Thursday, June 30, 2005

# 8: Short Notes

The main reason the religious hated Christ was because He exposed their way of life as ungodly. If the world loves you, it is because you are like the world.

Though Christ’s life demanded respect, He was still hated by all who thought they belonged to God.

Christ’s teachings seem completely ludicrous. Christianity, in its highest form of purity, would also seem ludicrous, especially to the religious.

The very intelligent and wealthy have the capability of being extremely dangerous to the cause of Christ, more so than average people.

Does God receive glory from the way you and I live our lives? Let’s be completely honest.

Christianity is God’s way of displaying Himself through the free will of men and women who would believe Him with pure belief.

Christianity is God doing His thing through the belief of willing men and women.

Though the origin of all animal life comes from God, that life cannot or does not display the life of God.

Though bees cannot worship God, He still receives more joy and glory from a colony of bees that live in harmony with each other than a colony of humans who are indifferent to each other’s needs yet claim to worship Christ.

Holy words that are expressed in an awe-inspiring manner are cheap if the life of the speaker or author isn’t identical to those words.

The fundamentals of Catholicism are founded on ignorance of the Bible.

No one can believe like Christ if one does not live like Christ.

God says, “I don’t hear your words, but I get your message by looking at your life.”

If you had the opportunity to help one person who was about to commit suicide, would you attempt to save him or her? Would you help those who are committing eternal suicide? They are around us by the millions; are we indifferent to their condition? We may say everyone has a right to live and believe as they please without our interference, which could be another form of saying, “They are not important.”

Yes, God loves everyone, but His love is unfulfilled (cannot be expressed) through those who don't do things His way. The love God has for the disobedient does not condone their lifestyle, but desires for them to believe Him and live accordingly. Here is the point: God’s love for the lost consists of a desire for them to change and not much more.

In order for love to be of value, there must be an element of need. Because of God’s loving nature, he needs to express His love to anyone who will receive it. If by some chance, God was unable to express His love, He would cease, as it were. That is to say that we are in existence because God needs to have those whom He can love and they in turn reciprocate that love. So many will never take advantage of His love and die as mere animals; what a shame.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

# 7: Does God Need our Money?

Would God help with the material needs of the helpless? Yes, if He had a physical body. You and I are meant to be His physical body. But, to help with one’s material needs is not a means in itself. That is only putting one’s foot in the door, as it were, so that we can give them the real help they may not be aware of: Jesus Christ. Sadly, once we start to mention Christ, they think we are going to pump religion into them. Most often, the result is that they take our physical goodies and reject the rest.

Many of us will say, “I give regularly to my church and they will help the needy in the name of God.” That is a lot of baloney. After all the salaries and administration fees are cared for, the utility bills are paid, after all these church expenses are paid for (which eat up the biggest share), the rest will go to propagate their church’s propaganda. After that, if there is any of your money left over, it will go to help their missionaries and possibly an orphanage or two.

Now, what about helping (loving) our neighbor as ourselves? This is the part of religion that is appalling: just give to your church to keep them from going into the red. Without a doubt, God’s most potent enemies are not people like Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Hitler, members of Al-Qaeda, or the cruelest of atheists. We know they are/were evil, but religious leaders (wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing) who every Sunday keep spewing holy bull are God’s most potent enemies.

By adding self-promotion (“God desires His people to be prosperous”) to Christ’s teaching, they have made the root of all sin a holy crucible. The religious are the ones who have made the beautiful name of Jesus Christ into a cuss word for the world, especially Muslims, to vent their anger on our Christ and His true followers. You wonder why this blog is chief in exposing the anti-religious.

Then there are atheists who will not acknowledge God or Christ as their Creator, and still truly love others much more than some “Christians” do. This action is good for the physical welfare of the needy, but at the same time is an insult and injury to God. That kindness most likely won’t lead the needy to their Creator. That giving, which America is full of, has no eternal value. In reality, it isn’t much more than caring for a needy pet.

To sum up, our material giving should be done in a personal way whenever possible (meeting the needy face-to-face) and always with a Godly motive (bringing people to the reality of God) to be of lasting value. This does not include caring for self and family; even pagans do that. Get involved. Let’s hear from you, either in the form of positive or negative comments. Without your input, this blog is meaningless.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

# 6: Short, Mind-Provoking Notes

Like ourselves, God had—and still has—a choice. He could have been a God of love and goodness or a God of hate and evil. But in reality, there was no choice for Him, because evil will always self-destruct in time or in eternity. However, love will always create more selfless love; love is eternal. Anyone who thinks about it seriously can’t help but make the right choice. A naive individual may ask, “What is evil?” The origin and cause of all evil is self-promotion. In contrast, goodness with no strings attached is the lack of self-interest. It’s that short and sweet. Where do you and I stand?

