Wednesday, September 14, 2016

The Pacification of Christian Values (Chapter 1)

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin
(Part #1)
                                
Today, there are many ancient clichés reemerging and once again inserting themselves into Christian worship as sacred truths.   Why did these clichés or axioms lie dormant for so many years only to reappear with such vigor that the values of Christianity are changed?  The axiom, "Love the sinner, hate the sin", is an abomination to some, but to others, it is a broad road to reconciliation and salvation.  The argument for or against is hard to persecute because both sides use the same source to validate their claim.   Often, what God said is a matter of interpretation. 

The different interpretations emulating from messengers of God is and has always been the basis of my dissent.   Proclaiming a new age Gospel while professing that God or his Word never changes creates a platform of deliberate confusion.  

Through the early years of Christianity, its mission has been to create a separation between the saint and the sinner.  

Although "Love the sinner, hate the sin", is a noble concept and is attributed to the teaching of Jesus, the truth according to numerous Bible scholars is Jesus never made the statement.  It might seem to parallel the teaching of Jesus, but it is from St. Augustine. His Letter 211 (c. 424) contains the phrase cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum, which translates roughly to "With love for mankind and hatred of sins." The phrase has become more famous as "love the sinner but hate the sin" or "hate the sin and not the sinner" (the latter form appearing in Mohandas Gandhi’s 1929 autobiography).  

What was it about these two leaders that caused them to defend their actions with such clever crafted Clichés? St. Augustine struggled with his sexuality and that of humanity, he deemed that sex in its post-Eden form was sinful.    He dramatizes the fear of sexual pleasure, by equating pleasure with perdition. Sadly to say he did it in such a way that anyone who tries to follow his logic would have the sense of being trapped in a never-ending nightmare".  Thus, the "attitude of the Catholic Church's celibate hierarchy is that the locus par excellence of sin is sex, a view based on Augustine's pleasure-hating fantasies".

Therefore, the phrase or cliché emerged with a sexual connotation, "With love for mankind and hatred of sins."   Mohandas Gandhi’s use of the phrase, "Love the sinner, hate the sin", was to justify his abnormal sexuality.  History supports the thesis that the use of the phrase even today carries a sexual connotation.  The re-emergence of the phrase in today's society is to justify the sinful nature of humanity.  

Clichés have a way of sneaking into our sub consciousness and thru a process of self-coding, they emerge as something profound and worthy of reflecting upon.  Call them Clichés, Truisms, rhymes or even crude remarks they are capable of improving or even perverting our thought process.     Many of the clichés we heard as a child lay dormant waiting for that moment to spring forth and replicate themselves in the mind of those we meet.  Often they are nothing more than cute phrases that tickle the ear and soothe the mind of the discontented.   In the early onset of emerging, nations and communities the use clichés or truisms as learning or indoctrination tools were commonplace.  

Often, speeches that the presenter considers worthy of the populace remembering are clichés filled.  Although bordering on embellishment, remember John F. Kennedy's famous speech. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." 

My grandmother used numerous clichés to teach me objectivity lessons.   Among her favorite were, "It is the early bird that gets the worm", and "You can't have your cake and eat it too."  Both of these statements drove her point home, but one afternoon while plowing my mother's garden I began to question the early bird concept, there were variables that created inconsistencies.  Even today, I still find myself wondering; why a cake is not a cake once you eat it.

The use of clichés or truisms in a religious setting often promotes a sublime intent to deflect or detract from or even shape the word of God.  When a Bible truth is reduced to a Cliché the values of Christianity suffers.  Clichés maintain the innate ability to cross the line between teaching and indoctrination in a veiled manner.  A cute phrase can create a point of reflection such as, "One monkey doesn't stop the show", or a point of action such as, "Love the sinner, and hate the sin". 

Where did the phrase, "Love the sinner, hate the sin", come from?   To most, the answer is simple; it is the teaching of Jesus.   On any given Sunday, thousands of preachers will stand before their congregation and proclaim that these are the word of Jesus.  Many of those hearing those words will believe because if we do not show love they will hate us.   If we do not show love they will not come to our churches, thus our bottom line will suffer.  The organized church has decided that in order to remain relevant in a pessimist society it must dumb down its rhetoric in the face of it an adversary.   Imagine the howls of the wolves if one would proclaim from the pulpit or national television, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33)   The political correctness police would descend upon the interloper, shaming the pastor and the church into compliance.

