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Today's Scripture Reading
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Today’s Scripture Reading [January 2, 2011]
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. [Luke 21:34-36. KJV]
When the new year 2010 began, it began with some really bad events. Just hardly two weeks into 2010, a huge earthquake rocked the island nation of Haiti which caused more than 1 million people homeless and killed more than 230,000. Over the next few months into 2010 after the Haiti earthquake, we read also several natural calamities, among them were a volcanic eruption in Ice that caused the Europe’s air-transportation system to come to complete halt, earthquakes measuring up to 7 Richter scale occurred in several countries, severe flood occurred almost every continent, drought in many countries causing severe food shortage. We also see heavy snowing last month that is so serious causing tens of thousands of flights have to be canceled. Several people died because of the extreme cold. These are only some examples and there were many bad events that went unreported.
Is Mother Nature is fighting back? Is Mother Nature so fed up with us? Or Is God using these events to warn us? We cannot deny, indeed Mother Nature is truly at war with her most formidable opponent – humans. Just a case in point, in this year we saw two man-made calamities and they could serve a wake-up call for us that we must not continue to abuse and misuse the earth. Sadly, as history has proved it, they could hardly be a lesson to us because human just don’t listen. These two man-made calamities of the BP oil leaks that has caused irreversible ecological damage to the Gulf Coast of unprecedented scale and the Hungary toxic sludge due to cracks in a reservoir well because of irresponsible mine owners are clear indication to us that human are just simply incorrigible when it comes to the use, abuse and misuse of the gifts from the Mother Nature. Scientists, environmentalists, and even governments themselves admitted that the changing nature of our the global environment is largely caused by too much consumption of energy, oil in particularly, irresponsible farming techniques, pollution due to industrialisation, etc. But the worst news that we have heard is that in spite of the admission of our failures to perserve our earth and that the factors that cause the destruction of our natural environment are almost all made-man, there is no firm agreement as to what need to done to restore our earth; rather there are intense disagreements among major industrialised countires as each one is trying to push away the responsibility to others.
Added to the 'unsolvable' problems that we are facing, there are going to have plenty more uncertainties. In fact, the only constant that we are going to face is uncertainty. Even we are living through seemingly prosperous times now, the fear of unemployment, financial collapse which has nothing or very little to do with Mother Nature will never go away. The mood among many nations is one of almost frantic and perplexed worry about their survival and to add further to this uncertainty is the fact that we don’t even know who is controlling a nation. Many of the Wikileaks documents clearly shown us that what we see, what we hear is indeed very different from what is really taking place in the world of international politics. The politics of deception has finally been revealed by those documents – thanks to Wikileaks – and really there is nothing we can do as an ordinary people to improve situation. No one really knows who is controlling the world but the Bible is very clear – the present world is ruled by the prince of darkness, Satan (and of course his angels). Nonetheless, the best we could hope and pray for is that 2011 will be different from 2010 for all the good reasons – God will withhold these bad events and human will start to realize that fighting against Mother Nature is going to do us great harm. We must therefore ask God that those people of authority will come to seek Him and to rule according to His laws. The big question is: Will we learn the lesson that the Mother Nature is fighting back? Will people of authority are willing to seek God and ask for His wisdom to rule the nations according to His percepts? I believe you know the answers better than anyone else!
Giving the current state of uncertainty, we must continue to take heed "lest [our] hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, that the day come on [us] unexpectedly" (Luke 21:34). This is a warning that us that we are not to allow ourselves to become distracted by the world and its cares and concerns that we miss the signs of the approaching end because it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth (Luke 21:35). From these verses, we are told that majority of mankind will be so distracted by the world events and miss the signs and to stand before Him. Thus, if we watch and pray always and do our best to live according to the way of God in every aspect of our lives - if we believe in God's promises to us of salvation and escape, we may be "counted worthy" to be spared the sore trials of the last days. This also suggests that if we watch, we will see the signs and not be caught off guard and snared. In our ‘watching’ we must not be passive spectators but as active doers of His Word. This requires us to completely commit ourselves to seeking first the Kingdom of God and the attitudes and attributes that make up God's righteousness. It is by seeking His righteousness (not man’s righteousness), seeking to live right according to His Word, His Law (not just simply obeying the law of the land in which we live in), and example (that only Jesus is worthy for our imitation, and not famous celebrities or wealthy people) - that we may, by faith in the grace of God through Christ Jesus, be accounted worthy of escaping all these things. God cannot change or grow us. We need to do this ourselves but He has promised us that His Spirit will help us if we are willing to change and to grow grace in Him (Philippians 4:13; Hebrews 4:16). We will reap whatever we sow (Galatians 6:7), so we need to sow righteousness to reap salvation. Conversely, if we sow evil we will have to pay for our evilness and we must be prepared to face the judgment of the Great White Throne. This is the judgement of all judgments and it will only take place once and for all mankind. There is no appeal after the judgment. You can, by the grace of God, to seek pardon if, and only if you were to repent of your sins right now and be saved from the judgment!
As we start our new year, we are one year closer to the year than it was in 2010, we must be prepared to expect the unexpected. Anything could happen to us and we must be prepared for any eventuality. We must put our hope, our trust and our faith in our Lord Jesus. I pray that the following message can be a blessing to you, and regardless of what our situation now, we all need a strong spirit to withstand the trials and tribulation - which are going to take in various "forms, shapes and sizes" -that all of us will face, sooner or later. Let us seek Him right now while He can be found!
To Make Our Spirit Strong
(Author Unknown)
Our Father knows what is best for us,
So we try not to complain….
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain.
We love the sound of laughter….
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear.
Our Father tests us often,
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us not to punish us….
But to help us meet tomorrow.
For growing trees are strengthened….
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of the chisel….
Gives the marble grace and form.
God never hurts us needlessly,
And never wastes our plain,
For every loss He sends to us….
Is followed by rich gain.
And when we count the blessings,
That God has so freely sent,
We find no cause for murmuring….
And no time to lament.
For our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain….
So He never sends us pleasure,
When the souls deep need is pain,
So whenever we are troubled,
And so many things go wrong….
It is just God working in us,
To make our spirit strong.
So we try not to complain….
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain.
We love the sound of laughter….
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear.
Our Father tests us often,
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us not to punish us….
But to help us meet tomorrow.
For growing trees are strengthened….
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of the chisel….
Gives the marble grace and form.
God never hurts us needlessly,
And never wastes our plain,
For every loss He sends to us….
Is followed by rich gain.
And when we count the blessings,
That God has so freely sent,
We find no cause for murmuring….
And no time to lament.
For our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain….
So He never sends us pleasure,
When the souls deep need is pain,
So whenever we are troubled,
And so many things go wrong….
It is just God working in us,
To make our spirit strong.
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Contradictory History
The Bible contradicts itself on matters of history. A person who reads and compares the contents of the Bible will be confused about exactly who Esau's wives were, whether Timnah was a concubine or a son, and whether Jesus' earthly lineage is through Solomon or his brother Nathan. These are but a few of hundreds of documented historical contradictions. If the Bible cannot confirm itself in mundane earthly matters, how are we to trust it on moral and spiritual matters?
The Bible contradicts itself on matters of history. A person who reads and compares the contents of the Bible will be confused about exactly who Esau's wives were, whether Timnah was a concubine or a son, and whether Jesus' earthly lineage is through Solomon or his brother Nathan. These are but a few of hundreds of documented historical contradictions. If the Bible cannot confirm itself in mundane earthly matters, how are we to trust it on moral and spiritual matters?
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The Freewill Argument
The Christians' objection to this argument involves freewill. They say that a being must have freewill to be happy. The omnibenevolent God did not wish to create robots, so he gave humans freewill to enable them to experience love and happiness. But the humans used this freewill to choose evil, and introduced imperfection into God's originally perfect universe. God had no control over this decision, so the blame for our imperfect universe is on the humans, not God.
