UNICEF and ABORTION

I found several articles. Just this one here for now:

The Truth About UNICEF
by Leslie Tignor

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.all.org%252Farticle.php%253Fid%253D10105&h=afe8ea2f908ddfab288e3b99a19903a3&ref=mf

Who do You say Jesus Is?

Who is Jesus?

The biggest question: who do you say that Jesus is?

Here we see a division between Christianity and Islam. With Peter, Christians confess that He is the Christ. For a Muslim, He is merely a prophet.

Presbyterian sign is in the foreground; Muslim mosque in the background. These two are on diagonal sides of the intersection.

The traffic lights signal choices. I waited for a red light.

I like all the electrical diagonal lines as well.

Some grass close to the lens created interesting patterns in the sky, etc.

Text is Mark 8:29a from NIV, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica.

Calvinism

Pelagianism and Arminianism: “God cannot work in a hard heart.”

Calvinism: “God has never begun a work in a heart that was not a hard heart.”

[This image is from the Wikimedia Commons, which is a freely licensed media file repository.

Modern Day Dogs, Evil Workers, and those who Practice Mutilation

Philippians 3:2-3 “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who practice mutilation. For we are the true circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh[...]“ (From Mounce 2008 Greek-English Interlinear translation)

Apostle Paul, defender of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, commissioned by our Master Himself, wrote to the Christians in Philippi to warn them about the false teaching of the “Judaizers.” Some Jews prided themselves in being workers of righteousness, and taught that circumcision was necessary for salvation. Paul called them “evil workers” because they taught that a Christian must make attempts to please God by his own efforts, drawing attention away from Christ.

The Judaizers are back.

Pope John Paul II was a Judaizer. Here he is at the wailing wall. Is this how Jesus taught us to pray?

Nowadays we hear that if we don’t call our Lord by the Hebrew name that His earthly father gave to Him, then we aren’t “true Christians.”

This is not part of the gospel unto salvation. Our Lord never spoke about it. His apostles, and all those who wrote our Greek New Testament never wrote about it.

It’s not difficult to imagine that Jesus was originally given a Hebrew name, nor is it difficult to consider that the name was likely “Yeshua.”

However, the New Testament scripture was written in Greek, not Hebrew, and if we are not going to fuss about the Greek titles “theos” or the capitalized “Christos,” then let us not fuss about the proper name of our Lord as the NT authors wrote it in the Greek.

There is no fault in someone calling Him Yeshua (shortened form of Yehesua, the name of Joshua who led the children of Israel into Canaan), if they are persuaded that was His personal name. After all, it means “savior,” and is hardly an offense, so long as the person confesses that this is the son of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth. (“Yowceph” and “Miryam” from “נצרת”– for the benefit of those who have spiritual battles with proper names being written in any language other than Hebrew.)

But there is fault in suggesting that we must refer to His Hebrew name in order to be true Christians.

Let’s listen to our Hebrew brother Simon (Peter), chosen apostle, renamed by our Lord to an Aramaic (not Hebrew) name meaning stone, rendered “Cephas” in the Greek:

Acts 15:7-11 [...]“Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (from NIV translation)

But “Jesus” means “son of Zeus” or “hail Zeus” you say?! We better ask a literary scholar in Greek. We can’t just toss around superstitious claims that serve the needs of certain people. William Mounce specializes in the Greek language and the New Testament. His Ph. D is from the University of Aberdeen.

William D. Mounce (PhD, Aberdeen University) lives as a writer in Camas, Washington. He is the Vice President of Educational Development at BibleGateway.com and the president of Biblical Training, a nonprofit organization offering the finest in evangelical teaching to the world. See BillMounce.com for more information. Formerly he was the preaching pastor at a church in Spokane, a professor of New Testament and director of the Greek program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a professor of New Testament at Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of the bestselling New Testament Greek resources, Basics of Biblical Greek, and served as the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version translation of the Bible. (from zondervan.com)

Here is what William Mounce says about the Greek name “Jesus”:

Noun: Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) [...] The name Iēsous is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” [...] The personal name given to Jesus is an especially appropriate one for the Messiah to bear since its Hebrew antecedent, Joshua, means “The LORD [Yahweh] is salvation.”

(Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words; Copyright © 2006 by William D. Mounce; page 366.)

Just out of curiosity, let us English speakers take a viewing of the Greek words “Jesus,” “son,” “hail,” and “Zeus”:

• Jesus: Ἰησοῦς
• Son: ἀνεψιός
• Hail: χαίρω
• Zeus: Ζεύς

I cannot see even a vague resemblance of “son,” “hail,” or “Zeus” within the Greek name “Jesus,” but of course I’m not an expert in Greek.

Note that all names beginning with “J,” such as James, Joseph, Jose, and Judas, begin with the Greek Ἰη or Ἰω. This is about the Greek letter iota (our J), it is not about “son of” or “hail.”

From September 20, 2009 conversation on a Facebook wall:

At least tell me where I am wrong…..you have not yet done so. I would love to know where, so I can correct it and find out why I should follow pagan teachings. Zeus, clearly pagan, Yeshua meaning salvation……go figure as to why Christians prefer Gentiles over Jews. I will side with His tribe every time.

“I will side with His tribe every time.” This compels me to quote 1 Corinthians 1:11-13:

My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? (from NIV translation; emphasis mine)

Regarding the “Messianic Seal of the Church of Jerusalem,” another spew from the Messianic Jewish movement that calls into question our entire NT scripture, I have these few points for now:

• Jews have a habit of thinking little of Christ and dragging Christians into the trap of the “law” which cannot justify anyone, Gentile or Jew: You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:4-6; NIV translation)
• The covenant of the promised land that God made with the Jews is a mighty pathetic gift in comparison to the work of our Lord and the new and better covenant (Hebrews 7:22) in His blood. What child of God in his right mind would not trade all the land in the world to gain Christ? This is our very calling; the obligation part of the covenant between God and us. The Jewish prophet speaks of the coming of this better covenant (Jeremiah 31).
• There is no authority in statements such as, “according to Bob Fischer [...] at least two of the eight artifacts [...] may well have been used by James the Just, the brother of Jesus, who is said to be the first pastor of the church, or perhaps even by one or more of the Twelve Apostles.” (from link above). God doesn’t hide secret knowledge and bury truths in the sand that cause, at best, mysterious suspicions of various things. The Messianic Jews are going Gnostic on us! They’re also going Roman on us, playing around with trinkets and placing spiritual meaning on graven images that will rot and burn.
• Jesus Christ never flaunted His “pervasive Jewishness”… indeed, He was despised by the Pharisees and often accused of breaking Jewish traditions.
• Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), something that the Jews have always clamored for, and is at least partly why they hated Him and apparently continue to, until such day as God pours His grace upon them. We Christians are the spiritual Jews. They can have this carnal world and eat it, boasting in their “Jewishness”. We are the true Jews and the true children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7).

The “Messianic Jews,” despised by Jews(!), dance into the Christian arena and whet our appetites with their confession of Christ and their knowledge of the Old Testament and the Jewish background of our Lord. They slowly introduce their concepts and drag us deeper back into the pit from whence we came before faith in Christ. They entice us with our own Old Testament scriptures to deny our New Testament scriptures. These evil workers seek to distract us from God’s grace, God’s gifts, and our Lord and Savior. They can live and die in Jerusalem. We are the new Jerusalem, and the bride of the Son of God. (Revelation 21:2). Let us not permit these men to persuade us of their authority over our holy scriptures.

“For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” (Titus 10-16; NIV translation)

Apostle Paul was more Jewish than all the Messianic Jews put together, but he counted it as dung to gain Christ:

“Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”

The Proper Name of God in Heaven

Summary:

• God, lord, savior, master, king, father, most high, and almighty: these are all important titles, but they are not proper names. There is no particular reason to capitalize “God”– it’s not His name. He is the “one true God,” the “only God”… but that’s not His name.
• The proper name of the Most High God in heaven is Yahweh. Some tradition may have it that Jews cannot speak nor write the name, but it’s written in our scripture for us to read. If we say it or write it, let us do so in all fear and honor.