Once a person thinks a thought, says a word or does a deed, one has created a permanent, invisible substance which will go into the archives of humanity for all to share. There are no secrets; all thoughts are an open book. If the thought, word or deed was good, it will be available to all benevolent, Godly people; it can never be taken from them. If it was bad, even if one forgets it, it can never be parted with; it is available on request for all the evil ones to examine. All one needs to do is to tune into the desired frequency as determined by one’s life.

Thoughts are indestructible. You don’t believe it? Try and destroy one (I didn’t say to forget one). They have a very long shelf life: until the end of time.

Sin is not so much what one does, but what one does not do (sins of omission) in loving God with all one’s ability.

What does it mean to believe in Christ? Answer: to do our very best by making every effort to love and believe God with all our ability; that doesn’t leave room for much else.

To love your neighbor as yourself has no eternal value unless one actively desires to love God with all his or her heart, soul, mind, and strength, and one cannot love God with their all unless they love their neighbor as themselves. When they are separated, their eternal value is zilch. This concept is of vital importance.

Many of us claim to love God and then are indifferent to the needs of those around us. That is a contradiction. How can anyone love God and at the same time disagree with His ways? His way is to want the very best for all individuals. Most certainly, God does not approve of the ways of the wicked. Still, He desires the very best for them spiritually, and wants all people to know Him and become like Him in this life.

Monday, June 27, 2005

# 5: Is This for Real?

Christianity is God’s method of making a people into what they were meant to be: powerful human gods, in the here and now, to display His desire and displeasure to humanity (giving the invisible God visible flesh and blood). Would anyone have believed in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah if He didn’t have the power of God to perform many mighty miracles? Certainly not! Jesus said, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may learn and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” John 10:37-38.

The supernatural miracles were an intricate part of Jesus’ ministry as evidence that He was who He said. And I truly believe that if a religious group is not exposing heresy and exhibiting Christ-like supernatural powers to authenticate what they preach as truth, that group most likely is just another sector of atheistic Christianity. John 17:20. “Nothing is impossible for you.” John 14:12. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these."

The lack of this power in the latter part of the first century and preceding centuries is the main reason why there were—and still are—many extremely diverse Christian sects, all claiming their dogma as correct without displaying Christ’s supernatural powers. Of course, any who did not believe as they did were in error. Is it any different today? We cannot be continuing Christ’s work if we don’t have His superhuman power.

His teaching was and still is extremely radical to the point of being fanatical; without the mystical, He would have been called a lunatic. 2nd Timothy 3:5. “ . . . having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

Much of what is written in these pages may seem outlandish to many ears since we are so accustomed to hearing soothing words of love and acceptance that make us believe all is well. We must remember that any learned person who can generate a heart-tugging charisma and is able to write in a convincing manner can easily start a “Christian” denomination. Then I ask, who will verify that what he or she preaches is authentic? No one but the naive who subscribe to his or her teachings. It sounds like the old adage, “You lie and I’ll swear to it.”

Is God just a standby in our lives? In order for God to become as real as the physical world, He must not only be wanted but desperately needed. When the natural desires and pleasures of life have no satisfying meaning, then God will be able to make Himself real to those who seek Him with all their faculties. The more real God becomes, the less valuable the pleasures of the physical world become. God becomes real out of necessity when a person’s mind is kept on Him—a difficult thing to do.

What I mean is that when all is emptiness and despair, one can give meaning and importance to God. Christianity was not meant to function in our type of affluent society. Good times, comfort, security, and our Democratic freedoms are enemies of God by lulling people into believing that life is good. When we have it made, so to speak, a need for God can be no more than superficial. Then, we just need God to sanction our lifestyle as a semblance of goodness. When respectability becomes a visible function of Christianity (going to church in one’s Sunday best, etc.), Christ is made into an eye-pleasing, superficial do-gooder.

We are at war. There is no such thing as fighting an easy war. Are you ready to die? ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SOLDIERS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Are you sick and tired of living a meaningless life? Are you ready to die for a great and noble cause that will change the world? If one succeeds, he or she may not come back alive. After two weeks in “torture school,” most won’t be able to handle this radical Christ-like lifestyle and will drop out. Are you ready to completely change your life, triumph over the greatest fears in life, make excruciating pain your friend, make the undesirable your bedfellow, and turn the world upside down?

