Farmington.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The next day, I went to Farmington to get the full assessment. They did an X-Ray on her left arm, it had a fracture, and so they pinned her little arm to her chest so she couldn't move it. Her right arm on the other side wasn't moving at all. They said she had "stretched nerves." Our midwives said they have seen children that it takes a year or two before they even move that arm, even though it does tend to resolve itself over time. </div>
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And her sugar was still diving.</div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Prophetic word given for Nov. 30th, 2012:</b></div>
<i></i><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><b>November 30, 2012: I am releasing a wave of extraordinary grace that will see you through the weeks ahead. For, I will indeed empower you to do what is necessary to fulfill that which is required of you. This is a time to lean on Me for strength and wisdom. Do not forget that I am your help in times of trouble, so you must not depend on your own understanding. Rather, rise up in the supernatural realm of the Spirit to gain insight and spiritual support, says the Lord. </b> 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.</i></i></div>
<i>
</i></blockquote>
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Knowing this, we were filled with spiritual strength. We prayed. As did everyone else at this point as well. Thank you, Lord for your compassionate people!</div>
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Courtni and I were largely split, one at the hospital, one at home with Elia, alternating.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Prayer changed everything.</div>
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The next day, her bruising was gone. </div>
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They noticed she was in no discomfort with her fractured left arm, so they got another X-Ray.</div>
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The fracture was gone. I don't know what they thought - if there was a hair on the X-Ray film or what, they just said, "So... I guess there wasn't a fracture.. huh." But we know it is the Lord that healeth.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Her nerve-stretched right arm has about 85% mobility already, in days, not years.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The only remaining issue was her sugar regulation, which had nothing to do with her violent birth, just being large. Upon asking the nurses when she would get out, they said, "Well, regulating the glucose can be a slow process... sometimes it goes up, sometimes down and you have to start from scratch. Probably a few weeks."</div>
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My wife boldly declared to her in that instant, "I think you are going to be very surprised how quickly her sugar regulates."</div>
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<br /></div>
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And so it was, every time they reduced the glucose, Ariel handled in stride, never dipping into the unacceptable zone. They increased her feeding steadily without ever having to pull back as they expected. Due to policy, they kept her there until the Thursday, the 6th about a week after we arrived. (They understandably don't take risks with at risk newborns at the NICU.) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were expecting to be discharged that day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were literally packing up to go out the door at about 1pm, and the doctor came in and said, "We got some tests back... and there were some abnormalities."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The tests had all kinds of things wrong in her liver function, thyroid function, several other things. They had to get another blood sample and re-test. They said while one of the tests would come back sooner, just a few hours, most of the others wouldn't be back for about a day. The devil was really trying to press us at this point.</div>
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So, I stayed at the NICU and my wife went home alone. We were initially heartbroken. We thought we would have her with us that night. But we were praying, still.</div>
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<"Thomas" Conversation with Courtni occured here, see next section></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
About 5:30pm, the doctor came in to see me at the NICU and said, "We got the first test back, and everything is normal... and since that one's status basically indicates the results of the others, we decided you can either stay the night here again, or call your wife to drive back and come get you and your baby."</div>
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I said, "My wife would kill me if I didn't call her right this instant." So I did. And we went home.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The reason why the tests were abnormal is because they took the blood for those tests within an hour of her coming back to life, so the tests showed her brain, liver, thyroid and other things in a state of critical failure.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But. They weren't. She was alive now. Alive by the power of God, for the Life of God. Everything is normal.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