Just checked a Greek manuscript: the word “God/god” (theos) is never capitalized in the new testament, whether referring to the Father, the Son, or a false god. This makes sense when we understand that “god” is merely a title; it is not a proper name. Compare the proper name “Thaddaeus” — it is written in Greek using an uppercase theta, unlike the lowercase theta that is consistently used for “god,” regardless of how the English versions write it. The English versions have possibly misled us into thinking that “God” is a name– it is not.

Similarly, the word “Lord/lord” is always written with a lowercase kappa– it is a title only; not a proper name. It is interesting to note that when our Master quotes Deuteronomy scripture to Satan in Matthew 4:10, where the original OT scripture uses the personal name of God (Yahweh), it is simply translated in Greek as the usual lowercase “lord.” The Greek manuscripts demonstrate no ability to write the personal name Yahweh / Yĕhovah, and there is no title/name referring to the Father in capital letters [including the title "Father"]. If they were able, they would most certainly have done so in Matthew 4:10. “Jesus Christ,” on the other hand, is capitalized. The “name of God” is spoken of in Rev 3:12 and 14:1 but not revealed.

YaHWeH as it appears in the Torah, including the vowels that were used in the ancient Hebrew language; this proper name is written as "LORD" in most English Old Testaments.

I’m not certain, but the authors of the New Testament may have refrained from using the personal name of the Father (in Hebrew itself, or a Greek translation) to avoid offending Jews.

Of interest is the title “Most High” (hypsistos– also never capitalized). It is used 13 times in the NT, exclusively to refer to the Father– never to the Son (who is referred to as the “son of the most high”).

May I Refuse to Associate with Someone?!

This article is written for marshmallow Christians. It is not politically correct, but it is scripturally correct. We must not trade truth for foolish ideas.

1 Cor 5 is mentioned at the end of this article; however, I want to point it out early on, because it shows the dramatic difference between Christian love, and ‘love’ in our “tolerant” culture:

WE MUST NOT ASSOCIATE WITH ANYONE WHO CALLS HIMSELF A BROTHER, but is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolator or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. We shouldn’t even EAT with such a man! (Verses 9-11).

A man like this should be turned over to Satan by Christians, in order to destroy his Esau nature, and to protect the church. (Verses 5-8.) That’s tough love if I’ve ever heard it.[1]

search scripture instead of culture

Many Christians neglect their loving duty to prevent their brethren from running off cliffs, quoting Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-2 as justification for their inaction:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

We need to look at the specific words in the scripture to find out what we must do, and what we must not do.

Krinō — to decide whether someone is guilty or innocent
We must never do this. (Matt 7:1-2; Romans 2:1-3).

Katadikazō — to decide that someone is guilty; to condemn someone
We must not do this. (Luke 6:37).

Krisis — to sentence
Even angels don’t do this. (2 Pet 2:11; Jude 9).

Peirazō — to test / discern / examine
Notice that this word, and the following words, are not about judging, sentencing, or condemning.

We must test/examine:

• ourselves (2 Cor 13:5)
• those who say they are apostles (Rev 2:2)

Dokimazō — similar to peirazō; to discern or examine something as genuine or not
We must examine:

• ourselves (1 Cor 11:28; Gal 6:4)
• the spirit behind a teacher / teaching (1 Jn 4:1) — if the teaching is wrong, we must not welcome the teacher into our house (2 John 10-11)
• all things in general (Rom 2:18; 12:2; Eph 5:10; Phil 1:10; 1 Thes 5:21)

Heuriskō — to recognize (find out) by enquiry or examination
We must apply ourselves to deciding whether a minister is trustworthy (1 Cor 4:2) or a liar (Rev 2:2).

Katanoeō — to consider or perceive
We must perceive a personal problem that blocks our ability to help a brother. After fixing that problem, we can take action to help our brother’s problem. (Matt 7:3-5). (Everyone seems to know the quick response: “take out the beam in your own eye”; but many ignore the rest of the scripture that Jesus taught.)

Noutheteō — to warn or admonish each other
We are able, and ought, to admonish each other. (Rom 15:14; Col 3:16).

Col 3:16 also points out that we should teach one another.

We are urged to warn the unruly. (1 Thes 5:14).