Here is why the argument is weak. First, if God is omnipotent, then the assumption that freewill is necessary for happiness is false. If God could make it a rule that only beings with freewill may experience happiness, then he could just as easily have made it a rule that only robots may experience happiness. The latter option is clearly superior, since perfect robots will never make decisions which could render them or their creator unhappy, whereas beings with freewill could. A perfect and omnipotent God who creates beings capable of ruining their own happiness is impossible.
Second, even if we were to allow the necessity of freewill for happiness, God could have created humans with freewill who did not have the ability to choose evil, but to choose between several good options.
Third, God supposedly has freewill, and yet he does not make imperfect decisions. If humans are miniature images of God, our decisions should likewise be perfect. Also, the occupants of heaven, who presumably must have freewill to be happy, will never use that freewill to make imperfect decisions. Why would the originally perfect humans do differently?
The Christians' objection to this argument involves freewill. They say that a being must have freewill to be happy. The omnibenevolent God did not wish to create robots, so he gave humans freewill to enable them to experience love and happiness. But the humans used this freewill to choose evil, and introduced imperfection into God's originally perfect universe. God had no control over this decision, so the blame for our imperfect universe is on the humans, not God.
Here is why the argument is weak. First, if God is omnipotent, then the assumption that freewill is necessary for happiness is false. If God could make it a rule that only beings with freewill may experience happiness, then he could just as easily have made it a rule that only robots may experience happiness. The latter option is clearly superior, since perfect robots will never make decisions which could render them or their creator unhappy, whereas beings with freewill could. A perfect and omnipotent God who creates beings capable of ruining their own happiness is impossible.
Second, even if we were to allow the necessity of freewill for happiness, God could have created humans with freewill who did not have the ability to choose evil, but to choose between several good options.
Third, God supposedly has freewill, and yet he does not make imperfect decisions. If humans are miniature images of God, our decisions should likewise be perfect. Also, the occupants of heaven, who presumably must have freewill to be happy, will never use that freewill to make imperfect decisions. Why would the originally perfect humans do differently?
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Morality & Justice Of God :
God plays favoritism. His Chosen People can blantantly disobey God as many times as they like and still be forgiven. Others simply get destroyed.
Is it fair & just for a God to absolve a hardcore criminal of all sins just because he believed in him ?
Is it fair to sentence a good man to ETERNITY in hell for some petty sins committed over a few years in his life, just because he did not believe in God ?
Also, if God made humans to 'love', serve & worship him, then humans are just slaves of God, since those who do not do so will be destroyed.
In that case, why does God create infants who die in the womb, those that die a premature death, children born with mental/physical disability ?
Why doesn't God give everyone an opportunity to 'love' and serve him ?
Other points to consider :
God destroys those who oppose or do not believe in him. (Eg. Sodom & Gomorrah)
God kills to show his power. (Eg. The firstborns of Egypt)
God loves blood sacrifices. He does not value the lives of the living beings that He had created. (Eg. The animals of Egypt)
God curses humans and send them plagues to make them suffer. Then he offers himself as a solution for their suffering. (Now, doesn't that remind you of the "Bad Cop-Good Cop" tactic ??)
God love wars. However, he lets the humans do the dirty job for him when he can simply make the enemies drop dead.
God is sadistic. He loves stoning people to death for petty crimes. If he wants them dead, why not give them a swift and painless death ?
God plays favoritism. His Chosen People can blantantly disobey God as many times as they like and still be forgiven. Others simply get destroyed.
Is it fair & just for a God to absolve a hardcore criminal of all sins just because he believed in him ?
Is it fair to sentence a good man to ETERNITY in hell for some petty sins committed over a few years in his life, just because he did not believe in God ?
Also, if God made humans to 'love', serve & worship him, then humans are just slaves of God, since those who do not do so will be destroyed.
In that case, why does God create infants who die in the womb, those that die a premature death, children born with mental/physical disability ?
Why doesn't God give everyone an opportunity to 'love' and serve him ?
Other points to consider :
God destroys those who oppose or do not believe in him. (Eg. Sodom & Gomorrah)
God kills to show his power. (Eg. The firstborns of Egypt)
God loves blood sacrifices. He does not value the lives of the living beings that He had created. (Eg. The animals of Egypt)
God curses humans and send them plagues to make them suffer. Then he offers himself as a solution for their suffering. (Now, doesn't that remind you of the "Bad Cop-Good Cop" tactic ??)
God love wars. However, he lets the humans do the dirty job for him when he can simply make the enemies drop dead.
God is sadistic. He loves stoning people to death for petty crimes. If he wants them dead, why not give them a swift and painless death ?
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Omniscience Of God :
Why did God test Adam & Eve when, being omniscient, he already knew the result ? If the serpent was to act as a tool for the test, why did God curse the serpent as well ?
Why didn't God just let Adam & Eve die without descendants, then restart Eden all over again ? Why cause pain & suffering for so many generations to come ?
God knew that Adam & Eve would disobey him, and he purposely planted the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil for them.
Humans did not fall from grace .... they were pushed to their death by God.
The same question for God's motives to test Abraham & Isaac. Why bother to test them when he already knew the results ?!
Let's not talk about the humans who are 'inferior' beings. Take the angels for example.
The angels, unlike humans, are spirit beings, direct creations of God. They are well aware of God's power, capabilities & personality. So, why did 1/3 of the angels rebel against him ?
They should be well aware that it's suicide to oppose the omnipotent Supreme Being ! Why did God send the other 2/3 of the angels to fight the rebels ?
Why didn't he simply use his power to make the rebels disappear ? If God is so perfect, why did the angels rebel in the first place ?
If God is omniscience, he would have known this would happen. So, why did he allow the rebellion to take place ? Why did he create the rebellious angels in the first place ??
(This reminds me of humans politics where ministers are too good, the President makes them look bad and kick them out of power so that his position is not being threatened.)
Also, if Jesus was prophecied to be betrayed (according to Christian teachings), why was Judas condemned ? Without Judas, Jesus would not be able to fulfil the (Christian) prophecies !
Assuming that God knew everything, and had the power to change anything, it meant that everything that happened was God's will. Therefore, Judas had no free-will. It was all God's plan.
Likewise for the Jews' years of slavery under Egypt. And so, was is also God's plans for the atrocities by Hitler and the Nazi, as well as those by the Japanese army to happen during WWII ?
Why did God test Adam & Eve when, being omniscient, he already knew the result ? If the serpent was to act as a tool for the test, why did God curse the serpent as well ?
Why didn't God just let Adam & Eve die without descendants, then restart Eden all over again ? Why cause pain & suffering for so many generations to come ?
God knew that Adam & Eve would disobey him, and he purposely planted the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil for them.
Humans did not fall from grace .... they were pushed to their death by God.
The same question for God's motives to test Abraham & Isaac. Why bother to test them when he already knew the results ?!
Let's not talk about the humans who are 'inferior' beings. Take the angels for example.
The angels, unlike humans, are spirit beings, direct creations of God. They are well aware of God's power, capabilities & personality. So, why did 1/3 of the angels rebel against him ?
They should be well aware that it's suicide to oppose the omnipotent Supreme Being ! Why did God send the other 2/3 of the angels to fight the rebels ?
Why didn't he simply use his power to make the rebels disappear ? If God is so perfect, why did the angels rebel in the first place ?
If God is omniscience, he would have known this would happen. So, why did he allow the rebellion to take place ? Why did he create the rebellious angels in the first place ??
(This reminds me of humans politics where ministers are too good, the President makes them look bad and kick them out of power so that his position is not being threatened.)
