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inthespiritofthemind · 5 years ago

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#44 A Call to Pastors

Pastors, the Lord has been speaking urgently to me for a couple of days with a message for all of you. Please read and consider carefully. For all believers are being called “for such a time as this.” Esther 4:14

In most of my recent posts on my blog inthespiritofthemind.com about the dynamics of spiritual warfare, I have issued an urgent call to the church to rise up together in unity to fight the spiritual battle going on in the heavenlies around us right now. Well, Pastors, the Lord has been instructing me to speak plainly and directly to you all to heed His word and join the battle.

This word is about the need for the believers to be speaking to the enemy, the principalities and powers, rulers, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies, the darkness we see advancing around the world and across our nation in growing power and evil. Ephesians 6: 12, Ephesians 3:10 You are all aware of the scriptures referring to the devil and the demons active in the earth, but it seems most of you are not prepared to join the fight because of your lack of knowledge concerning this most important part of the believer’s marching orders from God. We must understand that God is spirit just as the enemy is. The words spoken from the holy realm and the evil realm influence our minds and have an effect. The fight is a spiritual one. It is about light which is God and we as believers. We fight the demons in the spiritual realm.

God is Spirit. John 4:24 God’s words created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1, 3, 6, 11 Jesus said His words were spirit and life. John 6:63 Jesus did not speak on His own initiative, but speaks the things His Father taught Him. John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:10 Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Those that love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 Our words are very important.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8b We are to be doing the same works that Jesus did. John 14:12 Those are the works of the Father. John 14:10b This warfare is ours. 2 Corinthians 10:4 The war is not in the flesh. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Ephesians 6:12

Pastors, the enemy, or thief, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. John 10:10 You have heard this before, but have you ever thought about it? Do you know this is true and real? Do you understand that this means the believers? Do you know we are to be doing battle? I understand this has never been a reality to most of you. Therefore, it has never been a reality to the church because neither you nor the people in your church have been taught the truth. Well, you need to hear the truth now! All we have is NOW! We must wake up to the need to do as God has instructed us to do. It’s not about showing up on Sunday, studying a lesson to be prepared for Sunday School, or coming to meetings and activities. Spiritual warfare is when spirits fight. It is not studying or praying. We are spirit when we are born again. We are one spirit with God. We are the spiritual beings fighting the enemy with the Holy Spirit. Spiritual dynamics are happening every split second all the time. And we need to be involved.

Since the virus and quarantine, most of the church meetings have been cancelled thus causing us to lose the attachment to our groups. Then there have been so many other horrible and destructive activities which heighten the awareness of darkness running rampant in the country today. I have seen much on social media talking about the need to do spiritual warfare, that we are in a spiritual battle. The Lord has made it clear that many simply have no training to fight a battle in the spirit. Why? Because the devil, demons, the enemy is never mentioned in church. Sometimes, neither is the Holy Spirit! Pastors, the education of the church, the one church, all believers being the church, one in spirit with God, must happen. You are the ones who must do this. Don’t just talk about the devil and evil to identify what is happening. Learn the tactics of the enemy. Learn what it means to renew the mind. Understand what the battleground is. Otherwise we may lose to the darkness.

Without the attention to the Holy Spirit which we have been given as a helper and without the power and manifestation of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. John 14:16, Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 But the Holy Spirit was given and waits to talk with us and talk through us. He needs us to discern where the devil has introduced unholy thoughts and separate our holy thoughts to shine the light of God on the darkness. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 We must then speak to the darkness, binding it up and casting it out of our souls (mind, emotions and will). Matthew 18:18 The weapons are divinely powerful to the puling down of strongholds and every lofty thing elevating itself (demons) against the knowledge of God (truth).

The devil has blinded the eyes of the believers and deceived us all. Some of us have been blessed with Pastors who know the truth and have taught us to renew our minds to the truth and the darkness. We have been actively casting demons and their lies out of our souls so that we may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and do warfare for our country and the world.

The unrenewed mind is on defense. A renewed mind is on offense. Demons cannot attack us because we are light in the Lord. Spiritual warfare is light against darkness. There is no defense in light. Darkness cannot attack light. Demons influence and deceive us with lies. We must be renewed in the spirit of the mind. Ephesians 4:23 These lies originate in the spiritual realm and once believed become strongholds in the minds of our souls hindering us from fighting against the demonic realm. They hide their existence and squelch the knowledge of what they are doing. They have effectively hidden our understanding or desire to know the Holy Spirit and be a vessel for living water to flow. We don’t even know we have demons and darkness in our souls!! They have separated the church into divisions called denominations where believers are taught what we believe that is different from other believers. That is not God! That is doctrines of devils. That is a trap by the enemy to short circuit the power of the church against their plans and schemes and methods.

Well, Pastors, God has issued the call to you all! Begin to learn what to do for the battle. Submit your souls to God. Actively resist the devil and he will flee. But you must submit first. James 4:7 The first demon to go from everyone of you is pride. James 4:8 Then there is the spirit of haughty pride which comes with denominations and is actually a spirit which is proud of its pride. Humility is required to admit that you may be wrong in what you believe or teach to the members of your church. Humility is required to submit to God and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to train your church group how to fight the evil threatening our country. But it must be done. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. The church must rise up and fight the battle!

We will not fail if we enter into the battle with the Holy Spirit inside us. We are one in spirit with God when born again. But our souls still need to be set free. As the Holy Spirit drives the demons out of our souls when we speak what He says to say to them, He is then the occupier/filler of our souls. He wants to fill us with His presence. Ephesians 5:18 We cannot just ask God to do the battle for us. In the Old Covenant the battle was the Lord’s. Now we get to participate. In the New Covenant the battle is ours. According to the instructions to renew the mind in Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:23, we are to allow the Holy Spirit to help us discern the lies of the enemy in our souls, be revelated to the truth from God, and fight the battle to cast the liars out of our souls. Then in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 we see that the weapons of our warfare are divinely powerful to the pulling down of strongholds and every lofty thing elevating itself against the knowledge of God. When the strongholds are torn down and the demons are cast out of our souls, we then are instructed to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. This is to determine the origin of every thought, be it holy or unholy. Seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit is the goal. He has already given us the tools. Salvation means deliverance from conditions and circumstances. We have been reconciled to the Father. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Our souls need to be free spiritually and be allowing the rivers of living water to flow out to others. We can be the warriors God meant us to be.

I am so grateful to God for the Pastor He has given me. He began training me in the dynamics of spiritual warfare in 1980 while we were both attending seminary. Since that time, he has helped me and countless others to more spiritual freedom than I knew was possible. His ministry has been to set the captives free through deliverance and warfare. Through perseverance and compassion toward the children of God as our leader, he has kept watch over us, giving us an account of our souls. Several years past he shared with us that he asked the Father if he could sing a different tune or change what he preached. God said no. He told my pastor that this was the part that was missing from the church today. God likened this to having a car with a flat tire. He pointed out that to drive the car it was necessary to fix the flat tire. “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” 1 Corinthians 12:1 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Corinthians 2:11

For the church today, the necessity is to begin doing spiritual warfare. All men are in bondage the world over, but the Christian has the tools to set all men free. First, help them to be born again. Then help them to renew their minds to be free from demonic intrusion and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then allow the Holy Spirit to flow through the rivers of living water to the world. Do what Jesus did. Destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8b

Rise up, Pastors! Help the church to rise up! Receive the anointing God has for you! Let His Spirit flow through you!

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ayearinfaith · 5 years ago

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𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟳: 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺

Dispensationalism is a Christian perspective (in some branches) of the partitioning of Biblical history into discrete units of time (dispensations) based on shifts in God’s method of administration on Earth, shifts often caused and demarcated by some great failing of mankind. The concept of dispensations is significant for its implications on literal interpretations of the Bible and the relationship of the New and Old testaments, and by extension thereof the Christian relationship with Judaism. It is similar to the Baháʼí concept of progressive revelation.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻

Concepts very similar to Dispensationalism have been a part of Christian philosophy for a long time, dating back at least to the 2nd century CE and touched upon by many prominent voices throughout the ages. The tradition most familiar to modern Western Christians originates with the 19th century British Bible scholar John Nelson Darby. Darby’s view on dispensations spread in America with the publishing of the 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 in in early 20th century, still one of the most commonly used versions for biblical studies. Today, Dispensationalism is most associated with American Evangelicalism and similar organizations. At its most basic, Dispensationalism views periods of Biblical history, from Adam and Eve to the end time, as transitions between God’s systems of governance. Thus, Adam and Eve did not, and could not have, follow the same covenants as Noah, who in turn was obeying a different set of divine laws from Moses, and so on. This provides an answer to one of Christianity’s larger identity struggles: how to treat the Old Testament. Christianity developed from 1st century (both BC and BCE) branch of Judaism. As such, Christians have maintained a version of core Jewish scripture, the “Old Testament”, but have introduced additional scriptures in the “New Testament”. Because the two testaments do not always appear to line up, and as Christians developed non-Jewish identity, the issue of which testament was correct and how to feel about those who only accept the Old Testament became pressing. Christianity has many branches with different opinions on these topics, but in general the New Testament is often seen as being additive to, as opposed to replacing of, the Old Testament, thought New Testament views are generally seen to either supersede what came before or to reveal information that changes previous interpretations. Dispensationalism generally holds that the Old Testament was not wrong or even incomplete, that before the coming of the savior, Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the church, the laws of the Old Testament contained the accurate and literal will of God. Because it is compatible with, if not encouraging of, literal interpretations of scripture, the view is popular amongst fundamentalist branches. Because it maintains the status of Jews as God’s chosen people, Dispensationalism also encourages a view of Jews not as distinct, but as a part of the Christian tradition. Many of America’s policies towards the modern state of Israel have been informed by this religious doctrine.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

There are multiple divisions found in Dispensationalist philosophies, the following is the version that was most common in my research and one popularized by current prominent Evangelical voices. The general trend of the dispensations is that God enacts a policy of rule on Earth, only for humanity to inevitably fail to uphold virtue to the point of catastrophe, at which point God must change His method. Some view the dispensations as horizontal shifts, i.e. different from one another but not necessarily correlated or progressive. Others see them as vertical or progressive, meaning that each one is building off the last and that the ordering of them is important to mankind’s eventual comprehension of God’s final truth.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

The first dispensation was given to Adam and Eve, the Biblical first man and woman who lived in the paradise of the Garden of Eden. Because, at this time, there was not yet evil on Earth and the Garden provided anything Adam and Eve could want, this dispensation has not covenant or law. God had made the world seemingly perfect and so no systemic management was strictly necessary. This all ends once Adam and Eve are tempted to defy God and eat from the Tree of Knowledge, which results in their banishment from Eden.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