"THOMAS"</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When my wife was pregnant with Elia, she prayed, and got a word from the Lord saying the child would be called "Ephraim." We looked it up in the hebrew, and saw it meant, "Double Portion." A wonderful promise we stood on. We considered it similar to the prophecy in Isaiah, calling Christ, "Immanuel," and that's not His name, but a representation of who He was.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Before we ever got pregnant with Ariel, my wife prayed about having another child. The Lord told her we would have another child, and would be called, "Thomas." This time, it made me apprehensive. I told Courtni that I wasn't sure I wanted another baby, because I was afraid she would grow to be an apostate, after all, Thomas is known as "Doubting Thomas." That is what he is famous for.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But at the NICU, after the doctors told us about the abnormalities, I had a new understanding of what "Thomas" was about.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I came to the realization that what Thomas was doubting was the RESURRECTION, but when he SAW the RISEN Lord, he bowed down and cried, "My Lord, My God," full of faith in the realization, becoming an apostle of Christ.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The lesson of Thomas in Ariel is this: Don't doubt the power of the resurrection. In seeing this living child, in knowing this story, the Lord has ordained it so it would bless many, so they could see, and believe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And so our faith was solid. The devil seeing we were unmoved at the news of abnormalities, backed off, and we took our baby home that night at 5:30pm.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've seen some miracles first-hand before. I've seen the mute speak. I've seen some incurable diseases like Herpes and Hepatitis leave with no recurrence, in the name of Jesus. Many others. But to me, as a father, this takes the cake. I am forever thankful.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That's basically the whole story. Ariel has been home with us for a few weeks now, she is a normal, fattycake healthy newborn. She is sweet and cuddly and chubby.</div>
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<br /></div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-8017912900324719252012-12-25T14:03:00.002-05:002014-12-02T16:06:56.170-05:00Should Christians Abandon Christmas?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Should Christians Abandon Christmas?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Disclaimer</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I celebrate the birth of our Savior. This is not meant as a condemnation on any. </b>I am a questioner by nature, and as
such, I think about, and examine, many things that are perhaps taken
for granted. My inquisitive spirit is not meant to be a slight or
offensive to any, for my thoughts are often detached and without feeling. I
know this is sacred ground to some. Consider these words a thought
experiment. Rather than dismissing the matter before hearing it,
just consider what I have written on its own merit. If it fails,
continue on your way, without giving another thought. Please read the
entirety of this entry so as not to misunderstand, misrepresent or
unduly dismiss me. If after everything, I am still a fool to you, let
it be so, only let us be kind to one another.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Should Christians Abandon Christmas?</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The answer to that question will be one
of your own conscience, and I will not force the issue. However, I
will here make the case that we should, not only as individuals, but
as the entire body of believers, abandon Christmas.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First, let me say what are <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">not</span></b>
my main arguments – those things that historically have been used
to malign Christmas, although these things perhaps ought to be
considered as aggravating circumstances to the discussion, so I will
briefly mention them. Each will play a role in the final conclusion,
however.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<ol>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">not</span></b> a post all
about the pagan roots of Christmas.</div>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Its true, the season of the Solstice
and its accompanying festivals and traditions have strong roots in
European paganism, and have found their way into our cultural
celebration of Christ's birth. Festivals like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia" target="_blank">Saturnalia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule" target="_blank">Yule</a>, and
the birth of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus" target="_blank">Sol Invictus</a>, are the direct precursors to our modern
festivities. To some, this argument is compelling, because it shows
Christmas is a textbook example of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism" target="_blank">SYNCRETISM</a>, the melding of true
belief, with pagan practices, creating an offspring that looks unlike
the original parts.
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The most common objection to this by
Christians is, “Well, the Lord knows my heart, that I am worshiping
Him. When I do those things that have pagan origin, thats not the
reason why I do them, so my heart is clean.” I imagine the same
line of thinking was used in the Old Testament by the Israelites who
were worshiping the Lord by sacrificing in the pagan High Places, and
in the Asherah Groves. The logic is the same, and the logic was
condemned by the Lord. I would also add, that whenever I hear someone
say “The Lord knows my heart,” it is really a silent admission
that they know they do wrong, but do not have the will to change it.