Also, if Jesus was prophecied to be betrayed (according to Christian teachings), why was Judas condemned ? Without Judas, Jesus would not be able to fulfil the (Christian) prophecies !
Assuming that God knew everything, and had the power to change anything, it meant that everything that happened was God's will. Therefore, Judas had no free-will. It was all God's plan.
Likewise for the Jews' years of slavery under Egypt. And so, was is also God's plans for the atrocities by Hitler and the Nazi, as well as those by the Japanese army to happen during WWII ?
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Dear Believer:
I do not accept the Bible as God’s word because it contains thousand of errancies and contradictions that can not be solved, only rationalized. I refuse to accept Jesus as my personal savior, for his behavior and teachings often expose one who should be escaped and not worshipped. I ask that you read this pamphlet in light of the bible’s teachings; Christians should be “open to reason” (James 3:17 RSV), that we should “reason together” (Isaiah 1:18) and “he who hates correction will die” (Proverbs 15:10) to understand my perspective that the bible has MANY shortcomings.
1. According to your Bible I am to believe that human kind is sinful for Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge. Why are we being punished for the original sin? After all, they ate the forbidden fruit, we didn’t. Reason would lead one to say it’s their problem, not ours. Even the bible contradicts itself by claiming in Deuteronomy 24:16, “children shall not be punished for the sins of their fathers.”
2. We are told that the Bible has no scientific errors and is utterly perfect/protected, yet it says the bat is a bird (Leviticus 11:13 & 19), hares chew the cud (Leviticus 11:5-6), and some fowl (Leviticus 11:20-21) and insects (Leviticus 11:22-23) have four legs.
3. Heaven is supposed to be a perfect place. It is of course, the place you strive for and name “salvation”. Yet, it experienced a war (Revelation 12:7). How can there be a war in a perfect place and if it happened before why couldn’t it happen again? Why would I want to go to a place in which war can occur? That’s exactly what I’m trying to escape, aren’t you?
4. We are told salvation is obtained by faith alone (John 3:18 & 36) and then the Bible claims that it is repentance that shall save us (2 Peter 3:9) yet Jesus told a man to follow the Commandments-Matthew 19:16-1 8 (saving by works)-if he wanted eternal life. So which way is it and how do you know your belief is the correct one?
5. According to the text there are 29 cities listed in Joshua 15:21-32. One need only count them to see that biblical math is not to be trusted. The total is 36.
6. Surely you don’t believe Ecclesiastes 1:9 RSV (“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun”)? How many cities had an atomic bomb dropped on them prior to 1945, and how many people walked on the moon before 1969?
7. If the Bible is our moral guide, then how can it make pornographic statements such as: “...they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you” (2 Kings 18:27)? Also consult Numbers 31 where a whole tribe of people, including the elderly and children are slaughtered. The only survivors were the virginal women, who were later raped by the “just and perfect” Moses and his men. Is that what you want your children reading on Sunday?
8. If God created everything, (Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 3:9, Revelation 4:11 & John 1:3), then he did create the world’s evil (Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38). Thus, he is responsible. Any being who could create situations such as rape, death, malnutrition, disease, molestation and murder is certainly not fit for worship.
9. For justice to exist, punishment must fit the crime. No matter how many bad deeds one commits in this world, there is a limit. Yet, hell’s punishment is infinitely greater. It’s eternal. Shouldn’t a sinner suffer until remorse is felt and the crime is atoned for? What “justice” is there in infinite damnation?
10. Jesus said, “whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22). Yet, he himself did so repeatedly, as Matthew 27:19, Luke 11:40 & 12:20 show. Shouldn’t he be in danger of hell too? Jesus also told us to “Love your enemies; bless them that curse you," but ignored his own advice by repeatedly denouncing his opposition. Matthew 12:34 (“0 generation of vipers”), and Matthew 23 :27 (“... hypocrites... ye are like unto whited sepulchres.“) are excellent examples of hypocrisy. If Jesus himself is a sinner by his own admission then surely he can not be the “perfect lamb of god”.
11. Except those of biased Christian writers, there isn’t one writing outside the Bible in all of ancient history that clearly refers to Jesus of Nazareth. The decision to dedicate my life to a deity requires at least one shred of conclusive evidence. Your lord knows non believers exist as a result of this, yet he makes no attempt to supply proof. How can the bible claim god wants all in heaven if he doesn’t make efforts to ensure that we all believe in him?
12. Paul says Christianity lives or dies on the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). Yet Jesus made many promises concerning his return during the lifetime of his then followers. (Matthew 16:28: “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”. Matthew 23:36, 24:34, Mark.9:1, 13:30, Luke 9:27, 21:32 & John 21:22) None of these prophecies have come true. Does this not make Jesus a false prophet? If so wouldn’t that make Christianity invalid?
13. I find the idea that a man had to die for my sins revolting. If God was truly omnipotent he could have simply forgiven us. What kind of deity, would execute one child in order to forgive it’s others? Modern society would call an individual like this sadistic, insane and cruel. Surely, you would not worship a child killer, why do you expect me to? Would you find a judge worthy of the title who would allow my child to be executed in lieu of my sins?
14. John 14:12 states a follower in Jesus can perform any of his works and do it even greater. If you continue to insist I believe in Jesus, it is only fair I may ask of you to show just how strong your faith is. After all, you would be my “mentor” in Christ. I’m not a believer as of yet, but surely you are. Would you mind perhaps resurrecting a dead relative or walking on water?
15. Okay, obviously you didn’t do number 14 and backed out with the “this is metaphorical” excuse. Surely you can try Mark 16:17-1 8 which says believers can drink “any deadly thing” and “it shall not hurt” them. But I don’t think you would be naive enough to drink any arsenic offered. Perhaps I’m wrong and you would be willing to test the Book’s veracity-”lay it on the line” so to speak?
16. All right, so now you have backed out of two of my questions. I’m starting to think you don’t really care about my salvation as much as you claim. Well, unlike your Jehovah, I shall be kind and offer a third chance at redemption. Consider Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6:30 “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.” Perhaps, if you emptied your wallet and “give of thee” I may seriously ponder accepting Jesus as my savior. A far greater number of Biblical discrepancies can be found on the web .
I do not accept the Bible as God’s word because it contains thousand of errancies and contradictions that can not be solved, only rationalized. I refuse to accept Jesus as my personal savior, for his behavior and teachings often expose one who should be escaped and not worshipped. I ask that you read this pamphlet in light of the bible’s teachings; Christians should be “open to reason” (James 3:17 RSV), that we should “reason together” (Isaiah 1:18) and “he who hates correction will die” (Proverbs 15:10) to understand my perspective that the bible has MANY shortcomings.
1. According to your Bible I am to believe that human kind is sinful for Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge. Why are we being punished for the original sin? After all, they ate the forbidden fruit, we didn’t. Reason would lead one to say it’s their problem, not ours. Even the bible contradicts itself by claiming in Deuteronomy 24:16, “children shall not be punished for the sins of their fathers.”
2. We are told that the Bible has no scientific errors and is utterly perfect/protected, yet it says the bat is a bird (Leviticus 11:13 & 19), hares chew the cud (Leviticus 11:5-6), and some fowl (Leviticus 11:20-21) and insects (Leviticus 11:22-23) have four legs.
3. Heaven is supposed to be a perfect place. It is of course, the place you strive for and name “salvation”. Yet, it experienced a war (Revelation 12:7). How can there be a war in a perfect place and if it happened before why couldn’t it happen again? Why would I want to go to a place in which war can occur? That’s exactly what I’m trying to escape, aren’t you?