After Adam and Eve go out into the world, with little direction from God, they and their children must rely on their newfound knowledge of Good and Evil. This manner of divine administration can be seen in the story of Cain, Adam and Eve’s son and the first murderer. In the Bible, God is aware of Cain’s potential sin and speaks to him, but ultimately the decision remains with Cain and his own conscience. Free will is a recurrent negative theme in this period, as it is also when the rebellious angels come to earth and mate with humans. This continues poorly until things get so bad God sends the great flood, wiping out all of mankind except for Noah and his kin.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Having witnessed the unreliability of human conscience, the first systemic laws are given to Noah and his family, most prominent among them being the concept of capital punishment, or state sanctioned murder. This can be seen as the invention, albeit crudely, of executive law enforcement. Mankind ultimately fails this and organizes itself to defy God. Instead of spreading across and dominating the earth, Noah’s descendants stay put and build the Tower of Babel, an act generally seen as a hubristic attempt to reach the heavens. The tower is struck down and God splinters the previously unified language of humans, thus creating the various nations of the Earth.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲

Now living in distinct nations, God chooses from among them a chosen one to receive his latest commandment. This is the first time that God does not act in a way universal to mankind, but instead chooses specific human agents to act on his behalf. The Chosen one is the patriarch Abraham. Abrahams mission was to make his way to the promised land and establish a new nation there. This dispensation can almost be viewed as an intermediary: unified government has failed, just as conscience did before it. With the splintering of nations, God now needs representation amongst them but independent from any. Thus, he delivers a promise to Abraham and awaits the coming of Israel. Unfortunately, the line of Abraham fails as well, ultimately winding up trapped as slaves in Egypt.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗮𝘄

At last, God frees the slaves of Egypt and uses Moses to induct the next and possibly most important dispensation. This is the establishment of God’s own laws, the ten commandments and ultimately the fullness of the Old Testament. In Israel the central temple and priesthood is established and finally a functioning divine administration on Earth is established. This dispensation ends with the coming of Jesus Christ. By some reckonings, this is the ultimate dispensation. In this view the next one is not a true subsequent dispensation, but a brief interruption, in a similar fashion that a leap day might be added to the year to keep it in line with the solar cycle.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲

This is the current dispensation, and was established upon the arrival and death of the messiah, Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the church. The law of this dispensation is the revelation and recognition of the savior’s arrival as recounted in the New Testament. The Israelites, apart from Jesus’ own followers, did not recognize the savior when he came and for this lost their divine protection and were scattered. On this there is some variety in interpretation. Sometimes the punishment of the Israelites is less of a punishment and more a necessary step of transition as the church spreads the administration of God throughout the world (which differs from Moses’ laws which were for Israel alone). As mentioned earlier, a common idea in Dispensationalism is the idea that this dispensation is only an interposition withing the Dispensation of Law, and thus the state of Israel and the temple will be reestablished before the messiah returns, hence the aforementioned impact on modern U.S./Israeli relations. This dispensation ends with the return of Jesus and the Rapture.

𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺

The nature of the final dispensation can be muddled, as different branches may hole different opinions on the specifics of the end of days. Broadly speaking (for branches that recognize this list or similar dispensations), Jesus will return to earth and reign as king in Israel, effectively as God on Earth, for 1,000 years. During this time all will be perfect, almost Edenic, but ultimately Satan, the great tempter of mankind, will stoke discontentedness and a final rebellion of humans and demons will arise, prompting God to enact a final judgement of all souls and establish a truly perfect Eternal Kingdom.

Image Credit: Chart by Rev. Clarence Larkin, early 20th Century

#A Year in Faith #Dispensationalism #AYIF #Religion #Mythology #Day 27

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trr-mason · 5 years ago

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Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, This last weekend I returned from Salt Lake City Utah serving a full time 2 year proselyting mission. A lot of you would probably think "Salt Lake? isn't everybody there a member of the church already?" Others of you who know a little about Salt Lake will know that it is not the place it was when it was founded by the saints in 1847 and has even changed drastically in demographics over the last 20 - 30 years. Its was an amazing time to serve the people of that valley and also South western Wyoming where I personally got to serve in both Evanston and Rock Springs Wyoming. These last 2 years have been full of unbelievable miracles and also tragic hardships. My topic to you today has to do with the 3 most important doctrinal principles I have learned over these last 2 years. This is very difficult because the Lord has been willing teach me many things but I narrowed it down to what I will speak on today which is "How Am I Going To Live With God Again?" and I will use the stories of some of the amazing people I met on my mission to demonstrate the path that God has laid before me. One of the most important things to I know and hope that each of you can come to know is the power that allows for everything else to even be a reality for us; that is the Atonement of our savior Jesus Christ. This is the "....great and last sacrifice... an infinite and eternal sacrifice"(Alma 34:10). During this time Jesus suffered for not just many things, but all things, including our pains, our sorrows, our affictions, the price of our sins and even the temptations that leads to those sins. He did these things that he might be able to empower us and make us clean. He also suffered death and rose again that we might look forward one day to receiving a glorfied and perfected body as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have. The example I want to share with you today of someone using this power comes from South Salt Lake City. There was a woman, her name is Brenda, and she was living in her daughters home, her and her husband had been separated for several months. During this time that she had been living with her daughter she had both had a knee replaced and intensive hip surgery within 4 months of each other so she could hardly get around. An understatement of a lifetime would say that "she was having a hard time". With all of her spare time she was reading in a book of world religions and came to the conclusion that 1 of 2 religions had to be true and that was either our church or the Buddhist faith. She decided that she would study these faiths more closely. When talking to an upstairs neighbor named Sister Fiso, Sister Fiso jumped on the opportunity and said she knew just the right people to call. That week was the week I met Brenda. From the time that we met in December of 2017 she has had many wonderful things occur in her life naming a few, she gained a testimony of Christ and his true church, she was baptized on new years eve, her Marriage was rebuilt, and she and her husband, who was also baptized, will be sealed in the temple in a few weeks. Many of you have seen the effect of that all encompassing and infinite sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The amazing part is that Christ made it so that there was an outline of the way in which we can access the redeeming and perfecting aspects of His Atonement. While on the earth he taught this as the Doctrine, or Gospel, of Jesus Christ. This is the thing he chose as his core message to share with us. It is process of having Faith in him, to repent, to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to continue to make and keep covenants, or promises, with God til the end. The purpose of my, and all, mission(s) is to invite others to do these things and help them live those invitations so that all can take part in His redemtion. A huge example of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being exhibited in someone's life is the experience of Allison Alverdi. She lived the beginning of her life just down the road in Rosemond. After going through some hard times in her life she moved to Salt Lake with a friend also from this area named Sarah. Now the first time that we we went by we first met Sarah and when we said that we were the YSA missionaries she opened the door to show Allison. After a few contacts with her at the door the spirit finally convinced her to let us share a message, then another and another. One day we had a lesson on temple square; there in the he is and presence of the Christus statue and close friends Allison accepted a baptismal date in which she did all she could to make happen. This included flying her grandma out and dropping the use of coffee as soon as she knew it was necessary. The Faith she exhibited at that time in her life is still an example to me. One important thing to notice is all that I have talked about is what Christ has done, to provide the power and path to eventual perfection. The last thing that I wanted to expound on is OUR part in the plan, and yes the Gospel of Jesus Christ is our part, but a key factor that is necessary for lasting discipleship is to have real intent. Real intent is the difference between "feasting upon the words of Christ..." and reading your scriptures because your supposed to or "Counseling with God..." and merely saying the same prayer every night so we can get to bed. In the Book of Mormon this attribute is listed as one necessary qualifier for The Spirit of God to reveal the truth of the Book of Mormon. It's says that's we must pray and ask The Father "a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ" then "he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." The greatest example of these principles is Kip Smith. Kip grew up in a small town in Wyoming and he has some social and learning disabilities. So that checks both of the boxes for making it hard to learn the Gospel. I first met Lip by knocking on his door and we taught him a little about the Book of Mormon and how important it was and that if he would read it and pray with real intent he would receive an answer and we said we would come by in 2 days to see how that went for him. The next time we came over Kip let us in and told us his story of how after we left he knelt down next to his bed, Book of Mormon in hand, and how he felt so good about the Book he was holding. This was only the beginning for Kip with his real intent. That Sunday he came to church for the 1st time in his life, then as we continued to meet with him, he learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and applied it. This led to him sky rocketing in progressing in his own life as he asked God for help, the lord had no reservation in blessing him. He still struggled but he was baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and he continued to make progress. Even though he couldn't understand what he was reading Kip read all the way to about page 100 in the Book of Mormon by the time I had left that area and he continued to feel good about the Book he had knelt down and prayed about just a few weeks earlier.

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arcsoffaith22reflection · 3 years ago

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JEANNE DELA CRUZ

Judaism

The first and oldest of the three great monotheistic faiths that is dating back nearly 4,000 years. It is the religion and way of life Jewish people. The basic laws and tenets of Judaism are derived from the Torah, the first five books of the bible. God first revealed himself to a Hebrew named Abraham, who became known the founder of Judaism. Jews believed that God made a special covenant with Abraham and that he and his decendants were chosen people who would create a great nation. Woship is also important to Jews because it brings the community together. Worship in the synagogue includes daily service, rites of passage and festivals. The worship of Jews people include prayers, Shabbat meals and study.

Christianity

Is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the worlds largest religion with roughly 2.8 billion followers representing one-third of global population. Christianity is a religion founded by Jesus Christ. Their Seven Sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, The Eucharist, Ordination, Marriage, Reconciliation, and The annointing of the Sick. Christian history is record in the New Testament which is divided into 4 parts and contains 27 books. The Gospels, The Acts of Apostles, The Epistles and The Revelations. Chrisitian beliefs are recorded in creeds, and the common elements is the Holy Trinity- belief in the God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. The most important among them beliefs and practices are believed to be signs to Gods grace called Sacraments.

Islam Is the second most widespread religion centred primarily around the Quran next to Christianity and those who practice Islam are called Muslims. Islam means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. Muhammad is the Prophet of Islam and he is often reffered as the Seal of Prophets. The religious obligations of all Muslims are summed up in the Five Pillars of Islam, which include belief in God and his Prophet and obligations of prayer, charity, pilgrimage, and fasting. The fundamental concept of Islam is the Sharīʿāh—its law, which embraces the total way of life commanded by God. Muslims believe that God is the creator of all things, and that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. God has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Hinduism

Hinduism is the Oldest living religion in the world and world's 3rd largest religion. It has no founder and prophet. Hindu word is originated from the Persian which means "river". The Hindu Trimurti consists of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Most Hindus are principally devoted to the god Vishnu, the god Shiva, or the Goddess. Hinduism embraces many religious ideas. For this reason, it’s sometimes referred to as a “way of life” or a “family of religions,” as opposed to a single, organized religion. Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as “Brahman,” but still recognize other gods and goddesses. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation) and karma (the universal law of cause and effect).