If your heart is pure, why not let your actions match?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<ol start="2">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">not</span></b> a post all
about the evils of Santa.</div>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VgZuul7Jyd0-W1Y0tKMtNipJpCqNSygAIVWdX9xY68XfqVVmpGkGYTeAMjQ-FY5ClApbBUVtNsSkISJ6oVThrJqVYM_mys2WPfUteFYI9zqaMVaL2f5WklXNiV_RdbmO9kKl4K84Zn4/s1600/merry-christmas-wallpapers+hd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VgZuul7Jyd0-W1Y0tKMtNipJpCqNSygAIVWdX9xY68XfqVVmpGkGYTeAMjQ-FY5ClApbBUVtNsSkISJ6oVThrJqVYM_mys2WPfUteFYI9zqaMVaL2f5WklXNiV_RdbmO9kKl4K84Zn4/s200/merry-christmas-wallpapers+hd.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>We know Santa is not Jesus, so I will
not belabor the point. I will say though that there is a conspicuous
coincidence that “Santa” is an anagram for “Satan,” just a
remixture of the letters. Also funny that these seemingly undying
individuals, are seemly ever present, examining our actions in a red
suit, flying around at night with their horned minions and
supernatural helpers. One, we Lie about, the other is the Father of Lies. Funny coincidence is all.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Funny that Santa, in his modern
conception, is a creation of the Coca-Cola corporation. Corporations,
which seem to dictate the will, whim, and tone of the Christmas
season anyway.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<ol start="3">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">not</span></b> a post all
about the evils of Commercialism.</div>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Commercialism is Americanism, it is the
Spirit of the Age, there is no avoidance.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> <span style="font-size: large;"> So What Is This All About?</span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is about
abandoning Christmas because Jesus Christ was not born on December
25<sup>th</sup>. I respect and admire the people who want to reclaim
the “reason for the season,” however, its not an entirely true
statement. The world is only taking back what was originally theirs
(see reason #1). This holiday was co-opted by the Christians by
executive decree of Constantine to ease the conversion of worshipers
of Sol Invictus. The holiday is about Santa Claus now, Christmas
Trees and presents. Its about fresh fallen snow, presents and candy
canes. And presents. It has nothing to do with Jesus.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Two Traditions</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Bible speaks
of two kinds of tradition, there are the “<a href="http://bible.cc/mark/7-8.htm" target="_blank">traditions of men</a>”,
which are spoken evil of, as a corrupting force to the word of God,
and there is the “<a href="http://bible.cc/2_peter/3-2.htm" target="_blank">tradition of Christ and the Apostles</a>,” which we
are to hold onto for dear life. Christmas is a time where the two
traditions meet and intermingle, creating confusion and
misinformation. Do we, who are the worshipers of the God who<a href="http://bible.cc/psalms/119-104.htm" target="_blank"> “hates every false way,”</a> not care if our<a href="http://bible.cc/galatians/5-9.htm" target="_blank"> lump is leavened</a>?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“<b>Three Kings”</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Not those three
kings! In the books of Chronicles and Kings, there are basically
three sorts of kings.<br />
1. There are those who outright worship false
gods.
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2. There are those
who worship the Lord, but do not tear down the high places or
discourage sacrifice there.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. And there are
those who worship the Lord and tear down the high places and the
groves, restoring the unmingled worship of God.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We sometimes wonder why the second group didn't go all the way, and we often admire
the last group of kings and honor them for their bravery and
greatness. But just think how difficult it really is to overturn
long-held mixed practices? It is very difficult, and those who wish
to cling to the traditions of men tend to get angry that you would
even call it into question. We don't purposefully want to be those
who despoil the populous, but neither do we want to be afraid to do
so if it is the right thing to do.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Which sort of King
will you be?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Jesus did
something similar when He <a href="http://bible.cc/matthew/21-12.htm" target="_blank">overturned the moneychangers tables</a> at the
temple. Those men didn’t just show up that weekend deciding to
change money. They were there for hundreds of years, as barrier to
the worship of God, forcing people to use Temple Currency to buy
sacrifices at incredible exchange rates. People always look to make
money off of pure, innocent worshipers, but Jesus would have none of
it. Is not Christmas, in many ways, a way to make money off of
worshipers? Does it not make money a barrier to God? How many people,
when financially struggling, feel they have had a “bad Christmas”
because they couldn’t afford many, or expensive gifts? But in that
day, He overturned that long-held tradition at the temple,
establishing an new order of freedom to worship, apart from financial
gain. He says, "Come and worship, no matter how much you have."</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Abandon Christmas</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That is why I