We must also esteem those who admonish us. (1 Thes 5:12-13).

Elegchō — to rebuke, expose, or tell a fault to a brother
We must rebuke:

• A brother who sins against us (Matt 18:15)
• Those in the dark (Eph 5:11)

Epitimaō — to chide or reprove
We must rebuke:

• A brother who sins against us (Luke 17:3); if he repents, we must forgive him; if we reach the point of telling it to the church and he still doesn’t repent, we must consider him a heathen
• Anyone who speaks against Jesus (Luke 23:39-40)

Synanamignymi [negated] — to abstain from associating with someone
We must not keep company with one who disobeys scripture, for the beneficial effect of shaming him; however, we shouldn’t consider him an enemy, but rather admonish (noutheteō) him as a brother. (2 Thes 3:14-15).

As mentioned at the top, we also must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother, yet is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolator or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. We shouldn’t even eat with such a man! (1 Cor 5:9-11).

It is okay to associate with such people, if they are of the world and not pretending to be Christian.

Notes:

[1] This is a study on judging, condemning, discerning, admonishing, and deciding. It does not stand in opposition to scriptural commandments to serve, encourage, be patient, and live in peace with each other.

Trinity Doctrine?

Postscript: Just checked a Greek manuscript: the word “God/god” (theos) is never capitalized in the new testament, whether referring to the Father, the Son, or a false god. This makes sense when we understand that “god” is merely a title; it is not a proper name. Compare the proper name “Thaddaeus” — it is written in Greek using an uppercase theta, unlike the lowercase theta that is consistently used for “god,” regardless of how the English versions write it. The English versions have possibly misled us into thinking that “God” is a name– it is not.

Similarly, the word “Lord/lord” is always written with a lowercase kappa– it is a title only; not a proper name. It is interesting to note that when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy scripture in Matthew 4:10, where the original OT scripture uses the personal name of God (Yahweh), it is simply translated in Greek as the usual lowercase “lord.” The Greek manuscripts demonstrate no ability to write the personal name Yahweh / Yĕhovah, and there is no title/name referring to the Father in capital letters [including the title "Father"!]. If they were able, they would most certainly have done so in Matthew 4:10. “Jesus Christ,” on the other hand, is capitalized. The “name of God” is spoken of in Rev 3:12 and 14:1 but not revealed.

I’m not certain, but the authors of the New Testament may have refrained from using the personal name of the Father (in Hebrew itself, or a Greek translation) to avoid offending Jews.

Of interest is the title “Most High” (hypsistos– also never capitalized). It is used 13 times in the NT, exclusively to refer to the Father– never to the Son (who is referred to as the “son of the most high”).

This is but a brief study into an occasionally controversial and misunderstood topic. I have discovered that I know much less about the topic than I ever thought. My prayer is that we may all find truth in the holy scriptures, inspired by our God.

God is infinite– beyond our comprehension. But we can learn some important things about Him from scripture.

If this is a deep investigation into what might be a “mystery” of God, then I suppose it may not be practical nor profitable. Nevertheless, I tremble at the thought of neglecting it.

My findings here are not so much “unorthodox,” but the arguments that I use to support these accepted truths are not the usual ones. Perhaps the most unorthodox thoughts I present surround the mysteries of the Holy Ghost.

Introduction to the “Trinity” Doctrine

Some people misunderstand the “trinity doctrine” as confessing that there is only one “person”; i.e., God is one person who wears three different masks, or plays three different roles. This is not the trinity doctrine. Rather, it is a falsehood called “Sabellianism”. The trinity doctrine specifically opposes Sabellianism. (“Trinity” means threefold, thus implying three persons in its title before it has even spoken). To read scripture while believing that the three are but one person dancing about on a stage pretending to be three quickly becomes ridiculous. The third paragraph in the “They are Three” section below provides one small example of how silly it becomes.

However, the trinity doctrine does confess that there is only one God (let’s hope! otherwise, we are polytheist pagans!), and all three persons are part of that one God; as such, the three divine persons are of one substance, or one being.

You may wonder for awhile, but I will eventually defend this “three-in-one God.” Bear in mind that to deny this requires a defense as well. If only Yĕhovah is God, then where does His Son fit in? Is His Son deity? Deity unto Himself? Two Gods? Three Gods? One God and two important angels?

