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Recently I have been doing quite a bit of counseling, helping very godly women with various circumstances in life and decisions that must be made. I am a firm believer in the sovereignty of God (that should come as no surprise to you who read this blog every day) and firmly believe that He is in charge of all the events of our lives.
When a counselee begins to see changes take place in their lives, they can sometimes begin to see the counselor as more than they really are. There is a great temptation for them to make the opinions of man more important that the Word of God. Of course, it is not intentional but nevertheless they sometimes tend to neglect seeking the wisdom, direction, and comfort of the Lord in these trying times as much as they seek my opinion.
As I sat down with my Bible I was reminded of the verses in Jeremiah 17:5-8 which begins in this way, "Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord..."
Why do we start strong with the Lord and fade out in the long stretches? We begin praying and seeking and wanting what God wants for us and over time we become wrapped up in the details of the occasion and we turn away in our heart from focusing on Him. Remembering that all that is of this world is temporary is an important piece of making it through this life.
"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. 2 Corinthians 4:17
While Paul describes the afflictions of this life as "light" and "momentary" and our sufferings as temporary and designed only for this lifetime there are times I certainly struggle focusing on the eternal weight of glory they are producing (Romans 8:18)
Have you ever thought that present suffering will cause future glory? This is a tremendous promise! All of the difficulties, and trials, and sorrow and suffering that you and I endure in this life is affecting a change in the image of who we will become in eternity! This makes every single moment of our suffering very significant.
Even the worst of our sufferings are light compared with that "eternal weight of glory" which they are producing (1 Peter 5:10; 1 Peter 1:6; 2 Cor. 4:17.) They are nothing in duration. For these sufferings are but for a moment; but the glory we will share will be eternal. Sufferings will soon pass away; but the glory we will one day experience is never going to end. Do you have any concept of how long eternity is? I doubt it; I know I don't really understand the idea of eternal or never ending.
Paul understood this; he learned it through his trials. His trials began the moment he began to preach Christ. He wanted us to get two ideas in as emphatic a manner as possible; first, that his afflictions were light, and, secondly, that they were momentary, and soon passing away. His object was to contrast trials with the glory that awaited him, as being heavy, and as being also eternal.
Our afflictions are working, producing, and affecting future glory.
This is why we are to set our minds on what is to come. Not on the problems, the suffering, the afflictions and begin to look at the glory that is to come! If we really take these verses to heart and begin to understand in more than a superficial way that in comparison to what is ahead off us- the joy, the wonder, the splendor, the glory- this stuff is nothing.
As you pray about the burdens you bear, where is your focus? Is your focus in prayer, "God please end this" or is it "God be glorified?" Paul never would have made it if he lived focusing on the suffering, he understood that when it comes to suffering, our minds must be renewed and we must learn to focus on the glory to come.
Today, think of what God is accomplishing in your season of suffering. This time, think of the changes that have been made in your heart and life. Think of how your perspective has changed on things as a result of your trial.
Reference: http://witchnest.blogspot.com
by Robert Hart
"(Dawkins' God" originally appeared in the March 2008 edition of Touchstone, a Journal of Mere Christianity)
If Richard Dawkins wants to refute what Christians believe, he should not declare his own belief in Divine Transcendence. "Time" Magazine recently asked him and Francis Collins, a Christian who heads the Human Genome Project, what caused the universe to exist and suggested that the answer could be God.
Dawkins answered: "There could be something incredibly grand and incomprehensible and beyond our present understanding," To this Collins responded "That's God." Yes, said Dawkins,
but it could be any of a billion Gods... the chances of its being a particular God, Yahweh, the God of Jesus, is vanishing small - at least the onus is on you to demonstrate why you think that's the case... I don't see the Olympian Gods or Jesus coming down and dying on the cross as worthy of that grandeur. They strike me as parochial. If there's a God, it's going to be a whole lot more incomprehensible than anything that any theologian of any religion has ever proposed.