suggest we follow the <u><b>earliest tradition</b>s and <b>modern scholarship</b></u>, and
<i>re-establish</i> the birth of Christ at its rightful time, and celebrate
it, unencumbered by worldly tradition, in a way that becomes
Christians.</span></h3>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Instead, we carry on trying to clarify the confusion of the season. </div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Instead, we give credibility and ammunition to those who say “Christianity is just a repackaging of pagan practices.” They point to our holidays as a means to make their point.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>One thing I've learned, is when you're wrong, just admit it.</i> Why maintain the ruse to our detriment? Christ has nothing to do with it. Let them have it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes, the best thing to do in a battle is to regroup at a more defensible position. Why defend an open field with many flanks, if you can take the defensible high ground?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why fight commercialism?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why confuse our most meaningful traditions?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why defend a date that has no history upon it?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why contend with a vicious worldly spirit?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why receive the blows of critics at their rightful accusations of pagan origins?</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The question is,
<b>Why are we fighting for a lie?</b> If it were His birthday, and we were
looking to keep it pure and worshipful, I can understand fighting
with all our might. But its not. Why defend it?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="font-weight: bold;">"Therefore, from the birth of Christ to the death of Commodus are a total of 194 years, 1 month and 13 days. There are those who have calculated not only the year of our Lord's birth, but also the day. They say that it took place in the 28th year of Augustus, on the 25th of Pachon [May 20], others say he was born on the 25th day of Pharmuthi [April 19 or 20]." </i>Clement of Alexandria, 195 AD.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Modern scholarship supports this early claim.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I suggest, we Christians, as a whole, move the celebration of Christ's birth to the Spring, where we may worship Him "in Spirit, and in Truth." For this season does *not* represent the Spirit of God, nor is there Truth in it. Let us re-establish a Spirit of love and thankfulness, having our homes filled with brotherhood and unity rather than trees and tinsle. Let our heads be crowned with remembrance rather than Santa hats. Let our own songs and hymns of praise ring, unclamored by the cacaphony of "jingle bells." Let us not lie to our children about the existence of Santa, but extol to them the truth of Christ our Savior.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For Christ was born in a desert, not during quaint New England snowfall. No true Christian tradition would be affected by such a move except for the time practiced. Due to its pagan origin, the Christmas festival was banned in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681 by the Puritans as an illegal observance.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In changing our day, we solve all problems have to contend with.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We no longer have to fight for attention amid the other holidays and their activities and practices.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We become pure in our worship, untainted by the leaven of syncretism.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We silence the critics who point out our error.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We establish truth and history as the basis for our practices.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We no longer have to clarify our position to others during the season.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We get the birth of Christ on our own terms, able to establish our own godly traditions, rather than man's.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let them have their holiday.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let us be the sort of Kings that tear down the high places and establish the true worship of God.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let us establish the birth of Christ on our own terms, on truth, and with love.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks for listening, and if you disagree, let us be kind.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've never heard anyone else suggest this. I've only heard of not celebrating at all.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b><u>If you think it has merit, Share it!</u></b></h3>