4. We are told salvation is obtained by faith alone (John 3:18 & 36) and then the Bible claims that it is repentance that shall save us (2 Peter 3:9) yet Jesus told a man to follow the Commandments-Matthew 19:16-1 8 (saving by works)-if he wanted eternal life. So which way is it and how do you know your belief is the correct one?
5. According to the text there are 29 cities listed in Joshua 15:21-32. One need only count them to see that biblical math is not to be trusted. The total is 36.
6. Surely you don’t believe Ecclesiastes 1:9 RSV (“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun”)? How many cities had an atomic bomb dropped on them prior to 1945, and how many people walked on the moon before 1969?
7. If the Bible is our moral guide, then how can it make pornographic statements such as: “...they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you” (2 Kings 18:27)? Also consult Numbers 31 where a whole tribe of people, including the elderly and children are slaughtered. The only survivors were the virginal women, who were later raped by the “just and perfect” Moses and his men. Is that what you want your children reading on Sunday?
8. If God created everything, (Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 3:9, Revelation 4:11 & John 1:3), then he did create the world’s evil (Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38). Thus, he is responsible. Any being who could create situations such as rape, death, malnutrition, disease, molestation and murder is certainly not fit for worship.
9. For justice to exist, punishment must fit the crime. No matter how many bad deeds one commits in this world, there is a limit. Yet, hell’s punishment is infinitely greater. It’s eternal. Shouldn’t a sinner suffer until remorse is felt and the crime is atoned for? What “justice” is there in infinite damnation?
10. Jesus said, “whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22). Yet, he himself did so repeatedly, as Matthew 27:19, Luke 11:40 & 12:20 show. Shouldn’t he be in danger of hell too? Jesus also told us to “Love your enemies; bless them that curse you," but ignored his own advice by repeatedly denouncing his opposition. Matthew 12:34 (“0 generation of vipers”), and Matthew 23 :27 (“... hypocrites... ye are like unto whited sepulchres.“) are excellent examples of hypocrisy. If Jesus himself is a sinner by his own admission then surely he can not be the “perfect lamb of god”.
11. Except those of biased Christian writers, there isn’t one writing outside the Bible in all of ancient history that clearly refers to Jesus of Nazareth. The decision to dedicate my life to a deity requires at least one shred of conclusive evidence. Your lord knows non believers exist as a result of this, yet he makes no attempt to supply proof. How can the bible claim god wants all in heaven if he doesn’t make efforts to ensure that we all believe in him?
12. Paul says Christianity lives or dies on the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). Yet Jesus made many promises concerning his return during the lifetime of his then followers. (Matthew 16:28: “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”. Matthew 23:36, 24:34, Mark.9:1, 13:30, Luke 9:27, 21:32 & John 21:22) None of these prophecies have come true. Does this not make Jesus a false prophet? If so wouldn’t that make Christianity invalid?
13. I find the idea that a man had to die for my sins revolting. If God was truly omnipotent he could have simply forgiven us. What kind of deity, would execute one child in order to forgive it’s others? Modern society would call an individual like this sadistic, insane and cruel. Surely, you would not worship a child killer, why do you expect me to? Would you find a judge worthy of the title who would allow my child to be executed in lieu of my sins?
14. John 14:12 states a follower in Jesus can perform any of his works and do it even greater. If you continue to insist I believe in Jesus, it is only fair I may ask of you to show just how strong your faith is. After all, you would be my “mentor” in Christ. I’m not a believer as of yet, but surely you are. Would you mind perhaps resurrecting a dead relative or walking on water?
15. Okay, obviously you didn’t do number 14 and backed out with the “this is metaphorical” excuse. Surely you can try Mark 16:17-1 8 which says believers can drink “any deadly thing” and “it shall not hurt” them. But I don’t think you would be naive enough to drink any arsenic offered. Perhaps I’m wrong and you would be willing to test the Book’s veracity-”lay it on the line” so to speak?
16. All right, so now you have backed out of two of my questions. I’m starting to think you don’t really care about my salvation as much as you claim. Well, unlike your Jehovah, I shall be kind and offer a third chance at redemption. Consider Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6:30 “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.” Perhaps, if you emptied your wallet and “give of thee” I may seriously ponder accepting Jesus as my savior. A far greater number of Biblical discrepancies can be found on the web .
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Christians, they love to talk about how loving, dutiful and compassionate they are, yet I have yet to meet ONE who does not practice hypocrisy to the highest degree. Their willful ignorance of the Bible combined with their two faced idealism to preach it, has made us sick, hasn’t it? For nearly two thousand years Biblicists have been lecturing people on the importance of adhering to the Bible’s teachings on ethics, manners, and morality. They quote Jesus and Paul profusely, with a liberal sprinkling of Old Testament moralism. The problem with their approach lies not only in an oft- noted failure to practice what they preach, but an equally pronounced tendency to ignore what the Bible itself, preaches. Christians practice what can only be described as “selective morality”. What they like, they cling to and shove down other’s throats; what they don’t like, they ignore vehemently. That which is palatable and acceptable is supposedly applicable to all; while that which is obnoxious, inconvenient, or self-denying is only applicable to those addressed 2,000 years ago. Their hypocrisy is so rampant that even the validity of calling oneself “Christian” is in question. I see so many people enjoy quoting the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and some of Paul’s sermons, but don’t even PRETEND to heed other, equally valid, maxims. I’ve mentioned pro-life and conservatism in other sermons. This one is going to sum up the rest of my beefs.
Hypocrisy of Marital Relationships: So many Christians try to rationalize this but it is clear that a true follower of Jesus can neither divorce someone nor marry someone who is divorced. There is an exception to the rule, however. If spouse commits adultery, divorce is permissible. On the same token, the Bible also says that anyone who obtains a divorce and marries another is in adulterer. Remember that 80% of this country is Christian yet we have a 50% divorce rate. A majority of divorces are a result of irreconcilable differences, not adultery, which implies that Christians are again practicing selective morality. How many Christians are working on a second, third or fourth marriage?
1) “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6 & Mark 10:9).
2) “Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:32, 19:9 & Luke 16:18).
3) "Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery" (Matthew 5:32).
4) "...whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her" (Mark 10:11 & Luke 16:18), which applies to women as well (Mark 10:12).
On to another beef: The Christian attempts to put prayer into schools run directly counter to biblical teachings. Jesus said prayer should be a private affair devoid of public display: "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room (or closet.) and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret..." (Matthew 6:5-6 RSV). Biblicists violate this on a regular basis and have no intention of correcting their behavior. They demand that evolution be taken out of the curriculum. They demand parochial school receive voucher programs so that they may collect public funding. Christians continuously pray in public, IE: churches, street corners, schools, courts, etc. yet all the while they never stop to think this is in direct violation to the god they pray to.
I, of course, know why this is voluntarily ignored. Public prayer forces the peers of school children to jump on the band wagon and pray. We are all aware that the church is simply a business which employs tactics similar to that of tobacco industries in recruiting consumers. Get the kids while they are young and vulnerable so that they become donating members of the church when they reach adulthood. I find it humorous that other businesses warn their consumers on the package that it is dangerous to one’s health while Churches don’t put warning labels on the bible for the pornography and immorality it contains. The psychological damage organized religion causes is notably prevalent. Cancer from smoking and cirrhosis from drinking is JUST AS HARMFUL as the psychosis believers develop concerning reality. The “I see demons” complex is more rampant in Christians then it is in acid dropping space cadets. I am not saying this as a joke. There are literal studies done on this topic and they are in accordance to what I am conveying here.