They Are Three

The Bible clearly speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost as different persons, each having unique qualities and roles. They are in harmony, but they are three.

When the New Testament says “God” and is referring to only one of the three persons, it is always referring to the Father, unless clearly indicated otherwise.

The Father did not come to the earth, become man, and die on a cross. The Son did. The Holy Ghost did not come down like a dove and descend upon… Himself(???). The Father did not say, “This is Myself(???) in whom I am well pleased.”

The Father is the Sovereign Creator and the One with the plan. The Son is “begotten” of the Father; the Son obeyed His Father, came down from heaven and became man by holy conception; He was crucified, descended into hell, was resurrected, and ascended as King of kings, and we confess that He is the Christ. The Holy Ghost was not begotten, but proceeds from the Father (John 15:26), and spoke through the prophets, and today is our Advocate/Comforter (Jn 14:16) and teacher (Jn 14:26).

There is authoritative hierarchy between the Father and the Son. The Father is higher than the Son… the Son is subject to the Father who is “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28). The honor of being called “most high” (“hypsistos”) is used 13 times in the New Testament, and is applied exclusively to the Father. (This hierarchy is also intuitive in the labels “Father” and “Son.”)

They Are One

They [three] are one substance, and they [two] are worthy of worship. (I say [two] because I find no explicit scripture showing men or angels worshiping the Holy Ghost, nor commanding or even recommending such worship. Let me know if I missed something.)

Check the Words

That the New Testament calls Jesus “God” in at least four different places is hardly a good defense of the trinity doctrine… The word “God” in the New Testament is not so special– it is not reserved for the Father and/or the Son. Indeed, “God” in the NT is simply the word “theos.” This word is used to refer to “gods” (Acts 7:40), and even to the pagan idol Remphan (Acts 7:43)! One caveat: I do not know whether the NT authors used capitalization of “theos” in certain cases and not in others. If that is true, I would need to investigate whether “God” is capitalized or not when referring to Jesus. (Theos is used over 1300 times in the NT.) [But see postscript above, added 16 Sep] At any rate, we ought not be shy to call Jesus “God,” since “God” is not the personal name of the Father… it is merely a generic term… as is “Lord.” If only I had a copy of the Greek NT, I could check for capitalization… the lexicons do not indicate this.

The OT prophet Isaiah is more convincing! We find a prediction of the coming of John Baptist who will say, “prepare the way for the LORD” (Is. 40:3). The Hebrew word used for LORD here is Yĕhovah, the personal name of God. There still remains some ambiguity, though… it might simply mean, “prepare the way for the plan of Yĕhovah through His Son.” I know that there is only ONE true interpretation of scripture, but I don’t always get it!

Isaiah also confesses that the coming Messiah is “Immanuel,” which means ‘Yĕhovah is with us.’ This maybe isn’t very strong either; nevertheless, it warms up our mind for the more convincing arguments…. (hold your pants!)

I find no Greek term that actually delivers the PERSONAL NAME of the Father in the NT. When “Yĕhovah” is quoted from the Old Testament, it is simply translated as “kyrios” (Lord), which cannot be used to discern anything, because that word is also used to refer to mere human masters.

The only New Testament word that holds some persuasion of the oneness between Father and Son is “sōtēr” (savior) which is equally used to refer to both the Father and to the Son, but never to anyone or anything else.

The Stronger Arguments

The most convincing arguments are:

• Jesus Himself states “…Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matt 4:10). Note that the text He quoted (Deut 6:13) uses “Yĕhovah,” the personal name of God, rather than simply “Lord” or “God.” Yet men fell down and worshiped Jesus (Matt 2:2,11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; ad nauseum), and He did not rebuke them for it.Even apostles (Acts 10:25-26; 14:15) and angels (Rev 19:10; 22:9) forbade that anyone bow down or worship them. Why would Jesus neglect to forbid any to fall down before Him unless He is true God (per Matt 4:10)? Scripture explicitly states that worship from men and angels belongs to the Father (Eph 3:14) and to Jesus Christ (Phil 2:10; Heb 1:6), while yet asserting that only Yĕhovah may be worshiped and served!This assures me that the Son is true God. If we worship the Son, we are worshiping the Father. The Father has exalted His Son to that title “God” (Heb 1:8), as the Almighty (Rev 1:8), the King of kings (Rev 17:14), and LORD OF LORDS (19:16).
• Jesus says that the Father is in Him, and He is in the Father. (John 10:38; 14:10-11). That said, Jesus seems to offer this “on par” with the idea that we [will be] in Him and He in us [one day]. (John 14:20; 17:24). I offer speculation (not scripture!) that perhaps on that great day we will so incredibly become members / persons in this so-called “trinity” ourselves!… as for now, however, the oneness certainly remains only between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. (See below for the Holy Ghost part.)
• Jesus says that if you have seen or known Him, then you have seen / known the Father (John 8:19; 14:7,9).

I have found nothing in scripture to show the Holy Ghost being worshiped or being “one” with the Father and the Son.

Jesus said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30; 17:22), but nowhere is the Holy Ghost included in this oneness. Jesus talks about being in the Father and the Father in Him. The Holy Ghost is not there. Matt 3:16, Matt 28:19, Luke 1:35, Acts 4:31, and 2 Cor 13:14 imply that the Holy Ghost is deeply involved with the other two; however, “of one being” with them is hardly explicit! Scripture makes it explicit that the Father and Son are one. I feel awkward and nervous asserting things that are merely implied in scripture.

However, John 6:63 fairly convinces me that the Holy Ghost is part of the one God. (“It is the Spirit that gives life”… that sounds like something that only God can do.)

If you are reading the KJV and quote 1 John 5:7 as evidence that the Holy Ghost is one with the other two, your argument is very weak, because that “scripture” (“there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one”) is almost universally rejected as a dark-age “insertion” into Erasmus’ Greek translation due to pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. (This inserted clause is called the “Comma Johanneum”.)

Conclusion

Scripture testifies of all three as separate (and so we must), and scripture testifies to their oneness (and so we must).

The Athanasian Creed says that we worship one God without either confusing the (three) persons, OR dividing the (one) substance.

Sometimes people call it a mystery…

I don’t always think of it as a mystery. Consider: “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall [glue to] his wife: and they [two] shall be one [body]” (Matt 19:5). Human marriage is never perfect, but imagine the perfect fellowship, union, and unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost… they are truly one! If we can confess that (corrupt) humans can be ONE BODY, then what difficulty in confessing that three perfect holy beings with shared purpose are ONE SUBSTANCE or ONE BEING?

How many teams are you cheering for when you are watching a game of Tag Team Tennis? Just one, of course! But there are two players on that team! Yes, there are two players, but they are one team… they work together in unity. You cannot understand the “team” if one player is not there. They couldn’t play a game if they were missing one player. They are one. Yet this is an imperfect human analogy. Imagine the spiritual, heavenly, holy, perfect team. Would God be God without the Son? without the Holy Ghost? I cannot imagine it.

When i see Jesus, I will fall down and say, with Thomas, “my Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), and I will worship Him.

Trying to be Willing

everyone has a master; everyone is a slave; true freedom is being prisoner of the One great Master– the One who didn’t place cheap bids at an auction of devils– the One who paid everything you owe even while you hated Him. i have been “Christian” all my life, yet a slave to arminianism. i HATE arminianism. i cannot bear under those who presume to be teachers and bring this miserable burdensome slavery. but my God brought me out of egypt. if He will do that for me (the least), He can do that for my friends who remain under egypt’s yoke.

are you “trying” to work for God out of obligation, and never seeing lasting victory or overcoming? do you complain when worship goes over 1 hour, because (though you deny it) you truly hate it? [and i hate it too when it's arminian lies! one hour of listening to two arminian prophets is a LONG hour. but when studying the Bible in all truth, we don't even look at our watch.]

what is arminianism? one minister summed it up quite well in this unscriptural poetic description:

“the door of our heart only opens one way; God doesn’t force Himself into anyone’s heart; all we need to do is open the door to God when He knocks, and then… [all good things happen].” all we need to do is be willing; all we need to do is make the right choice; all we need to do is have an honest heart; all we need to do is hop into the center of the potter’s wheel (interesting visual); all we need to do is cast the stones and weeds out (we, being dirt); then God will “help” us.

despite the obvious that we herein rob God, and grace is no longer grace, let me point out the practical side of this in very personal terms: i always wanted God’s help, so i always tried to be willing. FINALLY i realized that the very thing i needed His help for was my unwillingness! you cannot escape a ring-shaped prison by running around the circle inside it like an idiot! once i repented of my “good works,” God began His. GET OUT OF GOD’S WAY YOU FOOLISH ARMINIAN SLAVE WHO BELIEVES IN ONE TINY SPECK OF GOODNESS IN THOSE WHO ARE SAVED. God is the more glorified the more wretched we are. and we ARE wretched. difficult to admit, but essential. we were born with the capacity only to hate God. if apostle paul confessed that in his human flesh there was NO GOOD THING, then who are we? paul wasn’t just “trying to be humble, and isn’t that sweet.” he was stating a fact.

WHY WOULD I GET UP AND OPEN THE DOOR TO THE GOD THAT I HATE. I WAS BORN HATING HIM; I WAS A CHILD OF SATAN. start with that confession, and then with a humble and contrite heart (is. 66:2) throw yourself at the feet of Jesus.

arminianism is the hallmark of the mormon church. however, it is found all over protestant “Christianity.”

Jacobus Arminius-- from his bowels hatched the doctrine that i was enslaved to for most of my life as a "Christian." Now I praise God for His astounding grace and mercy.

we are saved by grace through faith, and even this faith is not our own, it is the gift of God. (eph 2:8).

but what about works? shall we throw away the book of james? does it contradict this scriptural truth?

WORKS are not thrown away! works are the natural consequence of faith; indeed, the evidence of faith and the evidence of our conversion.

when we study covenants in the Bible (there are many) we notice that GOD always initiates them. then we are called to respond to that love. that’s how it works. i cannot find the end of such scriptures:

• covenant children of Abraham (passively and ignorantly) received the sign (circumcision); they would later understand and respond to this;
• the woman caught in adultery didn’t “find” Jesus; He wasn’t lost; He found HER and baptized her in His mercy — THEN she was called to live a life of repentance;
• our own baptism — compared to circumcision by apostle paul — it is the SIGN of the covenant wherein God declares that we are His child — though we are ignorant when we are baptized, as we mature we progress in our response to the covenant that God made with us;
• “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 Jn 4:10)

if He calls us His son… if He works the miracle of re-creation inside us– the new nature; born again; the second-born (Jacob) who SHALL be served by the older;… THEN WE WILL BE ALIVE, and as living members of the vine, WE WILL BEAR FRUIT. there is not immediate maturity! we don’t toss out an infant because he cannot walk or talk! we don’t trample the seedling of an apple tree because it doesn’t yet grow an apple! we see life! a baby cries, his blood flows.

all silly empty versions of “assurance” will fall away. our assurance (to KNOW that we have eternal life–1 Jn 5:13; 2 Cor 13:5) is delightfully full and complete when we examine ourselves whether we be in the faith, we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, we see whether we pass the many tests (in 1 John and those provided by the lips of our Lord: if you’re bearing thistles, it’s fairly obvious that you aren’t a fig tree).

the assurances of all the deceptive versions of “Christianity” are like the waters of this world… we feel a moment of peace, but the cup runs out and we must drink again to reduce our tension. true assurance is like that well of water ever springing within us!

when a man reads 1 John and understands, he will either fall to his knees in fear and despair, OR he will rejoice because he passes the tests by God’s grace!

in the invisible war of spirits and principalities, the weapon of the enemy is the lie. the bigger the lie, the bigger the gun. the more seemingly true and good and Godly, the more powerful the lie.

when i observe the world with human eyes, i think that islam is the greatest threat to Christianity. this is ridiculous. atheism and islam (though we must not neglect caution) are merely foot-soldiers in the war– the lies are so pathetic– they don’t even come in the name of Christ! the territory of Christian souls is rarely lost to such pathetic things!