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lastly, some parting quotes from Tertullian about Saturnalia, the precursor to Christmas.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>"On your day of gladness, we Christians neither cover our doorposts with wreaths, nor intrude upon the day with lamps. At the call of public festivity, you consider it a proper thing to decorate your house like some new brothel . . . We are accused of lower sacrilege because we do not celebrate with you .. the holidays in a manner forbidden alike by modesty, decency and purity." </i></b>Tertullian, 197 AD.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>"The Saturnalia, New Year, Midwinter festivals, and Matronalia are frequented by us! Presents come and go! There are New Years gifts! Games join their noise! Banquets join the din! ... For even if they had known them, they would not have shared in the Lord's Day, or Pentecost with us. For they would fear, lest they should appear to be Christians. Yet, we are not apprehensive that we might appear pagans!"</i></b> Tertullian, 197, AD.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-64736071240666223402012-09-20T22:16:00.000-04:002014-04-14T14:15:57.654-04:00Did Jesus Have a Wife? An Systematic Retort. [Updated]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ecanadanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/papyrus_front_lg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ecanadanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/papyrus_front_lg.jpeg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
Perhaps you've seen the sensational articles releases a few days ago due to the release of a new papyrus by the Harvard Divinity School, which on it, contains the name "Jesus" and the word, "wife."<br />
<div>
Let me treat this plainly, and straightforwardly, not out of religious dogmatism, where I say childishly, "He did not!!!", but where I can readily nip this in the bud. If Jesus did have a wife, it is not as earthshattering as some make it to be - but then again, we want the fact not a speculation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First, some facts.</div>
<div>
1. The contents of the fragment read thus: "And Jesus said to them,"My wife..." (yes, that's it.)</div>
<div>
2. The Papyrus is a 4th Century Gnostic text, written in Coptic, an Egyptian dialect.</div>
<div>
3. Although released from Harvard Divinity School, said school does not endorse the "conclusion" that Jesus had a wife.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now some contentions.</div>
<div>
1. Being that the fragment only contains the statement "My wife...", the rest of the statement could say literally anything. It is completely devoid of context. It could say "My wife is she who does the will of my Father in Heaven." It could say "My wife is my bride, the Church.", it could say absolutely anything, especially demonstrating that it was directed to a crowd of his disciples, since He was addressing "them."<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Written in the 4th Century, during the peak of Gnostic gospel forgeries, it is classed among the dozens of false gospels and Jesus narratives that were produced at that time, where everyone and anyone used the name, power and reputation of Jesus to endorse their teaching in a book. That the book was produced some 3-5 hundred years after Jesus, is as if I started making authoritative statements about George Washington or Christopher Columbus.<br />
The fact that during the time period, people were also debating on the pros and cons of marriage for the priesthood, and used the status of Jesus as a template, it is suspicious that this would crop up during that discussion.
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
3. The day or two after the first press release about this came out, a second round were released with the headlines "Doubts about Jesus Wife Manuscript."</div>
<div>
The fact is, there were always doubts about it, but they only wanted to hook people in with the headline the first time around, and then hook them in a second time around with the doubts.</div>
<div>
No one at Harvard Divinity actually thinks Jesus had a wife, as attested not only by the Biblical gospels, but also through the dozens and dozens of works of full, thought out treastises, essays, letters, apologies, we have by early church fathers, who were disciples of disciples, who knew every piece of knowledge both written and verbally, and wrote it down, which not only do not mention a wife, either say nothing about it, or decline it.</div>
<div>
And a wife was not something that was bad to have. Peter had a wife. Philip had a wife and 4 daughters. But Jesus did not. Its absent from the historical record in the only 4 contemporary biographies we have about Him and his life, the Gospels. You'd think the religion of "family values" would mention it if it were true. But its not.</div>
<div>
<br />
Lastly, the media keeps saying, "At the least this shows that some Christians believed Jesus may have had a wife."<br />
This is still untrue, since Gnostics are not Christians. The media needs to do its research. The name 'Christian' applies to a certain basic sets of doctrinal agreement that the apostles of Jesus taught, not just a belief system in which Jesus is included. Gnostics hold none of the basic doctrinal points held by the apostles - those who HEARD and SAW Him. Neither do Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Ba'hai, or any other group which has assimilated Jesus as a figure, messiah or prophet. Notice, these groups have left off the moniker, "Christian" from their name, and having left the name, they have left the faith.<br />
<br />
<br />
So click the headlines, that's what they want. There is no basis in fact here.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Update:</span><br />
<br />
Some doubts listed by authoritative people in the antiquities community:<br />
<br />
"There are all sorts of really dodgy things about this," said David Gill, professor of archaeological heritage at University Campus Suffolk and author of the Looting Matters blog, which closely follows the illicit trade in antiquities. "This looks to me as if any sensible, responsible academic would keep their distance from it." <br />