How is this an argument "against" the Christian faith? (By the way, what does Dawkins mean by "our present understanding"? Does he anticipate some future state of exaltation and glorification that will increase it?) Furthermore, Dawkins has been a favorite of atheists for a long time, and yet here he clearly professes agnosticism. And, what he is agnostic about is revelation.
In the Bible we read of God who dwells in the darkness and of God hidden by the radiance of blinding light. St. Paul writes of "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see" (I Tim.6:15, 16).
In the first of his Soliloquies, St. Augustine writes of God as "incredibly grand." The entire tradition of Apophatic theology is about God who is beyond our understanding. God is spoken of in negatives, because we cannot know the Nature that is Wholly other than every created nature, infinite, without beginning or end.
Dawkins believes that "The chances of its [this incomprehensible God] being a particular God... is vanishing small." Yet the Transcendent and incomprehensible God beyond our knowing whose possible existence he concedes is a particular God, and quite in keeping with the one element that he actually brings into question: Have we been given the complement of the Divine mystery, namely, revelation?
Theology is, though the modern mind may find this astonishing, a science. It is based on statements of fact, including miracles. The Christian faith takes its stand on one thing above all, the eyewitness accounts of those who saw the resurrected Christ.
This is strengthened in its status as actual history by the martyrdom of the earliest witnesses. What stands as a unique event in history is not merely an empty tomb, and not the story of the resurrection, but the deep conviction of the earliest Christians that Christ's post resurrection appearances were events real enough to die for.
This provides for us a fact to consider, namely that what we have, not only a particular God, but specific revelation, is the opposite of "vanishing small." Instead, it is quite substantive on the basis of evidence.
In terms of this revelation, the post resurrection appearances verify the teachings of Jesus, as recorded by eyewitness accounts, and lead to our central doctrine, the Incarnation. Dawkins fails in his attempt to criticize Christian teaching because he describes the very opposite of what we believe.
"I don't see the Olympian Gods or Jesus coming down and dying on a cross, as worthy of that grandeur," he tells the magazine. Here we can sympathize with him, because some theologians have made too much of St. Paul's use of the Greek word "kenoo" to mean that Jesus "emptied himself" into human nature.
TAKEN UP IN CHRIST
Never has the Church taught it this way. Always, the revelation has been understood to be that Jesus Christ is God the Word (Logos), or God the Son, having taken finite human nature into His infinite being, time into eternity, mortality into life, created nature into uncreated Person, the known into the unknowable. "God was made man that man might become God," as St. Athanasius wrote in his "On the Incarnation".
Dawkins is right to say that the idea of a knowable and definable god leaping down from Mt. Olympus is not worthy to be compared to this revelation. It is the very opposite. He is wrong to think of Jesus as an Olympian God. He is the very opposite.
Although Dawkins asserts his estimation of the crucifixion of Christ as unworthy of Divine grandeur as a crushing criticism of Christianity, it is simply an echo of St. Paul's words. "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (I Corinthians 1:22-25).Unworthy of Divine grandeur indeed; that was the point.
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It is, perhaps, an interesting feature of Saint Patrick's Day that Catholics, especially Irish ones, will enthusiastically quote, write, and sing-the words of a notable Protestant poet.
I refer to the common translation of the prayer usually called St. Patrick's Breastplate; it is legendary that the Irish saint is responsible for this prayer, though like so many things about this great saint's life it's hard to establish his authorship with any certainty. A poetic translation from the 1920s of this prayer may be found here, and reads as follows:
I ARISE to-day
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise to-day
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in a multitude.
Christ to shield me to-day
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise to-day
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
Now, there are several other versions out there, and some of them claim to be a literal translation of the original prayer. Unfortunately, a little further digging reveals that the prayer we have today is most probably a composite of two prayers attributed to St. Patrick, one the Lorica, or breastplate (the "Christ with me, Christ before me etc." part) and the other the Deer's Cry, the prayer which according to legend allowed St. Patrick and his followers to slip past a band of pagan enemies undetected.