Christians always use the excuse that the above mentioned verse is some how “metaphorical” yet they take Paul’s maxim that men should pray with their heads uncovered very seriously. I assume this is generally followed because removing one’s hat isn’t particularly inconvenient. "Any man who prays or prophecies with his head covered dishonors his head…" (1 Corinthians 11:4 RSV). On the other hand, Paul’s tenet that women must keep their heads covered with a veil during prayer is quite inconvenient and, for this reason, has either been rationalized away or ignored, although it is no less binding than any other moral law in the New Testament: “…but any woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head… For if a woman will not veil herself, then we should cut off her hair: but if it be disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil… Judge for yourself; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with head uncovered?” (1 Corinthians 11:5-13 RSV) The selectivity in which these verses are followed SCREAMS hypocrisy.
More Commonly Ignored Teachings:
1) "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (l Corinthians 11:14). How many freaked out long-haired, bible thumping Jesus freaks do you know? Perhaps this is just my experience, but I can name 12 such individuals off the top of my head. Surely, you can recall at least ONE LONG-HAIRED CHRISTIAN. The stereotypical version of CHRIST HIMSELF! Think of the numerous statues and pictures Christians adore depicting the lord appearing as that which he detests. One can not stop and wonder at the absurdity of this.
2) Another tenet clearly prohibits women from being ministers or otherwise speaking in church (“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak”-- 1 Corinthians 14:34). It’s difficult to see how Paul could support the current movement to ordain women. Why, Jesus would shit himself knowing that even I, an ATHEIST WOMAN, has managed to get herself legally ordained.
3) A third tenet prohibits men and women from wearing each other’s clothing (“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God”--Deuteronomy 22:5). Funny thing, two female Jehovah Witnesses came over this morning, they coffee clutched with my neighbor Jenny, a fellow Christian and ALL THREE of these women were wearing pant suits!
4) Ever watch these Christians on television and notice how their bowed heads uniformly shake amen while some evangelist goes on and on in prayer for a fucking hour? Well, repetitious and monotonous praying is in violation of Matthew 6:7. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
5) Christians are not supposed to take their disputes before non-Christian courts or judges. (“If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?” -- 1 Corinthians 6:1 NIV) How interesting! Considering that state is separate from church all courts are supposedly “ungodly”. Does this stop Christians from tying up the supreme court with law suits concerning school prayer, abortion, or numerous other absurdities? Hell no it doesn’t, and my taxes are paying the fucking bill for their hypocrisy!
6) Christian women are supposed to dress discreetly (“...that women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire”--l Timothy 2:9 RSV; and “Let not yours be the outward adorning of braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing”-- 1 Peter 3 :3). Violations of these rules are too numerous to mention. Just visualize Tammy Faye Baker’s mascara laden eyes and gold encrusted wrists.
7) Here is perhaps the mother of verses ignored: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) and “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). I have yet to meet a Christian who has not judged my atheism. The whole world is chalk full of judges, juries, voters, employers, teachers, etc. which are all constantly judging others.
8) Believers are supposed to hate their parents when they follow Jesus (“If any man come to me, and not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sister, yet, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Well, considering that Christians do not abandon their families but usually attempt to brainwash them they are all guilty of not following this verse. “It’s symbolic”, yeah, I know your lame ass defense to this one already.
9) They are not to oppose evil (“But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”-- Matthew 5:39). If this were followed one might just as well abolish law enforcement.
10) Biblicists are not allowed to call anyone “father” (“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). Not only is this rule ignored on a DAILY BASIS, but Catholicism uses “father” as a specific title.
11) Christians are not supposed to plan or prepare. God will provide (“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or that ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on... Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, not gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedth them. Are ye not much better than they?” --Matthew 6:25-34 & Luke 12:22-31 inclusive). I see Christian conservatives plot on a daily basis how to screw their employees so they can reap more profits.
12) Lastly, Jesus, who clearly is of greater importance than Paul, said the Old Law was to remain in force until heaven and earth passed away and all is accomplished (“For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven”-Matthew 5:18-19 RSV). Heaven and earth still exist and many prophecies are not yet fulfilled. How many times have you heard some lame ass Christian say “the Old testament doesn’t matter, Jesus was the lamb and abolished it”? Don’t let them get away with this shit for even the bible says that they should still be following the Old Law.
This verse leads me into an observation of how clear their selective morality can be exposed. Take for instance how Biblicists approach the Old Testament. They leap in and out of the Old Law like a porpoise in a ship’s wake. If they like it, they quote it; if they don’t, they won’t. Among the scores of verses they enjoy and employ are those which teach the following:
13) Contact with mediums or wizards is forbidden (“Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God”-- Leviticus 19:3 1 RSV, see also: Leviticus 20:6 & Deuteronomy 18: 10-12). Here’s an interesting little stat; Christians more then any other faith consult mystics and self-proclaimed oracles.
14) People should give one-tenth of their income to the Lord, which Biblicists equate with church (“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s...And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord”--Leviticus 27:30-32)
15) Tattoos are anathema: (“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you. I am the Lord”--Leviticus 19:28) Despite this teaching I manage to see Mexican Catholics daily with tattoos of the Virgin Mary, Jesus or a set of praying hands on their forearms and shoulder blades.
16) Money cannot be lent at interest to your brother, only to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23: 19-20) Ahhh, I’m recalling all the Christian banking corporations....
17) Eating pork is forbidden (Deuteronomy 14:8). Hmm, I’ve never met a Christian who DIDN’T enjoy bacon and eggs.
18) A man must marry and have relations with his dead brother’s wife (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). This goes without explaining of course.
19) A seducer must marry an unengaged virgin whom he seduces (Exodus 22:16-17)
20) A raped, unengaged virgin must marry her rapist and they can never divorce (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). What justice the “moral majority” advocates!
21) There are several petty and silly little verses in the O.T., but none the less, they are to be followed. I guess it’s okay to disobey the lord for fashion’s sake. Beards can’t be rounded (Leviticus 19:27); A garment composed of wool and linen can’t be worn (Deuteronomy 22:11); Note: this explains why you will commonly see orthodox Jews with the long beards and black clothing. I say Christians should do this too so we can identify their stupidity upon first impression.
22) Bastards can’t enter the Lord’s congregation. (Deuteronomy 23:2) Hey, I know this is harsh, but God commands it, hence it must be “just”.
All of these rules are part of the Old Covenant and of equal import. Why quote the Ten Commandments and ignore other tenets? A believer’s obligation to one is no less than his obligation to all. In fact, if under the New Covenant Christians have stepped into the shoes of the Israelites and become, in effect, the new Chosen People, then they should inherit all the privileges and duties of that office. They seem to want the former but not the latter. Biblicists teach, preach, and attempt to reach others with moralism, but are not averse to selectively using that which suits their interests.
I’d like to close this essay with how to catch a Christian in the act. When you see them expounding a verse and ignoring another, call them on it. I know what you’ll hear. They’ll say, “that’s from the Old Law and we aren’t under the Old Law anymore”. Trip them with this: “But aren’t the Ten Commandments part of the Old Law?” “Yes, but we are obligated to follow them because they are reported in the NT” (Matthew 19:16-18, Mark 10:17-19 & Luke 18:18-22). Immediately point out to them that Jesus omitted half of the Ten Commandments and invented a new one, “though shall not defraud” ! Before they can get a word in edge wise finish them off with: “According to scripture it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of law to fail” (Luke 16:17 & Matthew 5:18-19). If sin is transgression of the law, as 1 John 3:4 says, then you should be following all of the Old Law. This, from experience, is the best way to shoot down these idiots and bar them from getting away with their hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy of Marital Relationships: So many Christians try to rationalize this but it is clear that a true follower of Jesus can neither divorce someone nor marry someone who is divorced. There is an exception to the rule, however. If spouse commits adultery, divorce is permissible. On the same token, the Bible also says that anyone who obtains a divorce and marries another is in adulterer. Remember that 80% of this country is Christian yet we have a 50% divorce rate. A majority of divorces are a result of irreconcilable differences, not adultery, which implies that Christians are again practicing selective morality. How many Christians are working on a second, third or fourth marriage?