<br />
Stephen Emmel, a professor of Coptology at the University of Muenster who was on the international advisory panel that reviewed the 2006 discovery of the Gospel of Judas, said the text accurately quotes Jesus as saying "my wife." But he questioned whether the document was authentic.<br />
<br />
"There's something about this fragment in its appearance and also in the grammar of the Coptic that strikes me as being not completely convincing somehow," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.<br />
<br />
Another participant at the congress, Alin Suciu, a papyrologist at the University of Hamburg, was more blunt.<br />
<br />
"I would say it's a forgery. The script doesn't look authentic" when compared to other samples of Coptic papyrus script dated to the fourth century, he said.<br />
<br />
Some archaeologists were quick to question Harvard's ethics, noting that the fragment has no known provenance, or history of where it's been, and that its current owner may have a financial interest in the publicity being generated about it.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-29414465406789691952012-07-05T12:19:00.003-04:002014-10-26T18:08:47.658-04:00"HOW GODS ARE MADE" Book Release - What's it about?<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
For the Official HOW GODS ARE MADE Page, with reviews, sample chapters, etc., <a href="http://howgodsaremade.weebly.com/" target="_blank">go HERE.</a></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am very happy to announce the fruit of years of labor in my new book, "HOW GODS ARE MADE."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many are probably curious what it is all about. I will try to provide a brief synopsis here, describing the scope of my work.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjd9XWqGN8gtxlEwTvVdkY6ZROigFyYKt6YhFRf2RnXCHG_XtmSy7_yqqnvcDA8TEYPOZdDHpyz7eX-fCl_n26eRiDl049zI0ePUMU0CzaLQbFWWtZQtQnxDZZleCjIqmHfsra_w49bEf/s1600/BookCoverPreview+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjd9XWqGN8gtxlEwTvVdkY6ZROigFyYKt6YhFRf2RnXCHG_XtmSy7_yqqnvcDA8TEYPOZdDHpyz7eX-fCl_n26eRiDl049zI0ePUMU0CzaLQbFWWtZQtQnxDZZleCjIqmHfsra_w49bEf/s320/BookCoverPreview+(2).jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter One - The Lust After Strange Gods</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This chapter is an explanation of why mankind has gone astray in diverse and strange ways. Reveals the condition of the heart of man and his predisposition for worship.<b> </b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Two - The Sacrifice of Truth</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This chapter reveals the fallacy of "all paths lead to God", and the idea of relative truth.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Three - Gods That Came Newly Up</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This chapter introduces the idea of demonic sponsorship in regard to false deities, and explains my personal experiences with it through the occult.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Four - Finding Their Prophet</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Explains my encounter with an "angel" which sought me to be the harbinger of it's heavenly book, and how I became the object of aforementioned demonic sponsorship.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Five - Demonic Sponsorship in Islam</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Applies the principles of the Bible and my personal experience to the historical record of the formation of Islam to demonstrate the true nature of the "angel" that visited Muhammad.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Six - Demonic Sponsorship in Mormonism</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Applies the principles of the Bible and my personal experience to the
historical record of the formation of Mormonism to demonstrate the true
nature of the "angel" that visited Joseph Smith and the occult roots of LDS.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Seven - Syncretism and Catholicism</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This chapter demonstrates a separate tactic of corruption through a slow progressive process and the assimilation of false doctrine from surrounding belief systems. Also explores the nature of the Mary apparitions and examines the doctrines she puts forth in contrast to scripture.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Eight - Where There is Fire </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This chapter explores the work of evil spirits in the modern charismatic movement<b>, </b>which I currently identify with. Helps to separate the true work of God in spiritual gifts vs. the work of devils in our midst.<b> </b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter Nine - The Spirit of the Age</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ending broadly, this chapter looks at the overall conditions of society and the modern thinker to show the active working of the "spirit which now works in the sons of disobedience." <br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Appendix</b><br />
This appendix is a short collection of statements from early church fathers which affirm the doctrines of devils working in false gods and the nature of those possessed being worshiped as gods.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<b> </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I will say that this book is not an exhaustive examination of each of the topics covered. Each topic could truly be a book unto itself, but instead this provides a wide overview to demonstrate a broader principle, namely the work of active and real demonic forces in both the past and the present.</div>