Whatever the case may be, it's clear that the most well-known "translation" is actually the poetic hymn composed by Cecil Frances Alexander. She-yes, she's a she, even though the name "Cecil" threw me a little-was a Protestant Church of Ireland lady married to the Reverend William Alexander of the Diocese of Derry. The terse biography on this page contains the interesting information that her husband's age, six years younger than her own, caused "great family concern, and birthdate deferentially altered accordingly..." Thus some biographies of Mrs. Alexander list her birth date as 1825 instead of 1818!
Mrs. Alexander is well known for some of her other hymns, many of which have also found their way into Catholic hymn-books; these include "There is a green hill far away, All things bright and beautiful," and the lovely Christmas hymn, "Once in Royal David's city." One of her early books was called "Hymns for Little Children," and Mrs. Alexander wrote about her poetic efforts for children as follows:The writer's wish would be to prolong the child's love of the glorious Old Testament stories, by throwing round them something of the poetical tinge which is attractive to almost every mind in opening youth; and thus to connect associations of quiet pleasure with the examples of holy life, and the doctrines of saving truth, which the Bible contains in such exceeding abundance.'A link to "Hymns for Little Children" is here; it's interesting to glance through the poems, to see a few that are still familiar, and a few that, with their focus on the graveyard, seem a bit morbid for young childhood.
According to the Cyberhymnal website:
The lyr-ics are a trans-la-tion of a Gael-ic po-em called "St. Pat-rick's Lor-i-ca," or breast-plate. (A "lorica" was a mys-tic-al gar-ment that was sup-posed to pro-tect the wear-er from dan-ger and ill-ness, and guar-an-tee ent-ry in-to Hea-ven.) Ce-cil Alex-an-der penned these words at the re-quest of H. H. Dick-in-son, Dean of the Cha-pel Roy-al at Dub-lin Cas-tle:
I wrote to her sug-gest-ing that she should fill a gap in our Irish Church Hymn-al by giv-ing us a me-tric-al ver-sion of St. Patrick's "Lor-i-ca" and I sent her a care-ful-ly col-lat-ed co-py of the best prose trans-la-tions of it. With-in a week she sent me that ex-qui-site-ly beau-ti-ful as well as faith-ful ver-sion which ap-pears in the ap-pend-ix to our Church Hymn-al.
Mrs. Alexander's version of St. Patrick's Breastplate, then, came from several different prose translations of the prayer; it is still very well-loved today, since her gift for arranging the various translations into a lovely poetic form shows forth whether the poem is read or sung.
Our choir sang part of Mrs. Alexander's hymn on Sunday. There are too many verses for the entire thing to be easily sung at Mass, especially during the post-Communion period; we sang the first verse, and then verses 8 and 9 (by the Cyberhymnal arrangement). It was nice to be able to include this song on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day.
I think that St. Patrick, who fought so hard to bring the Faith to Ireland, would be pleased that his prayer brings together both Protestants and Catholics to sing about the Trinity. We should keep praying for the unity that Christ wants for all Christians, and remember on this feast day to ask St. Patrick to help unite all who sincerely seek to follow Christ, to know, love, and serve Him, and to worship in His Church.
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TOPICAL STUDY
FORGIVEN
GEN 33:4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
GEN 33:11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
GEN 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
GEN 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
GEN 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
GEN 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
GEN 45:9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
GEN 45:10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
GEN 45:11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
GEN 45:12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
GEN 45:13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
GEN 45:14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
GEN 45:15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
GEN 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
GEN 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
GEN 50:21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones.
And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
EXO 23:4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
EXO 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
NUM 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
NUM 12:2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
NUM 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
NUM 12:4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
NUM 12:5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
NUM 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
NUM 12:7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
NUM 12:8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
NUM 12:9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
NUM 12:10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
NUM 12:11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
NUM 12:12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
NUM 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
1SA 24:10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed.
1SA 24:11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.
1SA 24:12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
1SA 26:9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless?
1SA 26:23 The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness;
for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed.
2SA 1:14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?