Buddhism

Buddhism is a non-theistic religion (no belief in a creator god), also considered a philosophy and a moral discipline, originating in India in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Buddhism is a religion that is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha which means the Enlightened One", "the Awakened One" or the " the One who Knows" is a central figure of buddhism The main principles of this belief system are karma, rebirth, and impermanence. Buddhist do not worship Buddha; look to the Buddha's teachings in a order to attain enlightenment.

Daoism

Daoism is a nature-based philosophy. It observes nature, seeing the observer and observed as one entire system.The Daoist community believes that nature, not people, ultimately controls how things change. Therefore, humans and their rules are less important. They also see the Confucianist emphasis on culture and civilized society as unnecessary and rather unnatural. The important Taoist principles are inaction, simplicity and living in harmony with nature. Taoist philosophical principle rested on a belief in the law of unity of the two opposite forces: yin and yang.

Confucianism

Confucianism is an ancient Chinese belief system, which focuses on the importance of personal ethics and morality. Confucianism believes in ancestor worship and human-centered virtues for living a peaceful life. In the Confucian tradition, there are three levels of sacrificial ritual: Great Sacrifice offered by the emperor, Middle Sacrifice offered by court officials, and Minor Sacrifice offered by local officials.

Shintoism

Shinto means the way of the gods. Shintoism is an Ancient religion of Japan. The overriding belief in Shinto is to promotes harmony and purity in all aspects of life. Humans are thought of as being fundamentally good, and evil is caused by evil spirits. The purpose of Shinto, therefore, is to pray and offer to the kami to keep away evil spirits. The followers of Shintoism believe that spiritual powers exist in the natural world. Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami. The kami are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations.

Interfaith dialogue

The idea of Interfaith dialogue is like when a group of people talk about their beliefs. l and it is an interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. Interfaith-based action is when a group of people of different beliefs do something together.

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romancatholicreflections · 7 years ago

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26th August >> Sunday Homilies and Reflections for Roman Catholics on the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel reading: John 6:60-69

vs.60 After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” vs.61 Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, “Does this upset you? vs.62 What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? vs.63 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. vs.64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.

Following Christ always involves a calling.

vs.65 He went on, “This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.” vs.66 After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him. vs.67 Then Jesus said to the Twelve, “What about you, do you want to go away too?” vs.68 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, vs.69 and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.”

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We have four commentators available from whom you may wish to choose .

Michel DeVerteuil :A Trinidadian Holy Ghost Priest, director of the Centre of Biblical renewal . Thomas O’Loughlin:Prof,MRIA, FRHistS, FSA President of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain,Director Studia Traditionis Theologiae, Professor of Historical Theology University of Nottingham NG7 2RD Sean Goan:Studied scripture in Rome, Jerusalem and Chicago and teaches at Blackrock College and works with Le Chéile Donal Neary SJ: Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger and National Director of The Apostlship of Prayer.

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Michel DeVerteuil Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels www.columba.ie

Textual Comments

This is the final extract from chapter 6 of John’s gospel that the Church invites us to meditate on at this time. We have had three rather abstract passages and, no doubt, you will be relieved to find that we have a story again, just as we had at the opening of the chapter.

The story has several characters. In your meditation, listen carefully to yourself and you will find that you are reading the passage from the perspective of one of them; stay with that perspective so that you enter the story personally.

There is, first of all, Jesus, and you might like to focus on him as he relates with the other characters. Watch his inner freedom. Already in the account of the feeding we saw him sitting on the hillside allowing the people to come to him out of their own freedom. So, too, here he gives each group their space, those who reject him as well as the twelve – including the betrayer. He also tells us the secret of his inner freedom: he knows he is in his Father’s hands and no one can come to him unless the Father allows it. This inner freedom gives him space to see others clearly, so that he is not deceived by people.

Let your memories of great people who have touched your life confirm the truth of St John’s account of Jesus, and of course, let him reveal to you how God wishes to relate with us. Jesus’ words in verse 62 are difficult, but you might want to remain with them. “The Son of Man ascending to where he was before” probably refers to the painful journey through the passion which would test his followers to the utmost. Jesus, then, is the great leader who gives his followers a first test and judges whether they will survive the greater ones that lie ahead.

Every word of the great confession of Peter is important: the four statements are different aspects of the one deep commitment. What memories does this stir up in you? Make sure not to be self-righteous as you read of those who rejected Jesus. They symbolize us when we find some demand of God difficult to accept. The use of the word “language” is significant. When our values go astray, we find the language of true believers alien to us.

The mention of the traitor might touch you. Judas is the symbol of the betrayal of Christian values that remains within every community and within each one of us.

Finally, there are the two sayings in verse 63 that are the kind of difficult sayings that occur several times in the chapter. As I have already urged you to do, be creative in your interpretation, asking yourself when you have experienced the truth of the sayings. “Flesh” here is whatever in our lives or in our Church lacks the true spirit of Jesus and therefore is not life-giving in the deepest sense. The second saying invites us to remember “words” that gave us life and to see how they could be considered “spirit”.

Prayer reflection

Lord, it sometimes happens that when we stand up for our values our companions stop going with us • because we will not discriminate against people of a different race; • because we refuse to give expressions of love that are not appropriate to a relationship; • because we criticize those in authority. Help us, Lord, when this happens, not to become bitter, not to give up our values, but to understand, as Jesus did, that we cannot force people to come to us and that a relationship will only develop if you allow it to.

Lord, we thank you for all the times in recent years when your Church has spoken out against injustice in different parts of the world, even when many of its members found this language intolerable and could not accept it.

Lord, we remember the time when we were upset because, for the first time, Jesus asked something hard of us. Now, looking back on it, we smile. What if we had known then how much is entailed in following him on his way to you?

Lord, we live at the surface of ourselves, and so we lack energy and creativity. Give us the grace to withdraw, from time to time, to the depths of ourselves. Only if we go to the level of the spirit can we really live.

Lord, many preachers are content to repeat what they have heard from others. We thank you for those whose words have been life to us because they speak from the depths of their experience.

Lord, forgive your Church that we take pride in our great achievements • the big numbers that attend our services • our influence with the rich and the powerful • our imposing buildings and prestigious institutions, forgetting that the flesh has nothing to offer. What will give life to the world is simplicity, truth, compassion, reverence for little people – all that we know to be the spirit of Jesus.

Lord, we thank you for the great moment when we knew we had made a life commitment • we met the person we should spend the rest of our life with • we gave our whole selves to a movement • we read the life of a great person and were never the same afterwards. We knew then that there was nowhere else for us to go; this was, for us, the way to eternal life. We believed and we knew that this was the Holy One of God. It was like that when people met Jesus.

Lord, to achieve anything worthwhile in life we have to take risks. We must go ahead and choose twelve, even though one of them eventually betrays us.

Lord, there was a time when we made a deep act of faith and became complacent. We thank you that you sent Jesus to us • a friend pointed out how self-righteous we had become • we fell into a sin we thought we had finished with. This was Jesus reminding us that the capacity to betray him is always part of us too.

Lord, send us leaders like Jesus who will proclaim their message, even if many of their followers find the language intolerable and impossible to accept; who will be free enough to turn even to their closest companions and say, “What about you, do you want to go away too?”.

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Thomas O’Loughlin Liturgical Resources for the Year of Matthew www.columba.ie

Introduction to the Celebration

Rather than give an introduction, say something like this: We are gathered here as sisters and brothers, members of the Body of Christ, so let us introduce ourselves to each other.

Gospel:

When the community hears this passage, be that the community listening to John thousands of years ago or the community who hear it read at the liturgy today, it is the intention that they identify themselves with the confession of Peter. They, the listeners, are those who have decided that they should go to Jesus — and there is no one else to go to; and they are those who believe that Jesus is the one with the message of eternal life; and that Jesus is the Holy One of God.

This text appears to be a challenge to those who are hearing the message of Jesus (just as Joshua appears as a challenge to the Israelites) and appears to be a situation: now you must choose: Jesus or not! However, in fact it is not a challenge as the assumption of John is that if you are listening to this, then you have already chosen. So, in reality, it is a statement of identity.

This fact about the narrative structure of both this first reading and this gospel has important consequences for preaching. It is all too easy to imagine that the preacher must now hold a challenge to the congregation: are you for Jesus? This is neither useful nor appropriate.It is not appropriate in that the community is there in Christ as baptised brothers and sisters, not some loose assemblage of people vaguely interested in what Jesus has to say. It is not useful in that it misses the point John wanted to make: know who you are, you are those who belong to the covenant, those who know that Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Holy One of God. Lastly, the natural unit of text extends to v 71 but the last two verses have been omitted, correctly, because (1) this heightens the dramatic effect of Peter’s confession, and (2) the last verses do not make sense when this passage is read as a lection in Mark’s Year.

Homily notes

1. Avoid making challenges! 2. Ask this question: Who are we as a people, what unites us, what draws us here, what makes us live the lives we do? 3. We are the community who assert with Peter that there is no one else, but Jesus, who has the message of eternal life. 4. We are the community who assert with Peter that Jesus is the Holy One of God. 5. Now let us stand up and state that formally in our profession of faith.

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Sean Goan Let the reader understand www.columba.ie

Gospel

We come now to the last extract from John’s gospel and the end of the discourse on the Bread of Life. It highlights a theme that began in chapter 5 of John and that is a growing opposition to and refusal to believe in Jesus. While earlier in the discourse it was the crowds who were having difficulty with Jesus’ presentation of himself as the bread of life, now it is his own disciples who are complaining that it is too much to expect them to accept what Jesus has said about himself. Jesus replies that what he is speaking about can only be understood through the work of the spirit, i.e. through the eyes of faith. Some find the challenge too much and cease to follow him and in response Jesus asks the twelve do they also wish to go away. Peter replies with a confession of faith that demonstrates that he (and they!) are beginning to grasp something of the revelation that Jesus brings. Because they believe then they know that he is indeed the Holy One of God.