Shaming has evolved into an art form.  It has morphed into something sinister from the days when one kid would say to the other, "Your mother wear cowboy boots".  Usually, a fight would erupt and afterward they would usually leave the playground as friends unless an adult intervened.   In today's society new and potent words are created and the rush to provide the proper definition and narrative is courted by the media.  The list includes words like racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.  These words are used to bring shame upon the person that they are being applied to.  Call a person one of these words and the result is similar to saying to the person you have body odor.  Whether it is true or not the person is affected.

I was in a Sunday school when I first heard the words, "love the sinner, hate the sin".  To put things in the proper perspective, it was the Sunday after the Supreme Court validated the President's alternate lifestyle agenda.  My world, based on the Holy Spirit led common sense and the Bible entered into a state of turmoil.  The Sunday school teacher took an ample amount of time explaining what I considered a new concept of Christian values.   The morning sermon was also based upon love and the pastor made a feeble attempt to explain how and why we were supposed to love the sinner, and hate the sin.  The government's re-indoctrination of Christian values was in full play.  I left the church that day one very confused soul.  

The reason Christians have begun to spout these phrases and clichés as if they were God inspired scripture is a part of the process of justifying sin.  Now that sin has been justified by the government, the populace is facing cultural crises, church crises, and family crises.   These crises have torn our communities and cities apart and now they are on the verge of destroying the very nation that spawned them.  As marriage equality gained support, the traditional church and Christianity found itself in a dilemma.  How do the churches attract people in a society that have turned its back on God?  Traditional churches are becoming empty and many churchgoers are wonders where it will end.     

Two statements in the above paragraph are not scriptural.  The founding of the church was not to attract people to Christ, and Christians who study the Word of God know how this is going to end.  

Most learned Bible scholars would have us to believe that Jesus actually said, "Love the sinner, and hate the sin."  Lest of all, we are indoctrinated into a belief that he would be on board with this 'simple truth'.  Why would he not be?  The adage supports universal love.  We take the catchphrase from Mahatma Gandhi who morphed it from Augustine's, "With love for mankind and hatred of sins",  not because we agree with everything Mahatma Gandhi said, but because he conveniently said, “Hate the sin and not the sinner.”

The problem with Mahatma Gandhi statement, “Hate the sin, not the sinner” is, there is nothing in the Word of God to validate the statement.  The question that it does present is how does humanity separate sin from a sinner?  Now, the use of the word sinner can be misconstruction as hate speech and to make such an assessment is of a person's nature is judging.  We are told that we are not to judge yet, every day we make judgment calls, whether it is the refusal to hire a person because of his history or calling a person names because they do not agree with modernist views.  Modern day Christians have allowed themselves to be backed into a rabbit hole and are asked to perform the impossible.  The Bible makes a clear distinction between the righteous and the sinner.  (1st Peter 4:18) Paul's message to the Corinthians was as such, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. (2nd Corinthians 6:17).  There has never been a greater miss-characterization of the heart of Jesus or a more egregious bastardization of the Bible than proclaiming those words to be the Word of God. 


The damage that has done to Christian values and to the public perception of Christianity may never be fully repaired before Christ return.   Based upon the testimony of Jesus in the book of Revelation, It is an embarrassment; a sin and a total abomination what the organized church have morphed into.  In my book, "The Evolution of a Failed Church", I take great care in explaining the difference between the organized church and the spiritual church.   The hijacking and backpedaling of Christian values did not take place overnight; it began when Christians grew weary of persecution under the rule of the Roman Empire.

Continues in (Part 2)

Friday, September 9, 2016

The Pacification of Christian Values

Prologue


Never in my lifetime has the attack on Christian values been so intense.  Many failed to see the shift in the battle and direction as a man of color took the helm of a nation that proclaimed to be a Christian nation.  A change was what he proposed and he soon issued a proclamation that America was not a Christian nation.  The empowerment of dredge elements was used solidified a campaign of shaming and hatred that was directed at anyone who did not agree with the emerging agenda.  The enactment of laws to curb hate speech even caused Christian church sermons to be dissected and certain phrases were label as hate speech.  In order to protect itself, the church scrambled to change the ancient focus and direction of Christianity.  Two impossible non-biblical shaped scenarios evolved, hate the sin, love the person, and do not judge.  It is akin to saying, "I love Ice Cream but I hate milk."  These two affirmations rendered the application of Christian values impotent. 

There are numerous forums on the internet and in our churches where   Christian members assembly and discuss the Word of God.  From these discussions there usually, emerge new ideas and/or interpretations that are game changers when it comes to Understanding the Word of God.  What is most disturbing to many is that during many of these sessions the question of sin is entertained, redefined and justified.  What often emerges is a watered down versions of what once were fire and brimstone messages.  The new message only depicts a God of love.  We are more comfortable with a God who loves his creation and sits high and are working things out day by day for his children.  Acceptance of a particular ideology becomes a matter of interpretation.  The ability to justify sin through the misapplying or misquoting the scripture is a strong selling point when looking to attract followers. 