2SA 1:15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
2SA 1:16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed.
2SA 1:17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:
2SA 16:9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
2SA 16:10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
2SA 16:11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.
2SA 16:12 It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.
2SA 16:13 And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
2SA 19:23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.
1KI 1:53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
1KI 2:8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
1KI 2:9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
1KI 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
1KI 13:4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
1KI 13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
1KI 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
PRO 19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
PRO 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
PRO 24:29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
PRO 25:21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
PRO 25:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
ECC 7:21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
MAT 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
MAT 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
MAT 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
MAT 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
MAT 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
MAT 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
MAT 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
MAT 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
MAT 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
MAT 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
MAT 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
MAT 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
MAT 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
MAT 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
MAT 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
MAT 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
MAT 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
MAT 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
MAT 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
MAT 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
MAT 18:30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
MAT 18:31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
MAT 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
MAT 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
MAT 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
MAT 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
MAR 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
LUK 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
LUK 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
LUK 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
LUK 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
LUK 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
LUK 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
ROM 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
ROM 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
ROM 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
ROM 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
ROM 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
1CO 4:12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
1CO 4:13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as tho filth of the world, and are the offscouring ofeall things unto this day.
EPH 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
COL 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
PHM 1:10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
1PE 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
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The "Dual" - GodHead
Was Invented
The "Dual" - GodHead
Was InventedThe Earliest of Christians worshipped the same God,
that Christ did. They were Jews and they worshipped
the Jewish God, Jehovah. This was the norm, until
Rome decided to take over and make Christianity
into a State Religion.
`
With an obvious Hatred of the Jews and their
Jewish God, Rome decided to fashion God into their
own framework. Thus the "Trinity" and the "Dual
Godhead
" - became the most popular way to represent
God at that time. These views were purely pagan,
and meant to satisfy the pagan populace that was
a large part of the Roman Empire at that time.
`
So, the Jewish God, Jehovah, was replaced with
pagan gods and pagan ideas. Anyone who questioned
or refused to accept these new views of God, were
tortured, and put to death.
`
In time, Jehovah was forgotten. His name was
removed from Bible manuscripts and the generic
"LORD" title was put in its place.
`These times of ignorance are over. It is Jehovah's
time - to make himself known throughout all the earth.
Pagan Rome is gone - and the truth will be made known. "Early Christians, facing scorn
and persecution decided to blend in
with their Pagan counterparts...
in order to blend in. The idea of
the holy trinity too, was an adopted
way to appeal to pagans."
-UNRV HISTORY
The Roman Empire
Spread of Christianity
"Christianity ultimately became the
highest embodiment of...The religion and
philosophy of the ancient pagan world."
E. Belfort Bax
The Decay of Pagan Thought
(January 1890)
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all people everywhere
to repent. - For he has set a day when he will
judge the world with justice by the man he has
appointed. He has given proof of this to all
men by raising him from the dead."
(Acts 17:30,31)(NIV)-BibleGateway
Christ's Viewpoint of God
"Jesus' view of who and what God is,
and the view of the apostles,
retains the clear monotheism
of the Old Testament."
-Christian Monotheism: Reality or Illusion?
by William Wachtel
Volume 1, Issue 1 (Fall 1992)
"To one who would flatter him
with the title "Good Teacher"
Jesus countered, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good - except God alone
"
(Mark 10:18, NIV)."
-Christian Monotheism: Reality or Illusion?
by William Wachtel
Volume 1, Issue 1 (Fall 1992)
"The Lord Jesus uniformly represented Himself
as performing all His acts...in the most perfect
subserviency to the will of His Father,
and in full dependence upon Him;
and this fact He stated in a variety of expressions,
and on different occasions, so as to manifest and
to impress it deeply on His followers."
-Dr. J. Pye Smith,
Scripture Testimony to the Messiah,
vol. ii., p. 300.
Jesus said, "...but the world must learn
that I love the Father
and that I do exactly what my
Father has commanded me."