Reflection

‘What about you, do you also want to go away? No-one can be press-ganged into discipleship and Jesus yet again puts the choice before us as we gather for our Sunday Eucharist. Why is there a crisis here? Is it because they cannot believe that Jesus can truly give of himself in the way he has described? Is faith in the Eucharist too much to ask for?Perhaps it is not so much an intellectual difficulty about how this can happen but rather an intuition about the far reaching implications of what he is saying. For in giving us himself he is asking us to forget about ourselves and maybe that is just too much. Yet Peter speaks for us all when he says: ‘Lord to whom shall we go? Nothing in the world with all its possibilities and attractions can nourish our hunger to love and be loved as completely as Jesus, our Bread of Life.

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Donal Neary SJ

Gospel Reflections

www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

Our Choices

We remember big and small choices in life. Ones that effected life totally like a job, marriage, retirement, redundancy; having an operation or many more. Or Choices about the children that effected their lives – school, moving house, health issues.

Life is made up of many choices, big and small. Human, spiritual and religious choices.

Peter had this sort of choice today. Would he go after Jesus or leave like others did. He stayed and he would have many more attempts at that choice. Why did he stay? Our choices come from something within us. We need Christ within us if we are to follow him.

Peter had enough of love for Jesus inside him to make this choice,it might not always be easy and he would give in later but come back. His choice eventually would be to answer Jesus’ question – do you love me?

The choice for Jesus is the choice for love. In all sorts of ways. For those near at hand. If you choose Jesus then the hunger of the world as well as the tears of a baby affects you. What we do in love for others comes from the deepest part of life. We need to fill our lives with Christ to be able to share this love in big and small ways.

We need the company of other choosers. The community of faith and of the church. Peter says – to whom shall we go? We follow Christ together.

Let those words, ‘to whom shall I go, Lord’, echo in your prayer and talk to the Lord about how you feel. Lord we pray for support and strength in our following of you.

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liberty1776 · 7 years ago

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Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843 - 1921) American theologian, minister

Author of the Scofield Reference Bible. This edition of the Bible, has probably done more to extend pre-millennialism in the last half century than any other volume. The Scofield Bible is the standard reference work in many Christian ministries and divinity schools. Many Church leaders seem to believe that because his work is around in such great quantity it must be correct.

The Scofield Reference Bible is a widely circulated study Bible edited and annotated by the American Bible student Cyrus I. Scofield, which popularized dispensationalism at the beginning of the 20th century. Published by Oxford University Press and containing the entire text of the traditional, Protestant King James Version, it first appeared in 1909 and was revised by the author in 1917.

Scofield's notes teach dispensationalism; a Protestant, Christian, evangelical tradition and theology that first developed less than 200 years ago. The name comes from the concept of "dispensation" or distributing of God’s gifts. They believe God has two different plans for national Israel and for the Christian Church. Dispensationalists believe in pre-millennialism and most believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. In this views tribulation mostly effects the Jews because Christians are already gone. The New Testament says nothing about a "pretribulational rapture.". May be misinterpreting Daniel 9:27. According to dispensationalists this verse is totally disconnected from verses that precede it and refer to a time when final antichrist makes and breaks a covenant with nation of Israel and unleashes Great Tribulation. To make this work, you have to insert a 2000+ year gap between verses 9.26 and 27. If Jesus’ first coming brought salvation why does he need to come back again? Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36. Jesus teachings seems to say, The kingdom of God doesn’t need to wait for something else to happen. It is available now.

Some Dispensationalists believe Bible prophecy demands a showdown with Iran. They see Daniel 10 as being about the future instead of events that have already occurred when Babylon fell to Persia in 6th century BC. Tearing down al-Aqsa mosque to rebuild Temple would result in war and global distress. Believe it is a foreordained sign end of the world will soon be here. Some Dispensationalists try to influence foreign policy based on their views. Should anything happen to remove, state of Israel then their expected rapture will be postponed. Believe Antichrist will bring peace to the Middle East. So talk of Middle East peace is not from Jesus. Some think all Christians need to do is be good and wait for their ticket out of this earth to make way for the Antichrist.

Many dispensationalists are involved in Religious Right movement and want to stem abortions, ban gay marriage and make America more Christian. At same time they believe in a theology that says the world can only get worse, that there’s nothing any of us can do about it, and that it’s about to get so bad Christians are going to be taken off of the earth.

Some Dispensationalists believe survival of State of Israel is needed for its role as a national sacrifice for Christianity. They seem to think millions of Jews must die in horror so Christians may avoid death by rapture. If the ship is irreversibly sinking, why try and patch up the leaks? As Jerry Falwell said, "I'm not worried. You know why? I ain't gonna be here."

These beliefs are such false doctrine that if you are in a church whoes preacher uses the Scofield Bible, I would advise you to run for the door and find a church that follows real Biblical Christian doctrine.

#Cyrus Scofield #Dispensationalism #Scofield bible #Fundamentalest Christians #Christian Doctrine #Warnonger Christians #Rapture

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schoolcalidity · 7 years ago

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Understanding Antisemitism

An Offering to our Movement A Resource from Jews For Racial & Economic Justice

Part II - What is antisemitism?

What is antisemitism? Originating in European Christianity, antisemitism is the form of ideological oppression that targets Jews. In Europe and the United States, it has functioned to protect the prevailing economic system and the almost exclusively Christian ruling class by diverting blame for hardship onto Jews. Like all oppressions, it has deep historical roots and uses exploitation, marginalization, discrimination and violence as its tools.

Like all oppressions, the ideology contains elements of dehumanization and degradation via lies and stereotypes about Jews, as well as a mythology.

The myth changes and adapts to different times and places, but fundamentally it says that Jews are to blame for society’s problems. Since the emergence of Christianity as Europe’s dominant religious, political and cultural force, Jews and Muslims have been targeted for violence—often extreme violence—isolated from the rest of society, and periodically purged from jobs, towns, countries and even continents.

Antisemitism began as religious intolerance, but has always been at least partly xenophobic or mysophobic; Jews have been cast as outsiders, pollutants or polluted, such as with 15th–16th Century Spanish limpeza de sangre (blood purity) laws.27,28,29,30,31

Eventually through the development of 25 Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life, “A Portrait of Jewish Americans,” 2013 retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/income-distribution/ 26 Steven M. Cohen, Ph.D., Jacob B. Ukeles, Ph.D., Ron Miller, Ph.D., “Jewish Community Study Of New York: 2011 Comprehensive Report,” UJA-Federation of New York, 2011, retrieved from: http://www.metcouncil.org/site/DocServer/JCSNY2011ComprehensiveReport.pdf?docID=3161 27 https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain/The-Spanish-Inquisition#ref587479 28 Schäfer, Peter, Judeophobia: Attitudes Toward the Jews in the Ancient World, Harvard University Press, 2009 29 Schäfer, Peter. “Response to Christine Hayes and Robert Goldenberg.”

Jewish Studies Quarterly, vol. 6, no. 3, 1999, pp. 274–281. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40753240 30 http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0101. xml#firstMatch

31 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Antisemitism In History: From The Early Church To 1400.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007170. Accessed on 10/30/2017

“Privilege is not the same as power...” - Scot Nakagawa 12 Jews For Racial & Economic Justice Medieval antisemitism modern, “scientific” racism, many people began to consider Jews a distinct, inferior and troubling race.

32,33 Because of this process of evolution, sometimes antisemitism today is religious in form, focused on Jews as heretical non-believers, sometimes it is driven by specific myths and stereotypes about Jews, and sometimes it’s racial, rooted in the idea that there is something fixed and inherently, biologically wrong with Jews. Usually it’s a little bit of each. It is important to say that while Christian dogma was central in the development of antisemitism, and Christian hierarchs were often its agents, many Christians throughout history (both secular and religious) have been active allies to Jews, taken grave risks or even given their lives defending Jews from antisemitism. Over time, Christian dogma has become less relevant to antisemitic ideology as the oppression has taken on a life and logic of its own.

In a review of A Scapegoat in the New Wilderness: The Origins and Rise of Antisemitism in America by Frederic Cople Jaher and Antisemitism in America by Leonard Dinnerstein, Professor Till van Rahden writes: “Racist, eugenicist, anti-communist or economic variations of American antisemitism at times certainly used Christian metaphors. Racist, eugenicist forms of antisemitism were genuinely new in ideological substance. Genes replace race replaced revelation as the driving forces of history. It is very likely that racist antisemitism adopted the familiar guise of Christ to secure its victorious career. . . .True, antisemitism was raised and nurtured by Christian doctrine. It will probably never shed the formative influence of its childhood. At the same time, however, antisemitism has grown up and become an ideology of its own, drawing from other traditions such as racism as well. To analyze and effectively combat antisemitism it is important to carefully distinguish between various types of antisemitism that call for different forms of ‘counter narratives.’” more: http://jfrej.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/JFREJ-Understanding-Antisemitism-November-2017-v1-3.pdf

34 Engaging in a pattern of behavior that should feel familiar to anyone listening to today’s rightwing rhetoric about immigration and refugees, Christian nobility from antiquity on through the Renaissance curried favor with their populations by placing restrictions on economic opportunities for Jews, and sometimes isolating them physically by confining them to what came to be called ghettos.

35,36 Prohibited from owning land or joining tradesmen’s guilds, Jews were 32 Rao, Mohan. “‘Scientific’ Racism: A Tangled Skein.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 38, no. 8, 2003, pp. 697–699. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4413238 33 Jackson, John P., and Nadine M. Weidman. “The Origins of Scientific Racism.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, no. 50, 2005, pp. 66–79. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25073379 34 Van Rahden, Till. “American Jewish History.” American Jewish History, vol. 83, no. 4, 1995, pp. 507–511. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23885608 35 Cahnman, Werner J. “Socio-Economic Causes of Antisemitism.” Social Problems, vol. 5, no. 1, 1957, pp. 21–29. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/798945

36 https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-ghettos-of-europe/ Medieval Europe: Jews being burned at the stake.

Understanding Antisemitism 13 restricted to jobs that Christians found distasteful or were prohibited by the Church, such as money-lending and tax collecting.

37 (There is recent scholarship that contradicts this sequence of events, and suggests that Jews arrived in the cities of early Europe armed with very high literacy rates for the era, seeking better jobs, which means that antisemitic restrictions on Jews were a form of backlash and protectionism.

38) Regardless of the chicken-and-egg nature of this debate, this era saw the genesis of many anti-Jewish myths.

39 Laws that funnelled Jews into certain professions such as money lending could only serve to reinforce these stereotypes. (A parallel is the forced illiteracy of enslaved Africans in many Southern states prior to emancipation, which reinscribes the stereotype that Black people are inherently stupid—a painful lie that persists to this day. In both examples, a present-day oppressive stereotype originates in a prior act of oppression.) After centuries of church indoctrination claiming that Jews rejected Jesus, had killed the son of God, and were agents of the devil, it was easy for European Christians to believe that Jews were the cause of their problems. Whether it was spreading the Black Plague or hoarding a community’s wealth, they were an ideal group to scapegoat. This meant that attention and anger was diverted away from the people who levied the taxes and toward the “strange,” “greedy” Jews tasked with collecting them. Once this mythology was established, it followed Jews throughout Europe, and was exported to the Middle East, North Africa, and the Americas through colonialism and imperial conquest.