1) “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6 & Mark 10:9).
2) “Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:32, 19:9 & Luke 16:18).
3) "Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery" (Matthew 5:32).
4) "...whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her" (Mark 10:11 & Luke 16:18), which applies to women as well (Mark 10:12).
On to another beef: The Christian attempts to put prayer into schools run directly counter to biblical teachings. Jesus said prayer should be a private affair devoid of public display: "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room (or closet.) and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret..." (Matthew 6:5-6 RSV). Biblicists violate this on a regular basis and have no intention of correcting their behavior. They demand that evolution be taken out of the curriculum. They demand parochial school receive voucher programs so that they may collect public funding. Christians continuously pray in public, IE: churches, street corners, schools, courts, etc. yet all the while they never stop to think this is in direct violation to the god they pray to.
I, of course, know why this is voluntarily ignored. Public prayer forces the peers of school children to jump on the band wagon and pray. We are all aware that the church is simply a business which employs tactics similar to that of tobacco industries in recruiting consumers. Get the kids while they are young and vulnerable so that they become donating members of the church when they reach adulthood. I find it humorous that other businesses warn their consumers on the package that it is dangerous to one’s health while Churches don’t put warning labels on the bible for the pornography and immorality it contains. The psychological damage organized religion causes is notably prevalent. Cancer from smoking and cirrhosis from drinking is JUST AS HARMFUL as the psychosis believers develop concerning reality. The “I see demons” complex is more rampant in Christians then it is in acid dropping space cadets. I am not saying this as a joke. There are literal studies done on this topic and they are in accordance to what I am conveying here.
Christians always use the excuse that the above mentioned verse is some how “metaphorical” yet they take Paul’s maxim that men should pray with their heads uncovered very seriously. I assume this is generally followed because removing one’s hat isn’t particularly inconvenient. "Any man who prays or prophecies with his head covered dishonors his head…" (1 Corinthians 11:4 RSV). On the other hand, Paul’s tenet that women must keep their heads covered with a veil during prayer is quite inconvenient and, for this reason, has either been rationalized away or ignored, although it is no less binding than any other moral law in the New Testament: “…but any woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head… For if a woman will not veil herself, then we should cut off her hair: but if it be disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil… Judge for yourself; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with head uncovered?” (1 Corinthians 11:5-13 RSV) The selectivity in which these verses are followed SCREAMS hypocrisy.
More Commonly Ignored Teachings:
1) "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (l Corinthians 11:14). How many freaked out long-haired, bible thumping Jesus freaks do you know? Perhaps this is just my experience, but I can name 12 such individuals off the top of my head. Surely, you can recall at least ONE LONG-HAIRED CHRISTIAN. The stereotypical version of CHRIST HIMSELF! Think of the numerous statues and pictures Christians adore depicting the lord appearing as that which he detests. One can not stop and wonder at the absurdity of this.
2) Another tenet clearly prohibits women from being ministers or otherwise speaking in church (“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak”-- 1 Corinthians 14:34). It’s difficult to see how Paul could support the current movement to ordain women. Why, Jesus would shit himself knowing that even I, an ATHEIST WOMAN, has managed to get herself legally ordained.
3) A third tenet prohibits men and women from wearing each other’s clothing (“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God”--Deuteronomy 22:5). Funny thing, two female Jehovah Witnesses came over this morning, they coffee clutched with my neighbor Jenny, a fellow Christian and ALL THREE of these women were wearing pant suits!
4) Ever watch these Christians on television and notice how their bowed heads uniformly shake amen while some evangelist goes on and on in prayer for a fucking hour? Well, repetitious and monotonous praying is in violation of Matthew 6:7. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
5) Christians are not supposed to take their disputes before non-Christian courts or judges. (“If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?” -- 1 Corinthians 6:1 NIV) How interesting! Considering that state is separate from church all courts are supposedly “ungodly”. Does this stop Christians from tying up the supreme court with law suits concerning school prayer, abortion, or numerous other absurdities? Hell no it doesn’t, and my taxes are paying the fucking bill for their hypocrisy!
6) Christian women are supposed to dress discreetly (“...that women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire”--l Timothy 2:9 RSV; and “Let not yours be the outward adorning of braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing”-- 1 Peter 3 :3). Violations of these rules are too numerous to mention. Just visualize Tammy Faye Baker’s mascara laden eyes and gold encrusted wrists.
7) Here is perhaps the mother of verses ignored: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) and “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). I have yet to meet a Christian who has not judged my atheism. The whole world is chalk full of judges, juries, voters, employers, teachers, etc. which are all constantly judging others.
8) Believers are supposed to hate their parents when they follow Jesus (“If any man come to me, and not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sister, yet, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Well, considering that Christians do not abandon their families but usually attempt to brainwash them they are all guilty of not following this verse. “It’s symbolic”, yeah, I know your lame ass defense to this one already.
9) They are not to oppose evil (“But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”-- Matthew 5:39). If this were followed one might just as well abolish law enforcement.
10) Biblicists are not allowed to call anyone “father” (“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). Not only is this rule ignored on a DAILY BASIS, but Catholicism uses “father” as a specific title.
11) Christians are not supposed to plan or prepare. God will provide (“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or that ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on... Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, not gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedth them. Are ye not much better than they?” --Matthew 6:25-34 & Luke 12:22-31 inclusive). I see Christian conservatives plot on a daily basis how to screw their employees so they can reap more profits.
12) Lastly, Jesus, who clearly is of greater importance than Paul, said the Old Law was to remain in force until heaven and earth passed away and all is accomplished (“For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven”-Matthew 5:18-19 RSV). Heaven and earth still exist and many prophecies are not yet fulfilled. How many times have you heard some lame ass Christian say “the Old testament doesn’t matter, Jesus was the lamb and abolished it”? Don’t let them get away with this shit for even the bible says that they should still be following the Old Law.
This verse leads me into an observation of how clear their selective morality can be exposed. Take for instance how Biblicists approach the Old Testament. They leap in and out of the Old Law like a porpoise in a ship’s wake. If they like it, they quote it; if they don’t, they won’t. Among the scores of verses they enjoy and employ are those which teach the following:
13) Contact with mediums or wizards is forbidden (“Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God”-- Leviticus 19:3 1 RSV, see also: Leviticus 20:6 & Deuteronomy 18: 10-12). Here’s an interesting little stat; Christians more then any other faith consult mystics and self-proclaimed oracles.
14) People should give one-tenth of their income to the Lord, which Biblicists equate with church (“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s...And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord”--Leviticus 27:30-32)
15) Tattoos are anathema: (“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you. I am the Lord”--Leviticus 19:28) Despite this teaching I manage to see Mexican Catholics daily with tattoos of the Virgin Mary, Jesus or a set of praying hands on their forearms and shoulder blades.
16) Money cannot be lent at interest to your brother, only to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23: 19-20) Ahhh, I’m recalling all the Christian banking corporations....
17) Eating pork is forbidden (Deuteronomy 14:8). Hmm, I’ve never met a Christian who DIDN’T enjoy bacon and eggs.
18) A man must marry and have relations with his dead brother’s wife (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). This goes without explaining of course.
19) A seducer must marry an unengaged virgin whom he seduces (Exodus 22:16-17)
20) A raped, unengaged virgin must marry her rapist and they can never divorce (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). What justice the “moral majority” advocates!
21) There are several petty and silly little verses in the O.T., but none the less, they are to be followed. I guess it’s okay to disobey the lord for fashion’s sake. Beards can’t be rounded (Leviticus 19:27); A garment composed of wool and linen can’t be worn (Deuteronomy 22:11); Note: this explains why you will commonly see orthodox Jews with the long beards and black clothing. I say Christians should do this too so we can identify their stupidity upon first impression.