Pure unadulterated belief in God’s ability to make your request a reality is the spiritual energy that brings Christ to earth. The end result will be one of two things: we will be victors over our sinful and lazy human nature or we will unknowingly succumb to God's enemies’ (the clergy’s) religious propaganda.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

# 4: Long Overdue

Another aspect we must consider when attempting to put the Apostle Paul’s writings into context with our times was that most of his letters were written in response to personal church difficulties that are most likely irrelevant to our modern-day conditions. In other words, many of Paul’s teachings don’t address today’s needs and difficulties and are therefore, to a large degree, obsolete. Another reason why Paul’s Epistles give a different message than the Gospels is that the Gospels were not yet written at the time of Paul’s ministry. That could be the reason why Paul didn’t quote verbatim so much as one verse from Jesus’ teachings as presented in the Gospels, although he does mention (without quoting) the main aspect of all Christianity: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” However, he did quote one of Jesus’ sayings, though it is nowhere to be found in the gospels: “. . . remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35.

Were there other accounts of Jesus’ ministry that were written before the Epistles that might have been lost or destroyed? What other explanation is there for this solitary quotation, as already mentioned, which cannot be found in the four Gospels?

As is apparent to most who look at God’s Book with concern over what is being passed off as Christianity, the complete New Testament needs a penetrating examination in an attempt—which is much overdue—to see if it is able to address the issues, conditions, challenges, and problems of the 21st century. Though “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8), we need and do have a versatile leader who can meet our need for a modern-day Christ. He is the one who can identify with all the distractions that our modern and affluent ways of life and advanced technology have bombarded us with. In other words, Christ meets every generation right where it is, without compromise or alteration of His holy ways.

Most anyone with a little spiritual insight into Godly matters knows for certain that the origin of a major problem with the Christian religion worldwide is that many have a perverted view (e.g. “I love me; who do you love?”) of our Holy Bible’s teaching. However, not many, if any, would concede to that accusation. Some of the blame can be placed on people who call themselves Christian but don’t believe the Bible.

Then another big portion of the blame for the despicable condition of Christianity—it turns stomachs—can be aimed at many who steadfastly belief that the Holy Bible is the infallible/inerrant Word of God; whether the New Testament is such or not can easily be disputed: which translation of the Bible is infallible, since there are many discrepancies from one translation to another? One such uncertainty is in Mark 16:9-20: this extremely important portion of Scripture is not present in two of the most reliable early manuscripts. Are these verses infallible?

On close examination, there are also many contradictions in the Gospels, thus giving a somewhat confused message. One probable explanation can be attributed to the fact that even though they were inspired by God, they were written by fallible men, many years after the fact, while relying mostly on memory. In my estimation, that fact doesn’t deface the overall logic behind them or of God’s truthfulness. As for the Epistles, it takes a lot of blind faith and much credulity to fashion the modern Christ-like walk in a verbatim fashion as they dictate.

Nevertheless, if anyone thinks he or she can pull a fast one on God, they are sorely mistaken. God capitalizes on these human errors by thwarting those who, in the name of God, attempt to use the Bible to substantiate their self-centered lives. He does this by giving these “grandiose” hypocrites all the rope they need and then some (contradictions) to hang themselves for exploiting the Christian Bible for self-betterment.

If people are serious about their religion, these short notes may infuriate many to the point where they desire to do this author physical harm. That is okay. Christ’s words and lifestyle angered the religious Jews of His time; that is the main reason they killed Him. The more religious people claim to be, then and now, the more irate and vexed they may become. Where do you stand?

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

# 3: Message to the Young Church

The four Gospels offer an extremely radical message of what God’s demands are on those who choose to follow His ways. The Apostle Paul’s letters do not reveal the full extent of the available power that belief in God can produce for the simple reason that his letters were mostly meant for Gentile believers who were, to a large degree, ignorant of our great God and His Christ. Paul may have done this to make his message more acceptable to his foreign audience; but then he says in Acts 20:27 that he proclaimed the whole will of God to them—personally, there is doubt that tongue or pen is capable of revealing the complete will of God. God’s will must be experienced to be of any life-changing value.

Actually, as much as Paul attempted to make the Gospel more plausible to the Gentile believers, it was still quite mysterious and difficult for them to believe and understand, to say the least. We must remember that Christianity was in its infancy at Paul’s time, and an infant is capable of learning and digesting only so much: 1st Corinthians 1:23 says, “ . . . foolishness to the Gentiles.” One novel truth about this new religion was that they, through belief in an invisible God, all potentially had the necessary equipment (unadulterated belief) to perform the same supernatural feats that the Apostle Paul was engaged in, although they may not have been ready to accept this truth. This omission, along with a few others, has had a devastating effect on the Christian religion that followed, especially to those believers who relied on the Epistles more than the Gospels as to how to live the Christian life. They were not ready—and in many cases, we are not yet ready—to fully articulate and accept the accessible supernatural power that belief in God is able to generate in the lives of ordinary but genuine Christians.