(John 14:31)(NIV)-BibleGateway
"while Jesus was on earth,
he begged God with loud crying
and tears to save him...
HE truly worshiped God,
and God listened to his prayers...
he had to suffer before he could learn
what it really means to obey God. "
(Hebrews 5:7,8)(CEV)-BibleGatewa
The Apostles' Viewpoint of God
"Paul affirms that, "There is one God,
and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5).
Paul sees Christ as The mediator,
who is a man. Paul writes about God Himself
as clearly distinguished from this man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is truly
seen by Paul as the one and only God,
distinct and unequaled, forever supreme
(cf. 1 Cor. 15:24-28). This is Paul's
Christian monotheism, as strict and pure
as any monotheism could be."
-Christian Monotheism: Reality or Illusion?
by William Wachtel
Volume 1, Issue 1 (Fall 1992)
"The Apostle Peter speaks of "the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:3),
acknowledging the one whom Jesus called
"my God" (Matt. 27:46; John 20:17)."
-Christian Monotheism: Reality or Illusion?
by William Wachtel
Volume 1, Issue 1 (Fall 1992)
"The God of the Old Testament
is also the God of the New.Testament.
Christ and the apostles accepted
what Moses and the prophets had taught
concerning God; they assigned to Him
no other attributes than had already
been assigned to Him."
-Encyclopedia Britannica,
under - Art., "Theism."
Monotheism
The Earliest Christians Beliefs
"Up until the end of the second century
the universal Church remained united
in one basic sense; they all accepted
the supremacy of the Father.
They all regarded God the Father Almighty
as alone supreme, immutable, ineffable
and without beginning... "
-Second Century Orthodoxy,
by J. A. Buckley ; 1978, pages 114-15.
"...the early Christians adopted
the monotheistic views of the Jews."
-Hagen
History of Doctrines, vol. i., p. 124
"St. Augustine informs us that the earliest of
Christians did NOT believe that Jesus Christ
was God, himself."
-Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines
By John Claudius Pitrat
Published 1871
"Jesus' teachings are exclusively within Jewish
values and teachings. Modern Christianity...
does not adhere to many of Jesus' original teachings.
Early Christianity was an integral part of Judaism
of the period. Jesus... never intended to either
abandon Judaism, or to create a new religion.
The creation of the independent Christian Church
outside the framework of Judaism took place many
years later by those who neither knew the man Jesus,
nor the meanings of His difficult native Hebrew."
- Opher Segal, YD, vol. 5, no. 6.
"The God and Father is superior to his son...
and the Son, being less than the Father,
and is second to the Father.
So that in this way the power of the Father
is greater than that of the Son..."
-(Fragment 9 [Koetschau] tr.
Butterworth 1966,
pp. 33-34, and footnote).
Origen of Alexandria (185 - 254 A.D.)
"Nearly all the Christian sects of the First
three centuries believed that Jesus Christ was
NOT God, himself, and this is the unanimous
testimony of historians."
-Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines
By John Claudius Pitrat
Published 1871
The Corruptions of Rome
are added
"Rome plays a major role
in today's religious deception."
-Ralph Woodrow;
Babylon Mystery Religion; 1966
A Sudden Departure
"The sudden adoption of a term
to define the historic Jesus
as equal to God was a major departure
from scripture...that has no basis
in Scripture."
- State Church of the Roman Empire;
Ben H. Swett; 1998
"Subtly...the old gods had entered their churches...
And they live still in...Christianity."
-(Testament: The Bible and History, Romer,
1988, pp. 230-31).
"Janus was the Pagan Roman god of beginnings
and endings and of gates and doors. He was depicted
having two faces with one face looking to what
is behind and with one face looking toward
what lies ahead. Janus became a very important
god to the Romans. The popularity of Janus
can also be seen on Roman coins. Janus was made
into a Christian Saint by the Roman Catholic Church."
-Janus - The pagan god of January
By Laura Jean Karr
"The Church of Rome borrowed her doctrine
of the Divinity of Christ from the pagans
and the way they worshipped their pagan gods,
as half human and half god. Their adoration
of Jesus as a man-god was almost identical
to their devotions to the ancient pagan gods."
-Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines
By John Claudius Pitrat
Published 1871
Pagan Influence
Upon Christendom
"in the late second and third centuries,
pagans brought to Christianity some of their
pagan beliefs and practices."
-Jesus Christ is not God
1975 Victor Paul Wierwille
"The doctrine that Jesus Christ
the Son of God - was God the son
was decreed by worldly
and ecclesiastical powers.
Men were forced to accept it
at the point of the sword or else,
Thus Christianity became in essence
like Babylonian heathenism,
with only a veneer of Christian names."
- Forgers of the Word
-1983 Victor Paul Wierwille
"the superstitious masses have sought mysticism
to explain Jesus' relationship to God, and church
leaders have tried to fit Christ into pagan
parameters."
-The History of Christology
By Juan Baixeras
"In the Church of Rome, the doctrine of the
supreme divinity of Christ, was not established
until the year 180 AD. and was rejected by all
the other sects of early Christianity."
-Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines
By John Claudius Pitrat
Published 1871
Defining Jesus in Pagan Terms
Both the Double and Triune godhead was very
popular amongst the pagans - at the time that Rome
took over control of Christianity, therefore during the
councils that followed - Jesus was redefined in pagan
terms - as a second and equal part of the godhead.
Prior to this, all Christians had been monotheistic
worshippers of the Jewish God, Jehovah.
"the conception of God is Jewish in its origin,
but into it has been read and impressed the
spirit and character of Rome. Indeed, Rome has
modified and influenced our concept of God."
-The Place of Christ in Modern Theology
By Andrew Martin Fairbairn
Published 1895
"The idea that the godhead
has a double nature
was common among the Egyptians."
-Hathor and Thoth: Egyptian deity
Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptians
By Claas Jouco Bleeker
Published 1973 ; BRILL
ISBN 9004037349
"the doctrine of The supreme divinity of Jesus Christ
is of pagan origin...The Church of Rome borrowed
this doctrine...from the pagans. Christians up until
the 3rd Century - did not believe that Jesus was God.
They did NOT believe the doctrine of the Supreme
Divinity of Jesus Christ."
-Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines
By John Claudius Pitrat
Published 1871
The "Dual" godhead
Forced upon Christianity
The pagan god -"Janus" - was a dual godhead."
-Historia Religionum, Volume 1
Religions of the Past 1988
By G. Widengren, C. J. Bleeker
ISBN 9004089284
"...Christians appropriated Jewish messianic language,
applied it to Jesus, and then emptied it of its
original meaning, replacing it with the idea of a
divine savior (already common to Roman paganism)..."
- Christology
Grant D. Miller Francisco, 1999)
"...a theological heresy...to establish
that Jesus Christ was, indeed, God.
The story of this Creed is in many ways
the story of...robust politics.
It changed the Church and it changed the
Roman Empire, but that it has lasted for
nearly 2000 years would seem extraordinary
to those who created it."
-BBC Radio; History in Our Time
The Nicene Creed
Contributors : Martin Palmer, Director
of the International Consultancy on Religion,
Education and Culture; Caroline Humfress,
Birkbeck College, University of London
Andrew Louth, Professor-University of Durham
Rome forced her pagan views of God
upon Christianity
"Christianity began to be corrupted
during the reign of Constantine.
This king began the practice of combining
Christian doctrine, art, and objects with
those of paganism. This process is called
"Syncretization". "
-The Cutting Edge
The Pagan-Christian Connection Exposed
"Constantine the Great
professed Christianity, and made it
the religion of the Roman Empire;
and, he corrupted it with the old
State religion - that Heathen Mythology
in which he had been educated."
-The Key of David, by Warder Cresson
Published: 1852
"To enforce the decision (that Jesus is God) -
a doctrine that was made at the Council of Nicea,
Constantine COMMANDED, WITH THE DEATH PENALTY
for disobedience..."