22) Bastards can’t enter the Lord’s congregation. (Deuteronomy 23:2) Hey, I know this is harsh, but God commands it, hence it must be “just”.
All of these rules are part of the Old Covenant and of equal import. Why quote the Ten Commandments and ignore other tenets? A believer’s obligation to one is no less than his obligation to all. In fact, if under the New Covenant Christians have stepped into the shoes of the Israelites and become, in effect, the new Chosen People, then they should inherit all the privileges and duties of that office. They seem to want the former but not the latter. Biblicists teach, preach, and attempt to reach others with moralism, but are not averse to selectively using that which suits their interests.
I’d like to close this essay with how to catch a Christian in the act. When you see them expounding a verse and ignoring another, call them on it. I know what you’ll hear. They’ll say, “that’s from the Old Law and we aren’t under the Old Law anymore”. Trip them with this: “But aren’t the Ten Commandments part of the Old Law?” “Yes, but we are obligated to follow them because they are reported in the NT” (Matthew 19:16-18, Mark 10:17-19 & Luke 18:18-22). Immediately point out to them that Jesus omitted half of the Ten Commandments and invented a new one, “though shall not defraud” ! Before they can get a word in edge wise finish them off with: “According to scripture it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of law to fail” (Luke 16:17 & Matthew 5:18-19). If sin is transgression of the law, as 1 John 3:4 says, then you should be following all of the Old Law. This, from experience, is the best way to shoot down these idiots and bar them from getting away with their hypocrisy.
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Today’s Scripture Reading [January 2, 2011]
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. [Luke 21:34-36. KJV]
When the new year 2010 began, it began with some really bad events. Just hardly two weeks into 2010, a huge earthquake rocked the island nation of Haiti which caused more than 1 million people homeless and killed more than 230,000. Over the next few months into 2010 after the Haiti earthquake, we read also several natural calamities, among them were a volcanic eruption in Ice that caused the Europe’s air-transportation system to come to a complete halt, earthquakes measuring up to 7 Richter scale occurred in several countries, severe flood occurred in almost every continent, drought in many countries causing severe food shortage. We also see heavy snowing last month that is so serious causing tens of thousands of flights have to be canceled. Several people died because of the extreme cold. These are only some examples and there were many bad events that went unreported.
Is Mother Nature fighting back? Is Mother Nature so fed up with us? Or Is God using these events to warn us? We cannot deny, indeed Mother Nature is truly at war with her most formidable opponent – humans. Just a case in point, in this year we saw two man-made calamities and they could serve a wake-up call for us that we must not continue to abuse and misuse the earth. Sadly, as history has proved it, they could hardly be a lesson to us because human just don’t listen. These two man-made calamities - the BP oil leaks that has caused irreversible ecological damage to the Gulf Coast of unprecedented scale and the Hungary toxic sludge due to cracks in a reservoir well because of irresponsible mine owners - are clear indication to us that human are just simply incorrigible when it comes to the use, abuse and misuse of the gifts from the Mother Nature. Scientists, environmentalists, and even governments themselves admitted that the changing nature of our the global environment is largely caused by too much consumption of energy, oil in particular, irresponsible farming techniques, pollution due to industrialisation, etc. But the worst news that we have heard is that in spite of the admission of our failures to perserve our earth and that the factors that cause the destruction of our natural environment are almost all made-man, there is no firm agreement as to what need to done to restore our earth; rather there are intense disagreements among major industrialised countires as each one is trying to push away the responsibilities to others.
Added to the 'unsolvable' problems that we are facing, there are going to have plenty more uncertainties. In fact, the only constant or certainty that we are going to face is uncertainty. Even we are living through seemingly prosperous times now, the fear of unemployment, financial collapse which has nothing or very little to do with Mother Nature will never go away. The mood among many nations is one of almost frantic and perplexed worry about their survival and to add further to this uncertainty is the fact that we don’t even know who is controlling a nation. Many of the Wikileaks documents clearly shown us that what we see, what we hear is indeed very different from what is really taking place in the world of international politics. The politics of deception has finally been revealed by those documents – thanks to WikiLeaks – and really there is nothing we can do as an ordinary people to improve situation. No one really knows who is controlling the world but the Bible is very clear – the present world is ruled by the prince of darkness, Satan (and of course his angels). Nonetheless, the best we could hope and pray for is that 2011 will be different from 2010 for all the good reasons – God will withhold these bad events and human will start to realize that fighting against Mother Nature is going to do us great harm. We must therefore ask God that those people of authority will come to seek Him and to rule according to His laws. The big question is: Will we learn the lesson that the Mother Nature is fighting back? Will people of authority are willing to seek God and ask for His wisdom to rule the nations according to His percepts? I believe you know the answers better than anyone else!
Giving the current state of uncertainty, we must continue to take heed "lest [our] hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, that the day come on [us] unexpectedly" (Luke 21:34). This is a warning that us that we are not to allow ourselves to become distracted by the world and its cares and concerns that we miss the signs of the approaching end because it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth (Luke 21:35). From these verses, we are told that majority of mankind will be so distracted by the world events and miss the signs and to stand before Him. Thus, if we watch and pray always and do our best to live according to the way of God in every aspect of our lives - if we believe in God's promises to us of salvation and escape, we may be "counted worthy" to be spared the sore trials of the last days. This also suggests that if we watch, we will see the signs and not be caught off guard and snared. In our ‘watching’ we must not be passive spectators but as active doers of His Word. This requires us to completely commit ourselves to seeking first the Kingdom of God and the attitudes and attributes that make up God's righteousness. It is by seeking His righteousness (not man’s righteousness), seeking to live right according to His Word, His Law (not just simply obeying the law of the land in which we live in), and example (that only Jesus is worthy for our imitation, and not famous celebrities or wealthy people) - that we may, by faith in the grace of God through Christ Jesus, be accounted worthy of escaping all these things. God cannot change or grow us. We need to do this ourselves but He has promised us that His Spirit will help us if we are willing to change and to grow grace in Him (Philippians 4:13; Hebrews 4:16). We will reap whatever we sow (Galatians 6:7), so we need to sow righteousness to reap salvation. Conversely, if we sow evil we will have to pay for our evilness and we must be prepared to face the judgment of the Great White Throne. This is the judgement of all judgments and it will only take place once and for all mankind. There is no appeal after the judgment. You can, by the grace of God, to seek pardon if, and only if you were to repent of your sins right now and be saved from the judgment!
As we start our new year, we are one year closer to the year than it was in 2010, we must be prepared to expect the unexpected. Anything could happen to us and we must be prepared for any eventuality. We must put our hope, our trust and our faith in our Lord Jesus. I pray that the following message can be a blessing to you, and regardless of what our situation now, we all need a strong spirit to withstand the trials and tribulation - which are going to take in various "forms, shapes and sizes" -that all of us will face, sooner or later. Let us seek Him right now while He can be found!
To Make Our Spirit Strong
(Author Unknown)
Our Father knows what is best for us,
So we try not to complain….
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain.
We love the sound of laughter….
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear.
Our Father tests us often,
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us not to punish us….
But to help us meet tomorrow.
For growing trees are strengthened….
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of the chisel….
Gives the marble grace and form.
God never hurts us needlessly,
And never wastes our plain,
For every loss He sends to us….
Is followed by rich gain.
And when we count the blessings,
That God has so freely sent,
We find no cause for murmuring….
And no time to lament.
For our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain….
So He never sends us pleasure,
When the souls deep need is pain,
So whenever we are troubled,
And so many things go wrong….
It is just God working in us,
To make our spirit strong.