Now the question arises, are we as Gentile believers—since we are not Jews by birth—to still believe in a diluted message, or actually live as mature, Christ-like Christians? Though Paul’s message was meant for a specific group of people in the 1st century, there is no heresy in it, although much of it is just good old-fashioned baby food. 1st Corinthians 3:1-2. “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”

And then to make matters worse, religious leaders for the last 2000 years have distorted and circumvented the majority of The New Testament’s original meaning. Through the pen of Luke, Paul warns believers—hopefully us—in the book of Acts, Chapter 20:29-30, that this distortion would occur.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

# 2: Hard-edged Bible Verses

The following, taken from the New International Version of the New Testament, is a seemingly secluded list which vividly displays a number of Bible verses that demand action. They make up only a few of the rules that govern the unpopular second part; therefore, it is most often ignored, explained away or watered down by organized Christianity. True Christians have a solemn responsibility to obey these commands without leaning on modern-day alibis.

The following is a test to determine if someone or an organization is a genuine Bible-believer. These Bible verses are the ones that are most frequently negated by a majority of religions. Are church-going people and others being tricked? This is a good section to copy. Taken verbatim from the New International Version Bible:

2nd Corinthians 13:5. "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith: test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

Luke 14:33. "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

1 Corinthians 10:24. "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

Matthew 5:44. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Luke 6:35. “But love your enemies, do good to them. . ."

1 Corinthians 11:1. (The apostle Paul speaking) "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

Matthew 5:24. "Be perfect."

Matthew 19:23. ". . . I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven."

1 Corinthians 15:58. ". . . Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. . . ."

Luke 16:15. "What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight."

1 Corinthians 15:2. ". . . hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."

1 Corinthians 16:22. "If anyone does not love the Lord [displayed by obedience to all that He commands] a curse be on him." [emphasis added].

Luke 6:20. ". . . Blessed are you who are poor . . ."

Luke 6:27. ". . . Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you . . ."

Luke 12:33. "Sell your possessions and give to the poor."

2 Corinthians 13:11. "Aim for perfection . . ."

Luke 9:23. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself . . ."

Luke 14:26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple."

Galatians 5:14. "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Ephesians 5:1. "Be imitators of God . . ."

Philippians 2:3. ". . . consider others better than yourselves."

Philippians 2:5. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus . . ."

Colossians 3:2. "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

1 Thessalonians 2:4. "We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our heart."

1 Thessalonians 5:17. ". . . pray continually . . ."

Luke 11:23. "He who is not with me is against me . . ."

Luke 13:24. "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. . . ." [emphasis added].

James 4:4. ". . . Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

1 Peter 1:14. "Be holy, because I am holy."

1 Peter 2:21. ". . . Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

1 John 3:9. "No one who is born of God will continue to sin . . ."

If there is an active desire to live in obedience to the preceding commands, which are not suggestions, the result will be mixed blessings, among other things that are described in the following verses.

John 3:36. "Whoever rejects the son [as displayed by the way one lives] will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." [emphasis added].

Ephesians 5:1. "Be imitators of God. . ."

Philippians 2:3. ". . . consider others better than yourselves."

Matthew 10:36. "A man's enemies will be the members of his own household."

Mark13:13. "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

James 2:5. ". . . Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love him?"

2 Timothy 3:12. "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." [emphasis added].

Luke 6:24. "But woe to you who are rich." Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition. The meaning of rich: 1) having more than enough of material possessions. There are many other verses in the New Testament where God never has a good word to say about the rich, but always bad-mouths them.

1 Corinthians 15:19. "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." What should Christians be doing that would make people pity them? Definitely not what they are doing in this modern culture. Do you personally know any Christians that you pity?

Luke 19:27. (Christ speaking) "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me." Well, excuse me! I thought you loved everyone—am I being factitious?

John 16:33. "In this world you will have trouble."

Luke 12:51. "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division."

2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." [a superhuman spiritual being].

Luke 6:26. "Woe when all men speak well of you."

Matthew 17:20. ". . . if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Luke 18:8. "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" The answer is clear; since we don't see any mountains being moved or other such thing being done by so-called Christians, the answer is no. Most likely, Christ will not find much, if any, faith on earth. Oh, but you may say, "I am saved, born again and filled with the Spirit." You think so? Does the above test prove it?

Luke 12:19. "And I will say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry.' but God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. . . ."

Luke 18-22. "A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? . . .’ Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." [emphasis added] As one can plainly see, there are prerequisites to eternal life, but only to confirm faith.