- A History of Christianity
Volume 1 1997
Kenneth Scott Latourette
"..the Roman emperors decreed that anyone
who denied the Divinity of Christ
should be put to death."
-The Church of our Fathers -
1950, pg. 46
"The doctrine that Jesus Christ
the Son of God - was God the son
was decreed by worldly powers.
Men were forced to accept it
at the point of the sword - or else,
Thus, this error...was propounded
so that ultimately people believed it
to be the truth. Thus Christianity
became in essence like Babylonian
heathenism, with only a veneer of
Christian names."
-Forgers of the Word -1983
Victor Paul Wierwille
The Times of Ignorance is Over
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all people everywhere
to repent. - For he has set a day when he will
judge the world with justice by the man he has
appointed. He has given proof of this to all
men by raising him from the dead."
(Acts 17:30,31)(NIV)-BibleGateway
"Such former ages of ignorance -
God ignored and allowed to pass
unnoticed; but now He charges all
people everywhere to...change their
minds...and mend their ways...Because
He (God) has fixed a day when He will
judge the world righteously and justly -
by a Man Whom He has destined and
appointed for that task, and He has
made this credible and given conviction
and assurance and evidence to everyone
by raising Him from the dead."
(Acts 17:30,31)(AMP)-BibleGateway
Why is God's Name
Missing From Your Bible ?
(click-here)
Christianity "Traded Places" with Paganism
The Story of Constantine (click-here)
Jesus - The "Servant" of Jehovah God
(click-here)
"Correctores" - Altered the Bible
Spiritual Forgery (click-here)
Trinity "Proof" Texts - Discussed in Detail
A "Fraud" perpetuated in the name of Christ
(click-here)
The "Trinity" -
From Babylon to Rome -
(click-here)
If Jesus is God ?
Then Why Alter The Scriptures ?
in order To Prove it ? (click-here)
Worshipping The Same God
That Christ Did (click-here)
`
`
Origin: http://masonsofheaven.blogspot.com
Photo: Queer Film Festival, 2008
The Vancouver Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are holding the friends and family of Jim Deva in our thoughts and prayers. Jim is one of the Saints of the Vancouver Sisters and earlier tonight we learned that he has died. We pray that the Nuns of the Above shower him in all the glitter and joy he can absorb. We pray that his family, friends and community are able to support one another during this time of loss and grief. We pray that our community will learn from Jim's presence and leadership to know that each of us can and must strive to continue to build our community and find ways to support those who struggle for freedom.
Jim was instrumental in our community's development and growth. He co-created safe space in which we were able to gather, learn and plan the revolution well before it was safe for us to gather. He, along with his partners at Little Sisters, stood up to the federal government to demand equal treatment for our literature and ourselves.
A brave man dies this week and the Sisters ask everyone to take a moment to send good thoughts to Jim on whatever this next part of his journey is and to all those who loved him that their healing after losing him may be as kind and gentle as possible. If you are so moved, please join us in lighting a candle to help guide Jim on his way.
Blessings and much love to each and everyone of you.
Origin: http://master-of-tarot.blogspot.com
Wal-Mart has announced that they are going to change their advertising policy this year to fully embrace Christmas. Evidently, last year's religious protests and boycotts were effective. Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and other holiday decor are starting to emerge around town. Stores are rolling out their Christmas decorations and hoping to entice shoppers to start early. I suppose it is time for we evil atheists to rally our troops to fight yet another battle in our war on Christmas.
I'm joking, of course. There is no war on Christmas, never has been, and probably never will be. We atheists are used to celebrating this and many other holidays. Just because Christmas has no religious significance for us doesn't mean we would rather work that day. Sure, it is generally a time for me to renew my feelings of disgust toward religious belief and at least some believers. But it is also a time to enjoy family, get a break from work, and reflect on the happy memories of holidays past.
If they haven't done so already, Fox "News" will soon be driving their easily manipulated viewers into a frenzy over our imaginary war on Christmas, our nonexistent efforts to ban their bible, or
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