be the more wary of humanism and moral relativism, which creep into Christianity. (maybe this scripture is interpreted one way by you, and a different way by me… maybe that’s how God does it? NO… there is no private interpretation; there is ONE absolute truth. the Spirit does not bend to justify one person. we must bend to scripture.)

be even more wary of false prophets– disguised as sheep! [see, a better lie, a bigger gun... these are the archers and knights in the war against our Lord and all light and goodness.]

satan is the father of lies; therefore, he carries the biggest guns. what… a fiery fanged horned dragon? that would be silly! we would just run away! no… while inwardly he may fit this description, he is disguised, not merely as a sheep, but as an angel of light!

wow! imagine the encounter with an angel of light! wouldn’t we be persuaded by such splendor… it would appear so righteous! surely the founder of the latter day saints was awestruck by his vision of light and two beings… even speaking scripture, “this is my beloved son; hear ye him!” [joseph smith's attempt to unite Christianity under one congregational flag resulted in over 100 splinter groups of the mormon variation.]

pray for the gift of discernment.

don’t focus so much on islam (i need to learn this) as you focus on the platform and the tongue that you listen to on sundays.

the big guns are right here among us.

may God keep His elect; and He will! for when He begins a good work, He DOES finish it. [unlike foolish procrastinating, error-prone, promise-breaking humans like myself.] He is the one true perfect Father. He doesn’t toss out someone He has adopted. and if that child falls ill, the perfect Physician always performs successful surgery.

Dear Mormon Children

Gal 1:8: “…though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

Dear Mormon children: While studying Mormon scripture, I became increasingly confused. God is not the author of confusion. (1 Cor. 14:33). I felt ill and discerned my confusion and affliction as the work of Satan. God cannot do this evil.

I compiled a large document of concerns, some of which are notably weighty, but I have decided to present only this one concern, for it clearly shows that the Mormon church is a temple of demons with the very appetite of Satan:

MORMON PURPOSE AND DESIRE IS TO BECOME LIKE GOD (BY PROGRESSION). THIS IS PRECISELY THE PURPOSE OF SATAN– THE ULTIMATE SATANIC SIN.

I NOW PRAY THAT GOD BRINGS YOU TO CONFESS THE WRETCHED EVIL OF THIS “FIRST PRINCIPLE” OF MORMONISM. THIS CONFESSION IS A SURE [FIRST] STEP OF REPENTANCE, AND OUR FELLOWSHIP MAY CONTINUE. OTHERWISE, I CANNOT WELCOME YOU IN MY HOME, NOR BID YOU GODSPEED (2 JOHN).

Mormon Scripture:

“It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God…that he was once a man like us… and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, pp. 345-346)

“The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself.” Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, p. 93

Biblical Scripture (Accepted as such by Mormons):

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The word “gods” in Gen 3:4 is Hebrew ‘elohiym,’ which is the plural of ‘elowahh’ (God).

Is. 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Is 43:10 “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”

ISAIAH 44:6, 8:  “I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. …Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

ISAIAH 46:9: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.”

Both apostles (Acts 10:25-26; 14:15) and angels (Rev 19:10; 22:9) forbade that anyone bow down or worship them. Jesus Christ did not forbid any to bow down to Him. Worship belongs only to Jesus Christ (Phil 2:10; Heb 1:6) and His Father (Eph 3:14). Satan desired to be like God… he asked Jesus to bow down and worship him. (Matt 4:9). Jesus responded that only the LORD God may be worshiped and served.

2 Thes 2:3-4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. “

Erasing Boys from Culture

In western society, boys are being marginalized. It’s just one part of the widespread rebellion against God.

My boys have all female teachers at their elementary school… (so did I)… that shouldn’t be a problem. But somehow they’re getting a strong message that girls are smarter and worth more than boys.

I reviewed the math textbooks that were written for our particular curriculum for grades 2 and 4. Interestingly the only textbooks “approved” for use in the classroom are those written by women. These textbooks do not make sense to males. (I could not even understand them.)

Hint to parents: If you have a son, go to an education supply store and find textbooks that meet your state / province curriculum requirements that are written by men. Those are the books to use for homework.

Image copyright © me, 2009.