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This book is also not complete from an apologetic sense either. For one who wants a full examination of Mormonism for example, this book is not it, since my scope only covers the occult aspects and the nature of the angels. This applies to all topics covered. "Kingdom Of The Cults" is a great start where this is concerned. Or a better examination of the world if evil spirits in the church, there is "Kundalini Warning" by Andrew Strom.</div>
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There are many books out there which cover the other topics much more fully and better than I ever could, but would do it from a purely doctrinal, logical framework, whereas this book attempts to expose the repeated pattern of false angelic revelation to the world and the role of deceiving spirits as the root for false religion.</div>
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I pray the Lord would bless this work, as I believe it is His doing.</div>
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Availability:</div>
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My E-Store via Codex Spiritualis Press: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/howgodsaremade" target="_blank">Here</a> (preferred)</div>
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Amazon.com: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Gods-Are-Made-Exploring/dp/0615658911/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341504862&sr=8-2&keywords=daniel+clausen+how+gods+are+made" target="_blank">Here</a></div>
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Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Gods-Are-Made-ebook/dp/B008GXAGP2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341504862&sr=8-1&keywords=daniel+clausen+how+gods+are+made" target="_blank">Here</a> </div>
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Barnes & Noble Nook Book: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-gods-are-made-daniel-clausen/1111961244?ean=2940014687577" target="_blank">Here</a></div>
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Promo video: </div>
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Thanks for your interest everyone!</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-14812195785799673502011-12-06T17:31:00.001-05:002013-06-24T15:56:56.193-04:00Yoga In Schools Violates No Prayer in School<div style="text-align: justify;">
I recently saw this segment on the Early Show:</div>
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It is a unabashed endorsement for the practice of Yoga in schools. The segment shows the apparent virtues of this practice: higher test scores, better behavior, and a general sense of well-being from the students. The students claim to love it, and it is lauded by superintendents and non-profits, whose goal is to incorporate Yoga into school curriculum.</div>
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I am bringing all of this up only as a matter of principle for this one reason: Yoga is prayer. It is true, Yoga is not conventional western or familiar in its form - but make no mistake, it is prayer.</div>
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The word "Yoga" itself is a Sanskrit word meaning "yoke", from a root, "yuj", which means to "join, unite or attach". Hence the inherent spiritual goal is a joining, a uniting or attachment to the divine. Now, there are various disciplines and schools of Yoga, but all of their practice is for spiritual attainment or unity to Brahman with Atman. ie, experientially realizing the oneness of Atman(self) with Brahman(pantheistic diety).</div>
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Now, I am not ignorant to the fact that many people choose to practice yoga simply as a "good exercise", but it is a form that cannot truly be divorced from its spiritual connotations. There is even an upswell of anger from the Hindu community at the secularization of the practice. See below:<br />
[This video is important to my point, and only 2 minutes. Please watch!]</div>
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So, I'm not picking on Hindus. They may all practice yoga to their hearts content. The issue is that in America, in 1962, prayer was taken out of the public schools. I am only saying as a matter of principle and fairness that if these are the rules we, as Americans must abide by, it should apply to all traditions of prayer and not only to Abrahamic religions. It should certainly not be endorsed by school boards or superintendents. If we all agree to allow prayer back into schools, may we all pray and practice our faiths respectfully - but as it is now, we ought not to play favorites. And out of simple respect for their ancient tradition, perhaps we should not try to secularize their "path to enlightenment." If stretching and a little muscle burn helps kids, lets find gym class. But lets not patronize the Hindus or disrespect other forms of prayer because of its benefits.</div>
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Mind you, if the issue were simply about the focus, grades and behavior of kids, conventional prayer provides all that and more - so all should be allowed. But as it stands today, with the law as it is today and the way America has chosen to separate its religious life, this should not abide.</div>