Before European colonialism, Jews in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Central Asia, and the Balkans, lived as one religious minority among many, sometimes socially restricted or targeted for violence as non-Muslims, but most of the time not singled out for persecution or racialized in the way European Jews were.

40 In many Islamic empires, Jews (and Christians) were guarded by dhimmi status and millet laws, which considered non-Muslim religious minorities living under Islamic dominion as second-class, yet protected subjects of the Sultan. Jews maintained relative autonomy over their religious practice, including the freedom to practice their own communal laws of halakha, and often paid a tax to the caliphate in order to do so. Over centuries of coexistence in many Islamic territories, there were indeed sporadic attacks, forced conversions and mass killings of Jews. But the same was true for Christians and other non Muslim minorities.

37 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Antisemitism In History: The Early Modern Era, 1300–1800.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007172. Accessed on 10/30/2017

38 Botticini, Maristella, and Zvi Eckstein, The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492. Princeton University Press, 2012. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7rv92

39 https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/119/1/229/20497/Maristella-Botticini-and-Zvi-Eckstein-The-Chosen

40 Hassan, Riaz. “Interrupting a History of Tolerance: Antisemitism and the Arabs.” Asian Journal of Social Science, vol. 37, no. 3, 2009, pp. 452–462. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23655209 The U.S.:

Detail of a restrictive housing covenant, barring rental or sale to Jews, Negros, Armenians, Persians or Syrians.

The U.S.: An antisemitic political cartoon from 1896 depicting Jews crucifying Uncle Sam.

The U.S.: The lynching of Leo Frank by a white mob, thirty days before the reformation of the KKK.

June, 1915. antisemitism in the u.s.

14 Jews For Racial & Economic Justice Muslim minorities.

The key distinction is that there was no specifically anti-Jewish ideology that bore any resemblance to European antisemitism, and for long stretches of time, Jews lived safely alongside their Muslim neighbors. 41 This history disproves narratives that assert universal persecution as the permanent condition of Jews in the world, rather than describing antisemitism as a historically specific product of European society that can also be interrupted.

That’s why the histories of Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews throw a beautiful wrench into attempts (by the right and sometimes the left) to manipulate Jewish fear by universalizing Ashkenazi historical trauma.

This erasure of Mizrahi and Sephardi history fuels Islamophobia by spreading an inaccurate story about Jewish experiences outside of Europe. As happened across much of the globe, European Christian colonization changed everything. As it extended into the Middle East and North Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, both Christians and Jews from the region were deliberately granted economic and social privileges that were denied to the much larger Muslim population.

For example, during the French occupation of modern-day Algeria, Jews were given the option of applying for French citizenship under the Cremieux Decree of 1870, while Algerian Muslims were not—one of the first and most significant attempts to divide and thereby weaken the relationship between the two religious groups.

42 British and French colonizers also employed Arab Jews as the representatives of their occupying governments.

As elements of European antisemitism mixed with the social tensions of a colonized community, these privileges became deeply resented by the Muslim majority, and in some cases, Jews were targeted for violence in moments of societal stress.

Unfortunately this history has been subsumed by a narrative that minimizes the impact of European colonialism and instead paints Muslims as broadly and inherently anti-Jewish.

Antisemitism was something European Christians created and brought to the Middle East within the last 150 years.

Before colonization, there may have been discrimination against Jews, even moments of escalated violence.

However, there were rarely specific laws—institutional oppressions—that targeted Jews because they were Jews.

43 According to Riaz Hassan: “After reviewing the history of Jewish-Muslim relations, [historian Bernard] Lewis concludes that in general Jewish and Muslim theology are far closer to each other than either is to Christianity.

Jews have lived under Islamic rule for 14 centuries and in many lands and, while it is difficult to generalise [sic] about their experience, they were never free from discrimination but were rarely subjected to persecution as the case was with Christians.

Most of the characteristic and distinctive features of Christian antisemitism were absent. There were no fears of Jewish conspiracy and domination, no charges of diabolic evil. Jews were not accused of poisoning wells or spreading the plague and the blood libel.”

44 European antisemitism began to impact the Middle East and North Africa during the Damascus Affair in 1840, in which European colonial powers were deeply involved.

It only continued to escalate leading up to, during, and after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, as the position of rooted Jewish communities within Arab and Muslim societies became increasingly and devastatingly precarious.

45,46 According to the 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, “In the Muslim world, attitudes toward Jews remain starkly negative, including virtually unanimous

41 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-treatment-of-jews-in-arab-islamic-countries

42 Abitbol, Michel, and Alan Astro. “The Integration of North African Jews in France.” Yale French Studies, no. 85, 1994, pp. 248–261. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2930080

43 Stillman, Norman A. The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times, The Jewish Publication Society, 1991

44 Hassan, Riaz, “Asian Journal of Social Science 37,” Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology, Flinders University., (2009)

45 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-damascus-blood-libel 46 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-refugees-from-arab-countries Erasure of Mizrahi and Sephardi history fuels Islamophobia by spreading an inaccurate story about Jewish experiences outside of Europe.

Understanding Antisemitism 15 unfavorable ratings of 98% in Jordan and 97% in Egypt.”47 However, we must not exceptionalize anti-Jewish attitudes among Muslim people and misread them as an essential, and therefore perennial feature of Islamic theology or society.

Like the rest of the globe, the Arab and Muslim world was deeply transformed by European Christian colonization and impacted by white supremacy and the ideology of antisemitism that came with it.

http://jfrej.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/JFREJ-Understanding-Antisemitism-November-2017-v1-3.pdf

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mattchase82 · 4 years ago

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Saint Anthony of Padua, Confessor

(from the Liturgical Year, 1904)

"Rejoice thee, happy Padua, rich in thy priceless treasure (Ant. festi ad Benedictus, ap. Minores)!" Anthony, in bequeathing thee his body, has done more for thy glory than the heroes who founded thee on so favoured a site, or the doctors who have illustrated thy famous university!

The days of Charlemagne were past and gone: yet the work of Leo III. still lived on, despite a thousand difficulties. The enemy, now at large, had sown cockle in the field of the divine householder; heresy was cropping up here and there, whilst vice was growing apace in every direction. In many an heroic combat, the popes, aided by the Monastic Order, had succeeded in casting disorder from out the sanctuary itself: still the people, too long scandalized by venal pastors, were fast slipping away from the Church. Who could rally them once more? who wrest from Satan a reconquest of the world? At this trying moment, the Spirit of Pentecost, ever living, ever present in Holy Church, raised up the sons of St. Dominic and of St. Francis. The brave soldiers of this new militia, organized to meet fresh necessities, threw themselves into the field, pursuing heresy into its most secret lurking holes, and thundering against vice in every shape and wheresoever found. In town or in country, they were everywhere to be seen confounding false teachers, by the strong argument of miracle as well as of doctrine; mixing with the people whom the sight of their heroic detachment easily won over to repentance. Crowds flocked to be enrolled in the Third Orders instituted by these two holy founders, to afford a secure refuge for the Christian life in the midst of the world.

The best known and most popular of all the sons of St. Francis is Anthony, whom we are celebrating this day. His life was short: at the age of thirty-five, he winged his flight to heaven. But a span so limited, allowed nevertheless of a considerable portion of time being directed by our Lord, to preparing this chosen servant for his destined ministry. The all-important thing in God's esteem, where there is question of fitting apostolic men to become instruments of salvation to a greater number' of souls, is not the length of time which they may devote to exterior works, but rather, the degree of personal sanctification attained by them, and the thoroughness of their self-abandonment to the ways of divine Providence. As to Anthony, it may almost be said, that up to the last day of his life, Eternal Wisdom seemed to take pleasure in disconcerting all his thoughts and plans. Out of his twenty years of religious life, he passed ten amongst the Canons Regular, whither the divine call had invited him at the age of fifteen, in the full bloom of his innocence; and there, wholly captivated by the splendour of the Liturgy, occupied in the sweet study of the holy Scriptures and of the Fathers, blissfully lost in the silence of the cloister, his seraphic soul was ever being wafted to sublime heights, where (so it seemed) he was always to remain, held and hidden in the secret of God's Face. When on a sudden, behold! the Divine Spirit urges him to seek the martyr's crown: and presently, he is seen emerging from his beloved monastery, and following the Friars Minor to distant shores, where already some of their number had snatched the blood-stained palm. Not this, however, but the martyrdom of love, was to be his. Falling sick and reduced to impotence, before his zeal could effect anything on the African soil, obedience recalled him to Spain; but, instead of that, he was cast by a tempest on the Italian coast.

It happened that Saint Francis was just then convoking his entire family, for the third time, in general chapter. Anthony unknown, lost in this vast assembly, beheld at its close, each of the friars in turn receive his appointed destination, whereas to him not a thought was given. What a sight! the scion of the illustrious family de Bouillon and of the kings of the Asturias completely overlooked in the throng of holy Poverty's sons! At the moment of departure, the Father Minister of the Bologna province, remarking the isolated condition of the young religious whom no one had received in charge, admitted him, out of charity, into his company. Accordingly having reached the hermitage of Monte Paolo, Anthony was deputed to help in the kitchen and in sweeping the house, being supposed quite unfitted for anything else. Meanwhile, the Augustinian Canons, on the contrary, were bitterly lamenting the loss of one whose remarkable learning and sanctity, far more even than his nobility, had up to this, been the glory of their Order.

The hour at last came, chosen by Providence, to manifest Anthony to the world; and immediately, as was said of Christ himself, the whole world went after him (St. John, xii. 19). Around the pulpits where this humble friar preached, there were wrought endless prodigies, in the order of nature and of grace. At Rome, he earned the surname of Ark of the Covenant; in France, that of Hammer of heretics. It would be impossible for us here to follow him throughout his luminous course; but suffice it to say, that France as well as Italy, owes much to his zealous ministry.

St. Francis had yearned to be himself the bearer of the Gospel of peace, through all the fair realm of France, then sorely ravaged by heresy; but in his stead, he sent thither Anthony, his well beloved son, and, as it were, his living portrait. What St. Dominic had been in the first crusade against the Albigenses, Anthony was in the second.