In Isaiah 9:8-16 the Lord sent a word unto Jacob and Israel; the prophet speaks on the subject of the punishment that would befall them.  This God of love that we speak so highly off, joined together Israel enemies and used them to punish her.  The blame was placed at the door of the leaders and the so-called leaders who had failed to lead the people accordance to the ordinance of God.  They cast aside the religious values set forth by God in favor of a more accommodating lifestyle.  

A God who punishes is no longer an acceptable God in our modernistic society, thus we are free to become like spoiled and begging brats.   In the dispensation of Grace, God's wrath is withheld until an appointed time.  Therefore, it becomes easy to overlook all of the threat and acts of violence of the Old Testament and find that one verse that says, "God is love".  There are leaders who perpetrate a false sense of godliness, a false sense of contentment by focusing on just the loving aspects of God.  It is impossible to separate love and hate in a natural world, they are opposites and opposites support each other like day and night.  For God to love, he must be able to express his hate.   (Romans 9:13)  Christian values have suffered within the emerging generation because there is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18)  

Often it is the lack of the knowledge of God that has permeated down through the ages that cause the Christian values to deteriorate and the believability of God to suffer. Neither of these adjectives is deniable because validation is achieved through the opening of our eyes and viewing the landscape. Preachers are preaching, prophets are prophesying and churches are being built but the conditions of the world and its people are not improving.  It began in the home, then the school, which spilled over into the community.  Once our communities began to suffer our cities, states, and nation followed.   Many of our youth no longer respect the values of old, yet they do not have anything to offer in their place.   History teaches us that when a system or idea is destroyed it must be replaced with something of equal or greater value, if not a vacuum is created, and chaos follows.

The government has created a system of values that is being sanctioned by the masses, and the church is reinterpreting itself in order to remain inclusive. Too many church leaders have stepped away from the confrontational nature of the gospel and embraced a motivational and prosperity message that massages the sinful nature of man. 

In the early days of Christianity, a different lifestyle was a part of being a Christian.  Christians were a name given to those who were said to be followers Christ and those that adopted this lifestyle were previously warned by Jesus that they would be  persecuted because of their lifestyle.  Blending was not a trait that Christians embraced and they were encouraged by their teachers to separate themselves and rejoice in tribulation.   

After the killing of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, persecution of the Christians intensified under the rule of the Roman Empire.   There was a concerted effort by the Jewish elite and the Romans to stamp out this new religion called Christianity.  Upholding the values of this new religion was instrumental in the early death of all of the Apostles and many of the newly converted followers of the Gospel.  Paul was one of the chief instigators of church persecution, yet when he was converted, he endured the same hardship like a good soldier.

The church was formed in the midst of persecution, as a place of refuge, a place where members assembled to support to each other.  In the midst of persecution the church flourished.  This was not the intent of the Devil.  The Christians were expected to compromise their values in exchange for a life filled with worldly pleasure.  The Devil drunk with a false sense of success in his campaign to destroy the Jews and after the crucifixion of Christ turned his full attention to  the destruction of the Church.  

Realizing that torture did not work against the early church, the Devil devise a scheme to infiltrate the church and destroy it from within.  The Roman Emperor Constantine became the instrument used by the Devil.  In 312 AD, the great persecution was still going on in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Constantine became a Roman Emperor and he is said to have had a vision, which made him convert from Paganism to Christianity.  Christianity replaced Paganism as the religion of the Empire.  The Christians were given high-level positions within the government and the church moved into richly endowed buildings.   The pagan influence began to infiltrate the church; the values of Christianity began to change as the church walked hand in hand with the government.  The result of this marriage caused Jesus to issue a stinging indictment against his church in Revelation 2: and 3: 

Christianity was no longer a persecuted religion within the ruling empire and the emerging church begun to look upon Constantine as the great deliverer.  Deliverance from persecution was something the Emperor not Jesus had not done, thus Emperor Worship and the worship of men found it place in the church.  Jesus expressed his disdain for those who came into the church for the purpose of ruling the church.  "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."   "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." (Revelation 2:15) 

Whether it was or was not Constantine's intent to pollute the Christianity is arguably, yet the Devil used these concessions to merge Christian and pagan values.  Pagan worshippers not wanting to left on the outside of this newly emerging power base came into the church without the benefit of conversion. They profess a belief in Christianity, yet they clung to the traditions and values of paganism.  In many instances, they continued to worship their same gods and celebrated their pagan Holidays.