So we try not to complain….
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain.
We love the sound of laughter….
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear.
Our Father tests us often,
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us not to punish us….
But to help us meet tomorrow.
For growing trees are strengthened….
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of the chisel….
Gives the marble grace and form.
God never hurts us needlessly,
And never wastes our plain,
For every loss He sends to us….
Is followed by rich gain.
And when we count the blessings,
That God has so freely sent,
We find no cause for murmuring….
And no time to lament.
For our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain….
So He never sends us pleasure,
When the souls deep need is pain,
So whenever we are troubled,
And so many things go wrong….
It is just God working in us,
To make our spirit strong.
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[You are encouraged to freely share the message with others as the Lord leads but please note that nothing on the message must be used for profit!]
Today’s Scripture Reading [January 9, 2011]
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no nrighteousness in him. [Psalms 92: 14-15. KJV]
Few months ago, we saw in the TV of a serious labour furor in France. This furor was the result that the French government wanted to raise retirement age of workers from 60 to 62. Many French workers felt that that the change which was being legalized would undermine the pension payout. Just like all other old workers around the world, they are all waiting to enjoy the labour of their fruits, looking forward to collect their well-deserved pension payment which they can use to finance their long-deserving retirement. This is nothing wrong – worldly speaking – but in God’s economy, living to an old age and with our longevity, as children of God, we should use our age to benefits God’s Kingdom. We see in Psalm 92:14-15, when we live a life that is in accordance with the will of God, we can bear the fruits for our God, and He blesses those who serve him. H. C. Leupold, a Bible commentary writer penned these words of wisdom: “The happy and flourishing old age of the righteous are a strong indication of God's faithfulness and truth, showing, as it does, that God keeps His promises, and never forsakes those who put their trust in Him.” This astounding truth shines like a beacon in the night and gives us great encouragement, especially those who have lived to the old age and still serving God like they are still in their youth.
There is nothing wrong to reward ourselves with some enjoyment like occasional travel to places of interest, or taking up a new hobby like music, cooking or sports. However, as children of God, we must not neglect our high calling that the primary purpose of our life here is to influence others for God’s glory and we are to be part of His kingdom-building effort regardless of our age. So, why many of us are reluctant to actively serving Him? One of the excuses could be because we view old age as a kind of disease. When lamented day and night because we are old, we are not just doing a great disservice to ourselves, we are also doing a great disservice to God. ‘Old age’ is not a disease and people don’t die because of old age. People die because of disease. No matter how old we are, we can bring forth the fruit that God intended us to bring (Psalm 92:14) if only we are willing and be obedient to His calling. Granted that physical infirmities may sometimes be a hindrance to our service to God, this must not be our primary excuse for not serving Him. Let us look at some of the old people whom God has used of them for His glory:
Moses was 80 years old and Aarons were 83 when God chose them to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Both Moses and Aarons obeyed and through Moses’ command, they succeeded in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. The Egyptians were highly trained in military science and even with their state-of-the-art chariots they still could not prevent Moses from leading the Israelites escaping Egypt.
After Moses died, Joshua who lived until he was 110 years took over from him and was in charge of leading the conquest of Canaan during the last thirty years of his life; his deputy, Caleb, was very much involved in the conquest and Caleb himself was in the eighties.
Prophet Daniel served God from the days of his youth. He served for over 70 years. He was well over eighty years old when he served as one of the three governors over the Kingdom of Babylon.
Zacharias and Elizabeth were both well advanced in years and Elizabeth was barren, a term that was used to indicate that she had passed her child-bearing age. (Luke 1:7). In spite of the old age, Zacharias served in the temple and later his wife, Elizabeth, though ‘barren’ was blessed with a child, John the Baptist who Jesus described as the greatest prophet (Luke 7:28).
Anna, the prophetess, was one of the witnesses when child Jesus was presented to the temple. She was over eighty years old and had been serving God with fastings and prayers night and day. (Luke 2:25-38).
Apostle Paul referred to himself the aged and yet still as prisoner of Christ (Philemon 1:9). Even in prison he wrote letters of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Philemon, and traveled widely to and encourage churches. After he was released from prison and in spite of the persecution he was facing, he continued his evangelism.
The apostle John was over 90 years old when the Book of Revelation was revealed to him. This Apocalypse book that he told to us while he was a prisoner of Rome on the remote desert penal colony of Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea revealed the final events that are going to take place here before God set up His Kingdom. Although there are differences of opinion whether John did actually wrote the wordings or dictate what he was in the vision and the actual wordings were written by someone else, there is one certainty here: God reveals the final events in vivid details to John. At over 90 years old, the Apostle John was very likely to be the only apostle to survive to such an old age. God revealed this great book of prophecy to him for a very good reason – people listen and listen well to what old people has to say because wisdom comes with age (Job 32:7). It is amazing that God has revealed to him some of the physical aspects of heaven. Although we were not told that he was in anyway involved in jewelry business, yet he could give a description of the twelve precious stones that the foundations would be made of. [If you want to read more about this, please go to my April 4, 2010 thread].
Besides those great Bible patriarchs and personalities, we too can learn and get encouragement from many secular people who had had outstanding achievements made during their old age, some even at their 80s. For example, Immanuel Kant wrote his Anthropology, Metaphysics of Ethics, and Strife of the Faculties at age 74; Oliver Wendell Holmes at 79 wrote Over the Teacups; Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables at 62; Booth Tarkington wrote sixteen novels after age 60, some of them when he was totally blind; George Bernard Shaw wrote some of his famous plays at 80; Jules Verne was writing his stories at 63; Croce the Italian philosopher published two of his works on philosophy at age 85; George Santayana, the great Harvard philosopher, continued to write books at 88 years of age; Alfred Tennyson at 80 wrote 'Crossing the Bar’; Webster wrote his monumental dictionary at 70.
There is an old Chinese saying that says “Life begins at seventy.” Perhaps this saying may derive from the Bible knowledge or just a simple plain truth of the useful value and the wisdom that would come as one gets old, we cannot deny that even ancient Chinese emperors relied heavily on the advices of their trusted advisers and most of these imperial advisers were advanced in age. This reliance on old imperial advisers to help emperors governing their empire was even more crucial for newly installed young emperors. They needed these old but very experienced advisers for wisdom to govern their empire. Sadly, it seems that when we reached the most ideal age for God’s service at 60s, 70s or 80s, we find ourselves retiring from His active service and, instead, spending must of our time just to enrich ourselves with all the world’s offerings that bring little or no value to His Kingdom.
Another reason for not serving our God is the fear of failure or mistakenly blamed ourselves that we are not qualified and simply prefer to leave the service to the younger people. If we find ourselves unqualified to work for God, we can always spend a period of time growing and developing the necessary godly attributes and then serve. Admittedly, certain infirmity can limit our service for God but only our final death can stop us from serving Him altogether. Although we can’t stop the ageing process and our outward man may be weakening, our inward man is renewed daily by the Lord (2 Corinthians 4:16). Let us not let the carnal world view of retirement affects our love and our service for God. One of the dangers of having too much free time is that we may idle away our time and worst still we become busybodies and spend our time on gossiping and interfering other people’s affair (2 Thessalonians 3:11).
It is perfectly alright to enjoy our retirement now and then but we must let Him take away our carnal desire to simply indulging worldly pleasure. We must replace it with His ways for His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). In God's economy we are never too old to serve God neither can we be too unqualified to serve. The only qualification that God demands of us is our willingness and our availability. Let us accept God’s life’s employment offer based on His terms and the good news is that there will be no retrenchment in His institution neither there is such thing as retirement (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). He always needs workers of all ages, young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, men and women because there are too many jobs and vacancies in His Kingdom but there are not enough workers (Matthew 9:37).
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