At Toulouse was wrought that wondrous miracle of the famished mule turning aside from the proffered grain, in order to prostrate in homage before the Sacred Host. From the province of Berry, his burning word was heard thundering in various distant provinces; whilst Heaven lavished delicious favours on his soul, ever childlike amidst the marvellous victories achieved by him, and the intoxicating applause of an admiring crowd.

Under the very eyes of his host, at a lonely house in Limousin, the Infant Jesus came to him radiant in beauty; and throwing Himself into his arms, covered him with sweetest caresses, pressing the humble Friar to lavish the like on Him. One feast of the Assumption, Anthony was sad, because of a phrase then to be found in the Office, seeming to throw a shade of discredit on the fact of Mary's body being assumed into heaven, together with her soul. Presently, the divine Mother herself came to console her devoted servant, in his lowly cell, assuring him of the truth of the doctrine of her glorious Assumption; and so left him, ravished with the sweet charms of her countenance and the melodious sound of her voice. Suddenly, as he was preaching at Montpellier, in a church of that city thronged with people, Anthony remembered that he had been appointed to chant the Alleluia at the conventual Mass in his own convent, and he had quite forgotten to get his place supplied. Deeply pained at this involuntary omission, he bent his head upon his breast: whilst standing thus motionless and silent in the pulpit, as though asleep, his brethren saw him enter their choir, sing his verse, and depart; at once, his auditory beheld him recover his animation, and continue his sermon with the same eloquence as before. In this same town of Montpellier, another well known incident occurred. When engaged in teaching a course of theology to his brethren, his commentary on the Psalms disappeared; but the thief was presently constrained, even by the fiend himself, to bring back the volume, the loss whereof had caused our saint so much regret. Such is commonly thought to be the origin of the popular devotion, whereby a special power of recovering lost things is ascribed to Saint Anthony. However this may be, it is certain, that from the very outset, this devotion rests on the testimony of startling miracles of this kind; and in our own day, constantly repeated favours of a similar nature still confirm the same.

The following is the abridgment of this beautiful life, as given in the Liturgy.

Anthony was born at Lisbon, in Portugal, of noble parents, who brought him up in the love of God. Whilst he was still a youth, he joined the institute of the Canons Regular. But when the bodies of the five holy martyred Friars Minor, who had just suffered in Morocco for Christ's sake, were brought to Coimbra, the desire to be himself a martyr enkindled his soul, and he therefore passed over to the Franciscan Order. Presently, still urged by the same yearning, he had well nigh reached the land of the Saracens, when falling sick on the road, he was enforced to turn back; but the ship bound for Spain, was drifted towards Sicily.

From Sicily, he came to Assisi, to attend the General Chapter of his Order, and thence withdrew himself to the Hermitage of Monte Paolo near Bologna, where he gave himself up for a long while, to contemplation of the things of God, to fastings and to watchings. Being afterwards ordained Priest and sent to preach the Gospel, his wisdom and eloquence drew on him such marked admiration of men, that theSovereign Pontiff once, on hearing him preach, called him "The Ark of the Covenant." Chiefly against heresies did he put forth the whole force of his vigour, whence he gained the name of "Perpetual hammer of heretics."

He was the first of his Order, who, on account of his excellent gift of teaching, publicly lectured at Bologna on the interpretation of Holy Scripture, and directed the studies of his brethren. Then, having travelled through many provinces, he came, one year before his death, to Padua where he left some remarkable monuments of the sanctity of his life. At length, having undergone much toil for the glory of God, full of merits and conspicuous for miracles, he fell asleep in the Lord, upon the Ides of June, in the year of salvation, one thousand two hundred and thirty one. The Sovereign Pontiff, Gregory the Ninth, enrolled his name among those of Holy Confessors.

Prayer:

O glorious Anthony, the simplicity of thine innocent soul made thee a docile instrument in the hand of the Spirit of Love. The Seraphic Doctor, Saint Bonaventure, hymning thy praises, takes for his first theme, thy childlike spirit, and for his second, thy wisdom which flowed therefrom. Wise indeed wast thou, O Anthony, for, from thy tenderest years, thou wast in earnest pursuit of divine Wisdom; and, wishing to have her alone for thy portion, thou didst hasten to shelter thy love in some cloister, to hide thee in the secret of God's Face, the better to enjoy her chaste delights. Silence and obscurity in her sweet company, was thine heart's one ambition; and even here below, her hands were pleased to adorn thee with incomparable splendour. She walked before thee; and blithely didst thou follow, for her own sake alone, without suspecting how all other good things were to become thine, in her company (Wiosd. vii). Happy a childlike spirit, such as thine, to which are ever reserved the more lavish favours of Eternal Wisdom! "But," exclaims thy sainted panegyrist, "who is really a child, now-a-days? Humble littleness is no more; therefore, love is no more. Naught is to be seen now, but valleys bulging into hills, and hills swelling into mountains. What saith Holy Writ? 'When they were lifted up, thou hast cast them down (Ps. lxxii. 18).' To such towering vaunters, God saith again: Behold, I have made thee a small child; but exceedingly contemptible among the nations (Abdias, 2) such infancy is. Wherefore will ye keep to this childishness, O men, making your days an endless series of inconstancy, boisterous ambition, and vain effort at garnering wretched chaff? Other is that infancy which is declared to be the greatest in the land of true greatness (St. Matth. xviii. 4). Such was thine, O Anthony! and thereby wast thou wholly yielded up to Wisdom's sacred influence (Bonav. Sermo I. de S. Antonii Patav.)."

In return for thy loving submission to God, our Father in heaven, the populace obeyed thee, and fiercest tyrants trembled at thy voice (Wisd. viii. 14, 15). Heresy alone dared once to disobey thee, dared to refuse to hearken to thy word: thereupon, the very fishes of the sea took up thy defence; for they came swimming in shoals, before the eyes of the whole city, to listen to thy preaching which heretics had scorned. Alas! error, having long ago recovered from the vigorous blows dealt by thee, is yet more emboldened in these our days, claiming even sole right to speak. The offspring of Manes, whom under the name of Albigenses, thou didst so successfully combat, would now under the new appellation of Freemasonry, have all France at its beck: thy native Portugal beholds the same monster stalking in broad day-light, almost up to the very Altar: and the whole world is being intoxicated by its poison. O thou, who dost daily fly to the aid of thy devoted clients, in their private necessities, thou, whose power is the same in heaven, as heretofore upon earth, succour the Church, aid God's people, have pity upon society, now more universally and deeply menaced than ever. O thou Ark of the Covenant, bring back our generation, so terribly devoid of love and faith, to the serious study of sacred letters wherein is so energizing a power; O thou Hammer of heretics, strike once more such blows, as will make hell tremble and the heavenly powers thrill with joy. Amen

http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Anthony%20popup.html

#catholicism #catholic #traditional catholic #heaven #christianity #love #jesus christ #catholic saints #its the truth #catholic faith #christian faith #miracles #miracle #catholocism

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johnchiarello · 7 years ago

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Galatians 5

GALATIANS 5

These are the videos I post just about every night to my various sites- Galatians teaching below.

Today, Thursday 6-7-18, I’m re-posting a chapter from my Galatians study- during the week I usually make ‘real time’ updates- and post them to facebook first- then Youtube. These are real time- I post those videos right after I make them- the dates are on all my videos. I also post the Sunday Sermon videos to my facebook page right after I make them on Sunday. Here’s my Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks At the bottom of this post there are links to all my sites.

6-5-18 Paintings- Mike- Update

https://youtu.be/gA3VGuNKsgs

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10204432522771336/ [Funny- I actually mentioned this video below [Made years ago] on the above video- and it just happened to have been tagged here the night before- not planned]

I will give you the paintings of the atheist https://youtu.be/qXqBeB0Ka7Q

6-6-18 Friends- the mystery of gifts on a table https://youtu.be/tjwhTJGjwn4

6-6-18 Friends- the mystery solved https://youtu.be/rNfvByzKRIU

Note- the videos above are short- yet they show how God uses art and other things to speak to us. They are in order over a few days- and you see some of my homeless friends as well.

Lion of Judah https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A2zL-GYEOsnfOCQ0a-JP7O2HcjUaURdR/view?usp=sharing

Walking over the GW bridge from New Jersey to NYC https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUnp4TnrRv4qLKTI

Cops talk to me on the GW bridge- New York City trip https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUqkjdLq-TH6Qavt

Plotinus and Jesus https://drive.google.com/file/d/1luFfn-zuXJdQrAN0SE4-NRVif6_EBjme/view?usp=sharing

Matt, Jimmy and Steve https://youtu.be/oqDStlTC8Qg

Revelation 6 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V6RYHo9MUOId5F2o7kGm0CzU6iM8Kt5f/view?usp=sharing

Plymouth Rock https://youtu.be/Z11QQhOaMGU

New York City skyline- good view- https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUvYA-fo2dudRh4K

No nukes https://youtu.be/7tFDQAoS4Bo

Who is anti christ? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kuHoDgUP7dmqG2xq9R00mn8dc3E0c7SZ/view?usp=sharing

Walking off the GW bridge into New York City https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUxxoXDnXBZXXVrc

GALATIANS 5 Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. https://youtu.be/u3Sne2TFlmw Galatians 5 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-17-17-galatians-5.zip ON VIDEO .Not under law .Walk in the Spirit .Law fulfilled by love .Against such there is no law .Fruit of the Spirit .We wait for the hope of righteousness .Calvinism- Arminianism .We are all in process .Self-control is a fruit .To be effective in the kingdom you need discipline .Protestant Reformation- Trent responds .Legal fiction? .Backsliding? .Evangelical reductionism .You are all 1 in Christ .MLK Jr. PAST POSTS [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s video- Galatians 5- verses below] GALATIANS [Links] https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/26/galatians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/30/2nd-samuel-3-homeless-friends/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/02/galatians-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/10/galatians-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/12/the-seed/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/16/galatians-4/ I quote from these bible books on today’s video [Gal. 5]- below are my complete studies- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ (1335) GALATIANS 5- Paul’s main theme is if we possess the Spirit as believers [being indwelt by God’s Spirit] then let us also walk in/by the Spirit, as opposed to trying to please God by the law and being circumcised. Paul will use the somewhat controversial term ‘ye are fallen from grace’ which simply means that these Gentile believers started by faith and went back to the old Jewish system, much like the themes in the book of Hebrews. Paul says when you go back to the law you have left grace. Christ has ‘become of no effect to you, you who are justified by the law’. This is a good example of how words and certain phrases can develop over the centuries of church history and develop a different meaning over time. In essence the bible does teach that a person can ‘fall from grace’ but this does not describe what the modern reader might think. The first church father who attempted to formulate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was a man named Tertullian, he lived in the second century and was what theologians refer to as one of the Latin fathers [as opposed to the Greek ones- Origen, etc.] Tertullian was famous for the sayings ‘what does Jerusalem have to do with Athens’ and ‘I believe because it is absurd’ he was resisting the influence of Greek philosophy on the church, he felt that Greek wisdom was influencing the church too much. He was trained in law before becoming a theologian [like Luther and Calvin of 16th century Reformation fame] and he used the words ‘God is one substance/essence and also three persons’ later church councils would agree with this language. But the word ‘person’ at Tertullian’s time was the Latin word ‘personi’ which was taken from the theater and meant a person/actor who would put on different masks during the play; the word had a little different meaning then what we think of today as ‘person’. Later centuries would come to condemn certain Christian groups who seem to have formulated language on the Trinity that expresses the same thing as what the original developer of the doctrine meant to say, but because words and their meanings change over time we get ourselves into disputes that might be getting us off track. Paul also tells the Galatians that if they become circumcised that they are obligating themselves to keep all the law. Of course the medical procedure that many have done in our day is not what he is speaking about, but in Paul’s day getting circumcised was the religious rite that placed you into the religion of Judaism, and this is what Paul is refuting among the Galatians, he tells them not to go down that road. This chapter has lots of good ‘memory verses’, the famous lists of the works of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit are found here, and it seems pretty clear to me that Paul identified circumcision with the moral law of the 10 commandments, that is he saw being circumcised as an act that obligated you to ‘keep all the law’ some theologians are discussing whether or not Paul meant the law of Moses when speaking about going ‘back under the law’ some think Paul was speaking only of the ceremonial law and the system of animal sacrifices when he was telling the gentiles that they should not go under the law, I believe if you read Paul in context both in this letter and the book of Romans, that he is speaking of the moral law too, not just the ceremonial law. All in all Paul exhorts these believers to fight for their right to be free from the past restraints of religion and bondage, he tells them to not desire to go back under a system of bondage, that Christ has made us free from that legalistic way of life and he has liberated us by giving us the Holy Spirit- if we ‘walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and these two are contrary one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would’ amen to that. [parts] GALATIANS 3 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1 https://youtu.be/hhA-O_mb3Y8 Galatians 3 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-3-17-galatians-3.zip ON VIDEO .Abrahamic covenant .Fulfilled thru Christ .Law [covenant] came later .1st promise stands .Law revealed sin .Faith in Christ justifies .Began in Spirit [faith] don’t go back to law [works] .Christ took the curse of the law on the Cross [tree] .Law was tutor- to bring us to truth .Jesus is the Truth .No more need for the tutor .Father of many nations .Legal and actual justification .Luther- Trent [16th century] .Legal fiction? .Mercy seat [parts] (820) ROMANS 2:1-13 ‘Therefore thou art inexcusable, o man, whosoever thou art that judgest’. Now, this chapter will run with the theme ‘who do you think you are to judge, you do the things that you say are wrong’. Yikes, this type of preaching convicts us all. But we need to understand that Paul is saying a little more [well, a lot more!] than this. Here’s where we need to do some history. This letter is addressed to believers in Rome, those ‘called to be saints’. Paul is also giving one of his strongest defenses of his theology, he realizes that a large Jewish population are also at Rome [Acts 28]. By the time of this letter the lines are being drawn between ‘Paul’s gospel’ [the true gospel] and the ‘Jewish law gospel’ coming from the Judaizers out of Jerusalem. The main fight is over whether or not Gentile believers need to be circumcised and come under the law in order to ‘be saved’ [Acts 15]. Now the mentality of the Jewish mind was ‘we have been given Gods precepts [true] and because we are the inheritors of the law and moral standards of God, this puts us in a better class than the Gentiles’ [false]. In essence the law was supposed to reveal mans sin to himself, it was to show us our need for a Savior. But in the legalistic mind it created enmity between Jew and Gentile. This is what it means when Paul writes the Ephesian letter and says ‘the middle wall of partition has been removed in Christ’ this ‘middle wall’ is referring to the law and how it divided Jew and Gentile. So here Paul is saying ‘you Jews who are trusting in the fact that you were the recipients of the law, who use the law as a measuring rod to justify yourselves. This measuring rod was actually given to show you your sin. Did it never occur to you that the very fact that the ‘rod’ says “don’t commit adultery, don’t steal” that these things are actually sins that you yourselves do [the legalistic Jews]. And yet the very rule [law] of God that you are using to justify yourselves, this law you actually break!’ Now you are beginning to see the context. And not only were they breaking the law, but at the same time they were saying to Paul’s Gentile churches ‘unless you get circumcised, you are not accepted with God’. The Gentile believers were actually born of God and stopped doing the things that the law commanded them not to do. They were ‘fulfilling the law by nature’. So Paul is really rebuking this hypocritical mindset that said to the Gentile believers that they weren’t saved. And at the same time the ‘judgers of the law’ were actually breaking the law, while the Gentle converts were keeping it by nature! In this context verse one means a lot. Now to an important verse ‘for not the hearers of the law are just before God, BUT THE DOERS OF THE LAW SHALL BE JUSTIFIED’. Just the fact that this statement is made by Paul in this letter is amazing. Paul will spend lots of time in this letter saying ‘those who try and become justified by keeping the law are missing it’. He will go over and over again stating that trying to become righteous by works and law keeping are futile. Yet here he says ‘the doers of the law SHALL BE JUSTIFIED, not the hearers’. Keep in context what I just showed in the beginning of the chapter. The New Testament has a theme that I have hit on before [read the Hebrews 11 commentary on this site]. The theme is ‘men are justified’ [declared legally righteous] by faith. This faith also ‘sanctifies’ [which can also be called ‘justified’ a sort of progressive justification. James uses this in his letter. Paul says in Galatians ‘having begun in the Spirit [legal justification] are you now made perfect by the flesh’ [law keeping]. Now the New Testament teaches that God wants people to actually ‘be righteous’. Johns 1st epistle uses this as the marker of whether or not you are a child of God ‘by this we know… those that do what is righteous are born of God, those that do evil are not’. In Jesus judgment scenarios ‘those that have DONE good are raised to life, those that have done evil to damnation’. So Paul in essence is saying ‘God ‘justifies’ [using the term in a ongoing- futuristic sense] the righteous, not the ones who only hear the law [the Jewish legalists] but those who by nature do it’ [Paul’s gentile converts]. Got it? This distinction is very important. One of the historic reasons why the Protestant and Catholic churches are divided is over this issue. The Catholic Pope [Leo] who initially condemned Luther did so on grounds like this. The Pope who succeeded Leo re-read all of Luther’s documents, in an honest effort to bridge the schism, and came to the same conclusion. Now I like Luther and side with him more so than the Pope, but one of the problems was some of Luther’s writings seemed to say ‘Justification is solely by faith [true] therefore sin hardily’ [false]. Now Luther didn’t intend to come off this way, but that’s the way it sounded. So the Catholic doctrine fell more on the side of ‘Gods grace makes you righteous, God cant declare people actually righteous until they actually are righteous’ this is called the ‘Legal fiction’ argument. They said Luther’s idea was a ‘legal fiction’. In essence some of what the Catholic scholars were saying was correct. Now God does declare us righteous at the moment of belief, before we actually ‘become totally righteous in practice’. But the error of the Catholic argument saying ‘God cant declare you righteous until you are’ was missing the point. When God says ‘you are righteous’ then you are! God doesn’t lie. But I understand the Catholic point. I think Paul understood it too. In this chapter Paul says ‘not the hearers of the law, but the doers shall be justified’. [parts] . ROMANS 8-10 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/2-24-15-romans-8-10.zip

VIDEO- [I cover stuff on the videos that are not in the post- here are a few] .Council of Trent- what did the Church say? .Do we get the final say- at the Judgment? .What are the Catholic virtues- did Paul teach them? .Augustine, Calvin, Whitfield and Wesley. .Infusion or Imputation? How bout both! At the bottom I added some quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic church- to show that the official teaching of the church DOES NOT TEACH SALVATION BY THE LAW- BUT BY CHRIST.

. REMINDER- This is a commentary I wrote years ago- the videos are new. .CHAPTER 8- FEW POINTS; 1- Did God choose us to believe- or did we choose him? 2- When Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he only speaking about resurrection? 3- Does God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked? 4- Was Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’? (839)ROMAN 8:1-4 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having proved the reality of sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who ‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled in them’. Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who have believed in Jesus and have been legally justified [earlier arguments in chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore [because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no condemnation’! This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology, part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the Reformation the Catholic Church had a Counter Reformation council, the council of Trent. They dealt with a lot of the abuses of the Catholic Church, things that many Catholic leaders were complaining about before the Reformation. They did deal with some issues and reformed somewhat. To the dismay of the more ‘reform minded’ Catholics [with Protestant leanings] they still came down strong on most pre reform doctrines. This made it next to impossible for the schism to be healed. But one area of disagreement was over ‘legal’ versus ‘actual/experiential’ justification. The Catholic position was ‘God can’t declare/say a person is justified until they actually are’ [experientially]. The Protestant side [Luther] said ‘God does justify [legal declaration] a person by faith alone’. Like I taught before, both of these are true. The Catholic view of ‘justification’ is looking ahead towards a future reality [The same way James speaks of justification in a future sense- He uses the example from Genesis 22, when Abraham does a righteous act] while the Protestant view is focusing on the initial legal act of justification [Genesis 15]. Here Paul agrees with both views, he says ‘those who walk after the Spirit [actually living the changed life] have no condemnation’. [parts] NOTE- Erasmus disagreed with Luther on the doctrine of Predestination- which I covered in the last video. Luther was for it- Erasmus was what we would call ‘Free Will’. In his writings- which were very influential- he wrote in Greek and Latin- the language of the elites. He did this on purpose- for his target was the influential leaders of the Church. He rejected offers of money- because he did not want to align himself with any particular movement- so he could be an independent writer with no strings attached. He had many criticisms of the Catholic Church- and was very influential for the later reforms- those we see at the Council of Trent [Though the church criticized him- they said he ‘Laid the egg that hatched the Reformation’]. He taught that the church/priests/popes should be the servants of the people- He rejected the idea that the Priests/leaders made up the ‘whole of the church’- but he believed all believers made up the true church. Erasmus was a firebrand in his own way- rejecting the language that Luther and some of the reformers used [they were vulgar at times]- Luther respected the works of Erasmus- he thanked Erasmus for debating with him on the nature of Justification by Faith- He disagreed in the end- but said this debate was at the heart of the gospel- and was glad that Erasmus was willing to engage.