The organized church became a polluted church, steeped in pagan tradition, with men installing themselves as the head of Christ church.  Thus began a journey of false teaching and reinterpreting the scripture to fit a particle narrative.   The weapon of choice was scriptures out of context.  The Devil, now confident that he had achieved a victory, accepted his position within the organize church and guided it towards it first major split.

Monday, September 5, 2016

When We Are Tested

 "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" (Job 1:6-8)

When the story of Job is presented in sermons or Bible Studies the emphasis is usually placed on Job's faith.  Leading up to the climax, there is a reference to how his wife and friends failed to  comfort him in his time of trouble.  The emotional climax is often centered around Job's proclamation, "If a man dies, shall he live again?  All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. (Job 14:14)   It seems to many that this confirmation of faith is what the story of Job is about, but is this what it is really about?  

The question that many find un-entertainable and un-answerable is, "why did God point out Job to the Devil?"  It is not acceptable to conclude that God tested Job's faith yet this is exactly what happen.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam was tested and he failed.  Abraham also had his faith tested and so did many other Biblical figures.  Somewhere in the dark crevice of our mind, the questions should emerge, "Why was it necessary for God to test Job's  faith?"  "Do God use or allow the Devil to test our faith?  There is only one biblical answer.  We can accept it or we can explain it away.

The first chapter of Job paints revealing pictures of how God and the Devil work, once you examine them thoroughly.  This is not the picture painted in Sunday services and Bible Study.  For this reason, it is getting harder and harder to reconcile the God of the Bible especially the God of the Old Testament with the God of today.  God placed the children of Israel in bondage so they could grow as a nation.  God punished Jonah because of his disobedience.  God harden Pharoah's heart causing him to follow the children of Israel, leading him and his Army to their ultimate death. What is most revealing in the Old Testament and the story of Job is not about what God can or cannot do, the story seems to amplify a time of testing and how God work. 

The first picture painted is that of a person walking up and down unobstructed on a small plot of land, visual that small plot as a garden plot. The understanding here is that this person has such complete control because the thing under his control is very small and insignificant compared to his overall power and ability. We think of Earth as being very large, but to a supernatural God and Satan, Earth is nothing more, nor less, than a small, insignificant garden plot, over which the Devil exercises complete control. Christian are not comfortable acknowledging that the Devil has control of the earth, therefore for cosmetic purposes, I will add the disclaimer, 'unless a greater power intervenes'.  

The opening statement in the first verse of Job establishes the type of access and relationship the Devil and God maintains.  When the sons of God came to present themselves before God,  the Devil was in the group.  The verse does not depict a scrounging or rebuking session, rather God and the Devil engaged in an amicable conversation.  The Devil states his purpose for walking to and fro, and God suggests that he try his antics on Job.  There are numerous thoughts and suppositions that are added to make the picture fit our frame, but the reality is, God suggested that the Devil test Job.   We can justify this act by saying; God knew in advance that Job would pass the test.  If we follow that line of reasoning the whole conversation, become irrelevant, the same as saying God is controlling the mess that man has made out of his creation. I would rather believe Job could have failed the test. 

In addition, immediately in Job, we see that God exercises his power of control by telling Satan he may test Job, but with certain restrictions, specifically not taking Job's life. Yet, God allowed Satan to take the life of Job's family members! We should thoroughly understand the power of Satan.  Everything that happens here on earth is not the will of God,  Satan has circumvented the will of God.  He has the power to kill humans,  and when that drunk crashes into that mother's car and kill her child we should not place the blame on God.   When speaking of the lost sheep or souls, Jesus stated that "...it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:14)  "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)  

There are times when we should ask God to forgive us for the things that we blame him for falsely.  The evil that is in the world was not brought about thru an act of God but it is used by God to test the resolve of souls that will enter into his Kingdom.  Those who succumb to the temptation of the Devil will not enter and those who enter will not come before the throne acting like the Devil.  God has a timetable of testing leading to the destruction of the devil and those whom he has corrupted.  God allows much of what goes on in the world today because of the sinful nature of man. 


Let's take a closer look at the Devil, that insidious figure that we much rather pretend it didn't exist.  The Apostle Paul calls Satan the "Prince of the Power of the Air".(Ephesians 2:6-7) The reference to "air" refers to the air surrounding this Earth. It is just another way of saying "Earth". Paul's picture here is that of Satan being the Absolute Dictator (Prince) of this Earth. The Apostle John also speaks of Satan with this title, in John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)


In The Book of Revelation Jesus states that Satan had his throne, in the city of Pergamum.  That city was steeped in idolatrous worship. " ...where Satan dwells. Satan had his throne set in the city where he felt most comfortable, the people, even church people, were practicing his witchcraft and all forms of idolatry.  Pergamum is certainly not Satan's throne today; I wonder in what city Satan's throne exist today? In what nation or city is Satanism in all its forms most practiced? I do not know, but I do know that such a throne exists in some city in this world.