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Any thoughts?</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099313344347179113.post-11724726825749297522011-07-24T21:06:00.005-04:002011-07-24T22:38:15.367-04:00The Norway Massacre, Fundamentalism and Philosophy.Most everyone has probably heard of the horrific massacre that occurred in Norway recently, the evil of which I can hardly comprehend. I cannot adequately express my sorrow for the individuals and their families who were victims of this holocaust.<br />
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But perhaps you have noticed how the media has tried to characterize this man both politically and religiously.<br />
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Every article I have read has classified him as a "fundamentalist Christian." Of this, I am almost equally astonished as the event itself simply because the media does not seem to know the definition of the word "fundamentalist."<br />
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A fundamentalist is (quoting from the dictionary here)<b> "A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, and by rigid adherence to those principles."</b><br />
That means, in this context, that this man should have a radical and rigid adherence to the fundamental principles of Christ. If you know ANYTHING AT ALL about the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus Christ and the example of His life, you ought to know that not only was Jesus not a murderer, but He Himself was an innocent victim who was mercilessly executed.<br />
For all practical purposes, Jesus was a pacifist, who when He was reviled, He reviled not again. He taught his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who use them. He said not to resist an evil person, but to in ALL circumstances return good for evil. Leo Tolstoy said it best in his book "Christ's Christianity": <i>"As fire will not put out fire, so evil will not destroy evil. Good alone, untainted by evil, can overcome it.</i>"<br />
Christ, when He was hated, did just as He taught. He prayed for, and forgave those who crucified Him, and did not even curse at them, let alone act out violently or resist.<br />
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Now, all of this to prove the very easy point that this man not only did not act Christian, but he cannot be called any sort of fundamentalist because a fundamental understanding and follow-through of the teachings of Christ will lead someone unequivocally to a lifestyle of radical love,<i> even for your enemies.</i><br />
<b>So understand that.</b> Because for a Christian, an enemy is not defined by who we hate (because we ought to hate no one), but rather an enemy is defined by who hates<i> us</i>. And even to them, the response is the same: To love at all costs, even our lives, because evil is only overcome with good, hate only by love, darkness only by light. Evil for evil only leaves evil, hate for hate leaves only hate, darkness for darkness leaves only darkness. No matter how justified we may feel about our evil or hate - the equation always pans out the same.<br />
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So this is the ultimate point: <b>You cannot judge a philosophy by its abuse. You can only judge a philosophy by the end of its logical out-workings.</b><br />
The reason why many people are afraid of Islam is because there is a very real, plausible and <a href="http://answering-islam.org/Terrorism/islam_and_violence.html">logical out-working that comes from a valid interpretation of the Quran.</a> My saying so may annoy some, but thousands of people in hundreds of countries over many centuries have held those beliefs, not just the modern day terrorists. Jihadists are a very real form of Islamic fundamentalism because their worldview is derived from a plain reading of dozens of verses, backed by the actions of their own prophet and historical precedence.<br />
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You can derive an equally destructive logical out-working from Atheism. In a world where we are all a great big cosmic accident and I am just a product of my genes and less than that, I am just enzymes and hormones - in such a world there is no imperative for morality. I'm not saying an atheist cannot be moral - but morality for him is a preference, because objectively, every action is just an action in a blind universe. So with no strain of conscience, an atheist could murder millions and it could not be called<i> wrong</i>, because in such a world there is no good or evil, there are just events.<br />
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Steve Turner said it best:<br />
<i>"If chance be the Father of all flesh,<br />
disaster is his rainbow in the sky,<br />
and when you hear<br />
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State of Emergency!<br />
Sniper Kills Ten!<br />
Troops on Rampage!<br />
Whites go Looting!<br />
Bomb Blasts School!<br />
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It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker."</i><br />
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There is no such logical out-working that can be derived from a Christian Fundamentalist worldview. Anyone who does such a thing is not strictly adhering to the fundamental teachings of Christ and can only identify as a Christian in the most gross and blasphemous abuse and corruption of everything holy.<br />
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<b>You cannot judge a philosophy by its abuse. You can only judge a philosophy by the end of its logical out-workings.</b>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15301481573140073807noreply@blogger.com2