RENAISSANCE ARTISTS- The famous renaissance artists- DaVinci- Michelangelo- Raphael- used their artwork as a form of knowledge- the images taught things- they were not just paintings. DaVinci’s most famous work was his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican. It took him 4 years to complete. The renaissance period- from about the 13/14th century to the 17th- [though there was a sort of Renaissance that took place- yes- in the Islamic world before the European Renaissance] was marked by what we term Humanism. Today we associate this term with ‘secular Humanism’ which often has a bad connotation- especially among Christians. But it meant something different back then. It was a new focus on breaking the limits off of man- and for man to excel in knowledge and skill- and to see man as having value. There was somewhat of a break away from the church in a sense- in that the church and its teachings were not the only source of wisdom for man. But- Jesus himself taught that ‘the Sabbath was made for man- not man for the Sabbath’- so- the Humanist spirit- elevating the value of man- does have a Christian basis in my view. Leonardo daVinci [15/16th century] was what we refer to as a true Renaissance man- meaning his knowledge was in many fields- not just art. He actually considered himself a sculptor first- then an artist- though he is most famous for his Fresco mentioned above. 1989 The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”38 Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of [parts] Basically the media have been turning up the heat on why Perry and all the other stoops [that would be Christians] are denying science. I have written- and posted lots about this in the past. Most people are not aware of the overwhelming amount of science that challenges the most common ideas about evolution.

I’ll just hit on one- Abio Genesis. This is the belief that life can spontaneously generate from dead matter. This view is false- scientifically false. It is also commonly held with the false view of the spontaneous generation of all things.

Many media folk hold to a belief that the Big Bang theory shows us that all things have come from no-thing. Actually- this is a scientific impossibility. This idea- creation ‘Ex Nihilo’- is false.

Einstein’s theory did show us that matter had a beginning point- called the Point of Singularity- yet today we have absolutely no scientific proof that all things came from nothing- yet most media folk do indeed believe this.

So this topic really is one where the media have created their villain [the back water Christians] and their hero [the false idea that science has proved all types of stuff- that is has not!]. Yet they hope that if they run with the narrative long enough- then hopefully they will never be found out- you know- opening that car door and seeing their man- the man they assured the whole world was gone- yet he lives to see another day.

[note- those of you who are interested in more on Evolution- on my Blog if you go to the February posts of each year- I have studies on Evolution and one on Genesis- you might find them helpful in the coming debate]. [parts] SIMONY AND CHEAP TRICK- ON VIDEO- .A.P. article review .Simony .Peter/Simon- showdown PAST POSTS- Simony (pron. [ˈsaɪ.mə.ni] or [ˈsɪ.mə.ni]) is the act of selling church offices and roles. The practice is named after Simon Magus,[1] who is described in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9–24 as having offered two disciples of Jesus, Peter and John, payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands. The term also extends to other forms of trafficking for money in “spiritual things”.[2][3] Simony was also one of the important issues during the Investiture Controversy. Wikipedia . [1770] TREASURY OF MERIT

Let’s pick up where we left off 2 posts back. We were talking about Martin Luther and the events that led up to the Protestant Reformation.

In order to understand the key act that caused the protest- we will have to teach some Catholic history/doctrine.

In the 16th century Pope Julius began the effort to build St. Peters basilica in Rome. He got as far as laying the foundation and died. Pope Leo the 10th would pick up after him.

The church needed to raise money for the project- and the German prince- Albert- would play a major role.

It should be noted that both Catholic and Protestant scholars agree that the Popes of the day were pretty corrupt. They came from what we call the Medici line of Popes.

If you remember last month I wrote a post on the Renaissance- I talked about the Medici family and how they played a major role in supporting the Renaissance that took place in the 13th century in Florence Italy that would spread to the region.

Well this very influential family also played a big role in who would get top positions in the church.

At the time of Luther and prince Albert- if you had the right connections and the money- you could literally buy a position in the church.

Albert already held 2 Bishop seats- and there was an opening for an Archbishops seat in Mainz [Germany] and he wanted that one too.

It should be noted that official Canon law [church law] said you could only hold one seat at a time- Albert was bidding on his 3rd one! And he was too young for all of them.

So even the Pope and the officials held little respect for what the church actually taught at the time.

So Albert opens up negotiations with Leo- and the bidding starts AT 12,000 Duckets [money] Albert counters with 7,000- and they agree on 10,000. How did they justify the numbers? 12- The number of Apostles. 7- The 7 deadly sins. 10- The 10 commandments.

Yes- the church was pretty corrupt at the time.

So Albert works out a plan with Leo- he will borrow the money from the German banks- and pay the banks off by the Pope giving Albert the right to sell Indulgences.

What’s an Indulgence?

Okay- this is where it gets tricky.

The ancient church taught a system called The Treasury of Merit. This was a sort of spiritual bank account that ‘stored up’ the good deeds of others over the years.

You had the good deeds of Jesus at the top- but you also had Mary and Joseph- the 12 Apostles- and other various saints thru out time.

The way the ‘bank’ worked was you could tap into the account by getting a Papal indulgence- a sort of I.O.U. that had the Popes guarantee that it would get so much time out of Purgatory for a loved one.

The actual sacrament that accesses the account is called Penance [confession].

When a penitent does penance- he confesses his sin to the priest- and he is absolved by the authority of the church that the priest has. The priest usually tells the person ‘say so many Hail Mary’s- Our Father’s’ and that’s a form of penance.

One of the other things the church practiced was called Alms Deeds. This term is found in the bible and it means giving your money to the poor- it is a noble act that Jesus himself taught.

In theory- part of the sacrament of penance was tied into Alms Deeds- you can access the account thru the practice of giving to the poor- which also meant giving to the church that helps the poor- and in the hands of the Medici line of Popes- meant outright giving money to the Pope.

So now you see how the abuse worked its way into the pockets of the faithful.

Albert now had the permission from Leo to sell these indulgences in Germany- and he would pick a certain corrupt priest to sell them in a place called Saxony- the region where Luther operated out of.

It should be noted that the Catholic Church never taught the crass act of ‘buying your way out of Purgatory’. The practice of including giving money as a part of the sacrament of penance was tied into the biblical principle of giving to the poor- a good thing.

But Tetzel and others abused the official meaning of the indulgence- and did make it sound like you could by your way out of Purgatory [in theory- a loved one might be in Purgatory for so many years- and through the indulgence you are actually getting time off for them- because the good deeds of others are now applied to the account].

The money Albert would raise- half would go to Rome for the building of St. peters- and half would go to pay off the banks in Germany- it was a sad system- and a sad time for the church as a whole.

It would be wrong to judge the entire church at the time as being corrupt- you did have many sincere Priests and Catholic men and women who saw the abuses and did not take part in them.

But there was corruption at the top- and this would eventually lead to the breakup of the church- and the launching of what we now call the Protestant Movement.

As a side note- it should be said that many Catholics and Protestants are not aware of the whole treasury of merit system- and the church never officially changed her position on the doctrine.

There were 3 Church councils since the time [Trent- 1500’s, Vatican 1- 1800’s and Vatican 2- 1962-65]. The Treasury of Merit never came up for change.

Obviously Protestants don’t believe in Purgatory- and it’s not my purpose in these posts to change Catholics into Protestants or vice versa- but to give all sides a clear view of the issues that divided us- and to try and be honest- and respectful during the process.

Does the bible teach anything like a Treasury of Merit? Well actually it does. The bible teaches that the righteousness of Christ is the treasury that people can access- by faith- and become righteous in the sight if God.

The idea- applied to Christ- is good.

But in the hands of the Medici Popes- and the ambitious prince of Germany- it would lead to disaster.

[parts] The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance.

Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah.

Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement.

Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language.

Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me].

It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate].

Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church history. [parts]

The 6th session of Trent was the one where the church dealt with justification [how we become saved in Gods sight].

Rome made a distinction between mortal and Venial sin in the council- the church said that Baptism is the INSTRUMENTAL CAUSE of justification. Yet faith is the Root- Foundation and Initial act that justifies.

Rome also taught that Mortal sin kills the grace in the soul that brings justification- and when a person commits a mortal sin- they need the ‘2nd plank of justification’ in order to be brought back into a state of Grace.

This 2nd Plank is the Sacrament of Penance [confession]. Catholic Moral Theologians use an example to show the difference between Mortal and Venial sin.

Drinking- if you take a drink [alcohol] not a sin. If you get tipsy- Venial- and if you get flat drunk- mortal.

This is a true teaching by the way- not making this up.

Catholic scholars are not in total agreement on all the Mortal/Venial sins.

Some teach that missing Mass on Sunday is a Mortal sin.

I just threw this in to show you the debates that take place.

The teachings from Trent are referred to as Tridentine.

The Protestants [early on] rejected the belief that a person can lose Gods grace once he has it- later on the Protestants would divide- severely- over this teaching- Predestination and the Perseverance of the Saints.

But early on all the major Reformers did indeed teach this.

Luther believed in the doctrine of Predestination just as much- if not more- than John Calvin.

But sometimes in these history shows they get this wrong and say Luther and Calvin disagreed on it- that’s a common mistake that you hear every so often.

Luther actually wrote a book dedicated to the subject [The Bondage of the Will] Calvin never wrote a book solely on the subject.

Okay- as we end this brief study of the Protestant Reformation- you could also call it a primer on Catholic doctrine [short one].

Why is it important that we study this?

In John chapter 17 Jesus said that he desired unity for all of Gods people- and many of these divisions- which date back 500 years- are commonly misunderstood on both sides.

It is common in our day to run across an ex Catholic who might say ‘you know- I left the church because I don’t believe I need to confess to a priest’ or ‘the Catholic church teaches you are saved by works’.

The original Reformers did not have a problem with confession- the Lutherans carried the practice over into their communion.

And like I just showed you- the Catholic church rejected the doctrine of being saved ‘by works’ [Pelagianism] and simply emphasized the teaching found in the bible- the book of James- and focused more on James than Paul [who the protestants focus on].

So yes- there are still differences- but if we are not informed- then it makes it harder to strive for unity- and at the end of the day God does desire unity for all his people.

The other day I quoted the great Civil rights leader- MLK. In one of his famous speeches that’s played when we celebrate his life- you hear Martin say that not only was he seeking unity among the races- but also in the church.

He said he wanted to see Catholics and Protestants- as well as Blacks and Whites- sit down together- he referred to us all as Gods kids.

I think we should strive to achieve the desire of Martin- and Jesus.

Amen. [parts] VERSES- Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Galatians 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Galatians 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? Galatians 5:8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Galatians 5:10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. Galatians 5:12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you. Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Galatians 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Galatians 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Galatians 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Galatians 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Matthew 22:36-40King James Version (KJV) 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus- Phil. 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

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