The fact is clear -- Satan is the Prince of the Earth and he rules this Earth as completely as you or I would rule our little garden plot. And, he sits on a throne somewhere on Earth!!  There are those who proclaim the works of Satan to be the works of God.  Thus the old adage emerges, the greatest trick the Devil ever performed was to convince the world he didn't exist.  

Thursday, September 1, 2016

War Has Been Declared Part #3 of 3


Proverbs 11:29  He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

Mark 3:24-25  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Nations that once referred themselves to as God-fearing nations is standing on the brink of a biblical disaster. Natural and spiritual disasters are emerging in the form of floods, earthquake, famines, and pestilences.  The Earth is groaning and convulsing as a woman enduring labor pains.  The children of these nations blinded by their vast knowledge have cast aside the fear of God in the name the gods of political correctness.  Born into a pessimistic society the youth of today are losing their respect for the ancient values.  A new and godless nation "One World Order" is rising up out of a sea of confused souls.   Revelation 13:1) They have killed all of their sacred cows and the spirit of antichrist is prevailing.

Division is the ultimate warrior and martial law is looming on the horizon.   The freedom that we so carelessly tread upon might soon disappear as a puff of smoke.  Jesus referenced Daniel when speaking of coming events.  "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:" (Mark 13:14).   The understanding of this verse is not hard if we do not try to read too much into it.  The message to the wise and to those who once existed in their safe place, the time to flee to the mountains is drawing nigh.
      
The world and even the church have succumbed to the tactics of that old Devil. First, he used Governments and religion to divide the people, as he did in the Old Testament age.  During the Old Testament age God prodded humanity to engage, to fight and eliminate this blight from the face of the earth, but humanity, even Saul was tempted.   To prosecute the war against the Devil God used fire, water and even supernatural interventions, but the Devil had found an ally in God greatest creation.  If man had been, true to his spiritual nature the flood in Noah's day would have solved the problem,

The war began when Luther, God's prized Angel, attempted to overthrow the throne of God. The question posed now is why did God allowed the Devil to continue to exist. When the war began, God could have spoken the word or blinked his eye and poof, the old Devil would have been gone.  Viewing the problem from a natural perspective, we often fail to see the spiritual implications.  Once sin entered the realm of God, destroying the Devil would not have solved the problem; it merely would have created a martyr.  The Devil must be defeated in Heaven and on earth.

We that pose the question often fail to see the plan of God unfolding.  First, Satan corrupted a third of God's children, therefore, they are to be replaced before the Kingdom is expanded and re-established.  Second, there is a timeline established from the beginning, and within that timeline, there is a period of testing.  The Devil initiated and highlighted the sin problem; therefore, God had relegated to the Devils the job of testing every soul that enters into the Kingdom.  A study of the Book of Job will enlighten us as to how God and the Devil work, but this is an ideology that we are not prepared to accept.

To fully understand the war that we have been drafted to fight we must understand our purpose for being here.  Is our purpose all a part of a motivational trip?  Did God create man so that he would have somebody to give stuff?   Is it our mission to sing and praise God for all of his goodness, or is our purpose to bring souls to Christ?   It seems that the New Testament stress the need to go into the highways and hedges and compel.   

The Old Testament is a history lesson that gives us a detail account of humanity fall from grace and his attempt to fight against the Devil.  The Kingdom of Heaven, first through the application of the Law, then Grace, is searching for souls that are capable of resisting the Devil. 

The church flourished in persecution, but once it joined hand with the Government, it lost its soul.   Many churches of today are no longer able or capable of giving battlefield assessment; they are promoting a Kool-Aid flavor gospel that causes it members to bask in the sunshine of favor.   The words of Jesus should quell the clamor for special blessings. "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." (Matthew 5:45) 

In my Book, "The Evolution of The Failed Church", I chronologies the battle the battle brought against the church by the Devil.  What was more interesting was that the battle did not begin with the formation of the church; it began before the creation of man. Mankind was created and empower to assist in the fight against the Devil, but mankind has a history of succumbing to the temptation of the Devil.  The authority given to man was ceded to the Devil through an unholy alliance in the garden.   Aside from temptation, envy and pride created a type of hatred that caused humanity to wallow in his sinful nature.

Revelation 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.